Capacitive Sensors in the Latest Mobile Phones
The cell phones with <a href=http://www.cirque.com/uploads/technologies/capacitive_sensor.html>capacitive sensors</a> built into the touch screen is the technology they are referring to. A technology that was created decades ago, but too expensive then to be used in the format that it is today, is coming off of factory lines by the millions. Since the demand for capacitive sensors are up, the cost once associated to create them has diminished. There is an increase in factory production of capacitive sensors, thus reducing the cost of capacitive touch technology.
Is there a difference between touchscreens? Absolutely. There are a couple different types of touchscreen technologies that have been out there for awhile-used in other everyday products such as grocery store check-outs, bank ATMs and toys. Previously, Resistive touchscreen panels were used- and still used by most cell phones.
Resistive touchscreens are made to be more durable and often are associated with the need for stylus pen to enter in information, i.e. postal signatures into a digital signature pad and department store credit card signatures. Those durable, digital screens use resistive technology. Resistive technology isn’t going away any time soon- it’s just that industries are honing in on all the possibilities of capacitive technology and passing it onto consumers.
The Nuts and Bolts of Capacitive Sensors
A capacitive touch screen panel is coated with a thin indium tin oxide material that conducts continuous electrical currents across a sensor- say a touch screen of an iPhone. So it exudes a controlled electronic field in both a vertical and horizontal axis and therefore is capacitive. In order for the capacitive technology to function, it must be touched by something else that also exhibits electricity- like the human body. When a person’s finger touches a capacitive screen, it sends an electric current to then form a mathematical function which signals an action.
What Are The Differences in Touchscreen Technology?
• Resistive technology doesn’t always deliver when it comes to picking up responsiveness to fingers or other instruments used for touch technology, like a stylus pen.
• The lower price of resistive touch technology and its durability have made it the most popular type.
• With capacitive touch, the user doesn’t need a stylus pen, they can simply scroll their fingertips lightly above the screen to access the functions within
• Capacitive is delicate. Several users complain that for the price, the touchscreen face can be damaged or shattered easily.
• Capacitive sensors allow users to play with their digital images using a virtual scrapbook tool, enabling photos to enlarge and shrink, flip and move- unlike any other type of technology previous.
One thing is for certain, the cell phone isn’t just for making emergency calls anymore. It is more often a person’s only phone and it is soon becoming the main means for internet searches and email. If industries want to keep up, newer, faster phones with more options to do “all” with less is winning the cell phone competition.
About the author: Melissa Peterman is a web content specialist for Innuity. For more information about capacitive sensors , go to Cirque.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Capacitive Sensors in the Latest Mobile Phones