Cypress TrueTouch Touchscreen Solution Drives Floating Touch Navigation Feature in New Xperia sola Smartphone from Sony Mobile Communications

The Xperia sola’s floating touch is the world’s first smartphone to allow users to navigate by hovering a finger above the screen so it acts like a moving cursor without actually touching the screen. Once the desired link is found it can be highlighted and a simple tap will load the page. This alleviates the common problem of tiny links on a phone screen that are very difficult to access. This technology also enables users to operate the Xperia sola flawlessly while wearing even thick gloves, a very convenient feature for users in cold climates.

Cypress’s TrueTouch controllers enable this striking new feature with patent-pending technology that is unavailable from other suppliers. TrueTouch is the only solution with the ability to execute both self-capacitance and mutual-capacitance measurements in the same device—and switch dynamically between the two in application. This capability enables the hover and glove touch functionality.

We're excited to offer the world's first smartphone with hover capability, said Erik Hellman, Master Engineer at Sony Mobile Communications. We think this technology will change the way people interact with their phones, offering new capabilities and functionality that will dramatically enhance the mobile experience. Cypress's TrueTouch technology was instrumental in enabling this feature, and the Cypress team partnered with us to bring it out on schedule.

The Xperia sola is a tremendous showcase for TrueTouch technology, said Dhwani Vyas, Vice President of Cypress's User Interface Business Unit. TrueTouch is unique in its ability to support hover functionality, and we're excited to see the outstanding implementation of this technology within the Xperia sola.