Touch Screens

A brief history on touchscreens

E. A Johnson was the first to describe and published the idea of a touchscreen in 1965. The first touchscreen was developed in the early 1970s by CERN engineers Frank beck and Bent Stumpe. The physical product was first created and utilized in 1973. George Samuel Hurst developed the first resistive touch screen in1975, however, this wasn't produced and used until 1982.

Why is a touch screen an input device?

Any computer device (including a touch screen) that takes input from the person operating the device is considered an input device. The way you use your finger on a touch screen is very similar to how you use a computer mouse on a desktop computer.

Note

Technically speaking, a touch screen is an input/output device. Not only is it capable of accepting input, but it also displays the output from the computer.

The difference between the touch screen and a mouse

A touch screen and a computer mouse have many things in common. Some of these are mentioned in the section on how to use a touch screen

One of the most significant differences between a mouse and a touch screen is the ability to hover. Almost all touch screens can only detect input when your finger is in direct contact with the screen. However, a computer mouse uses a cursor that allows the user to view the information by moving the pointer over an object but not clicking it. For example, this link to Computer Hope shows the text "Visit the Computer Hope Page" when hovered over using a computer mouse. However, a user with a touch screen cannot see this text because it opens the link if they place their finger on the link.

Note

Some web pages and apps may simulate the hover feature by making the first tap do the hover feature and the second tap open the link or app. Also, some Apple devices use Force Touch, which offers features similar to hovering.

Advantages of a touch screen

Below are the reasons a manufacturer may decide to use a touch screen instead of another input method, such as physical buttons.

1. Touch screens are intuitive, especially to younger generations of users.

2. Having one touch screen instead of several buttons can make a device smaller.

3. Cheaper to design and manufacture a device with one screen instead of one with a screen and buttons.

Touch screens and keyboards

Touch screens utilize a virtual keyboard to input letters and numbers that allow the user to tap the virtual keys with their finger. Also, devices like smartphones and tablets have voice recognition that inputs information into the device.