All the Mac watching blogs and sites are abuzz this week about the possible focus of new product announcements to be made on 12th September. Most of these concern new widescreen/touchscreen iPods, full length movie downloads for iTunes and movie streaming using Airport, however yesterday the US Patent and Trademark office published a new Apple patent application entitled "Multi-functional hand-held device”.
Could this be the Apple handheld that many have been predicting and waiting for?
According to the macnn.com site:
This powerful patent covers the following topics: Touch Screen, Touch Sensitive Housing, Display Actuator, Multi-Functionality, Form Factor, One-Handed vs. Two-Handed Operation, Footprint/Size, Full Screen Display, Limited Number of Mechanical Actuators, Adaptability, GUI Based on Functionality, Switching Between Devices (GUI), Operating at Least Two Functionalities Simultaneously, Configurable GUI (User Preferences), Input Devices, Pressure or Force Sensing Devices, Force Sensitive Housing, Motion Actuated Input Device, Mechanical Actuators, Microphone, Image Sensor, Touch Gestures, 3-D Spatial Gestures, Perform Action Based on Multiple Inputs, Differentiating Between Light and Hard Touches, Example of a New Touch Vocabulary, Speaker, Audio/Tactile Feedback Devices, Communication Devices (wired & wireless) and Change UI Based on Received Communication Signals.
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No mention was made of a kitchen sink or toaster.
Within the filing Apple have provided sketches which the story on macnn.com has reproduced.
Often patents are filed way before a product emerges or sometimes just to protect an idea, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see...
http://www.macnn.com/blogs/?p=98
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