As with most things in Japan that are at the fore front of technology (especially when the subject is related to mobile technology) this one also has NTT DoCoMo as a partner. The other one is Mitsubishi, together they are trying out a new type of cell phone. While so far we have been accustomed to using the touchscreen for input, the keypad has changed little over the years. Of course different form factors have managed to hide it (slider) or use some new wacky designs to increase the appeal - the basic theme has remained the same. Some have managed to work around by not having any keypad at all (O2 XDA) but this approach that has been displayed at CEATEC exhibition is indeed unique.
In this case the display is standard, whereas the keypad is a touchscreen. The main objective of this exercise is that modern cell phones with their multiple features have become too complicated. There are a lot of people out there who would love to have these functions and dont mind paying for them but the user interface is getting too complicated for them to adjust. This technology simplifies things a lot. Depending on the main menu, the keypad shows only the associated keys. The phone would thus have literally two displays, one which acts as only the output while the other one (the keypad) can take the input and display keys depending upon the requirement. There are 3 fixed buttons though, these are shortcuts for immediately accessing the keypad (the numeric keys get displayed on the input screen), for going back and forward.
more after the jump
Another change over the traditional touch pad screens is that these input screens have the possibility of feedback. On pressing the buttons on the screen, one can feel that they have been depressed like in a normal keypad. Also beautiful is the way that LEDs have been used under the material of the cell phone to indicate the time as well as missed calls. Since the phone already has two "internal" displays, putting in a third on the outer side would have been too much of a drain on the battery; this is a unique and smart solution.
The Japanese translation is extremely rudimentary so we are unable to provide more details. NTT DoCoMo and Mitsubishi have just built some prototypes and are still experimenting around in different manners so that this technology may be used in the best manner possible. An official press release at a later date when the technology has been advanced should provide much more material. However till then the pictures of this device are worth a look.