Onyx - Next-Gen Phone Concept from Synaptics and Pilotfish

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Synaptics and Pilotfish say they are going to unveil Onyx, their next-generation mobile phone concept. This concept device enables OEMs to visualize a fundamentally new form of user interface for mobile phones. Onyx uses Synaptics' ClearPad - an optically clear, capacitive touch screen solution, to create a fully adaptive user interface. Synaptics' ClearPad input system used in Onyx eliminates the traditional mechanical keys found on phones at the moment and adapts to present the information and controls a user needs at any given moment.

Synaptics' ClearPad thoroughly recognizes not only points and taps, but also shapes, complex gestures, and proximity to the user's finger or cheek. This creates new possibilities such as assigning functions to two-finger taps, closing tasks by swiping an "X" over them, sending messages by swiping them off the screen, or answering a phone by holding it up to your cheek. The prototype phone uses a dynamic UI, where applications are layered and opened simultaneously, allowing a seamless flow of information between applications. The Onyx phone is the result of collaboration between Synaptics and Pilotfish, under the philosophy that hardware and software are not two separate fields, but interrelated parts of the overall experience of a product. Utilizing Synaptics' ClearPad touch screen technology & interaction design, Pilotfish created an innovative user interface and industrial design model for OEMs.

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