In an article written some 15 months ago, just after the first S60 5th Edition smartphone had appeared (the Nokia 5800), I went in depth into the pros and cons of resistive versus capacitive touchscreens, pronouncing both technologies as being equally valid, but for different use cases. We're now mid 2010 and it's clear that capacitive technology is winning out, for mid and high priced smartphones at least. So what's changed? Who moved the goalposts?
Read on in the full article.
Nothing has changed, they both have their uses where one works better than the other. I absolutely need resistive,capacitive is very inconvenient for my needs.
I work with a lot of dirt and dust, which has a bad effect on physical keypads, so I need touch.
I am 90% gloved so can't use capacitive.
I need something that is resistant to impact so I can't use capacitive.
So, I end up with a 5800 with tape over the three buttons. Works good!
Just found this interesting post on Zero Lines of Code about touchscreen selection..
http://zerolinesofcode.wordpress.com/2010/04/17/resistive-or-capacitive-touch/
I think it depends on the device. My Nokia N900 has a great resistive touchscreen, I'm sure most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Unfortunately pinch to zoom has become somewhat of a well promoted and now wanted feature. I personally find the double tap method better, as it allows one hand usage.
@Unregistered
Sounds like you need something ruggedised rather than expecting a consumer device to do the job for you
@bluejacker
Double-tap is supported on capactive as well. The best of both worlds!
bluejacker: "My Nokia N900 has a great resistive touchscreen, I'm sure most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference."
The reason most people would not know the difference is that most people have not actually used touch screens at all (or have used only resistive ones). I own both an iPhone 3GS and an N900 and I can tell you the difference in user experience between the screen types is huge.
It's quite hard to explain. Even though the screen on N900 is very sensitive, you still need to apply some pressure, however minimal it needs to be. When using a capacitive screen you don't need to use *any* pressure at all. This yields a far better user experience.
And that difference is what makes capacitive screens become the dominant ones (at least in high end models) even though on paper resistive screens have better properties.
Capacitive screens only operate well between 0 and 35 degrees? I live in a country where it freezes in winter and gets above 35 in the summer, not an ideal screen for here. I like resistive much more.
Is it true about Capacitive screens working only in temperatures of 0 degrees to 35 degrees C? If that is the case, during winters in all places where it snows, people will not be able to use their devices at all?
malerocks wrote:Is it true about Capacitive screens working only in temperatures of 0 degrees to 35 degrees C? If that is the case, during winters in all places where it snows, people will not be able to use their devices at all?
im just guessing here, i dont know how that works, but i would be guessing that the phone itself would have to go under/over that temperature, and since the phone would be in a pocket, either pants or jacket, it wouldnt be as cold/hot as the environment that you would be in, which would make it usable regardless...correct me if im wrong though....
Well, I live in Finland and last Winter the temperature went as low as -25 even in the Helsinki region, and I was able to use my capacitive display with no worries. Now the temperature has been for couple days for as high as +30 and no problems what so ever! So no worries with the capacitive displays and the weather!
IceB
bp101 wrote:@Unregistered
Sounds like you need something ruggedised rather than expecting a consumer device to do the job for you!
Can you name a device as usefully featured as a 5800 that is ruggedised? And if it was, then how much more expensive would it be? Would it be any use with gloves?
The 5800 does it. already.
I think Multi Touch and Kinetic Scroll, and the snappy response feeling they create are the main reasons for capacitive screen popularity.
On the other hand, if you need or want a stylus (yes, there are some of us left), then resistive is the way to go.
So much for rational discussion. I think it's quite obvious who was the main pusher for the capacitive screens, and the US tech media followed suit.
There is one glaring omission to the entire resistive/capacitive debate:
Writing and Doodling.
Not the act of artistic authorship, the actual mechanical methodology of putting implement to paper and recording thought.
Especially true for artsy-fartsy/creative types, using tools specifically designed to create a semi permanent record is not something easily overcome with sweeping gestures on a 3" - 4"+ canvas.
Cross and other companies came out with pad sized digitizer solutions that allowed a user to write up notes on paper while recording them digitally with additional functionality provided by key input locations and gestures on and around the paper. Integrated OCR coupled with PC I/O planner style formats made these solutions intuitive and logical follow-ups for PDA's.
And then ..... crickets.
Instead, phones, PDA's, laptops and the ubiquitous paper tablet/planner became standard luggage that would show up on table tops during meetings.
One of the most elegant solutions that ever came about was a Papermate PHD Multi pen, a short stack of small, clear tab Post-Its, the ubiquitous tablet/planner portfolio and a PDA phone.
By the late 90's most PDA displays were large enough for the clear tab Post-Its which carried over to the PDA phones.
Stick a few Post-Its on the display and you'd have a semi-clear screen protector you could write on or just pull off for any reason.
Call up the handwritten notes or Post-Its like app, write your note, apply or give over the Post-Its and ShaZam! Permanent record, handy note/instant art, digital record and your screen is always in great shape.
Plus, Post-Its art rocks.
Has anyone tried using a Post-Its like app on capacitive screens with fingers? Very unsatisfying.
And newer resistive display technology is very very good.
take note that capacitive's glass screen maybe more resistant to scratches,but since it is glass,it break more easily. (remember the iphone 4 drop test?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7-OBoDFeDY
unlike the capacitive screen, resistant screen is vulnerable to scratches but will not break as easily as glass! (remember the N97 drop test?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXGPc70pZQ4
Steve, you have forgotten one thing about resistive touchscreens. Also AFAIK not available yet for mobiles, there are a lot of notebooks (convertibles) with resistive touchscreens, but: These touchscreens are pressure sensitive, e. g. a "resolution" of 256 steps (8 bit = 1 byte).
On a mobile phone this could be used for a totally new interface. An example:
Tapping the display softly, sets focus to the element, dragging afterwards, marks a range.
Pressing (normally) selects (executes) the element (like double tap on S60 5th).
Pressing hard, pops up the context menu.
Of course you could use it for an extraordinary drawing app. Pressing hard makes thick lines, soft thin lines, ...
I think a pressure sensitive resistive display would be much more usefull than a capacitive display.
As someone who has been a full time resistive screen user for over 12 months, I think the main point is familiarity !! I'm a bit of a phone geek (surprise surprise) and so, often friends will ask advice or ask me to 'set up' their new phones. Now as my mind is in 'resistive' mode from my daily phone usage I often find it difficult to adapt to capacitive, and so it takes me a lot longer to set up an X6 for example than an N97 mini. Screen wise I'm happy with my N97 (many other major issues, but not the screen :con? ) and I also like the UI, double tap isn't a problem for me and pinch to zoom I find more of a novelty rather than a necessary feature.
That said I'm sure my next handset, symbian or otherwise, will have a large capacitive touchscreen, which after a few days useage will become familiar and I won't even give the way it works a second thought, and as I live in the UK ambient temperature and humidity are unlikely to be an issue and so as long as it does what it's supposed to I'm sure I'll be happy with it 😎
I don't think the goal posts moved as Apple always had both the hardware/software package.
Its just some in the "have not" camps either didn't or want to see the goal post.
I find it annoying when people bash the 5800 or N97 saying the touchscreen is awful and unresponsive because their head is so deep in iTunes to notice. If I ask them to put on some gloves and use their capacitative screen and watch them fail miserably, it feels great. The only major drawback IMO is multi-touch which is useful in gaming but the zoom in/out gesture is a bit pointless as I can double tap to zoom in or out or use the slider bar (which is thankfully retained in S^3 for resistive devices).
My N97 is the first touch screen device I have used on a regular basis. My first impression of the shortcomings of the resistive touch screen on this device is that it is difficult to drag objects across the screen. I first encountered this when playing solitaire. After a while, I realised that it was much easier if I use my finger nail instead of my finger tip. Later on, I discovered the reason was the resistive touch screen.
I have on occasion tried out a friend's iPhone with a capacitive touch screen. I found that dragging objects with my finger tip was so easy. Also, I didn't have to apply much pressure in order to register a press.
After reading this and the previous article on touch screens, I began to understand why various touch screens on various devices work the way they do. I played in a poker tournament where we used a table that was a large touch screen. I was told to use my access card (instead of my finger) to press on the buttons on the touch screen. Using my finger doesn't work. I guess it was a resistive touch screen.
I am pretty much used to my resistive touch screen on my N97. It is probably more to do with familiarity with the device than anything else. A friend who had an iPhone tried out my N97 and didn't like the fact that he had to apply some pressure when pressing on the N97's screen.
As for multitouch, the pinch zooming feature is probably the coolest feature available on a touchscreen device. The coolness of this feature is likely making manufacturers move to capacitive touchscreens. I have seen a pinch zooming feature work on a resistive touchscreen. The limitation is that you have to keep one finger in place while moving the other finger closer or farther away. On a capacitive touch screen, you can move both fingers when pinch zooming.
Its not like u can't double tab to zoom in on phones with capacitive screens.
But the one thing you can do with multitouch zooming is to precisely zoom the way you want and this is something a slider is not fine enough to do.
Unregistered wrote:Its not like u can't double tab to zoom in on phones with capacitive screens.But the one thing you can do with multitouch zooming is to precisely zoom the way you want and this is something a slider is not fine enough to do.
Everybody loves multi-touch zooming because it's fun and gimmicky, but one handed it's a pain. On my iPhone you can tap to zoom in, but only to a level that Apple have decided for you, and in some apps (like maps) you can't zoom out again. In my opinion that is pretty poor, I tend to see past the novelty.
On the N900, Nokia have implemented spiral zoom, one handed, intuitive, accurate and able to select any level of zoom you want. Much much better and more practical, especially one handed.
So the arguments for resistive against Capacitive are:
Can't use gloves with Capacitive displays!
Hmmm http://i.engadget.com/2009/02/16/hands-in-with-the-dots-iphone-gloves/
Need a stylus so resistive is the only way!
So, we can use gloves AND a stylus with a capacitive screen? No way! Technology these days....
Also regarding double tapping to zoom in, yes you can do that on a capacitive screen but can also pinch to zoom, I thought options were good? Hearing some of you folks it seems we shouldn't have innovative styles of zooming in, just stay with the old, seriously non impressive, double tap to zoom.....
Thing is, Steve, is stylii and capacitive gloves have existed pretty much since capaictive screens first came out, yet you STILL badger on about them being a pro for Resistive screens. I feel of you take that away, plus the fact that the weather thing is absolute rubbish (Just got back from a holiday in Cancun and whilst there it got very hot, my iPhone 3GS worked flawlessly, despite slipping out of my hands many a time, but that's got nothing to do with the screen 😉
I think the Market and user have switched to Capacitive, but YOU'RE not ready, change with the times man, you must be getting too old for this 😛
iFanboy wrote:Thing is, Steve, is stylii and capacitive gloves have existed pretty much since capaictive screens first came out, yet you STILL badger on about them being a pro for Resistive screens.
I would still say that resistive screens have an advantage over capacitive screens on the glove stand point. Even though there are specialised gloves out there to be used with capacitive screens, you still cannot use just any glove. People's general expectation is that they shouldn't need to use special gloves (different from the ones they already own) to operate any device that can be operated while wearing gloves. If you look at non-touch screen phones, people can still press the buttons while wearing regular gloves.
As for the stylus, my resistive screen phone doesn't come with a stylus, but I can just grab any (retracted) pen and use it as a stylus. I use a stylus on occasion and would be turned off if I had to spend $10-$20 on a specialised one.
It was NOKIA that moved the goal post by not releasing any phone with Resistive Multitouch.
The thing is, a majority of people can't even differentiate between capacitative and resistive but they sure can between single touch and multi touch. Since there are no phones available with resistive multitouch, they think its inferior.
iFanboy wrote:So the arguments for resistive against Capacitive are:Can't use gloves with Capacitive displays!
Hmmm http://i.engadget.com/2009/02/16/hands-in-with-the-dots-iphone-gloves/
Need a stylus so resistive is the only way!
So, we can use gloves AND a stylus with a capacitive screen? No way! Technology these days....
Also regarding double tapping to zoom in, yes you can do that on a capacitive screen but can also pinch to zoom, I thought options were good? Hearing some of you folks it seems we shouldn't have innovative styles of zooming in, just stay with the old, seriously non impressive, double tap to zoom.....
Hi it's me from post #1.
Those gloves are absolutely no use to me and the ultimate in geekdom.
The stylus wouldn't have the fine line ability that resistive screens have, because it's a limitation of the screen sensor not the pointing device.
It's been pointed out and ignored by you that the one handed multi-touch is not great, and that Nokia have bettered this with spiral on the N900.
The temperature thing is not an anecdotal phone breaks in hot weather thing, it's laid down in the written specifications and conditions of use for the phone, specifications written by Apple. Not only that, but it's cold weather that forces gloves onto people.
You are not a fanboy, you are a hateboy. And not very good at this debating thing either.
iFanboy wrote:So the arguments for resistive against Capacitive are:Can't use gloves with Capacitive displays!
Hmmm http://i.engadget.com/2009/02/16/hands-in-with-the-dots-iphone-gloves/
Need a stylus so resistive is the only way!
So, we can use gloves AND a stylus with a capacitive screen? No way! Technology these days....
Since you are fond of links:
Unregistered wrote:Hi it's me from post #1.Those gloves are absolutely no use to me and the ultimate in geekdom.
The stylus wouldn't have the fine line ability that resistive screens have, because it's a limitation of the screen sensor not the pointing device.
It's been pointed out and ignored by you that the one handed multi-touch is not great, and that Nokia have bettered this with spiral on the N900.
The temperature thing is not an anecdotal phone breaks in hot weather thing, it's laid down in the written specifications and conditions of use for the phone, specifications written by Apple. Not only that, but it's cold weather that forces gloves onto people.
You are not a fanboy, you are a hateboy. And not very good at this debating thing either.
Are you kidding me? No fine line ability? Have you seen some of the things people have created using a Capacitive screen? People have literally created artwork using for example Brushes on the iPhone or iPad, some of which have appeared as covers for Time Magazine, can a resistive screened device best that?
It's not been pointed out at all regarding the N900, that device is bloomin Niche at best, and to zoom out, if pinching is sooooooooooooo hard I can just double tap the screen anywhere to zoom back out, and no it doesn't require two hands.
I'm not a hateboy, i've said before the name's to get reactions (which it does heh) i'm simply a realist. I do like other devices not just Apples own, for example the work people have been doing for the i8910 is simply fantastic and i'm really impressed with their efforts and if I had've went for the i8910 i would be exstatic to try out the firmwares.
However Nokia I have no love for, they've sat on their laurels for far too long, twiddling their thumbs until they actually have to do something because they'll be screwed if they don't.
iFanboy wrote:It's not been pointed out at all regarding the N900, that device is bloomin Niche at best, and to zoom out, if pinching is sooooooooooooo hard I can just double tap the screen anywhere to zoom back out, and no it doesn't require two hands.
Nope, wrong yet again.
Try it on maps. It doesn't go back out again, and not only that the tap zoom is to a level that is set by the phone software, not the user. So, yes, if you want proper zoom on an iPhone you need two hands. I know this, I am an iPhone user.
The N900 may be niche, but that doesn't make the feature itself any less relevant.
Unregistered wrote:Nope, wrong yet again.Try it on maps. It doesn't go back out again, and not only that the tap zoom is to a level that is set by the phone software, not the user. So, yes, if you want proper zoom on an iPhone you need two hands. I know this, I am an iPhone user.
The N900 may be niche, but that doesn't make the feature itself any less relevant.
I highly doubt you're an iPhone user, as I've just loaded maps and double tapped to zoom in (Which yes is at a defined level, but that's the genius of the iPhone software, it's set at the perfect level you need) and to zoom back out you don't have need to tap with two fingers, simply place two fingers on the screen and then pull them off, it zooms out then!
So again, I HIGHLY doubt you are an iPhone user, try again 😉