What on earth is 'Haptic Feedback'?

When referring to mobile phones and similar devices, ‘haptic feedback’ generally means the use of vibrations from the device's vibration alarm to denote that a touchscreen button has been pressed. In this particular example, the phone would vibrate slightly in response to the user's activation of an on-screen control, making up for the lack of a normal tactile response that the user would experience when pressing a physical button.

The road to true tactile feedback systems in touchscreen smartphones has been littered with half-baked, so-called “haptic” feedback solutions that do little more than vibrate the entire handset with every touchscreen input.

The problem with touchscreen tech is that the glass or plastic display doesn’t convey the same button-press feedback that make physical keys so attractive to many. So, the main aim was to create a feedback system that gives the user key-press feedback by means of vibrations or raised bumps. The ultimate goal is to localize and isolate the feedback sensation to the area under the finger. And Nokia N97 does just that.

In the Nokia N97 Launch Video, one can clearly notice the ripples on the screen giving user a pure touch sensation. And that is what haptic feedback is all about. Technology, as we can see, is moving, or should I say running towards a complete and total HUMAN experience.

And am sure it makes you (and me ofcourse) want to run and own this device. By the time its launched, here's another video to keep you N-gaged!