10-finger multi-touch touchscreen devices inbound

Social gaming and better accuracy promised

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22 July 2009 14:00 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Touchscreen phones are likely to get even more touchy feely if one of the major providers of the technology has its way.

Synaptics, one of the largest touchscreen makers in the industry, has announced its latest touchscreen technology offering, ClearPad 3000, promising 10-finger multi-touch support to phone makers across the world.

The company that currently provides the touchscreen technology for many of the big phone brands such as LG, HTC, and Samsung hopes the move will allow phone or device users greater accuracy as well as opening up the possibilities of social gaming.

In a demo shown to Pocket-lint, the new technology will allow two players to use the same device with the technology monitoring both sets of hands and fingers independently.

The company is hoping that designers and software engineers that have been reluctant to allow multi-touch in the past will now feel safe to do so.

"The public is only just getting used to the idea of touchscreen", Andrew Hsu the company's Technology Strategist told Pocket-lint, before reminding us that the iPhone has only been available since 2007.

The new technology is already winging its way to handset manufacturers, says Hsu, with the company hoping "to see the new technology in new devices before the end of the year."

As to who might be launching a 10-finger multi-touch screen, Hsu wasn't saying, suggesting only that the company works with a number of parties, some he could mention, others he could not.

In addition to ClearPad 3000 touchscreen technology, the company is also launching ClearPad 1000 that aims to bring touchscreen technologies to the lower end of the smartphone market, a move that might spell an end to resistive touchscreens altogether.