Touch screen technology is everywhere and it’s just getting bigger by the day. The multimedia interactive technology offers consumers a modern platform which allows them to say good by to the keypad and hello to a innovative and compact technology products.

Although it may only seem that the touch screen interface has been around and about for the past few years, research suggests otherwise. Dating back to the 80s the touch screen was a new and exciting technological device that has been developed and improved over the years to mix into our every day world; and that development has proven to be a huge success with mobile phones, kiosk systems, computers and many more technology products adopting a touch screen interface.

So to give you an idea of the world of touch screen and how it all began, here are a few touch screen gadgets from years gone by.

The BBC’s Tomorrow’s World programme in 1982 featured a very early touch screen computer. Unfortunately the exact model is unknown.








In 1983 Hewlett Packard’s HP-150 was the first commercially available touch screen PC. The screen was fitted with a grid of infrared beams which were in place to detect finger movements across the screen; however the IR sensors often became clogged up with dust and dirt and required regular cleaning.






In 1993, Apple was still leading the way in handheld devices with its Newton PDA. With handwriting recognition it was years ahead of its time and even now the device is commonly found being sold on Internet auction sites for large prices.

The first ever Smartphone was launched in 1993 with the IBM’s Simon. It featured a calender, note pad and fax function. Users could put their phone numbers using the touch screen interface.

In 1996 the Palm took over the touch screen market for over ten years with its Pilot series. The company then expanded its products to Smartphone technology getting rid of its operating system in favour of Windows Mobile.

The year 2000 saw the launch of Microsoft handheld ‘tablet’ devices. Bill Gates, founder, saw the potential of the touch screen device and launched the product with the Windows XP Tablet edition in 2002. Not many people bought the tablet PC’s due to the high costs.

2004 saw the introduction or touch screen Smartphones which have grown in popularity over the years. Handsets such as Nokia’s Symbian handsets, Windows Mobile as well as the Sony Ericsson’s UIQ phones have all driven the touch screen technology forward.

The launch of the Apple iPhone in 2007 hit the touch screen industry by storm. There was a lot of work that needed to be done to the device for it to meet to people’s expectations however the sleek and sophisticated design proved to be an overall winner which left many other mobile phone manufacturers struggling to play catch up.

2008 saw the touch screen industry move for a more commercial than home use. The new Microsoft touch screen controlled table was launched prices at a whopping £8,500. The new interactive system adopted a multi touch surface which allowed many users to interact at the same time.

And as we arrive into 2010 the iPad landed on our doorstep. The new multi-functional facility has received massive interest worldwide with 1 million units sold within a month of its launch.

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6. Misa Digital Guitar

This linux-based digital guitar proves once and for all that nerds can rock. The cool device can be connected to a MIDI controller – a keyboard, control unit, or PC for example – and assigned a wide range of different sounds and playback options. Want your guitar to sound like a grand piano? Plug the Misa Digital into a MIDI rig and select the best option for it – complete with distortion, reverb, and delay effects.

While we can’t quite visualize Iron Maiden rocking out on stage with Misas, we can see Daft Punk, Justice, or Deadmau5 picking these up on their next tour.

7. Microsoft Zune HD

While Apple’s seemingly endless line of  iPods may control the MP3 player market, Microsoft’s Zune has endured the competition and survived quite respectively. Given the device’s relatively limited research and development budget, lukewarm press reception, and limited fan base, the Zune HD has done surprisingly well on technology front.

Despite the device’s ‘HD’ name tag, the Zune is only capable of playing HD content when connected to a display or TV screen. The touchscreen interface and cool subscription options, however, make this a worthwhile competitor to the iPod.

8. Peter Green’s Custom Touch Mac Mini

When Peter Green first showed off his custom Mac Mini, nerds and Apple fans across the world salivated and asked when they could own one. Unfortunately, for those without electrical skills, the possibility of ever owning one of these slick devices seems relatively slim – Green doesn’t plan to produce them professional, and certainly isn’t interested in approaching Apple for support.

If you’re slightly let down by the iPad’s limited power, a custom touch device could be a worthwhile investment. Wading through technical documents, testing different pieces of kit, and suffering endless annoyances seem to be commonplace in the custom technology world, so we think this one is best left admired from afar.

9. Nikon Coolpix S60

When Nikon showcased their new Coolpix models – complete with an Ashton Kutcher marketing campaign – photography enthusiasts rolled their eyes and shrugged their shoulders. The Coolpix S60 doesn’t offer a particularly impressive level of photo quality, nor does it feature the sharpest, clearest lens in the business.

However, it does provide the best possible experience for party photographers and those in need of a casual camera. From the cool touchscreen interface to the useful redeye removal features, this piece of kit is more than just a piece of flashy technology – it’s a truly useful device.

10. Apple iPhone 3GS

“A widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone, and an internet communications device.” When Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone in 2007, few could foresee the immense amount of change it would bring to the mobile phone world. Three years later and in its third revision, the iPhone 3GS remains one of the most popular mobile handsets on the market.

While this hot piece of technology remains sold out across the world, many of those looking to buy could be best off waiting for a couple of months. Apple plans to release the phone’s replacement – the iPhone 4 – at some point in 2010, making this revolutionary piece of tech slightly less desirable.

With the US release of Apple’s iPad pushing hundreds of thousands of technology fans to pick up the device, a greater number of companies are approaching touch screens as a serious alternative to traditional keyboard-based PC input.

A sea of competitors appears to have emerged after Apple’s tablet release, including a significantly more technically powerful offering from rival HP. Whether the devices aim to compete with the iPad directly is difficult to tell – the wave of recent releases could simply be the result of touch screen technology becoming more accessible and affordable.

The gaming industry has also jumped aboard the touch screen crusade. Nintendo’s DS system has long been a top-seller and favourite amongst gamers, and the device’s up-sized makeover – the DSi XL – continues to make touch screen input a focus amongst gamers.

Meanwhile, away from portable devices and gaming consoles, the home computing industry appears to be investing heavily in touch screen technology. Dell and HP’s recent line of touch-enabled home computers offer touch-based input at a price point that’s certainly attractive to consumers, allowing technology once reserved for touch screen kiosks to find its way into the hands – and homes – of consumers.

Apple’s touch-screen iPad tablet will go on sale in the UK in “late April”, the company has revealed. The late April launch date applies to both models of iPad – the wi-fi only and wi-fi plus 3G – in the UK.

Apple’s UK website still gives a March launch date for the wi-fi only iPad with the 3G iPad stated to arrive in the UK in April. However, according to a press release from the company today, both devices will now arrive at the same, albeit slightly later, time.

CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad back in January. The touch-screen tablet device resembles a giant iPod Touch and is designed for web browsing, playing games and reading e-books.

The news coincides with Apple’s first iPad advert, which featured during the Oscars. You see the airbrushed hands of a man at home picking up the iPad to check out videos, read the New York Times, flip through book pages, check his private mail, and that sort of thing… See for yourself.

Apple’s impact on the smartphone market shows no signs of letting up – but the iPhone maker is facing stiff new competition in the touchscreen stakes.

The popularity of touchscreens on smartphones has increased massively since Apple introduced its iPhone. And in the last quarter of last year, for the first time ever, touchscreen devices accounted for more than half of all smartphone shipments globally, according to research from analyst house Canalys. Another survey conducted by the analyst at the end of last year showed that more than half (60 per cent) of 4,000 consumers polled wanted a touchscreen interface on their next mobile device.

In the latest piece of research, touchscreen smartphones took 55 per cent of the market in the fourth quarter of 2009, with shipments of touchy-feely devices up 138 per cent year-on-year, according to Canalys.

By contrast, overall smartphone growth was significantly lower, standing at 41 per cent. The analyst said the total number of touchscreen smartphones shipped in 2009 was more than 75 million, with total smartphone shipments hitting 166 million.

The iPad is the topic of conversation the web is buzzing about after the touch screen product was finally unveiled. Last week, Trendrr revealed that there were 177,000 tweets alone in the first hour after the announcement. But what was the sentiment behind those tweets?  

Crimson Hexagon analyzed the content of more than half a million tweets following the iPad announcement. While the results aren’t shocking, what it boils down to is that the Twittersphere is split straight down the middle. 48% of tweeters reacted positively, while the remainder — 52% — had less than stellar things to say about the iPad in a virtual tug-of-war.

Based on the breakdown below, the largest chunk of tweets were very enthusiastic about the iPad, with 29% of people firmly decided on buying it. It may just be Apple ‘fanboy’ syndrome, but even in light of all the negative counter tweets, it’s hard to ignore that nearly one third of half a million tweets — 145,000 to be exact — indicate a decided intention to buy the iPad, with the $499 price point resonating with these future purchasers.

Of the 52% of tweets that lacked enthusiasm for the iPad, the majority — 21% of all tweets — had a bad reaction to the name itself. Nineteen percent just weren’t impressed, and 11% were critical of all the build-up and/or just sick of hearing about it. Those that were disappointed, per the Twitter sentiment analysis, primarily took issue with the iPad not supporting Flash or multitasking.