Literally, a Feel-Good Technology

One thing that's never missing in technology innovation is vaporware. You know, those "next greatest thing" developments that actually never get developed or even into beta.

But every now and then a technology innovation bursts through and arrives on the scene, and sometimes with very little fanfare.

That's the case with haptics, a touch technology for handheld gadgets that provides "feeling" of things not really happening. It's how companies are going to make clicky keyboards on touchscreens and other tactile responses. It's a touchy-feely technology concept that transforms mini computer devices such as smartphones, netbooks and PDAs into sensual computing devices.

As writer Mike Elgan explains in a recent ComputerWorld article, haptics is on the verge of changing everything we've come to know about smartphone input capabilities.

Just think about your phone vibrating in a certain way according to a sound, or medical robots using haptic feedback to help surgeons navigate tricky procedures.

Elgan's fascinating account of how this technology is developing, the big players taking the lead and what it means for today's gadget lovers is a must-read.

Photo courtesy of moonhouse, via Flickr