New Vibrations: Immersion Adds Rich Feel to Symbian

HT to cellodude on the IV MB. From allaboutsymbian.com:

>>New Vibrations: Immersion Adds Rich Feel to Symbian

The Vibra API on Symbian smartphones has enabled developers to add ‘feel’ to applications for some time. However, a new generation of haptic feedback is being brought to the Symbian ecosystem by Immersion Corporation. This article explores the possibilities that may be offered by Immersion’s API and tools.

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The fact that haptic feedback is best if intermittent reduces the likely demands on a device’s battery. “Even where there is intense feedback the impact on power consumption is small,” says Dennis. Immersion has undertaken extensive modelling of feedback use and this suggests the most extreme case of normal use is typing. “Even if someone manages to type at 50 words a minute the impact on battery life is negligible,” says Dennis. “In this situation the haptic effects may add one or two percent to the power consumption. Most tasks with intense haptic feedback happen when the screen is on, and the screen has a far more significant effect on power consumption.” Dennis also points out that compared to using the standard vibration APIs, Immersion's technology is significantly more power efficient. “A typical native vibration API results in the motor starting up and shutting down slowly. This means the vibrator has to be run for a significant period of time, tens of milli seconds, to have enough force behind it to achieve the desired effect,” says Dennis. “Our technology is designed to accelerate and brake the motor much faster and therefore uses much less power."