Adding the right touch and feel

COMMUNICATION

I think I first encountered a touch screen at a cash dispensing (ATM). I remember first looking for a keypad, finding none and then looking at the attendant, who, in turn, pointed to the screen and showed his finger "" not rudely. I also recall jabbing the screen repeatedly to'click', thus taking a little longer to finish the transaction.

The next one was at a crowded museum in Washington, I think. There wasn't exactly a crowd around the screen-cum-information kiosk though. Touch screens have been one of those things you were not sure they were there to help you or make life difficult. On closer inspection, it seemed like a cool technology which never found the right killer application; like many other innovations in the tech universe.

That is till the iPhone came along. Suddenly, it's all about being touchy and 'freely'. A host of gadgets from, let's say, a Sony Cyber-shot DSC T200 to interactive whiteboards already in use in some schools in the US, to of course, an increasing number of iPhone clones, are going touch. There is even a touch screen door lock (EZON) from Samsung! Evidently, anyone building a consumer interface hereon will create a touch screen variant if not converting entirely to touch.

Apple may have universalised the touch phenomenon, against considerable scepticism, I might add. As the iPhone-Touch model grows in popularity, it struck me that it's worth asking if touch computing could find more differentiated applications, particularly in a market like India? Broadly, yes. Because touch computing can act as a deeper bridge between potential non-literate users and the larger 'network' of computers and information.

That's because far more touch interaction can happen with images rather than text and numbers on a screen. Read kids and non-literate users. It does not take a genius to figure this out, but it's obviously an avenue not fully explored. My sense also is that as you see more and more people using fingers to interact with gadgets, you will get more comfortable doing it yourself. Ask me, I am a classic convert.

And can Microsoft be too far behind in such a game such as this? Obviously not, particularly after it showcased its own Surface concept. Simply put it's a touch screen which sits like a coffee table so you can use your hands to draw, pull, push, expand and contract images. I recall Bill Gates quoted, saying the Surface is remarkably intuitive because it's remarkably similar to what people do in everyday life. And this, according to him, would make the world of information and entertainment far more accessible.

I couldn't agree more. Though Surface is not commercially (read more at www.microsoft.com/surface) available nor perhaps too viable at this point, this is a way to go. So I would argue that a country like India needs to look at public consumer interface points once again to see how a combination of good design, software and touch screens can increase access. It could take computing much further than its gone right now.

To give you an example, perhaps railway tickets or coupons are a pain to sell through automated vending machines. Or are not installed in more places because there may be a feeling that people maybe unable to read. That could change. So can the next generation of cash ATMs. I am sure people are thinking about this but are figuring out other aspects as well, such as overall cost. But increase accessibility and cost might take care of itself.

The big task in my mind will be creating the right surface cover to grapple with fingers that are frequently immersed in various combinations of dal makhni, sambar-rice, tandoori chicken and butter nan. That's one challenge both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates should look forward to.

govindraj@business-standard.com