Product Type: Market Research Report
Published by: ARCchart
Published: December 2006
Product Code: R462-23Description With the 12-key numeric keypad appearing on 95% of all handsets shipped, it is easy to take input interface technologies on the mobile phone for granted. However, it is the handset's physical input interfaces through which users accomplish their fundamental data entry and Command & Control tasks, such as entering characters to construct text messages or navigating through the device's menu system and launching applications. Keypads, keyboards, touch-screens, joypads, joysticks and jog dials are the main interfaces delivering these capabilities today. But as the handset feature-set continues to expand and the number and variety of applications on a phone grows, the mechanisms for interacting and controlling them are put under ever-greater strain: the need for application-specific controls and shortcuts is increased while the user demand for ease of use has never been greater.
This report examines the current state of input interface technologies on mobile phones and provides a view of how input technologies and methods will evolve over the coming years, up to 2011. ARCchart examines interfaces falling under three categories: interfaces for data entry, Command & Control and control surfaces. It discusses the benefits which improved interfacing deliver to the main value-chain players - operators, manufactures and end users - and profiles the various technology vendors providing innovative interface solutions for mobile phones.
Topics of coverage include:
- A history of input interfaces on handheld devices
- Input mechanisms delivering value to operators and OEMs
- How language differences impact data entry
- Keypad augmentations aimed at boosting the ease and speed of text entry
- How predictive text is evolving
- Mini-keyboards and email-centric devices
- Soft interfaces: on-screen keypads, keyboards and controls
- Assessment of end user reaction to new and modified interfaces
- The increasing use of control surfaces to substitute buttons, keypads and scroll wheels
- The challenges of voice recognition
- The importance of minimising posture-shifting
- 5-way navigation using fingerprint sensors
- Capacitance detection versus resistive technology
- Finger-driven versus stylus-driven user interfaces
- Interface BOM impact and potential cost savings
Table of Contents
- A. INTRODUCTION
- Some definitions
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- Types of interaction
- Data entry
- Command & Control
- Control surfaces
- A.2 History of interfacing technologies
- Input on the desktop
- The keyboard
- The mouse
- The rise and fall of the PDA
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- Early handwriting recognition
- The Apple Newton
- Microsoft and pen computing
- Reduced stroke alphabets
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- Voice control
-
- Chording
- A.3 Mobile phone input interface technologies
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- Traditional keypads
- MultiTap
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- micro-QWERTY keyboards
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- Pen Interfaces
A.4 Report scope
- Overview
B. THE IMPORTANCE OF INPUT
B.1 The current state of play: messaging is King
- The need for annotation
B.2 Increasing use of data-centric applications
- Case Study - RIM’s Blackberry
- Summary
Case Study - The Nokia 3650
- The power of the tech journalist
- Summary
B.3 Increased opportunities for value-chain players
- Value for the user
-
- Value for the network operator
-
- Value for the handset vendor
B.4 Changing role of the handset
B.5 Style and fashion
C. DATA INPUT INTERFACE TECHNOLOGIES
C.1 Regional issues
- Character sets
- Latin alphabets
- Cyrillic
- Logographic languages
- Pinyin
- BoPoMoFo/ Zhuyin
-
- Outlook
- Advances in predictive text
C.2 The keypad
- Keypad and keyboard component manufacturers
C.3 Solving the challenges of keypad data input
- MultiTap
- The future of MultiTap
-
- Next Key
-
- Predictive text
- Predictive text technology providers
- Tegic
- Zi Corporation
- Core technology
- Customer base
- Deployment plans
- Prospects
- The future of predictive text
- The ‘speed’ dialling boost to voice
- Sloppy type
- Predictive search and discovery
C.4 Mini-QWERTY keyboards
- Keyboard usage
-
- The future of mini-keyboards
- Email driving the keyboard
- Predictive text moves to Mistype
- Demand from operators
- Logographic languages
- Soft keyboards
C.5 Innovative and alternative input interfaces
- Lumio (formerly VKB Incorporated)
- Core technology
- Customer base
- Deployment plans
- Outlook
-
- The Fastap keyboard
- Digit Wireless
- Core Technology
- Customer Base
- Prospects
-
- Voice data-entry
- Discrete and contiguous systems
- Outlook
- Chording
- Chording on the Twiddler 2
C.6 Handwriting recognition with pen interfaces
- Handwriting recognition solutions
- Graffiti
- Jot
- Decuma
-
Handwriting recognition outlook
- Joined-up writing
C.7 Niche technologies
C.8 Outlook for data input technologies
- The objective of input
-
- Input technology comparison
- Data entry speeds
- Data entry simplicity
-
- Integration decision
D. COMMAND & CONTROL INPUT INTERFACE TECHNOLOGIES
D.1 Directional navigation: wheels, pads and sticks
- Scroll wheels
- Side-mounted
- The jog-dial
- Surface-mounted
- Scroll-wheel outlook
5-way navigation
- Outlook
Trackball
- Outlook
D.2 Voice Command & Control
- Voice recognition technology suppliers
Voice Tags
Speaker-independent recognition
Natural language interpretation
- Outlook
Voice control usage models
- Microsoft’s approach
- Posture shifting
- VoiceSignal’s approach
VoiceSignal
- Core technology
- Customer base
- Deployment Plans
- Prospects
The future of voice
- Social challenging of voice control
- Speech synthesis
- Voice searching
- Voice APIs
D.3 Motion sensing
- The MyOrigio
- Sharp
- Nintendo Wii
- Outlook for motion sensing
D.4 Fingerprint sensors
- Beyond biometric security - navigating with fingers
- AuthenTec
- Technology
- Customers
- Prospects
- Outlook for fingerprint sensors
D.5 Haptics
- Haptic deployments
Immersion
- Core technology
- Customer base
- Deployment plans
- Prospects
The future of haptics
E. CONTROL SURFACES
E.1 Technologies
- Thin-film resistive
Capacitance detection
Haptics
Finger vs. stylus
- The advantages of finger control
- The advantages of stylus control
- Microsoft and UIQ
Outlook for screen-based control surfaces
E.2 Control surface implementations
- Soft interfacing
- Soft keyboards
- Keyboard replacement opportunities
- Soft controls
- Outlook for soft interfacing
-
- Discrete zone control surfaces
- Multifunction control surfaces
- Case study - The Alloy’s Polygon concept design
- Deployment plans
E.3 Control surface companies
- Quantum Research Group
- Core technology
- Customer base
- Deployment plans
- Prospects
-
- Synaptics
- Core technology
- Customer base
- Deployment Plans
- Prospects
- Eleksen
- Core technology
- Customer base
- Deployment plans
- Prospects
F. MARKET TRENDS: 2007 TO 2011
F.1 Device fragmentation and specialisation
F.2 The growth of control surfaces
F.3 The ultra-conservative user
- Posture shifting
F.4 Gaming
F.5 Input interface forecasts: 2007 to 2011
- Methodology
Results
F.6 How many buttons will the handsets have in 5 years?
List of Figures
Figure 1 - A typical 12-key phone keypad
Figure 2 - Popular phone handset form factors
Figure 3 - Two soft keys mounted directly below the screen
Figure 4 - The Maltron Keyboard combines a DVORAK layout with a bowl shape
Figure 5 - The Kinesis Keyboard is bowl-shaped but with a standard QWERTY layout
Figure 6 - The PF-3000, the first PDA
Figure 7 - The Psion Organiser
Figure 8 - The Psion Series 5, featuring a fold-out keyboard capable of supporting touch typing
Figure 9 - The Casio PF-8000
Figure 10 - The Apple Newton
Figure 11 - The Palm Pilot
Figure 12 - The Graffiti reduced-stroke alphabet
Figure 13 - The HalfKeyboard from Matias
Figure 14 - The AgendaA PDA featuring a chording keyboard in addition to "ABC" buttons
Figure 15 - The traditional 12-button keypad
Figure 16 - The Nokia 6800 features an innovative folding keyboard
Figure 17 - The JAM from iMate offers a pen-driven interface
Figure 18 - Breakdown of handset messages composition by input technology - 2006
Figure 19 - Blackberry 5810 (early model)
Figure 20 - Micro-QWERTY keyboard on the Blackberry 7100g
Figure 21 - The Nokia E61 supports the Blackberry push email client
Figure 22 - The Nokia 3650’s a distinctive keypad
Figure 23 - Nokia 3660; similar to the 3650 but different keypad
Figure 24 - The LG Chocolate Phone features buttons based on a capacitance control surface for style
Figure 25 - The Sony Ericsson W850i with dedicated media buttons
Figure 26 - The Nokia 7380
Figure 27 - Nokia’s AEON concept design handset with no physical keys, only control surfaces
Figure 29 - Handwriting recognition on the Sony Ericsson K558
Figure 30 - The traditional 12-button keypad
Figure 31 - Schematic of a handset button
Figure 32 - The Motorola RAZR, with flat keypad
Figure 33 - Selection of keypad designs from Silitech
Figure 34 - Keypad supplier market share: 2006
Figure 50 - Zi’s Qix uses predictive text to search for handset applications and content
Figure 51 - Decuma handwriting recognition
Figure 35 - Email-centric handsets with slab form factor: Blackberry 8700, Motorola Q, Nokia E61, Samsung SGH-i320 and HTC’s Excalibur
Figure 36 - Mini-keyboard slider and swiveler: O2’s XDA IIs and T-Mobile’s MDA IV
Figure 37 - The Nokia Communicator: part phone, part laptop
Figure 38 - The Sony Ericsson P910 and P990
Figure 39 - A micro-QWERTY keyboard on the Blackberry 7100
Figure 40 - The Ogo, a micro-QWERTY keyboard for a data-centric device
Figure 41 - UIQ soft keyboard
Figure 42 - SR keyboard on a Pocket PC handset using Spb’s Full Screen Keyboard application
Figure 43 - A mock-up showing how the VKB Keyboard could be integrated into a handset
Figure 44 - VKB keyboard projector box
Figure 45 - A Fastap keypad
Figure 46 - The LG 6190 has been deployed with a Fastap keyboard
Figure 47 - Contemporary handset design featuring Fastap
Figure 48 - The Twiddler 2 chording interface
Figure 49 - Proof of concept handset design incorporating a Twiddler 2 chording interface
Figure 52 - The Nokia 7280: minimalist interfacing fitted into the ‘lipstick’ phone
Figure 53 - Two soft keys mounted directly below the screen
Figure 54 - Scroll-wheel on the Blackberry 8700
Figure 55 - A jog dial
Figure 56 - Scroll-wheel on the Samsung SGH-i300
Figure 57 - Side-mounted scrolling control surface on the HTC Excalibur
Figure 58 - 5-way navigation control surface on the LG Chocolate (KG800)
Figure 59 - Trackball on the HTC Artemis
Figure 60 - MyOrigo offered a motion-sensing-driven interface
Figure 61 - Sharp V603SH, using motion sensing to enhance games
Figure 62 - The Nintendo Wii
Figure 63 - The WX 310J and LG LP3800 handsets with built in fingerprint readers
Figure 64 - The layers making up a resistive touch-screen
Figure 66 - Stylus-driven (left) and finger-driven (right) user interfaces compared
Figure 67 - A soft keyboard in the Pocket PC SIP
Figure 68 - Soft keyboard on a Pocket PC handset using Spb’s Full Screen Keyboard application
Figure 69 - The FITALY Keyboard, designed to be perfect
Figure 70 - Changeable media player controls on Pocket PC
Figure 71 - The Apple iPod is renowned for its control surface
Figure 72 - The clamshell version of the LG Chocolate Phone is equally stylish
Figure 73 - The dual-function keypad and control surface on the Pantech PG-2800
Figure 74 - The Polygon concept phone from The Alloy
Figure 75 - The Polygon’s changing application input interfaces
Figure 76 - Control surface buttons on the Samsung SPH-B3100
Figure 77- Eleksen control surface built into a jacket
Figure 78 - The Tabbed Panel solves no problems, but has quickly become essential
Figure 79 - Proportion of handset models containing the main interface technologies: 2006
Figure 80 - Keypad and keyboard handset model forecast: 2006 - 2011
Figure 81 - 5-way and fingerprint sensor navigation handset model forecast: 2006 - 2011
Figure 82 - Control surface handset model forecast: 2006 - 2011
Figure 83 - Voice dialling handset model forecast: 2006 - 2011
List of Tables
Table 1 - The ASCII character set
Table 2 - Main keypad suppliers to Tier-1 handset OEMs
Table 3 - Handwriting recognition support by the leading smartphone operating systems
Table 4 - Input speeds (words per minute) of text entry technologies compared
Table 5 - Voice Command & Control functions available by date
Table 6 - Handset models using AuthenTec’s TrueNav
Table 7 - Factors driving and opposing take-up of each input interface
Table 8 - The impact the deployment of each interface has on other interfaces
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