Touchscreen Accuracy: iPhone Compares Favorably to Other Smartphones

[Hubbu]

I own both an iPod touch 1G and Droid Eris and was curious as to how close MOTO's results would be to my own analysis.

Here's my super scientific results (it's my finger after all). I felt that the iPod drew lines slightly better through the middle of the screen, but it was nothing to write home about. I did notice that the iPod's corner touching was pretty inaccurate. The iPod kept 'hugging' the edges longer than on the Droid Eris. I used Scribble Lite on iPod touch and DrawNoteK on Droid Eris.

Posted on my MBP (2,2) !

edit: I'll try to test this in a technical way later tonight. Maybe a stylus + ruler .. ?

 

[aristotle]

Right, that is the type of response that is helping the scientific community. If you do not like a point of view, instead of finding a reason to counter it intelligently, you dismiss it and then attack the person. Classy.

Dismissing someone's credibility because their opinions don't match yours is petty and unhelpful. Not exactly "Think Different" is it?

Don't take my word for it. Do a search for kdarling displaying posts by that user. I have often had to correct them on CDMA versus W-CDMA by posting various wikipedia and industry articles which have gone completely ignored and they proceeded to continue spreading misinformation with a slant that is favourable towards Sprint and Verizon.

Nobody is asking you to take my word for it, check their posting history.

 

[distortedloop]

I own both an iPod touch 1G and Droid Eris and was curious as to how close MOTO's results would be to my own analysis.

Here's my super scientific results (it's my finger after all). I felt that the iPod drew lines slightly better through the middle of the screen, but it was nothing to write home about. I did notice that the iPod's corner touching was pretty inaccurate. The iPod kept 'hugging' the edges longer than on the Droid Eris. I used Scribble Lite on iPod touch and DrawNoteK on Droid Eris.

Posted on my MBP (2,2) !

edit: I'll try to test this in a technical way later tonight. Maybe a stylus + ruler .. ?

Great! Thanks for posting that.

So it's safe to assume that the real conclusion we should be drawing is that it's pretty difficult to draw straight lines, especially ones in parallel to each other, on any of these devices...?

 

[deconstruct60]

nip it in the butt?

Xerox PARC? That's an interesting theory. To what degree do you think they would have been involved in such research?

PARC doesn't belong to Xerox anymore. They are an independent, contract R&D firm now ( http://www.parc.com/about/ ) .


They do electronic design and prototyping (including displays of various types) :
http://www.parc.com/work/focus-area/electronics-design-and-prototyping/

They do human machine interaction research:
http://www.parc.com/work/focus-area/human-machine-interfaces/

 

[cababah]

Don't take my word for it. Do a search for kdarling displaying posts by that user. I have often had to correct them on CDMA versus W-CDMA by posting various wikipedia and industry articles which have gone completely ignored and they proceeded to continue spreading misinformation with a slant that is favourable towards Sprint and Verizon.

Nobody is asking you to take my word for it, check their posting history.

I'm here for the kdarling cross-burning; I heard this was the place

 

[ChazUK]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 1.6; en-us; Archos5 Build/Donut) AppleWebKit/528.5+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.2 Mobile Safari/525.20.1)

I own both an iPod touch 1G and Droid Eris and was curious as to how close MOTO's results would be to my own analysis.

Here's my super scientific results (it's my finger after all). I felt that the iPod drew lines slightly better through the middle of the screen, but it was nothing to write home about. I did notice that the iPod's corner touching was pretty inaccurate. The iPod kept 'hugging' the edges longer than on the Droid Eris. I used Scribble Lite on iPod touch and DrawNoteK on Droid Eris.

Posted on my MBP (2,2) !

edit: I'll try to test this in a technical way later tonight. Maybe a stylus + ruler .. ?

Eah, do the stylus test! I want to see the results.

What capacative stylus you got?

 

[*LTD*]

I assume everyone else's horizontal and vertical lines are alright as well?

 

[Peace]

So they are comparing this years new touch phones to last years iPhone and the iPhone is on par ?

Looks like June will show the iPhone ahead of the pack.

 

[deconstruct60]

Don't take my word for it. Do a search for kdarling displaying posts by that user. I have often had to correct them on CDMA versus W-CDMA by posting various wikipedia and industry articles which have gone completely ignored and they proceeded to continue spreading misinformation with a slant that is favourable towards Sprint and Verizon.

Nobody is asking you to take my word for it, check their posting history.

All of which again doesn't even attempt to address his points.
By all means do a background check, but check both sides.

The Droid has a 480 x 854 pixel display and the iPhone a 480-by-320 and the Eris has a 320 x 480 display. If all three used exactly the same touch sensor resolution would the results come out the same? Or why would you use the same resolution sensor on a Droid screen as a iPhone screen?

 

[cmaier]

All of which again doesn't even attempt to address his points.
By all means do a background check, but check both sides.

The Droid has a 480 x 854 pixel display and the iPhone a 480-by-320 and the Eris has a 320 x 480 display. If all three used exactly the same touch sensor resolution would the results come out the same? Or why would you use the same resolution sensor on a Droid screen as a iPhone screen?

Sensor resolution should be independent of screen resolution, and determined by the size of the average finger.

 

[EricNau]

This study has no more scientific legitimacy than any fourth grade science project. The variables are not well enough controlled, leaving the independent variable too reliant on oversights in the testing protocol.

For example, how do we know the subject's finger is moving in a straight line? While not intentional, the ideomotor effect would easily lead to the outcome desired or expected by the proctor. Why weren't multiple subjects used? Why weren't the tests blinded?

Virtually all criteria for ensuring scientific accuracy are missing in this experiment. Something as simple (and obvious!) as a straight-edge ruler placed along the subject's finger could have greatly improved these results.

Don't get me wrong: this test is excellent on the preliminary level, and gives one a hypothesis for further testing; however, the current results are not worthy of publication nor our attention.

 

[cmaier]

This study has no more scientific legitimacy than any fourth grade science project. The variables are not well enough controlled, leaving the independent variable too reliant on oversights in the testing protocol.

For example, how do we know the subject's finger is moving in a straight line? While not intentional, the ideomotor effect would easily lead to the outcome desired or expected by the proctor. Why weren't multiple subjects used? Why weren't the tests blinded?

Virtually all criteria for ensuring scientific accuracy are missing in this experiment. Something as simple (and obvious!) as a straight-edge ruler placed along the subject's finger could have greatly improved these results.

Don't get me wrong: this test is excellent on the preliminary level, and gives one a hypothesis for further testing; however, the current results are not worthy of publication nor our attention.

There is a video of the tests, which at least tells us some info about the experiment.

 

[*LTD*]

This study has no more scientific legitimacy than any fourth grade science project. The variables are not well enough controlled, leaving the independent variable too reliant on oversights in the testing protocol.

For example, how do we know the subject's finger is moving in a straight line? While not intentional, the ideomotor effect would easily lead to the outcome desired or expected by the proctor. Why weren't multiple subjects used? Why weren't the tests blinded?

Virtually all criteria for ensuring scientific accuracy are missing in this experiment. Something as simple (and obvious!) as a straight-edge ruler placed along the subject's finger could have greatly improved these results.

Don't get me wrong: this test is excellent on the preliminary level, and gives one a hypothesis for further testing; however, the current results are not worthy of publication nor our attention.

Fair enough. But how do you account for the huge variances? The individual was doing his best to make straight lines. That's all. Let's assume he was doing his best to steady his finger. For each device he's got several chances. Why are nearly all the lines significantly wavy on one device while quite straight on another? Did he suddenly develop some sort of vertigo when testing the Droid? Did his finger move around wildly on each of those lines on the Droid yet remain quite steady when testing the iPhone?

Let's be reasonable here.

Watch the video.

 

[Lesser Evets]

I can't believe how upset people get over this test.

It's as if you can't tell this by using these devices. Have any of you used the devices for a while and noticed the odd differences in control? It's obvious.

 

[EricNau]

There is a video of the tests, which at least tells us some info about the experiment.

Indeed. I watched it.

Fair enough. But how do you account for the huge variances? The individual was doing his best to make straight lines. That's all. Let's assume he was doing his best to steady his finger. For each device he's got several chances. Why are nearly all the lines significantly wavy on one device while quite straight on another? Did he suddenly develop some sort of vertigo when testing the Droid? Did his finger move around wildly on each of those lines on the Droid yet remain quite steady when testing the iPhone?

Let's be reasonable here.

Watch the video.

The ideomotor effect (I linked to it above) could easily account for these variations. Yes, he was doing his best to steady his finger and keep it consistent between devices, however, that does not mean he actually did.

Scientists go to great lengths to control every variable, and it's harder than you would think.

 

[*LTD*]

Indeed. I watched it.


The ideomotor effect (I linked to it above) could easily account for these variations. Yes, he was doing his best to steady his finger and keep it consistent between devices, however, that does not mean he actually did.

Scientists go to great lengths to control every variable, and it's harder than you would think.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideomotor_effect

The ideomotor effect is a psychological phenomenon wherein a subject makes motions unconsciously. As in reflexive responses to pain, the body sometimes reacts reflexively to ideas alone without the person consciously deciding to take action. For instance, tears are produced by the body unconsciously in reaction to the emotion of sadness.

Automatic writing, dowsing, facilitated communication, and Ouija boards have also been attributed to the effect of this phenomenon. Mystics have often attributed this motion to paranormal or supernatural force. Many subjects are unconvinced that their actions are originating solely from within themselves.

The term was first used in a paper discussing the means through which the Ouija board produced its results, by William Benjamin Carpenter in 1852. In the paper, Carpenter explained his theory that muscular movement can be independent of conscious desires or emotions.

Scientific tests by the English scientist Michael Faraday, the French chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul, and the American psychologists William James and Ray Hyman have demonstrated that many phenomena attributed to spiritual or paranormal forces, or to mysterious "energies," are actually due to ideomotor action. Furthermore, these tests demonstrate that "honest, intelligent people can unconsciously engage in muscular activity that is consistent with their expectations" (Hyman 1999).[1] They also show that suggestions that can guide behavior can be given by subtle clues (Hyman 1977).

Some alternative medicine practitioners claim they can use the ideomotor effect to communicate with a patient's unconsciousness using a system of physical signals (such as finger movements) for the unconscious mind to indicate "yes", "no" or "I'm not ready to know that consciously". Scientific studies have not been conducted to support this method.[2]

This has no applicaiton whatsoever to the test results.

The patterns on the lesser phones are to uniform to be created by a jittery hand anyway.

 

[brewcitywi]

Joke!

Hey, this just means that those who don't buy iPhones can't draw straight lines!!!!

Just joking ok ok ok!

Frank

 

[ToroidalZeus]

Don't take my word for it. Do a search for kdarling displaying posts by that user. I have often had to correct them on CDMA versus W-CDMA by posting various wikipedia and industry articles which have gone completely ignored and they proceeded to continue spreading misinformation with a slant that is favourable towards Sprint and Verizon.

Nobody is asking you to take my word for it, check their posting history.

I agree. kdarling is crazy.

 

[EricNau]

This has no applicaiton whatsoever to the test results.

The patterns on the lesser phones are to uniform to be created by a jittery hand anyway.

I'm curious, how did you reach such a conclusion?

The ideomotor effect is very applicable to these results. With an experiment that relies solely on the uniform movements of one subject's finger, every possible influence on such movements must be considered. If the subject had any preconceived notions prior to testing (which he undoubtedly did - we all do), then the ideomotor effect is one of these factors.

And for what it's worth, the ideomotor effect extends well beyond jitteriness, as is noted in the wikipedia article we both have quoted.

 

[John Dillinger]

I can't believe how upset people get over this test.

It's as if you can't tell this by using these devices. Have any of you used the devices for a while and noticed the odd differences in control? It's obvious.

Amen dude. There are definitely differences and the iphone definitely IS MORE SENSITIVE. However, this doesnt make it 'better'! Its just a matter of preference.

And no matter how straight the iphone draws lines... the iphone screens look washed out compared to the Droid (which has higher res and density), droid eris (higher density dues to smaller screen and same res) AND the Nexus One. Lots of backlight overspill as well it just looks poor quality next to my Hero FACT.

HTC in my mind do way better hardware than Apple (The Hero coating is made of teflon people, feels way nicer too).

However Google need to fix their software. its not cool the Nexus narrowly beating the 3Gs in browsing-- it should be killing it with those specs. Then again, Ill give Google a break theyre new to the game and we all know what Chrome is like. Then again--- why the hell havent they ported it???!

Anyways all this is still irrelevant as people have to face facts that the iphone is simply OLD NEWS now. How tired will it be by July 2010?

Same design since 2007. Same boring shape just slighlty thinner. I also think it actually could do with a few buttons. A flash (please Steve, sorry to 'dirty' the design) Just a little jazzing up here and there. Its just so dry now-sorry!

 

[Habakuk]

Can't believe it. Played some challenging line drawing games like "33rd Division", "Doodle Golf" and "Draw 'n' go" on my iPhone 3G where you have to draw very accurate & precise lines even at the very edges of the screen and I couldn't see any unwanted curves (you couldn't win any level) or anything odd shown in the demo video. I am sure that depends a lot on the drawing software.

 

[*LTD*]

Can't believe it. Played some challenging line drawing games like "33rd Division", "Doodle Golf" and "Draw 'n' go" on my iPhone 3G where you have to draw very accurate & precise lines even at the very edges of the screen and I couldn't see any unwanted curves (you couldn't win any level) or anything odd shown in the demo video. I am sure that depends a lot on the drawing software.

Diagonal lines drawn as shown in the video will curve at the left/right edges. Horizontal and vertical lines are unaffected.

I've duplicated the effect. No matter how hard you try, there is no way to prevent those curves that occur at the sides.

 

[brewcitywi]

Reality

I love my iPhone, and I love that it works well with my lifestyle, in that i'm a graphic designer who uses a mac every day.

However, I see the debate over the qualities of all the phones very interesting.

When the iPod came out, it was VERY difficult for anyone to catch up with the combo of an iTunes music store, and very hot-looking iPod devices that sync, coming at a perfect time, when the consumer would accept digital music.

However, these other cellphone companies are not going to simply exit the market. There is way too much potential in the marketplace for new and existing users. So, now we're seeing people begin to catch up, or shore up the difference, mostly because they aren't leaving the market--they have time to invest.

So, it's very interesting that Apple, who has one of the most dynamic track records of innovation and timing, will be kept honest by a very hungry and competitive group of corporations. Who knows, maybe there will be a few more surprises this year.

 

[cmaier]

Diagonal lines drawn as shown in the video will curve at the left/right edges. Horizontal and vertical lines are unaffected.

I've duplicated the effect. No matter how hard you try, there is no way to prevent those curves that occur at the sides.

Seems to me what's happening is that part of your finger (think of it as a circle) is no longer over the screen when it hits the edge. The center point of what is left on the screen shifts upward (or downward, depending on which way your finger is moving), so it appears to curve. If the touch were perfectly calibrated, that's exactly what I would expect to happen. If your finger was a point, I wonder if we'd still see those curves. Maybe try with a AAA battery positive terminal so you get a smaller contact point.

Update: I just tried this experiment with a AA battery using Layers. The curvature at the edge shrank substantially, and seems to conform to the diameter of the positive battery terminal. Seems to me that as part of the terminal leaves the edge of the screen, the center point of what remains on the screen moves from the center point of the terminal, and the curve I see on the screen corresponds to that center point.

So it seems the iPhone always reports the geometric centerpoint of your digit, which is, I think, what it should do.

 

[applesupergeek]

28 people rated these news negative on an apple forums website, with test clearly showing an apple products superiority in one respect...

Don't you people have anything better to do than frequent apple forums and bitch and vote negative because you own non apple products?

This site attracts so much of this type of crowd, it's mind boggling...