Magnet Magic Puts Phone Control in the Air
From: New Scientist - 02/23/2010
By: Nic Fleming

Deutsche Telekom (DT) researchers have developed MagiTact, software that
makes it possible to control a cell phone by moving a hand-worn magnet close
to it. MagiTact works on devices with a compass sensor, such as the Apple
iPhone and Google's Nexus One. The software tracks changes to the magnetic
field around a cell phone to identify different hand gestures. "The idea is
to develop a way to interact with mobile devices through more natural human
gestures," says DT researcher Hamed Ketabdar. Meanwhile, Hasso Plattner
Institute researchers are working to improve touchscreen interaction by
adding a touch-sensitive pad to the back of devices and by studying the
angles at which users' fingers touch the screen to make buttons smaller. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18558-magnet-magic-puts-phone-control-in-the-air.html

Link:
MagiTact hands-free phone control makes multitouch seem absolutely passe
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/23/magitact-hands-free-phone-control-makes-multitouch-seem-absolute/