Nokia’s next touchscreen to take cues from the iPhone

Nokia’s next touchscreen phone will use a capacitive screen and may offer multi-touch functionality, according to a report that’s surfaced on the web.

Apparently, Nokia will use Synaptics’ touchscreen IC solution in its upcoming Q3 handset. Since Synaptics doesn’t utilise resistive touchscreens, it pretty much definitively points towards the capacitive option.

In spite of the Nokia 5800’s huge success, the touchscreen is what most mobile users have criticised the handset for. Resistive screens require the use of a stylus for accurate pointing, while capacitive screens are much happier with a light finger tap. Both the 5800 and N97 feature resistive screens, so this move towards the other end of the spectrum, most famously inhabited by the iPhone, will be welcomed by most.

The continued use of capacitive screens is said to be a concession to the Asian market, where the ability to enter characters manually using the stylus is a must. With most Western users happier to tap away on a virtual keyboard, the drawbacks of the resistive option come to the fore.

As reported by Digitimes