That’s right. Forget all these phones with tons of buttons that half of us hardly use. We shall soon see phones that are completely touch sensitive.

The Onyx concept is based on Synaptics ClearPad technology. “ClearPad is a thin, high resolution capacitive touch screen that can be placed over any viewable surface for finger input. ClearPad enables a dynamic and adaptive user interface that eliminates the need for mechanical buttons on handheld devices. This allows mobile designers to increase LCD size to support the content and functionality available for today’s handheld devices. Additionally, because ClearPad is solid state, it can be curved and mounted beneath plastics, offering mobile designers an opportunity to create sleek and stylized industrial designs.”

What that boils down to is the ability to make phone calls by sliding your finger over number keys, or exiting out of an application by physically marking an “X” with your fingers on the screen. Is that hot or not?

Obviously, as is the case all good things, the Onyx is a concept, though Onyx does plan to attract cell phone makers by the end of this year.

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