Samsung Force-Feedback Phone

Filed in: Gadgets — April 27th, 2005

A new cell phone that shakes like the mobile version of a “rumble” game controller will be introduced by Samsung next week.

Samsung’s SCH-n330 is the first phone that will shake and vibrate like a force-feedback joystick, the company claims.

Developed by Immersion, the phone’s VibeTonz system gives the gamer a sense of resistance as he or she turns a steering wheel, drives into a wall or fires a shot.

Vibration is a common feature in mobile phones enabled by an actuator — a spinning, off-center weight attached to a motor that rocks like a tilted washing machine.

Immersion claims VibeTonz is a step up from ordinary vibrating phones, allowing more detailed control of the actuator to create a combination of pulses that vary in intensity, speed or duration. According to Immersion, the system can mimic the sensation of driving on the road one minute, and crashing the next.

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