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TouchPad to Utilize On-Screen Gesture Area

By: , 3/30/2011 8:45 pm | 36 comments

As you know by now, the new HP webOS Developer Center launched today. What you may not have known is that with it came a Device Showcase page for the new phones and the TouchPad. One of our readers, Tyler, sent in a tip letting us know about some of the cool details mentioned on the Device Showcase page for the TouchPad.

Since the TouchPad lacks a dedicated gesture area, it will feature an on-screen gesture area that will presumably move based on the orientation. In HP’s exact words:

Gesture support for existing apps provided by thin on-screen strip just below cards

[Thanks for the tip Tyler. Source: HP webOS Developer Center]

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About Arthur Thornton

Arthur is an 18-year-old webOS fanboy and developer. Arthur's first experience with webOS was in August 2009 when he got a Palm Pre. Since then he's owned many of the webOS phones produced, released several loved apps into the App Catalog, and even held an internship with HP's webOS GBU. Fresh off of that internship, Arthur is back at webOSroundup as a contributor.
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  • http://gregstoll.dyndns.org/WebOS/ Greg Stoll

    Hmm…that sounds like it’s just part of the Mojo compatibility layer. I’d be surprised if new apps were encouraged (or even allowed!) to use this.

    • http://www.arthurthornton.net/ Arthur Thornton

      My thoughts too, but there isn’t any limitation mentioned on the page, so…

      • Jordan Gensler

        True, but “existing apps” implies Mojo.

        • http://twitter.com/ApMik Aploe Miktona

          There is no implication that Enyo on phones will not support the gesture area – it would be silly to ignore the geture area on Pre3 and the Veer. So I guess developers will have a choice.

          • Anonymous

            Yes, as you have to make a different “view” for your App when you want it to run on a Pre you can simply make the view for the Touchpad in such a way that you don’t need the gesture area and again hide those extra buttons in the phone-version.

            I don’t see any problem in this. And who wants it… Can still integrate that gesture area at the touchpad ;)
            But probably this will give you some problems if you want to use your App later on your PC, Printer or Toaster.

  • http://gregstoll.dyndns.org/WebOS/ Greg Stoll

    Hmm…that sounds like it’s just part of the Mojo compatibility layer. I’d be surprised if new apps were encouraged (or even allowed!) to use this.

  • http://www.hpalmnews.com HPalm News

    Any chance this is some sort of multi-finger task switching to replace advanced gestures? Something like Apple has shown off for future versions of iOS. I feel like HP and webOS have to implement this before them. They have to lead the UI innovations or else they’ll lose the one thing they have going for them.

  • Jdubbs33

    I guess I can be a little encouraged by this. I am still unhappy that there isn’t a dedicated gesture area. That’w one of the best and most differentiating aspect of the young platform, and it seems like HP is set on phasing it out. Is this Enyo thing I have been reading about really the reason?

    • Jdubbs33

      Man, so many typos in my previous post. Sorry guys and gals. Anyway, I am excited that they at least are talking about the gesture situation now. Let’s hope for the best.

  • Raun

    A positive development

  • http://AToTheT.org/ Ajay

    We can only hope this is true. Agreed itd suck for them to be behind the curve they pretty much created.

    • Anonymous

      I also love the gesture area, but I’am not sure if it would have been the best thing for HP to continue with on tablets and in the future on PCs and Printers and so on.

      You know that old saying:

      If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses. (Henry Ford)

      • http://AToTheT.org/ Ajay

        The problem with that quote is that hp is taking out the gesture because they thing thats what the avg wants. Theyre misreading trends, data and their own abilities.

        Reading the image, its clear this article is “nothing to see here” aka old news. Part of the mojo compat bit weve already discussed. Move along.

  • Alex H.

    Why wasn’t there just a gesture area to begin with??

    • Anonymous

      Costs? Usage? (accidentally pressing and using the bezel while holding your device)
      Maybe thinking about the future use of webOS on the PC where they never are going to have a touch-sensitive bezel?

      As someone above stated: It’s logical to have this on your phone, as it enables you to use it one handed. While on a tablet it doesn’t make that much of sense. So the only thing that I hope for is, that somehow the phones will keep their bezel while not loosing compatibility with the Enyo-Apps.

      A future brick-phone might also come out without this.

  • http://sorli.com sorli

    We can finally start talking about something else. Actually, it blows my brain wondering why they didn’t add it to the Touchpad in the first place or at least add the hardware and possible enable it later. Slight miss on HP/Palm’s thinking for certain. HP engineers “we didn’t think it was necessary on a tablet” and Enyo does things differently. Consistency guys and it makes me wonder if HP engineers even use Palm webOS devices? Sorli…

  • Mike D.

    If I’m not mistaken, RIM actually has this same functionality. And considering the nature of the strip (one or a few pixels), this would definitely point towards a multi-touch future (i.e. two fingers passing through it, maybe three fingers, etc.). This is actually a better way of handling it, considering that a tablet is meant to be passed around and rotated, the bezel would be too sensitive to these kinds of movements.

    Kudos on not getting rid of something that may or may not play the originality role for HP.

    • Anonymous

      Exactly what I was praying all the time too. This is only a software issue and it’s easy for HP to include it in the same way as RIM did it. As for the hardware touch-sensitive bezel: I also am a bit sad that it’s not there, but I also am not sure how well it would have worked on a tablet… So maybe the people at HP just made extensive tests and in the end there were more cons than pros for that…

  • John

    I like this all right, but I think there are better options. At first, I was a bit disturbed by the lack of a gesture area on the TouchPad, but I am starting to warm to the idea.

    First, after using the multi-touch touchpad on my netbook for a month, I am sold on multi-finger gestures. A two-finger left swipe works just as well for the back gesture as a single-finger gesture-area swipe.

    Second, the gesture area could actually hold HP back in the future. It requires a pretty large bezel, which could interfere with future hardware designs, especially on smaller tablets. It is also proprietary, meaning that any ported, third-party apps or multi-platform apps are unlikely to use it.

    Last, it is unnecessary on a tablet. In makes sense on phones because it allows for easy one-handed use. You don’t want to use a two-finger back gesture on a phone because, unless you’re some sort of mutant, you don’t have two thumbs. But, let’s face it, a tablet is a two-handed device. You’re not going to operate a 10-inch screen with your thumb. So, it makes sense to optimize gestures on a tablet for two-handed use. I think the best option is to replace the back gesture with a two-finger left swipe and allow any apps to pick it up the same as if you performed the back gesture in the gesture area. So, instead of creating a virtual gesture area, why no just create replacement gestures that can be used anywhere on the screen?

  • John

    I like this all right, but I think there are better options. At first, I was a bit disturbed by the lack of a gesture area on the TouchPad, but I am starting to warm to the idea.

    First, after using the multi-touch touchpad on my netbook for a month, I am sold on multi-finger gestures. A two-finger left swipe works just as well for the back gesture as a single-finger gesture-area swipe.

    Second, the gesture area could actually hold HP back in the future. It requires a pretty large bezel, which could interfere with future hardware designs, especially on smaller tablets. It is also proprietary, meaning that any ported, third-party apps or multi-platform apps are unlikely to use it.

    Last, it is unnecessary on a tablet. In makes sense on phones because it allows for easy one-handed use. You don’t want to use a two-finger back gesture on a phone because, unless you’re some sort of mutant, you don’t have two thumbs. But, let’s face it, a tablet is a two-handed device. You’re not going to operate a 10-inch screen with your thumb. So, it makes sense to optimize gestures on a tablet for two-handed use. I think the best option is to replace the back gesture with a two-finger left swipe and allow any apps to pick it up the same as if you performed the back gesture in the gesture area. So, instead of creating a virtual gesture area, why no just create replacement gestures that can be used anywhere on the screen?

  • Micah R

    I think the gesture area is cool but it’s like a secret handshake, you have to know it’s there to use it. One should be able to pick up any device and just start using it without having to discover it’s secrets for basic functions. And… Although the gesture is cool to show off, how many times have you had to double, triple, or more swipe to make it work? I can’t count how many times a day it happens to me, or how many times I touch it while playing a game only to bump it to card. I can do without it is what I guess I’m sayin.

    • Jdubbs33

      No disrespect, but I knew all about gestures when I got the Pre. There is nothing secretive about it. I buy that there may be a learning curve, but I don’t buy that people don’t know it’s there. Also, I never have to swipe more than once for anything. In fact, your post was the first time I had ever even heard of the issue. Either way, I am gald that there does appear to be something resembling gestures in the works.

      • Micah R

        There will no doubt be individuals that will intuitively know how to work a device which has no label on it’s exterior to say swipe me. But… Hand this phone to a person on a bus and say “now go back” and I’m sure 99% will ask you how. As for my multi-swipe issues maybe I have bum phone or I can’t do it right. Just more proof to ditch it.

        • Jdubbs33

          If you hand anyone who has never used a particular device before and tell him/her to execute any command, then you’ll run into the same issue. I feel that if you’re interested enough is a device to purchase it, then I have to believe you will at some point learn the core functionality, in which the gesture area is in that category. It’s hard for me to believe that some who owns a pre would go more than two weeks (and I am being way generous) without eventually discovering and mastering the gesture area. I (and I know I may be the minority) researched the phone inside and out and knew almost all of the core stuff before even purchasing the device.

  • Micah R

    I think the gesture area is cool but it’s like a secret handshake, you have to know it’s there to use it. One should be able to pick up any device and just start using it without having to discover it’s secrets for basic functions. And… Although the gesture is cool to show off, how many times have you had to double, triple, or more swipe to make it work? I can’t count how many times a day it happens to me, or how many times I touch it while playing a game only to bump it to card. I can do without it is what I guess I’m sayin.

  • Micah R

    I think the gesture area is cool but it’s like a secret handshake, you have to know it’s there to use it. One should be able to pick up any device and just start using it without having to discover it’s secrets for basic functions. And… Although the gesture is cool to show off, how many times have you had to double, triple, or more swipe to make it work? I can’t count how many times a day it happens to me, or how many times I touch it while playing a game only to bump it to card. I can do without it is what I guess I’m sayin.

  • Micah R

    I think the gesture area is cool but it’s like a secret handshake, you have to know it’s there to use it. One should be able to pick up any device and just start using it without having to discover it’s secrets for basic functions. And… Although the gesture is cool to show off, how many times have you had to double, triple, or more swipe to make it work? I can’t count how many times a day it happens to me, or how many times I touch it while playing a game only to bump it to card. I can do without it is what I guess I’m sayin.

  • Jimmy G

    Have to agree with Jdubbs33… If ur going to commit to a smartphone by signing contract I’d hope you would at least test and enjoy the phones basic functionality and not just blindly hope for some simple UI a random person on a bus can use… Leave that to the iphony masses

    • Micah R

      If you want webos to rule the world then it has to be bus stupid. If webos is for fanboys only then lets swipe away with the few.
      If my 3 year old can rock his mother’s iphone playing angry birds but gets frustrated with my phone with the same game because his fingers touched the gesture area then something is wrong with my phone (webos swipe).

      • Jdubbs33

        See, now I know for sure you’re just a troll. The gesture area has no effect on Angry Birds whatsoever.lol I can’t even believe you posted that nonsense. I actually took time to debate you intelligently. Wow . . .

        • Micah R

          Do me a favor. Hand angry birds to a 3 year old and see how the gesture area affects the play of the game. I think it is stupid that you resort to name calling when the comments are for opinion. I love my pre. The gesture area is cool as I said in my very first post. But.. It’s not user friendly enough to win the war. Like I said, my three year old can play games easily on an iphone but he wants to throw my pre because it constantly goes to cards when his fingers touch the g area. I’m not a troll.

          • Jdubbs33

            So anything a 3-year-old can’t use is not user-friendly? Interesting.

          • Micah R

            You sound like you could have a great political future. Yes. If a 3-year old can successfully play a game on an iphone vs a pre then yes the ui is better on the iphone. My son’s ability to play on a phone isn’t a market benchmark but it speaks volumes. I have four children and a wife ALL of them hand me back the pre when it’s flicked to cards because they held it wrong. We all love webos, that’s why we are here right? To say it’s perfect though is ignorant. I’m willing to admit it.

  • Jimmy G

    Have to agree with Jdubbs33… If ur going to commit to a smartphone by signing contract I’d hope you would at least test and enjoy the phones basic functionality and not just blindly hope for some simple UI a random person on a bus can use… Leave that to the iphony masses

  • Anonymous

    Of course we already discussed this, but I guess back then everybody was thinking that HP is going to use some sort of “giant”-space bar below the App that will look ugly. What they are saying now seems to indicate (what is also better) that they are going to do it similar to RIMs solution.

  • Cpufox

    I’d like to see enlarged “pre-sized” cards to fill more of the TP screen with gesture area sized appropriately below.