Taiwanese manufacturer HTC has launched a new phone utilising a touch screen interface which allows users to drag a finger across its surface for navigation – a feature which Steve Jobs has been keen to emphasise as an ‘innovative’ feature of his forthcoming iPhone, not due out for another six months in Europe.
"This is an inflection point in mobile phone history," said John Wang, chief marketing officer for HTC. "In ten years we’ll look back at 2007 as the year when the push button-centric experience transitioned to touch-centric."
He added that the new interface “will be as important for phones as the mouse was for the computer screen."
The HTC Touch goes on sale in the UK this week, reported The Times.