Haptic feedback for Android handsets

Immersion Corporation has announced that its VibeTonz Platform is now available for inclusion in mobile handsets running Google’s open source Android operating system.

VibeTonz is already installed in over 40 million handsets, and provides a critically controlled touch feedback system for a variety of features.

“With more sophisticated features and increasing user demand for both ease-of-use and elegance of design, haptics is key to helping device makers deliver products that delight customers.

"Haptics also lets operators and content developers capitalise on a market opportunity for clearly differentiated and engaging content and services,” says Immersion Corporation’s Craig Vachon.

Such a precision use of a haptics system has been seen recently in the BlackBerry Storm, which provides tactile feedback when a touchscreen button is pressed - to the point at which many users suspect the Storm’s touchscreen must be pressure sensitive with a physical actuator beneath the screen.

The use of VibeTonz isn’t limited to virtual button presses, however, and can be used in all kinds of multimedia applications to add a great deal of depth to the user’s interaction with messages and alerts, scrolling, ringtones, games, music, video, location-based services and mobile (least exciting of all) advertising.

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