May 27 - 12:20pm EDT   Apple has won four new patents from the US Patent and Trademark Office, covering a range of technologies. Among these are ones for riser card housing in the Mac Pro, and a Mac OS-related concept called Computer system with graphical user interface including drawer-like windows. Important however is one for a touchpad surface, covering the multi-touch trackpad in the MacBook Air, and in a minor fashion the iPhone touchscreen. [full story]

May 14 - 3:35pm EDT   Nokia's recently rumored entry into multi-touch phones may come relatively quickly if a slip through Taiwan circuit designers is accurate. They reportedly tell DigiTimes that Nokia has finally settled on Synaptics to provide the circuitry driving at least one phone's touchscreen and "does not rule out" the possibility of the phone supporting multi-touch input, a first for Nokia's handsets. The product would be launched in the summer, though whether it ships at that time or is simply announced isn't apparent. [full story]

May 12 - 1:55pm EDT   Specifications have surfaced today that may represent Microsoft's expectations for its "Pink" Zune phone platform. Known as Windows Mobile 7 Chassis 1, the design obtained by Microsoft observer Mary Jo Foley appears to set a baseline level of hardware that would outperform iPhones. A system would use either an NVIDIA Tegra, Qualcomm 8000-series, or Texas Instruments 3430 processor at its heart, at least 256MB of memory, and an 800x480 or larger screen. [full story]

April 16 - 12:00pm EDT   The Internet-connected Verizon Hub home phone may soon get its own applications store, according to a Wednesday report. The phone, launched in the US on February 1st, already gets updates through the Internet for weather and traffic information, and users can watch videos via Verizon's V CAST service, but is now set to open to third-party software that would enable new tasks using the Internet, GPS or both. One new use for it would be to give users the ability to access Internet radio stations, for example. [full story]

April 15 - 8:35am EDT   A new rendering of Microsoft's in-development Zune HD has surfaced that appears to be authentic, along with potentially dubious claims about hardware features. The new image obtained by WMPowerUser shows both the front and back and suggests a design somewhat influenced by the first-generation iPhone, where the primarily aluminum design has a black strip on the back. It also has an interface reminiscent of Zunes but with a more touchscreen-friendly interface. [full story]

March 30 - 3:55pm EDT   First spotted in mid-February at Mobile World Congress, LG's GD900 handset has received more specifications from its maker. The full touchscreen phone is expected to appear at this week's CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas and will feature haptic feedback for its 3-inch touchscreen and signature and unique transparent touchpad. LG also claims the touchpad will support finger-writing recognition rather than needing a stylus. [full story]

March 26 - 11:55am EDT   Microsoft has outlined plans to standardize Windows 7's multi-touch support across PCs. Called the Windows Touch logo program, the approach will test displays for their accuracy and responsiveness to ensure that users can perform the same finger-based commands on any system, including tapping some smaller on-screen buttons, pinching to zoom, or rotating. The program would reward PC makers for providing truly accurate touch input. [full story]

March 12 - 10:15am EDT   The One Laptop Per Child project's CTO Ed McNierney today said that the organization's XO-2 notebook will most likely drop AMD's Geode processor in favor of an ARM-based, all-in-one processor. OLPC is "almost" set to implement a new chip and would make the switch both to reduce the power draw as well as to give the portable accelerated graphics and wireless without needing separate chips that would boost the cost. AMD's design is older and simpler by comparison. [full story]

March 12 - 7:35am EDT   Dell today unveiled the company's first all-in-one PC to bear the Studio badge. The Studio One 19 is more consciously fashionable than the XPS One and has the same basic "hanging" design concept as the iMac. Like the Studio Hybrid, though, Dell lets users customize the Studio One's colors (here the outer frame and wireless input devices). It centers on an 18.5-inch display with a 16:9 ratio, 1366x768 resolution that optionally supports multi-touch input for media playback as well as image, music and video editing. [full story]

February 10 - 4:05pm EST   LG's KM900 Arena should beat out the Palm Pre to be one of the first non-Apple phones to support multi-touch input, LG Korea's press site shows. The interface, known as S-Class, will let users pinch to zoom in the web browser and while viewing photos. While its main home screen has a conspicuously iPhone-influenced design, the 3D aspect divides the front end into core phone tasks, apps, media playback and a section for widget apps like clocks and calculators. [full story]

February 10 - 8:25am EST   (Updated with pricing) Dell as promised has launched the Latitude XT2 as the second-generation of its convertible tablet PC. The new version comes with multi-touch support out of the box and uses pinches, swipes and other gestures to zoom and scroll through apps that support the features, such as web browsers and photo viewers. It also continues to carry a second digitizer and will work with a bundled stylus for more precise control or for drawing. [full story]

February 3 - 9:55am EST   Alleged market sources tell DigiTimes today that Nokia is planning a resurgence that may hinge on multi-touch devices. The Finnish company is said to be planning several cellphones with advanced 3G as well as "multi-touch and multimedia functions" for the year that will help not only itself but the companies that make the cellular chipsets and touchscreen technology, including Qualcomm, Synaptics and Texas Instruments. Other details aren't mentioned, though the multi-touch technology doesn't apply to the N97. [full story]

January 20 - 4:50pm EST   Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer Albatron on Tuesday announced the prototype multi-touch display it showed off some seven months ago is now nearly ready for shipment, and will be made available for sale in a couple of months. The unnamed 21.5-inch LCD places the touch sensors in the monitor's bezel rather than the screen itself, allowing for a brighter and stronger displays. It is one of the first monitors that will allow at least Windows 7 users to enjoy the operating system's native support for multi-touch applications. [full story]

January 5 - 1:40am EST   Lenovo on Monday debuted its latest midrange "multi-touch" IdeaPad Y Series laptops that are smaller, thinner and lighter than the previous generation as well as its first 16-inch widescreen laptop, the IdeaPad Y650 built from Carbon Fiber. The IdeaPad Y Series, which also includes Y550 and Y450, focuses on HD entertainment and shares the same "modern soft black design" with an interlocked hexagon pattern on the top cover along with a discrete copper accent around the perimeter of the laptop. The carbon fiber-based IdeaPad Y650, allegedly the thinnest and lightest laptop in its class, weighs less than many 15-inch laptops -- only 5.6lbs and is just one inch thick at ... [full story]

December 10 - 3:50pm EST   A newer beta version of Firefox adds multi-touch support, Mozilla has announced. For owners of MacBooks with multi-touch trackpads -- new and old -- Firefox 3.1 beta 2 includes a variety of supported gestures, mainly swipes. Swiping left and right with three fingers will move forward and backward through a browser's history, while swiping up and down will jump to the beginning or end of a page. [full story]