Date: 24/05/2010

Atmel enhances its touch interface technology to support big screens

Atmel has announced that its maXTouch technology can enable advanced capacitive touch functionality for large format touchscreens. The maXTouch solutions now support touchscreens up to 15 inches for products such as touch-enabled tablets, smartbooks, mobile Internet devices (MIDs), Netbooks, PC notebooks, etc.

The new touchscreen features include unlimited touches and rejection of unintended touches, stretch/pinch and rotate gestures, stylus support; handwriting and shape recognition, including face detection on mobile phones, grip suppression and palm rejection on MIDs and Netbook screens. These low power solutions come with a suite of software drivers and advanced touch functionality for finger pinch to expand a screen, stylus support for character writing, and gesturing to turn pages for eBooks and multi-page applications.

"Touchscreen demand in personal computers will exceed 115 million screens by 2014, placing PCs as the fastest growing touch opportunity in today's market," said Rhoda Alexander, director of monitor research at iSuppli Corporation. "Slate tablets will lead the charge and spur the already growing demand for touch-enabled Netbooks, notebooks, monitors, and all-in-one desktop computers. Consumer expectations for touch functionality will rapidly move past simple two-finger solutions to eight-finger and more, improved tactile feedback, and handwriting recognition. Powerful, multi-chip solutions will be a key part of this growth, allowing for the rapid expansion of functionality and form essential to this diverse market."

"Atmel is committed to the touch market segment. With the recent adoption of touchscreens for smartbooks, MIDs and Netbooks, consumers continue to demand a better touch experience," said Peter Jones, managing director and general manager for microcontroller and touch solutions, Atmel Corporation. "Atmel's maXTouch solutions will offer consumers a more unique user experience. The company will continue to bring more innovative solutions to market to enhance the user experience for touch applications."

For more information visit: http://www.atmel.com/maXTouch_goesbig.