Mac-Style Clickable Trackpads on Their Ways to PC Portables
Mac-Style Clickable Trackpads on Their Ways to PC Portables
Posted 06/04/2009 at 2:00pm
| by Andy Salisbury
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Back in October 2008 Apple introduced the buttonless trackpad with their newest generation of MacBooks. Now, at long last, Synaptics is posed to bring them to smaller PC notebooks and netbooks.
At Computex Synaptics is currently demonstrating their implementation of the new trackpad, which they’re calling the ClickPad. Currently supported gestures include two-finger scrolling, two-finger PinchZoom, two-finger pivot rotate, three-finger flick, and three-finger press gestures (and, if you were worried about this type of thing – you can right-click by tapping down on the ClickPad with two fingers, as opposed to one).
This technology will be available to OEMs in Q3 of 2009.
Image Credit: Synaptics
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D.E.
June 05, 2009 at 10:34am
"Mac Style."
Except the Macs didn't feature this technology first or anything and that mentioning them is probably just to get some small flame wars going on. There is no reason to say "Mac Style". What would you guys say for the Zune. "It has a Mac Style touchscreen interface."
nekollx
June 05, 2009 at 10:38am
at best you could say Mac REFINED the style.
In fact that Italics you see...i did it with my XPS 1530 track pad...
MacimumPC
June 05, 2009 at 9:52am
You guys are so funny. Here's an idea: Crawl out of the stone age and try something new. These trackpads are odd at first to get used to, but once you figure it out, it's a piece of cake. The idea is to give much more trackpad space and still have a button. Have you seen some of the trackpads on just about all non-Apple laptops? They're tiny. Ridiculously tiny. Apple, whether you like it or not, has the right idea by giving the consumer a much more generous helping of trackpad which makes it and the computer easier to use. It's fun to watch the innovations that Apple puts out getting slowly gobbled up by the Windows OEMs. Even more fun than that is to predict how long it takes for an article about Apple tech to show up on MaxPC and to be completely bashed by all-hands on deck. When I see a headline with "Apple" or "Mac" in the title, I envision all you hardcore Windows PC users rushing to man your battle-stations. The comments are incredibly predictable and usually show just how close minded you people really are to true innovation. Maybe I drink the Steve Jobs kool-aid, but apparently so do the Windows OEMs.
Anchors aweigh! (Or for those of you who are nautically-challenged...flame away!)
Bless
June 05, 2009 at 2:15am
I hope this apple pad doesnt make things harder since the pad that we have right now is already hard to used, especially if u have long nails. there are times when I have to use both hands just to drag. kinda made me look clumsy. I much prefer to use a mouse tho, since I can drag things with just one hand. maybe if they can create a better device to put in a laptop??
hbodek
June 04, 2009 at 8:40pm
if you press on an aluminum macbook trackpad, it clicks. if you set it up right, they are one of the easiest things to use.
grayscare0
June 04, 2009 at 6:24pm
Those trackpads suck horribly. They're aggravating to use and inferior to normal trackpads in terms of both precision and ease of use.
nmanguy
June 04, 2009 at 6:03pm
Every Dell I've used since 2004 or so has that "click whenI tap" thing. Hell, every laptop nowadays seems to have it.
zippzom
June 04, 2009 at 2:52pm
I think the idea is that they don't have any buttons. I hate that, it is my biggest pet peeve to do with macbooks, besides their price.
Havok
June 04, 2009 at 5:25pm
A girl came into the store where I work to, believe it or not, have me make a .pdf for her. (classic apple user there) She had a new Macbook with one of these 'no button' touchpads. I FRACKIN' COULDN'T EVEN CLICK AND DRAG WITH THAT PIECE OF CRAP!
Apple really knows how to piss off and piss on the masses. They're probably yellin "Jarate Chop!" right now.
OMGWTFBBQ
arkweld
June 04, 2009 at 7:16pm
you can't use a Macbook trackpad? Ha, that's hilarious. I hope you don't work in any tech-related store because gesture based clicks and swipes on Macbooks are so simple to use my mother could do it within 5 minutes. And she's 60 years old and never even used a laptop!
You might want to stay away from Surface, that could give you a brain hemorrhage. Watch out for those Wacom tablets too. They could blow your mind.
Havok
June 05, 2009 at 4:52am
I can click and drag with buttons, hell even with those little red dotthings you find on old IBM laptops. Have you seen or used a new Macbook touchpad? NO buttons. Just a big blank pad.You try it yourself before you criticize me. And while tablet technology baffles me in how it works, I have a Wacom and it's even easier to use than a Mac. Plus the store I work in no longer supports Apple crap so I'm safe ;)
OMGWTFBBQ
nekollx
June 04, 2009 at 2:33pm
uh...my 3 year old dell can click when i press the touch pad...this is...new?
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