Hands-on: Trying out Fuse, a new concept in mobile design

Back in mid-December, Synaptics, a developer of human interface devices such as the touchpad, introduced what it's hoping is the next generation in mobile device concepts. It's called Fuse, and I got a chance to spend a few minutes with a very early prototype ("a prototype of a prototype" as one of the reps described it) this morning at CES. I have to say that if the concept fulfills its potential, it could be very useful -- and a whole lot of fun.

Synaptics is working on the Fuse with several other companies -- including Texas Instruments, Immersion, TheAlloy and The Astonishing Tribe (TAT). The idea is that consumers should be able to manipulate their mobile devices not only by moving their fingers over the display, but by squeezing the sides, moving fingers up and down each sides, and even using touch on the back of the device.

The prototype used a graphic of multicolored bubbles to illustrate the concept. I squeezed the rubberized sides of the Fuse (which otherwise looks like a fairly typical smartphone-type device) and several bubbles popped into existence. I ran my finger down the left side, and they dimmed to a grey hue; ran my finger down the right side, and they acquired a rougher texture. Touched the front display, and they sped away from my finger; touched the back, and they moved in to the area that was being touched. It was only a fairly simple demo, but it was effective.

By expanding the number of actions that could be undertaken through a variety of touch types, gadgets like the Fuse could make it quicker to access apps and perform a number of tasks. However, I think the potential for gaming could be a lot bigger.

The Fuse is still a long way off from being available, even as a beta unit. According to Synaptics, it will probably be anywhere from a year to 18 months before the first units are ready for the market -- for example, the device I was shown had no real haptics capability yet. But it does prove that, even with recent introductions, we're still awaiting the truly ideal smartphone.