In to touch
20/06/2009 17:18
In the last couple of months, Nintendo launched
the latest in its vast canon of handheld games
consoles: The Nintendo DSi. Following hot on the
heels of the DS, the DSi is more of an update of
its forerunner than a revolutionary console in
itself. Nevertheless, it has once more bolstered
Nintendo’s supremacy at the top of this offshoot
industry, trouncing the sales of its nearest
contender, the Sony PSP – a more expensive and
technologically advanced piece of kit.
The gimmick of Nintendo’s piece of hardware –
because all Nintendo products have one – is its
touchscreen. A wonderful conceit that sees the
handheld device have two screens either side of a
hinge, a bit like a book. The bottom screen is
touch sensitive, and it is the clever integration
of both the top screen, the touch sensitive lower
one, and the standard gamepad buttons either side
that has made the DS and its progeny so very
successful.
Touchscreen technology has been around for a decade or more, providing fun in Museums, in learning centres and generally at the more serious end of technological development. Nowadays, however, it is leading the way in consumer entertainment. Witness the success of the DS – but also the huge boom over the last year in the world of the mobile phone. Beginning with the Apple iphone, the gimmick has spread like wildfire throughout the industry, with nearly every producer of handsets now focussing on this technology wholeheartedly.
The major providers such as Vodafone, Orange and O2, are really pushing these products as revolutionising pieces of kit. Intuitive, simple and completely idiot-proof, the touchscreen certainly provides a welcome evolution from the ancient QWERTY convention of bleeping, clicking keys and buttons, as well as providing the next best thing to get all excited about. Even established smartphone brand Blackberry has entered the touchscreen race with their snazzy new Storm handset (available exclusively from the Vodafone mobile phone shop, where you can find all the latest phones).
As for games playing, touchscreens are here to stay. The vast number of titles for the DS, the iphone and ipod, as well as the Nokia, Samsung and LG alternatives, means that the world is slowly coming round to this way of thinking. The only trouble is just how very simple the games are at the moment. The DS is an exception, because of its additional buttons; but the phones that are solely touchscreen have tended towards the sandbox, technology-demonstrating bits of software recently. Something that will surely change, but in the meantime, it’s great fun just to give one of these appliances a poke and witness a possible future for games playing, as well as telecommunications.
Touchscreen technology has been around for a decade or more, providing fun in Museums, in learning centres and generally at the more serious end of technological development. Nowadays, however, it is leading the way in consumer entertainment. Witness the success of the DS – but also the huge boom over the last year in the world of the mobile phone. Beginning with the Apple iphone, the gimmick has spread like wildfire throughout the industry, with nearly every producer of handsets now focussing on this technology wholeheartedly.
The major providers such as Vodafone, Orange and O2, are really pushing these products as revolutionising pieces of kit. Intuitive, simple and completely idiot-proof, the touchscreen certainly provides a welcome evolution from the ancient QWERTY convention of bleeping, clicking keys and buttons, as well as providing the next best thing to get all excited about. Even established smartphone brand Blackberry has entered the touchscreen race with their snazzy new Storm handset (available exclusively from the Vodafone mobile phone shop, where you can find all the latest phones).
As for games playing, touchscreens are here to stay. The vast number of titles for the DS, the iphone and ipod, as well as the Nokia, Samsung and LG alternatives, means that the world is slowly coming round to this way of thinking. The only trouble is just how very simple the games are at the moment. The DS is an exception, because of its additional buttons; but the phones that are solely touchscreen have tended towards the sandbox, technology-demonstrating bits of software recently. Something that will surely change, but in the meantime, it’s great fun just to give one of these appliances a poke and witness a possible future for games playing, as well as telecommunications.
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