February 17th, 2008
MWC08: A look at the S60 touch UI
S60 will be adding touch to their platform this year with the first devices scheduled for late 2008. I had a chance to check out the S60 interface that was running on a PC. While touch is probably necessary since the iPhone, Microsoft and Symbian UIQ all have it, I have to say it is not that exciting to me and is just S60 that can be navigated with a finger or stylus. Microsoft has had touch for several years and while there are many fans, it hasn’t seem to have taken off because it requires more than just touch to compel people to use touch. It is still early in the development of S60 touch so we may see much more than what the preview video shows when devices actually hit the street.
S60 touch works just like you would think with finger navigation being used to manipulate objects on the screen. Flicks of the finger allow you to move to the next picture or scroll through lists of contacts. And just like the iPhone scrolling in list speeds up with longer flicks. I do look forward to checking out a device with S60 touch, but I do not think it is essential for my usage. Do you look forward to the S60 touch UI?
Matthew Miller is an avid mobile device enthusiast who works during the day as a professional naval architect in Seattle. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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