As we've mentioned in the past, BumpTop isn't a new OS or shell replacement, it just adds a 3D workspace to your desktop. The $30 mulit-touch version of the software is available now, but you'll need to have Windows 7 (and a multi-touch tablet, laptop or all-in-one PC). The good news: we're going to see a bunch of those arrive alongside the new OS on October 22. [BumpTop via TechCrunch]

Google announced that they'd be periodically adding new features for both Android and iPhone, and today they rolled out in-browser swiping gestures that are, unfortunately, Apple-only for now. It's not a huge update, but one we know joint iPhone/Gmail users will like: You can swipe left or right to bring up Gmail's Archive button, which files the email away for later use. Sweet! Now what's next? [Google via TechCrunch]

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Peregrine is manufactured by a company also named Peregrine, and their namesake USB glove was shown off this year at E3, featuring a removable USB "pod" on the top of the hand (see above pic) that makes it easy to disconnect the glove before removing it from your hand. It's due for release in late fall 2009 at a $129 price point, though it's not available for pre-sale at the moment. It might work well for certain MMORPGs, enabling quick casting of spells or whatever goes on in those games as a sort of numpad alternative. Those who've used it say it actually works quite well and doesn't feel flimsy, so despite its relatively high pricetag it might find a niche audience. [PC Mag]

Just announced at the Computex show in Taiwan, the clicking action of the Clickpad happens by pressing downward on the trackpad, eliminating the need for buttons on the bottom of the pad. Swipes, pinchzooms, rotations and scrolling are all enabled on the ClickPad, providing the same functionality as their previous multitouch trackpads.

Synaptics doesn't mention how a the ClickPad would mimic the two button mouse on Windows-based machines, but all Synaptics drivers, for the ClickPad, and the rest of their trackpad line, will be fully compliant with Windows 7.

The OEM solution will be available in the third quarter of this year (basically now), so you'll probably start to see this popping up in new laptops in late 2009/early 2010.

Synaptics Demonstrates New TouchPad™ Products and Gesture Technology at COMPUTEX

Innovative ClickPad™ Solution Delivers Improved User Experience, Incorporates Clever Three-Finger Press Gesture

Taipei, Taiwan – June 2, 2009 – Synaptics Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNA), a leading developer of human interface solutions for mobile computing, communications, and entertainment devices, is demonstrating new products and technology enhancements at COMPUTEX 2009. Synaptics will unveil its new ClickPad™ solution, an innovative touchpad for consumer and business users that want larger multi-finger gesture enabled TouchPads in smaller notebook designs, particularly netbooks, which have been the fastest growing product segment in the portable computing market over the past year. ClickPad complements the rich minimalist design trend in the notebook space by eliminating the need for traditional physical buttons and enabling the entire ClickPad to act as the button that can be "clicked" to initiate a user action.

All Synaptics ClickPads and Touchpads incorporate the latest gestures previously announced in the Synaptics Gesture Suite™ (SGS) 9.1: two-finger scrolling, two-finger PinchZoom, two-finger pivot rotate, three-finger flick, and three-finger press. For example, users can start-up their PCs using the three-finger press gesture by placing three fingers on a TouchPad and then releasing them to automatically launch from one to six user-selected applications. Synaptics ClickPads are optimized for all laptops and ideal for space constrained netbooks where real estate is at a premium in the palmrest. ClickPad is available with an innovative mechanical assembly that will provide optimized performance for notebook PC designs, ranging from sleek netbooks to large desktop replacement portables.

Synaptics is also announcing that its entire SGS 9.1-enabled TouchPad family is Microsoft Windows 7 ready. This signifies that Synaptics' highly regarded software driver, which offers the best pointing performance and gesture functionality in the PC industry, has passed Microsoft's rigorous Win 7 Logo testing and will be available on time for the release of Windows 7 on leading OEM designs later in the year.

In addition, Synaptics DualMode™ TouchPad is now available to support "under plastic" designs and provides OEMs with excellent consumer appeal and differentiation, enabling OEMs to add custom 0D buttons and 1D scrolling support directly on the TouchPad surface, thereby enhancing TouchPad functionality to enable new features like multimedia controls. Synaptics DualMode TouchPad transforms a traditional Synaptics TouchPad from a navigation device to a launch and control center with the touch of a button. When users tap on the mode switch button in the top right corner of the TouchPad, LEDs illuminate icons on the surface of the TouchPad. Now available under a plastic coating for the most vibrant image, DualMode allows OEMs to customize the feature functionality of the icons to highlight key notebook features.
"
Since first introducing the revolutionary TouchPad in a notebook computer 14 years ago, Synaptics has continued to enhance its innovative technology to expand its solution portfolio and bring a more engaging, productive, and entertaining user experience to notebook PC designs," said Mark Vena, vice president of Synaptics' PC Business Unit. "With more than 350 million TouchPads shipped since 1995, Synaptics has demonstrated that it knows the notebook PC space like no other technology provider. ClickPad, DualMode and Synaptics' growing gesture portfolio underscore our on-going commitment to providing easier and more meaningful ways for people to interact with their notebooks."

These solutions will available to OEMs for integration into notebook PC platforms beginning in 3Q09. Synaptics will be showing these new products during COMPUTEX at the Grand Hyatt Taipei, Suite #1010, by appointment only. To arrange for a demonstration, contact Niamh Conlon at nconlon@synaptics.com.

Gameplay:

Interaction With Milo:


[GameTrailers.com]

Although the slides are two years old, the info in them coincide with recent reveals, such as Zune HD mockups and Windows Mobile devices interacting with other home devices, like PCs and TVs. Thus, she connects the dots and assumes the other stuff on the slides—the motion stuff—are also going to be in Windows Mobile 7.

It's not a whole lot of concrete proof, but gesturing to control your phone may be pretty cool, provided Microsoft gets it right. [ZDNet]

The SmartTrack Neo is a external USB trackpad that will allow you to use gestures to control your PC: Two fingers for scrolling and panning, victory sign to rotate, pinching to zoom in and out, and three fingers to flick through pages, photos, or whatever.

I like pinching—beyond trackpads—but why would you like to use this instead of using just a—more precise—mouse with the adequate buttons is beyond me. [Akihabara News]

If you drag your window to the top of the screen, it will maximize and fill the space completely. If you drag it to the left or right edge, it will dock it to that side and take up roughly 60% of the horizontal space (notice the silhouettes of the larger windows). Drag it back down or over in the other direction and it returns to its previous size.

It's especially helpful when you're working on computers with small screens and trackpads, where it can be a hassle to get your cursor over that tiny button to maximize or restore to normal size. Instead of a small space to aim for, you at least have the whole upper bar to work with.

View our other Windows 7 tips and our continuing coverage here.

According to the patent application, simple input commands like delete and space would be controlled with simple back and forward-swipe motions. While remapping something that is already readily available through a screen key is of minor value, this technique could also be used to introduce completely new functions, and augment the iPhone's somewhat gimped text manipulation.

To this end, the patent describes customizable functions, which could lead to multitouch gestures that trigger the deletion of entire words, switching of keyboards, or quick input of specific characters. While many users would never take to a gesture system like this, it wouldn't get in anyone's way and could be silently slotted into the next firmware update without much effort or controversy, providing a nice little feature-add for iPhone and iPod Touch users. [MacRumors]

Available now as a free universal binary, FluidTunes is a simple creature; despite what looks to be a solid gesture recognition engine, it can only control iTunes, and only in a specific Coverflow mode. Still, if all you want to do is indulge your moderately lame futuristic interface fantasy for a few minutes, well, FluidTunes can probably grant you that. [Cult of Mac]

Though you might not have Tom's trademark piercing stare while you're at it. And if you think, "holy crap, that really is like the film!" then here's the reason: maker Oblong Industrie—who dub G-Speak a "gesture-based interface with recombinant networking and real-world pixels"...wowsers—was partly founded by one of the film's science advisers. There's just one question, really: when can we have one? [Engadget via Gizmowatch]

ChiralRotate is similar to the previously released ChiralMotion, but where ChiralMotion just controlled scroll functions inside a window, applications can take advantage of ChiralRotate in more specific ways, like a full screen photo viewer app where the ability to scroll is not present. These gestures must be supported by applications specifically (and not just Windows in general), but there are currently 100 applications that will work with the older gestures and Synaptics expects many more apps will work with the new ones in the near future.

Tons of computers now feature compatible Synaptics trackpads, including the Voodoo Envy 133. These gestures are available now and can be enabled with a quick update to the OEM-included software. [Synaptics]

Synaptics Adds Two Innovative Advanced Gestures to its Growing Library of TouchPad™ Gesture Recognition
Synaptics TouchPads Enabled With ChiralRotate™ and Two-Finger Flick Make Notebooks and Peripheral Keyboards More Intuitive and Easier to Use

TOKYO, Japan –Sept. 30, 2008 – Synaptics Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNA), a leading developer of human interface solutions for mobile computing, communications and entertainment devices, today announced the availability of two new advanced gestures— ChiralRotate and Two-Finger Flick. These gestures join the company’s expanding portfolio of gesture recognition capabilities for Synaptics TouchPads used in popular notebooks and peripheral keyboards.

• ChiralRotate lets users move one finger in a circular motion to rotate images and graphics within applications, quickly and easily.

• Two-Finger Flick enables users, depending on the application, to either use two fingers to flick horizontally to navigate back-and-forth through images, documents and objects, or to flick vertically to minimize and maximize an application.

Consistent with previous Synaptics gestures (ChiralMotion™, Pinch and Momentum) announced earlier this year, ChiralRotate and Two-Finger Flick are compatible with hundreds of Microsoft Windows applications and offer tremendous value and productivity to any notebook or peripheral keyboard that integrates Synaptics’ industry-leading TouchPad™ touch-sensitive interfaces. The ChiralMotion gesture has gone through multiple usability tests, which have consistently demonstrated that continuous circular movement of the finger on the TouchPad is the most desirable, natural gesture for users to perform.

“The addition of ChiralRotate and Two-Finger Flick are the most recent examples of Synaptics’ ongoing commitment to driving innovation and improved usability to all types of PC applications,” said Mark Vena, vice president of Synaptics’ PC Business Unit. “Consumer and business users alike are always looking for ways to do things faster and more intuitively on their notebook systems and PC peripherals, and these new Synaptics gestures are aimed at delivering just that.”

Working with photos and graphics becomes much more efficient when using a TouchPad enhanced with ChiralRotate or Two-Finger Flick. Users can review images quickly with Two-Finger Flick and rotate them within popular Windows applications with ChiralRotate, all without taking their fingers off the TouchPad. These gestures join other gesture options, such as Synaptics ChiralMotion™ technology - an advanced gesture that provides an innovative alternative to conventional scrolling. As an added convenience, all Synaptics TouchPad settings, including gesture functionality, can be turned on or off with the highly intuitive Synaptics Control Panel that is incorporated into most OEM notebook systems.

Availability: These new enhanced gesture options are available now on Synaptics TouchPads for PC notebook and keyboard devices. For more information on Synaptics’ ChiralRotate and Two-Finger Flick, visit www.synaptics.com/technology/chiral.cfm.

Milpitas, CA, September 24, 2008 – Movea, Inc., the leader in motion-sensing technology for business communications, home entertainment and mobile computing, today announced the retail availability of its new Gyration Air Mouse with MotionSense technology. The compact, wireless mouse was created with the mobile professional in mind, and is designed to work in the air or on a flat surface like a desktop.

Movea’s MotionSense technology provides precise in-air motion tracking, so users can control the mouse cursor intuitively and with ease, whether delivering a PowerPoint™ presentation or watching online videos. Precision motion sensors guarantee faithful responses to natural hand movements whether in the boardroom, the living room or a cramped space, such as a seat on an airplane or train. A simple flick of the wrist will command presentations, enhanced with Movea’s GyroTools™ presentation effects, or control multimedia entertainment on a laptop, allowing users to change the volume or skip a song on iTunes™, or flip a TV channel on Slingbox™.

Weighing less than four ounces, the Air Mouse is compact enough to fit in a messenger bag, briefcase or purse, and versatile enough to be integrated with a PC or laptop from wherever a user wants to work or enjoy digital entertainment. With a sleek, ergonomic design, the Air Mouse works very comfortably for left- or right-handed consumers.

“The market for notebooks is transforming, as more people are buying them equipped with wide screens and media features, and using them not only for traditional business applications but also for entertainment access,” said Greg Smith, Vice President for Marketing at Movea Inc. “The Air-Mouse was designed with such people in mind, providing mobile workers and entertainment buffs the freedom to control their PCs whether they’re at home or on the road.”

Using a proprietary radio frequency (RF) technology, the in-air controls are effective up to 100 feet and work through walls. The Air Mouse includes a laser sensor for precise desktop tracking, making it ideal for working at a desk or other flat surface. The RF USB dongle stores conveniently inside the mouse, which ships with an elegant travel case and, due to its small size, easily packs into the smallest of handbags.

The device will be available for purchase in early October with a suggested North America retail price of $99.99. For more information on this and the family of Gyration motion-sensing products, visit www.gyration.com.

Argument Número Uno: apparently this gestures-in-the-air control requires real magic powers. Watch Helga and myself getting frustrated, trying to control the pointer on the screen.

Argument Two: I can't think of any really useful application except having the ability to control your computer without having to touch your keyboard or screen at any time—and therefore, keeping them clean of any crumbles and/or fluids.

The idea is good. The implementation is bad. Unfortunately, the whole experience is quite frustrating, and while they are showing the same technology in an experimental TV—which has greater potential—it doesn't really work well there either.

I asked the german Kirsten Dunst and she told me an example of this being useful: if you are "cooking" and have your hands dirty, you wouldn't like to touch the keyboard or the mousepad, so you can use gestures to control de computer. Fair enough, that's one market right there: "dirty hands chefs who use their computers while they are cooking".

I can see this being useful in TVs, however, replacing the remote completely. And maybe in computers too, but not for pointer dragging and clicking. That's just useless. This technology needs a completely new graphic user interface to be really successful—like the simple Wii interface or the stuff shown in Minority Report. An interface that will allow to intuitively point at something or doing a hand gesture to trigger an action.

As it is now, it just doesn't fly. What do you think? Do you think this is useful? Is there any else to this than its "wow!-what?-why?" factor? [More IFA 2008 coverage]

• There will be a OSX-like dock, though how OS X-like is yet to be seen.
• Multi-touch gestures in photogalleries like two-finger zoom, flicking, and panning. Think of the photo app on the Microsoft Surface table.
• Multi-touch paint program where you can draw with 10 fingers (again, think of what you've already seen in Surface)
• Multi-touch piano app
• In-depth mapping application that pulls from Microsoft's Live Maps and Microsoft Virtual Earth

Looks like a LOT of the multi-touch features were culled from the Surface team, and the non-touch features look fairly similar to what's already in Vista (based on the video above). Those apps are demo apps only, and will be revised/rewritten/reworked before the final version of Windows 7 is available. All this will be yours in about 18 months. [Vista Blog]

Synaptics' dynamic user interface solutions allow a variety of layout options and adaptive menus. The Boomerang demonstrates how capacitive technology and gesture recognition can improve the function of universal remote controls. Examples include:

* DualMode - highlights images of living areas on the remote TouchPad to help control home devices

* Proximity Sensing - remote activates and illuminates as user approaches and powers down when user moves away

* Feedback - remote provides visual, audio and tactile feedback to indicate when the user's command is recognized

* Dynamic Control - Gesture-based control pad customized to take full advantage of the digital home

It's unlikely that anyone but Synaptics employees and really early adopters will get to use these, seeing as any sort of motion gesture will lose out to the no-look channel change that people have gotten used to over the last few decades. [Synaptics via i4u]