AceNik's Portal

Synaptics, best known for developing the Zune Pad and Android G1 screen, have unveiled two new multitouch gestures for their PC touchpads: two-finger flick and ChiralRotate. Two-finger flick is fairly self explanatory — you swipe your finger from side to side on the trackpad and it will move through a series of files, such as photos, and initiate different app-specific “modes” with a flick up or down. ChiralRotate lets you move your finger in a circular motion on the trackpad, and it will move through a series of images in full screen or slideshow mode.

ChiralRotate is similar to the previously released ChiralMotion, but where ChiralMotion just controlled scroll functions inside a window, applications can take advantage of ChiralRotate in more specific ways, like a full screen photo viewer app where the ability to scroll is not present. These gestures must be supported by applications specifically (and not just Windows in general), but there are currently 100 applications that will work with the older gestures and Synaptics expects many more apps will work with the new ones in the near future.

Tons of computers now feature compatible Synaptics trackpads, including the Voodoo Envy 133. These gestures are available now and can be enabled with a quick update to the OEM-included software. [Synaptics]

Synaptics Adds Two Innovative Advanced Gestures to its Growing Library of TouchPad™ Gesture Recognition
Synaptics TouchPads Enabled With ChiralRotate™ and Two-Finger Flick Make Notebooks and Peripheral Keyboards More Intuitive and Easier to Use

TOKYO, Japan –Sept. 30, 2008 – Synaptics Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNA), a leading developer of human interface solutions for mobile computing, communications and entertainment devices, today announced the availability of two new advanced gestures— ChiralRotate and Two-Finger Flick. These gestures join the company’s expanding portfolio of gesture recognition capabilities for Synaptics TouchPads used in popular notebooks and peripheral keyboards.

• ChiralRotate lets users move one finger in a circular motion to rotate images and graphics within applications, quickly and easily.

• Two-Finger Flick enables users, depending on the application, to either use two fingers to flick horizontally to navigate back-and-forth through images, documents and objects, or to flick vertically to minimize and maximize an application.

Consistent with previous Synaptics gestures (ChiralMotion™, Pinch and Momentum) announced earlier this year, ChiralRotate and Two-Finger Flick are compatible with hundreds of Microsoft Windows applications and offer tremendous value and productivity to any notebook or peripheral keyboard that integrates Synaptics’ industry-leading TouchPad™ touch-sensitive interfaces. The ChiralMotion gesture has gone through multiple usability tests, which have consistently demonstrated that continuous circular movement of the finger on the TouchPad is the most desirable, natural gesture for users to perform.

“The addition of ChiralRotate and Two-Finger Flick are the most recent examples of Synaptics’ ongoing commitment to driving innovation and improved usability to all types of PC applications,” said Mark Vena, vice president of Synaptics’ PC Business Unit. “Consumer and business users alike are always looking for ways to do things faster and more intuitively on their notebook systems and PC peripherals, and these new Synaptics gestures are aimed at delivering just that.”

Working with photos and graphics becomes much more efficient when using a TouchPad enhanced with ChiralRotate or Two-Finger Flick. Users can review images quickly with Two-Finger Flick and rotate them within popular Windows applications with ChiralRotate, all without taking their fingers off the TouchPad. These gestures join other gesture options, such as Synaptics ChiralMotion™ technology – an advanced gesture that provides an innovative alternative to conventional scrolling. As an added convenience, all Synaptics TouchPad settings, including gesture functionality, can be turned on or off with the highly intuitive Synaptics Control Panel that is incorporated into most OEM notebook systems.

Availability: These new enhanced gesture options are available now on Synaptics TouchPads for PC notebook and keyboard devices. For more information on Synaptics’ ChiralRotate and Two-Finger Flick, visit www.synaptics.com/technology/chiral.cfm.