Hi Guys,
I've been chatting to a Software Developer friend of mine this evening (Tablet Specialist, and no not Dr. Neil) about developing for UMPC. He shot me this email which I thought I'd share with you all. I don't know about you, but I believe Software Developers will lead the way in early adoption of these devices; after all it's their apps that will give meaning to something that is somewhat inanimate at this point in time.
FYI here is what he wrote:
Hi Hugo,
I've been continuing to research the question of whether UMPCs support pressure and it looks like they don't. "Resistive" applies to the TFT screen technology rather than the digitiser.
To prove this, I found the following on a UMPC developer article today:
"Another related factor to keep in mind is that the pens for UMPCs are simple pointing devices rather than electromagnetic devices. This means that applications do not receive as much information about pen interactions as they do on a Tablet PC with an electromagnetic digitizer. Make sure that your applications destined for UMPC devices do not rely on the extra information, such as in-air packets or digitizer pressure, in order to function correctly."
Hope this helps...
Remember this, if software developers don't write software that takes into account all the little idiosyncrasies of UMPC then we'll soon feel a backlash of hate from the UMPC buying public. The sad thing is that most of this "buying public" won't even provide intelligible feedback...you'll only ever hear things like "this sucks!"
If you're thinking of developing for UMPC then you must be prepared to think about the reason for your app, and the purpose it fills. If UMPC is going to have any success at all then focus on UMPC as the Lion and you (the developer) are the Tamer. Master the beast so that we, the buying public, may all enjoy the spectacle! When planning and coding for your App, be the buyer not the vendor - see the UMPC as we will see it; a device that needs to fill a purpose, it's your turn to shine.
- Are you developing for UMPC?
- Is there anything the community out there can do to support you?
- Are you using Microsoft's UMPC Display Emulator?
- Did you know that Resistive touch and Capacitive Touch are not the same thing?
Capacitive vs. Resistive touchscreens
(from my understanding UMPC will mostly be resistive)
Capacitive: A capacitive touch screen panel is coated with a material that stores electrical charges. When the panel is touched, a small amount of charge is drawn to the point of contact. Circuits located at each corner of the panel measure the charge and send the information to the controller for processing. Capacitive touch screen panels must be touched with a finger unlike resistive and surface wave panels that can use fingers and stylus. Capacitive touch screens are not affected by outside elements and have high clarity.
Resistive: A resistive touch screen panel is coated with a thin metallic electrically conductive and resistive layer that causes a change in the electrical current which is registered as a touch event and sent to the controller for processing. Resistive touch screen panels are generally more affordable but offer only 75% clarity and the layer can be damaged by sharp objects. Resistive touch screen panels are not affected by outside elements such as dust or water.