Why Your Flush Touchscreen Feels Soft

If you're using one of many new Windows Mobile devices that has a flush touchscreen (Touch Diamond/Pro, Omnia, Treo Pro, etc), you may have noticed a peculiar characteristic of the screen: it feels a bit...soft.

The reason? First, remember Why Windows Mobile Devices Don't Have iPhone-like Touchscreens, where we learn that Windows Mobile devices, so that they can support stylus use, rely on resistive touchscreens. This type of screen uses two layers that must physically contact each other at a point for there to be a registered screen press.

The new wave of flush touchscreen devices, to accommodate for the screen being pushed towards the front of the device, puts these two layers slightly further apart from each other; more so than you would find on a device like the AT&T Tilt (below, right) which does not have a flush touchscreen. This slight distancing of touchscreen layers can often make the screen feel "softer" and also reduces that "tap on glass" sound feedback you may have experienced with an older Pocket PC.