SMART PHONES such as the Apple iPhone are jammed with stand-alone components and telecommunications hardware.

SMART PHONES such as the Blackberry Storm are jammed with stand-alone components and telecommunications hardware.

SCREEN in the iPhone and Storm is a “projected, mutual-capacitance” touch screen. Drive electrodes carry battery current and cross over sensing electrodes....[More]

SCREEN in the iPhone and Storm is a “projected, mutual-capacitance” touch screen. Drive electrodes carry battery current and cross over sensing electrodes. When a conductive object such as a fingertip touches the screen, it alters the mutual capacitance across neighboring sensing electrodes, defining the point of contact. Most screens handle one touch at a time, but the iPhone multi-touch screen can respond to two fingers simultaneously.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

CLICK SENSATION in the Storm gives users tactile feedback when they press a virtual key on the screen. The entire suspended screen depresses slightly, and a dimple on the back side impinges on a microswitch....[More]

CLICK SENSATION in the Storm gives users tactile feedback when they press a virtual key on the screen. The entire suspended screen depresses slightly, and a dimple on the back side impinges on a microswitch. The switch pushes back up in response.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

Accelerometer senses when someone turns a phone from a vertical to horizontal orientation, so software can reshape imagery to fill the screen. In STMicroelectronics’s three-axis, microelectromechanical design, when a free mass (blue) held by springs moves, attached capacitor plates pass by fixed plates, divulging the direction and extent of motion in the x and y planes....[More]

Accelerometer senses when someone turns a phone from a vertical to horizontal orientation, so software can reshape imagery to fill the screen. In STMicroelectronics’s three-axis, microelectromechanical design, when a free mass (blue) held by springs moves, attached capacitor plates pass by fixed plates, divulging the direction and extent of motion in the x and y planes. A second sensor (green) on the same chip tracks movement in the z direction.  [Less] [Link to this slide]