As many of you have surely heard, Microsoft’s new operating system, scheduled to replace Vista in 2010, is called Windows 7. Most interestingly to us, it offers multitouch capabilities built into the OS. This is very exciting news to interactive agencies like Operand who have been working in the single touch world for years using 3rd party solutions built on top of Windows. The demonstration video below shows a user interacting with a laptop-sized screen using their finger to navigate the OS and browser.
Though we are excited that soon touch will no longer be an estranged cousin to the mouse, it seems unnatural to use your finger to control off-the-shelf Window applications that were originally designed for a mouse pointer. At first pass here are some concerns that jump out at me:
1) The screen size (appropriately 17 inches) to really too small for most multitouch applications and limits the experience to a single user. The hardware for larger displays will surely follow but currently everyone is using Window’s 7 on small laptop-sized displays.
2) Applications designed for fingers are very different than those designed for a mouse. Visual navigation elements need to be designed to accommodate larger interaction surface areas, requiring larger screen real estate. When creating a touch zone within an application, appropriate visual and audio feedback is necessary to communicate with the user, similar to the sounds and onscreen queues you receive when using a mouse. It’s important not to leave the user wondering if they correctly touched what they are where attempting to touch. Maybe this is built into Windows 7 or at least their code accommodates things like depressed states for buttons.
3) Hardware providers such as NextWindow and N-Trig are working hard to produce multitouch displays that will be integrated into the Dell and HP units referenced here. During our conversations with these providers they have made it clear that screens larger than 17 inch are not a priority. So my question is…When will we be able to buy a Windows 7 enabled multitouch display that is a large-format LCD such as 32, 40, 60 and even 80 inch, which are all popular sizes available today without touch or as single touch. When this happens things will get really interesting.
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