When describing a new type of smartphone technology, the term “Handedness-Agnostic” probably wouldn’t come to mind. But that’s one of many slogans dreamed up for Vice Versa, a conceptual user interface that improves on the user experience by taking into consideration how the human body works.

Most of us experience the irritating button layout on smartphone screens several times daily. In the current setup, our thumbs are forced to contort in ways that are unnatural and uncomfortable when we are using our phones with one hand -which, according to designer Michael Oh‘s research, 49% of us do.

The main idea behind Vice Versa is that it accommodates the thumb’s natural motion. And a simple flick of the wrist changes the left/right handed orientation of Vice Versa, making it the first ever politically correct user interface by being “Handedness-Agnostic.”

Vice Versa is a “diagonal form of binary UI optimized for single-hand use” that can be used across multiple platforms. Used on a Kindle as seen here, it can help alleviate the frustration of accidentally turning multiple pages at once and then having to switch hands to reverse the mistake. This is just one of the reasons Michael Oh dove into the challenge of inventing a whole new user interface – and we hope to see it in use on our gadgets someday soon.

The post Diagonal Touchscreen UI Takes it Easy on Human Thumbs first appeared on Gajitz.

This conceptual design would reward you with a charged-up phone battery for doing something you’re doing already anyway: using the touchscreen. Designer Chin-Po Tsai came up with a thin film that goes over a touchscreen to generate energy for the device.

Simply by moving your finger around after installing the Energy Touch you are charging your cell phone. The film has a wire conductor that connects to your phone’s USB port, using a micro nanometer layer to generate power. If it’s ever produced, it would come in a variety of sizes to fit most of your touchscreen devices.

The designer doesn’t share many details about exactly how the technology would work, but his idea is an exciting one. If it isn’t possible with today’s technology, we could definitely see it becoming a reality in the near future. How cool would it be to notice that after playing your favorite game, you’ve managed to charge your phone rather than kill the battery?

The post Touchscreen Protector Uses Your Finger as a Phone Charger first appeared on Gajitz.

One of the most noticeable flaws of the ubiquitous touch screen is the ease of blocking the screen with the very fingers that operate the devices. This concept from researchers at the National University of Taiwan in Taipei might be the solution to that frustrating problem. The fingertip-mounted OLED displays are tiny enough to fit over your finger, but smart enough to see what is under your fingers on the screen. This eliminates shooting the wrong alien, harvesting the wrong crop, or whatever other tiny-scale “work” you have to do on your touch screen device.

Of course, for a device as futuristic as the NailDisplay, you would expect it to do a lot more than simply show you where your next Tetris piece is going. The research team has a ton of other utilization ideas, from fingertip translators to screen-free music players to thumb-and-pinkie phones.

The post Finger-Mounted OLED Screens Provide Another Display Layer first appeared on Gajitz.

It’s a joke that is so overused at this point that it inspires eye rolls: older people are not good with new technology. Yet there is, of course, a lot of truth to this stereotype. We have plenty of older relatives who are still using 35mm cameras because switching to digital seems too complicated to them.

The EasyGrab camera concept from designer Arttu-Matti Immonen is meant to help technophobes of all ages increase their photography skills. It takes the typical design of a digital camera and tweaks it a bit to make it simpler and less intimidating.

True to its name, the EasyGrab is kind to the hands with its ergonomic design. Rather than a shutter button on the top, requiring a stretched index finger, the EasyGrab has a simple lever on the front to activate the shutter. Zooming is similarly simple, requiring just a little twist of the rounded grip.

What really sets the EasyGrab apart from other digital cameras is its very large touchscreen and easy-to-decipher interface. It does away with the control panel full of tiny buttons and puts a few simple commands right on the screen, cutting down on the learning curve and making it easy for even the less tech-savvy to figure out the controls.

The post Simpler Snaps: Digital Camera Caters to Technophobes first appeared on Gajitz.

Although touch screens have been taking over the gadget market (and driving out other non-touchscreen technology), there is still something inherently satisfying about pushing a button and feeling it give way beneath your finger. That satisfaction is what has prompted some of us to stay away from devices like the iPad and iPhone which simply cannot offer a tactile user experience.

A company called Tactus has created some truly impressive technology that marries the best qualities of touchscreens and physical keyboards. Their display appears flat until physical buttons are needed – and then they instantly pop out of nowhere. When you are done with the keys, they disappear back into the device, leaving no trace.

The now you see it, now you don’t physical keyboard would be useful not only for phones and tablets, but for remote controls, ebook readers, and even automobile interfaces. The incredible technology is not as far off as you might expect: Tactus says it should find its way into consumer gadgets as early as 2013.

The post Feeling Flat: Disappearing Buttons Turn Touchscreens 3D first appeared on Gajitz.