The ClearPad 3000 is Synaptics' new top-of-the-line capacitive touchscreen, designed for high-end phones, gaming systems (PSP GoFaster?) and other fancy mobile gear. It has 48 sensing channels, so it'll pick up 10 fingers at once, and it scales up to 8-inch screens with narrower borders than their current ClearPad 2000 touchscreens (which senses two fingers and is used in HTC's Android handsets like the G1, among other phones).

Their other new touchscreen is the ClearPad 1000, a cheap capacitive designed to destroy crappy resistive touchscreens once and for all (read here for the difference between various kinds of touchscreens, though as a shorthand, phones with good touchscreens like the Pre, iPhone, Storm and G1 use capacitive). It only supports one finger, but it's supposed to be more accurate and work better with OLED screens.

Bottom line, touchscreens should get even better over the next year. [Synaptics]

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.

This video is more than a little programmer oriented, but it does clearly portray the possible functionality of both Android multitouch and the G1's touchscreen (see a Google Maps simulation around 4 minutes) as well as the unavoidable limitations (the Synaptics touchscreen was not physically designed for multitouch, and thereby has some problematic though predictable issues).

Like we've said before, Android really is quite promising. And I, for one, can't wait until it's done cooking (or at least until everyone stops fearing Apple's multitouch patents). For those with G1s interested in duplicating this demo, Hutch has provided all of his software with full instructions on his site. [Luke Hutch via phandroid]

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.

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]

Let me respond by saying the Hard Button Will Never Die!–Brian Lam

Onyx Concept Phone gives birth to twins: iPhone and LG KE850 [myiphone.com]

The UI works as a Flash interface over Windows CE underneath, which lets the user do things like drag and drop, double click, and scroll with just a finger. Still just a prototype, the phone should be even smaller and faster when it's closer to production. – Jason Chen

Bonus video after the jump.

Synaptics Onyx Concept: Live Demo Captured on Video!
feature [Slashgear]

a phone call to Onyx can be answered by simply holding it to your cheek, messages sent by swiping them off the screen with the whole finger.

Though this is just a concept, Synaptics says the first phone using this technology will be out sometime this year. Slashgear is taking a wild stab and thinking it may be used in the iPhone, but we'll believe it when we see it. – Jason Chen

Synaptics and Pilotfish Collaborate to Develop Next Generation Mobile Phone Concept [Slashgear]