The Windows 7 Engineering blog has a great post on Windows Touch and how it was developed and how devices are tested. A must read.
For instance, the article talks about the new Windows Touch logo efforts. To qualify a device has to meet several standards:
“Based on the quantitative requirements, we built an interactive test suite that includes 43 separate tests, all validating the core requirements under different conditions. There are single point accuracy tests at various locations on the screen, including the corners which are often harder for accuracy but critical to Windows. There are also several dynamic tests where accuracy is measured while drawing lines on the screen – see the screenshot below of Test 7. In this test, two lines are simultaneously drawn using touch along the black line from the start to the end. The touch tracings must remain within 2.5 mm of the black line between the start and end points.”
It’s good to see the Windows team working to ensure that devices meet minimal standards. We’re going to need quality devices to get quality experiences with Windows Touch.
The end of the post touches on a major point that purchasers of touch-capable comptures need to keep in mind. Namely, not all touch devices that run Windows 7 will support “Windows 7 Touch.” They’ll still support touch like in Vista. However, you won’t get the smooth scrolling. You’ll need a multi-touch capable device for that.
“We often get asked about single-touch PCs. Will they work with Windows 7? There are many types of hardware available for touch and many screens and PCs can provide single touch (usually based on resistive touch technology). A single-touch PC will have the same functionality on Windows 7 as it does on Vista, but this functionality will not be extended to the Windows 7 capabilities. As we noted earlier, Windows Touch in Windows 7 is comprised of a collection of touch enhancements, several of which require multitouch, that work together to deliver a great end-to-end touch experience.”
Windows 7 smooth touch scrolling is quite impressive. You’ve got to check it out. Especially if you’re a UI or application developer, you ought to check out how natural the scrolling in Windows 7 can be, just by using your fingers. Smooth touch and the inertia effects in Windows 7 are going to inspire a new round of apps that are great to use. The iPhone can’t have all the fun!
Here’s a quick-paced video that shows the various Windows 7 Touch gestures in action: