Tooltips in the era of touch

Question

Tooltips are an incredibly useful interface paradigm to know an application. They are the mapping between the visual control and the application specific action associated t

Answer 1

I can think of a couple of solutions to this problem

1) Design your app to not need tooltips. Put text on buttons (however small), use straightforward icons, or show a "help bubble" on "first use of a button" (with option to "not show this again" once user has learned what a button is for)

2) Respond to events on touch up, not touch down. Respond to touches that have been held for 0.5-1 second by displaying a "help" bubble. If the help bubble shows, the button's normal event does not fire on touch up (so users looking for help don't end up triggering actions).

3) Use the "question mark" drag & drop paradigm that @voyager suggested. Or, have the user "tap" the question mark first, then tap the item he needs help with.