ThinkPad creator talks touchscreens

Arimasa Naitoh, widely recognized as father of the Thinkpad, and current Lenovo VP for Notebook Development and the head of the Yamato Development Labs, spoke to a group about, among other things, the challenges of implementing capacitive touchscreens on their T400s and X200 series. The event was captured on video and posted by Engadget.

Toward the end, he explains how it wasn’t just a matter of slapping a digitizer behind the screen. They found and solved problems with interference from cellphones and even the LCD itself, as well as keeping the hinge strong enough hold up to poking at the screen while still being pliable enough to close. He also points out the touchpad will remain a key component and demos some of Lenovo’s custom touchscreen functions.

Fair warning: the video is pretty rough to watch with sunlit windows in the background, the refreshing of an LCD, and poor accoustics, which are not helped by Mr. Naitoh’s accent. I grew up hearing Japanese accents, and it was a challenge for me.