BREW 2007: Reach out and touch someone with their mobile phone
by Debi Jones
Today mobile messaging allows one to tap out text messages, view images or pictures, hear music or audio clips and even watch the blend of image and audio as videos. In all of these examples, screen view plays a central role. What about those instances when you’re driving, at an event, in a meeting or in the classroom? If the phone in your pocket could provide important notices or messages even when you can’t view the screen that would be an innovation worthy of the phrase Mobile Messaging 2.0.
Immersion brings the sense of touch to mobile messaging and other mobile phone applications. “With the move to glass touch screens on phones, important tactile feedback has been removed” according to Richard Pierson, director of business development, at Immersion Corporation. Pierson continues, “On a touch screen how do you know that a number was actually entered?” Immersion makes use of haptics, a greek word meaning “the sense of touch,” commonly known as vibrations to provide tactile feedback and/or notices that an action has occurred. Haptics was first created for military applications, then later used as force feedback for PC flight simulators and more recently in gaming consoles of all types to create the rumble feel of action.
You’ve had the experience of talking through 10 minutes of uninterrupted silence when suddenly your phone rings and you learn that the other party dropped from the call 2 minutes after the you started. More than once you’ve heard too quite a call and pulled the phone from your ear or pocket to “see” if the call is still connected. And even though it appears connected, you still ask, “are you there?” If your handset manufacturer has the Immersion solution branded VibeTonz on board, then you’ll receive a unique vibration notification that allows you to feel that the call has dropped.
VibeTonz also provides “feel messaging” selected as various emoticons. Sending a “love” emoticon results in the receiver feeling a heartbeat. The smiling emoticon sends what feels like a giggle, rapid short bursts of vibration. The sensation of VibeTonz’s emoticons in vibration is amazingly intuitive. Unfortunately, VibeTonz isn’t a direct to consumer solution as it requires sensors and firmware - mostly firmware. Your handset must come with VibeTonz installed.
VibeTonz are currently available on a few Samsung devices from Verizon Wireless, Sprint, Alltel and MetroPCS in the US; SK Telecom in Korea; Orange in France and UK; and T-mobile in Germany and UK. I saw a demo using the LG Prada and rumor has it that Verizon Wireless will launch this device complete with VibeTonz in response to the iPhone.
Watch this site for an in depth podcast with Immersion coming soon.
