Gizmodo: VibeTonz

Nokia Bringing Tactile Feedback To Touchscreen Phones

kthompson — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 20:59:32 EDT

The technology that makes phones like the LG Prada wiggle is now coming to Nokia phones. A new partnership with developer Immersion opens the doors for Nokia phones to get tactile feedback from touchscreen interfaces using VibeTonz software, so typing on the virtual keyboard feels more like using the real thing.

Other applications include user interface enhancements and multimedia applications like mobile games and downloadable goodies. No official word yet from Nokia on when they will start rolling out new phones equipped with this feature, but expect them sooner rather than later as Nokia continues to quietly compete with the likes of Apple, LG and Samsung.
[via Extreme Tech]

Samsung Intros SCH-W559 ShakyPhone

Charlie White — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 08:18:29 EST

The Samsung SCH-W559 cellphone has no numeric keypad, and why should it? After Apple's iPhone rollout, keypads to seem so last month. But entering phone numbers on a touchscreen might present a problem—there's no tactile feedback.

The solution? Samsung builds in VibeTonz to play along with virtual button pushes, giving you adjustable vibrating tactile feedback, whether you're entering data with your finger or that yucky stylus. Sort this out with me.

Samsung is already acquainted with Immersion's VibeTonz—whose shaky vibrations (introduced a year ago) already accompany ringtones and a games in its more-conventional SCH-a870 clamshell rolled out last summer. But the idea to incorporate touch feedback for entries on a touchscreen is a new way to use the shaky stuff.

Seems shaky to me. All that shaking would just drain the battery. Is it worth the sacrifice in battery life? – Charlie White

Samsung goes touchy feely [Mobile Entertainment]

Samsung SCH-a870 Family-Friendly Cellphone With VibeTonz

Gizloco — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 12:39:40 EDT

Samsung and Verizon Wireless just unleashed the SCH-a870 onto the mobile phone market in the US. The clamshell is being marketed as a family-friendly cellphone, so don't expect too many whizz-bang features here.

What you will find on the SCH-a870 are some of the little nickel-and-dime services that Verizon Wireless is in love with nowadays, like Get It Now. The cellphone also boasts VibeTonz, some gimmicky vibration feature that bounces in correlation with the beat of games and ring tones.

Samsung rates the SCH-a870 as having 200 minutes of talk time or up to 170 hours while on standby mode. Speakerphone and Bluetooth round out the by-the-numbers cellphone, which costs $49.99 (with $50 rebate) after selling your soul to Verizon Wireless for two years. – Nicholas Deleon

Product Page [Samsung via Slashphone]

VibeTonz, Ring Tones' New Friend

Charlie White — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 17:42:08 EST

As if having to put up with everyone else's bad taste in ring tones wasn't annoying enough, now we have to witness total strangers writhing in ecstasy. Ladies and gentlemen, check out VibeTonz, embedded technology that gives users a choice of how they'd like their cellphones to vibrate. First out of the gate with this jittery new feature will reportedly be Samsung, with a model using VibeTonz that s due to hit the streets before too long. Now, cellphones can vibrate in concert with the ring tones they're playing, gamers can feel the recoil when they blast away, and lovers can simulate a heartbeat with passionate vibrations. Perhaps it will cost extra to download a series of rhythmic pulses which steadily speeds up to a pile-driving climax.

There could be a plus side to this technology, though—these new VibeTonz could be so pleasingly effective that they draw people away from ringtones altogether. We can only hope. Of course, dear reader, we re not talking about your ring tones. They're the epitome of coolness, of course.

Is VibeTonz the next big thing? [TechDigest]