Nokia Touchscreen Phones to Add Tactile Feedback

From Extremetech -

Nokia has licensed the right to use Immersion's VibeTonz Mobile Player technology in any of its mobile devices sold worldwide. Immersion said it will begin supplying the VibeTonz software developer's kit (SDK) to Nokia's developer community starting this month. In turn, that community will be able to create downloadable applications and future content for VibeTonz-enabled cell phones.

According to Immersion the system can provide tactile cues for mobile touch screen interfaces, as well as be used for mobile games with touch feedback. It is currently used in more than 4 million LG and Samsung phones worldwide.

With Apple's iPhone leading a new wave of touch-sensitive phones, industry analysts are predicting optical sensors and touch will be the next big things.

The tactile cues are obviously intended to provide as close a simulation to the user experience of typing on standard mobile keypads. But without a base reference like the protrusions on the F and J keys on QWERTY keyboards and on the 5 key on standard mobile keypads, how will users be able to touch type on touch screens when entering SMS messages?