Touch and go in Chennai - Times of India

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After the alarm rang on his touch phone, Rohan got up early and left for airport. He took out his tablet and checked his appointments for the day. Next he set his destination on the navigation touchscreen of his car. He also searched for nearby ATMs and found one from where he withdrew cash. At the airport, he checked in through the airline's kiosk. While in air, he watched latest movie clips on the touchscreen device attached to the seat.

Rohan is almost anyone in a city like Chennai today. It can be any one of us. Without realising, we use touchscreens multiple times a day in a variety of applications - many of which are essential. Touchscreens are not only on our phones and tablets; they are increasingly being seen in public places in the city in various forms. Be it the kiosks at the ATMs and railway stations or an app enhancing your shopping experience at a retail store, a single swipe or a hand gesture can fetch you a lot more information and convenience than ever before.

Businesses as well as consumers have realised its importance. Sangeetha Restaurant in Adyar uses Apple iPod devices to take orders and process bills. "I have a minute-by-minute account of demand which can be used to change product mix," said P Suresh, co-owner of Sangeetha Group of Hotels.

The traffic department in the state also uses touch screen devices for its e-challan scheme. It aims to bring down the number of accidents and also to speed up the process. "This will also help the victims get help quickly and then track cases later," said P N Mahadevan, MD of Purple Infotech which supplied the solution to the traffic department.

Apps now let you virtually experience all the products inside a large retail store on your mobile before you make a purchase. The app can also recognise faces to extend loyalty benefits. TELiBrahma, a mobile advertising firm, makes such an app for retail stores of firms like Reliance. "Touchscreens take technology out of the equation and make it easier to focus on the task at hand," said Narasimha Suresh, CEO and founder of TeliBrahma. With the advent of mobile payments and technologies like Near Field Communications (NFC), it won't be long before full transactions can be completed on your mobile or the nearby kiosk.

The intuitive nature of touch has aided its popularity among all age groups. "Interactive ads also aim to take advantage of touch technology on mobiles to target the right customer group. It is not the frequency but the quality of interaction that matters," said Alex Moukas, chief executive officer of Velti, a mobile advertising firm.

Globally, companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google and Nokia have been drawing up various concept designs ranging from touch sensitive tables on which you can work and eat at the same time to flexible touch phones which double up as wrist watches. With the advent of flexible touch screens, wearable computers will soon be a reality.

Pushing limits of technology

ATMs and kiosks Touchscreens are used in kiosks at railway stations, airports, banks (like ICICI Bank) and at cinema halls (like Sathyam Cinemas) in the city for dispensing tickets and related information. ATMs have been around for quite some time although their capabilties have undergone rapid changes.

Hospitals Healthcare facilities in the city are also going hi-tech. Dr Vijay Bose of Apollo carries his iPod to the operation theatre as a surgical tool. He mounts his iPod into a handheld device as an imageguided navigation system to do hip and knee replacements. The app, which takes up less than 3GB space on the iPod, works like a global positioning system on mobile phones

Retail stores Some stores in the city, like Reliance, have apps which you can use to check out the store. Once inside, the whole portfolio can be browsed on your touch phone with corresponding information on prices. You can also take a photo and try out T-shirts virtually on your phone to see how they will look. The app can also recognise you as a frequent visitor and give you points

Restaurants Many restaurants in the city are using touch screen phones like iPod to make themselves more efficient. Supervisors at Sangeetha restaurant take orders on an iPod through which they then send it (along with table number) to the kitchen. Afterwards the bill is sent from the iPhone to the office in charge of payment collections