Come on, it's not an iPhone ripoff, unless MS in the possession of a time machine. That is a continuation from a patent from year 2005, with the same imagery. If it would be a ripoff, then Apple would have ripped off this, but it's not even that.

Nokia came out with a touchscreen mobile phone (Nokia 7710) in 2003...

The more times I see that design, the less I like it. It really is "fugly". Like the Flintstones would have designed a car.

Again stating the obvious, but at least I'm using my mouse so that for the most parts my hand lies flat on the mousepad and I move the mouse lightly just with two fingers. This clearly doesn't seem to allow the same ease and accuracy than a mouse.

But does it have a reciprocation dingle-arm to reduce sinusoidal deplenoration?

Btw, E61 users, Nokia has now a working software update page available:

http://europe.nokia.com/A4151185

Many bug fixes and performance improvements. At least I updated mine just now without a hitch.

It's called fingerprints. On the viewing surface.

As far as I understand this application, Claim 1 says:

1. A hand-held electronic device, comprising: a multi-touch input surface; and a processing unit operatively connected to said multi-touch input surface, said processing unit capable of receiving a plurality of concurrent touch inputs from a user via said multi-touch input surface and discriminating a user requested action from the touch inputs; and a display device operatively coupled to the processing unit and configured to present a user interface.

This is an application for the multi-touch screen input device, where the device can then have multiple roles.

Of course devices with multiple roles have been around for a long time, you couldn't patent that anymore. Whether you switch between the roles with a switch or a main screen (as also found in the patent application) or whatever really makes no difference.

This is moderately offtopic, but as an European I really don't understand this whole main-in rebate thing. I mean, what's the point? Why can't they just directly lower the prices, why go through the hassle? Where did this thing start from?

Isn't this then more like a "hands off!" article than "hands on"?...