Oki doki, so given plausible future technology let's try to brainstorm a solution that addresses the issue of tactility in interaction, I give you the ... drumroll KinBall (Kinectic ball). The Kinball would essentially be a wireless ball, like a small juggling sack (the smaller ones) that you could interact with to control devices.

So the Kinball would have the following features

* Gyroscope/acceleratometer so it knows which side is up and how fast it's being moved and where it is.

* Sensors so it can feel where it's being squeezed/pressed and how hard

* Some kind of detecting mechanism for when two balls (cough) are touching each other. * Ability to vibrate in different frequencies and also only partially on different parts of the ball

So with a device like that you now would have to come up with a gesture language, some ideas

* If the future allows it, ability to change color

* Holding the ball and moving the thumb over it is "cursor mode, pressing in that mode would be clicking (and you could "click" and hold for submenus )

* Similarily swiping your tumb over the ball would be the swipe gesture

* Pinch-squeeze could be a specific gesture, perhaps combined with a gesture (like spritzing cookies :)

* If you hold the ball in the whole hand and move it from your chest and forward you could simulate resistance by varying the frequency of the vibrating to "feel" interface element

* you could roll the ball in your hand forwards and backwards, for instance for scrolling

* Double the balls, double the fun. With two balls you could perhaps do interesting things with the distance between them and again simulate resistance by vibrating the balls as you bring them closer to each other

* Social balling, you could touch someone elses ball (ahem) to transfer info, files etc

* You could have the ball on your desk and it could change color or pulse in different colors for different notifications.

This kind of interface would have some interesting features. You get tactile feedback and most gestures are pretty natural. You don't have to get smudge marks on your screens. The ball is pretty discrete and hardly visible in your hand. Heck with a headset (for getting information, like reading smss) you could just get away with a ball and the headset and skip the device altogether for some scenarios.

On the other hand it's another accessory you can lose and a ball in your pants might not be the best form factor.

Anyways, if Apple introduces the iBall you know where you read it first