While competing solutions require either two sensors or multiple chips to support pen and multi-touch, N-trig is the first company to offer both on a single chip and a single sensor, providing device manufacturers with a compact, low-power solution and paving the way for N-trig to enter the handheld market.

ENGADGET: N-Trig pen tech whittled down to single DuoSense chips and sensors, shrinks scribblings to travel size

Because I've been working down there for nearly a year as the U.N. special envoy, I've been in constant touch with our people through the U.N. on the ground, and you know we lost a lot of our people there -- the largest loss of life in the history of the United Nations on a single day.

WHITEHOUSE: Presidents Obama, Bush, & Clinton: Help for Haiti

The gear selector comprises a vertical row of P-R-N-D-S touch-screen buttons on the left of the central LCD touch screen (shades of the '64 Plymouth Valiant).

WSJ: 2013 Lexus RX 350 F Sport Review: Dashed on the Rocks of the Lexus Dash | Rumble Seat by Dan Neil

Only companies whose products pass certification testing will be able to display the N-Mark, the universal symbol for NFC, which tells consumers where to touch to initiate NFC services on a device.

ENGADGET: NFC certification program announced just in time for Android 2.3 Gingerbread launch on Monday?

According to a pamphlet obtained by datacider, the MEDIAS family will soon be welcoming a Gingerbread-powered N-06C, which closely resembles the N-04C except for the extra 0.2mm thickness plus 10g weight, as well as touch buttons instead of physical ones.

ENGADGET: NEC's waterproof MEDIAS N-06C to get a sprinkle of Gingerbread and 1GHz power