Microsoft introduce "Shift" Finger Interface - one finger less than an iPhone
Microsoft has shown that it's lagging behind the iPhone (even though it won't do very well) by developing an interface that you only need one finger to operate.
Their "Shift" Finger Interface may well have won a Best Paper Award at the Computer Human Interface Conference 2007, but it can't come close to Apple's elegant two-fingered solution to stylus-free interfaces.
Microsoft says of their interface, "Shift Technology makes it possible to use a pointer on a PDA that can be guided by finger motion -- once the pointer is in position, the user simply lifts his thumb or finger to select the target."
Apple, on the other hand, have browsers and photos zooming and resizing by pinching them. You can't pinch something with one finger.
It's not clear where Microsoft might use this technology, as they've already stated that they're only interesting into the Windows Mobile operating system, which relies on being installed on someone else's hardware.
A touchscreen Zune perhaps?
In any case, it's no threat to the iPhone's interface, even if Microsoft suddenly announce some of their own hardware.
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