Control Surfaces: The End of the Keyboard as we Know It

In a recently published report titled “Handset Input Interface Methods and Technologies: 2007 – 2011”, wireless research and consulting firm, ARCchart, examines the state of input interface technologies on mobile phones and provides a view of how input technologies and methods will evolve over the coming years.

The research firm estimates that keypads are found on about 94% of handset models worldwide, while 96% of models have some form of 5-way navigation interface. Mini-keyboards are found on just 6% of phone models. ARCchart see emerging technologies like haptics and fingerprint sensors gradually playing an interfacing role on the mobile phone. However, 'control surfaces' will make the biggest impact in the next five years, and will increasingly substitute physical interfaces like buttons and scroll-wheels.

A ‘control surface’ is any surface that allows the presence, or position, of a finger or pointing device (e.g. stylus) to be detected. Touch-screens based on resistive technology and widely deployed on PDA phones are currently the most common type of control surface. However, ARCchart expects control surfaces, based on capacitance detection technology, to be increasingly applied to other parts of the handset, not just the screen. These surfaces will substitute physical interfaces like buttons and scroll-wheels, reducing the number of mechanical components required for assembly and allowing handset designers to produce more stylish and innovative form factors.

Matt Lewis, ARCchart’s Research Director, comments: “Eventually, control surfaces will give rise to soft interfaces, where buttons, keypads, keyboards and various navigation elements are rendered graphically on a touch-sensitive screen to provide interfaces which can change dynamically depending on context and the application.” ARCchart estimates that 38% of all handset models will have some type of control surface interface by 2011.

Associated Link: Table of Contents: Handset Input Interface Methods and Technologies: 2007 – 2011

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