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Samsung Retouches Its TouchWiz User Interface

It appears that Samsung is set to unveil an updated version of its TouchWiz user interface at Mobile World Congress. TouchWiz is a finger-friendly UI that competes with the iPhone and Android platforms. Will the upgrades make it a better competitor?

TouchWiz is on a number of Samsung's phones, most notably the Omnia, which is available for sale via Verizon Wireless in the United States. It's a capable, touch-based user interface that uses a dock that is (strangely) similar to the dock used by Apple's OS X operating system. The dock houses a number of widgets that can be dragged and dropped onto the home screen wherever the user wishes.

As good as it is, it isn't perfect. There isn't a way to get new widgets for the phone, the dock is locked to the left side of the screen, which may bug some users, and it is prone to crashing, depending on how many widgets you have running at one time.

According to Samsung corporate in Korea, TouchWiz will see an overhaul, to be fully revealed next week during Mobile World Congress. The new features will address the widget issues right off the bat. It appears that new widgets will be downloadable, though Samsung doesn't say where the widgets will come from. The dock can be placed at the bottom of the screen if the user so wishes. It also will have new 3-D effects, and better integration of contacts and photos, as well as additions to the haptic feedback mechanism.

Samsung will reveal more next week.

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