I am not talking about phones or iPads or other "gadgets". I am talking about applications like kiosk systems (POI - Point of Information/Info Terminals) or HMI (Human Machine Interface). All UI books seem to deal with keyboard and mouse interfaces...
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Designing Gestural Interfaces by Dan Saffer is a nice start with some basics. I've been working on a largescale POI system for a postal company for over a year, and we've also done numerous user/usability tests and it is very different from your regular webapp or site. I think for me there were 3 or 4 major differences:
1) size and spacing (the tip of your finger is a lot bigger than your cursor)
2) blocking the down/right corner view. Most people are right handed and block a big part of the screen with their hand when beginning somewhere in the top left corner, but on a touchscreen app you often want to use all the space you have so that creates a problem for some important functions that get out of sight.
3) Regular scrolling often sucks. Sorry for the language, but the technology used for larger touschscreen displays combined with sweaty hands and dirty screens makes it annoying for people to put their finger on a screen and trying to drag down a scrollbar, so try to avoid that.
4) Contrast/reflection. The screens are often in places with direct sunlight or artificial lights pointed directly at them, so make sure you choose a colorscheme that is still readable in these situtions. We actually tested several color combinations in bad light situations to find out what worked best for most people. Remember with POI's, that some people will have to work with them from 9 - 5 5 days a week...
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