IT Application and Tools in Business

Prelims (Touch Screen and Tablet Computing)

Touch Screen - a display screen that is sensitive to the touch of a finger or stylus.
Widely used on ATM machines, retail point-of-sale terminals, car navigation systems,
medical monitors and industrial control panels.

In Addition, Some touch screens can also detect objects such as a Stylus or
Specially Coated Gloves. The user can use the touch screen to react to what is
displayed and to control how it is displayed 

Common Devices that use Touch Screen Technology

1. Personal Digital Assistants (PDA)

2. Satellite Navigation Devices
3. Smartphone
4. Tablet Computers
5. Game Consoles
6. Museum Displays kiosk
7. Automated Teller Machines (ATM)
8. Room Automation

History of Touch Screen Technology

1965 – 1967 - E. A. Johnson who worked at the Royal Radar Establishment in

Malvern, UK designed the concept of capacitive touch screen via a short article and
continued doing so until he was able to illustrate his point with photographs and
diagrams. He was able to publish a full description of touch screen technology for air
traffic control in an article in 1968.

1971 – Sam Hurst (founder of Elographics) developed a resistive “touch sensor”

while teaching at the University of Kentucky. What he invented was known as the
Elograph.

1973 - Frank Beck and Bent Stumpe, engineers from CERN (Conseil Européen pour
la Recherché Nucléaire or European Organization for Nuclear Research) developed
a transparent touch screen. This touch screen was based on Bent Stumpe's work at a
television factory in the early 1960s.

1990s - In 1993, Apple released the Newton PDA, equipped with handwriting
recognition; and IBM released the first smart phone called Simon, which featured a
calendar, note pad, and fax function, and a touch screen interface that allowed users to
dial phone numbers. In 1996, Palm entered the PDA market and advanced touch screen
technology with its Pilot series.
2004 – Nintendo released Nintendo DS and introduced distinctive new features to
handheld gaming: an LCD screen working in tandem with a touch screen, a built-
in microphone, and support for wireless connectivity. The Nintendo DS also features the
ability for multiple DS consoles to directly interact with each other over Wi-Fi within a
short range without the need to connect to an existing wireless network.

2007 – Apple released its latest gadget the iPhone. The first concept for an iPhone
type device came about in 2000 when Apple worker John Casey sent some concept art
around via internal email, he called it the Telipod - a telephone and iPod combination.

***Note: It was Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs who directed Apple's engineers to

develop a touch screen, mobile phone. Jobs at first, was considering an Apple tablet
computer; that desire eventually manifested in the iPad. ***

Types of Touch Screen

1. Resistive - A resistive touch screen is composed of multiple layers, which are

separated by thin spaces. It responds when pressure is applied to its surface, causing
the layers to touch. This means that a resistive touch screen requires more pressure
than a capacitive touch screen, so users may feel as though they have to press much
harder on the screen to get the phone to recognize their input.

***Note: The benefit of a resistive touch screen is that the screen can be controlled by
an input device such as a Stylus. ***

2. Capacitive - Capacitive touch screens are those that respond to the electrical
properties of the human body. This means that they can be controlled by a light touch,
and don't require the user to exert heavy pressure on the screen.

***Note: The drawback to a capacitive touch screen, though, is that it usually

cannot be controlled by a gloved finger or stylus. ***

Kinds of Capacitive Touch Screens

1. Surface Capacitance
2. Projected Capacitance
3. Mutual Capacitance
4. Self Capacitance