Synaptics makes more grand gestures

Touch-interface specialist Synaptics has announced two new gestures for its touchpads, which are used on many notebooks and keyboards.

One, called Chiral Rotate, lets you rotate images in graphics applications with a circular motion of a single finger.

The second allows you to riffle through images, documents or other items with a two-finger horizontal flick; using the same gesture vertically can minimise and maximise an application.

Earlier this year the company introduced two gestures: Pinch for opening and closing pages or images; and Chiral Motion, which allows you to scroll through document with a circular motion of two fingers.

It also introduced Momentum, giving screen movements the inertial effect that makes using Apple's iTouch and iPhone seems so natural.

The gestures will be available as a driver update for recent Synaptics products, though in the first instance you may need to check with the vendor of the machine incorporating them, according to Linda Cecil, PC business product-marketing manager.

The success of Apple handhelds has increased interest in gesture control, though according to Synaptics many of the ideas it used have been around for a long time.

Synaptics technology is used for the touch interface on the new Google G1 phone, though that does not support two-finger gestures.

"That was the manufacturer's decision but the G1 has a smaller screen than the iPhone. You really need a larger screen for two-finger gestures to work," said Cecil. "Synaptics has developed a larger touchpad for notebooks to make the gestures easier."

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