After reading a patent, that I thought showed an SD card. There was a line in the patent that was interesting, "A game apparatus includes a touch panel on which at least two pointing positions are simultaneously detectable". First thing came to mind, multi-touch!

So after a little searching, there is this a Gamespot article that talks about the same patent and how it could be new functionality for future DS's. It is able to detect two pressure points and calculate the average of the segment and angle.

But is this possible in the DS or is it as Gamespot said a future feature for the next iteration? In that same search this YouTube video came up.

See that it detects when you are pressing with one or two fingers and changes the screen accordingly. So it can detect two pressure points simultainiously. From a comment in said video it seems it is already used in games?!?!

From experience with the DS and Palm PDAs touching 2 locations on the touch screen just averages out the two and selects whatever is in the center. That is what is done in Hotel Dusk to press the two switches and the same can be done on Taiko DS to do the big hits on the center. if you bring down both styli on the drum it will average out to the center and record a center hit.

The method described is the same as the one in the patent! So appart from Hotel Dusk and Taiko DS, is there any other game that this is present? I'm gonna play more Hotel Dusk tonight to reach that switch.

That's pretty interesting, but what's the point?

Playing Star Fox with two fingers? Just thought it was interesting, and didn't know touchscreens where this sensible. Imagined it was only capable of detecting one pressure point.

Doesn't the iPhone/PodTouch have multitouch features?

^iTouch only uses temperature, not pressure, but yes it is "multi-touch".

I thought it (both) used the conductivity of your fingers (electricity) ... not pressure.... which is why you can press as hard as you like with something like an eraser and nothing happens, but the lightest finger touch is registered.

To me, a multi-touch DS 2 is a no brainer. As are dual touch screens and at least PSP graphics. But I'm interested to see if we'll get dual analog or an alternative to help in movement. Some basic accelerometers wouldn't hurt, either.

^No, cuz someone in my class has homebrew app on his ifone that hags it up after you take it away from your face for 5 seconds, by determining the temperature... He could just be completely clueless though... but I wouldn't be suprised, because that's how the clickwheel worked... (In case you can't tell, I don't like apple, so I don't have an "i" anything).

BTW, the DS does work with styluses, plastic pens, ect... the iTouch doesn't.

Correct TWRoO, that's why stylus don't work on the iPhone.

@L.C.E.C.: What you mention is a proximity sensor.

The screen is explained here: http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/iphone1.htm

Wow... that kid was F(%&^ douchebag. I knew he was freaking lying...

read your article afterwards, but I'd already found this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone#Screen_and_input

Oddly enough, I just remembered how the homebrew application MoonShell could determine temperature, but I could never figure out how (and there was no Wi-Fi around)