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Apple patents multitouch gestures
Patently Apple reports that Apple has picked up a major patent from the USPTO for a long list of mutitouch gestures. The gestures all involve moving two or more fingers on a multitouch surface, and cover everything from cut and copy shortcuts to global search and find and replace motions. I'm sure creative types could probably come up with at least a few other ways to ways to move your fingers on a surface, but this one's pretty far-reaching. PA also notes that almost all of these gestures were picked up by Apple as part of their Fingerworks purchase -- while (as far as I know) not all of these gestures eventually made it to the iPad, we can probably expect to see them show up in the future. Also picked up from the USPTO includes a patent for adjusting the tempo of music played by an iPod, possibly even according to some body metric (like putting a strap on your arm to measure your pulse by using Nike+), one patent for antenna structure, and a few different patents dealing with digital files and folders. As always, just the fact that Apple is patenting these ideas doesn't ever mean that we'll for sure see them in future updates of software or hardware. But watching these patents is a good way to keep an eye on what's coming out of Apple's R&D departments.
Apple considering stylus for the tablet? They've applied for a patent, but...
Steve Jobs hates styluses (styli?). At the January, 2007 Macworld Expo keynote where Jobs introduced the iPhone to the world, he went so far as to ask "Who wants a stylus?" and expressed his distaste for stylus input with a "Yeccch!" However, that hasn't kept Apple from applying for a patent on using a stylus on devices like the iPhone that are designed for finger input. The iPhone and other touchscreen devices use capacitive screens that require styluses with conductive tips. Older resistive screens, such as the one on the Apple Newton MessagePad (at right), could use virtually any plastic-tipped stylus for navigation and handwriting input. The patent application, filed on January 14th, is titled "Stylus adapted for low resolution touch sensor panels", and lists John G. Elias as the applicant. Elias is one of the co-founders of FingerWorks, a company acquired by Apple in 2005 for its pioneering work on multi-touch interfaces. What this all means for tablet devices is unknown, but it's fascinating to see that the word "stylus" is still echoing around at least some of the conference rooms in Cupertino. [via MacRumors]
Rumor: Apple tablet said to be "iPhone on steroids"
If there's anything consistently consistent about the purported Apple tablet, it's that it's said to be, in essence, a larger iPhone. Expanding on this, Boy Genius Report cites its "close Apple contact" that claims the device is "an iPhone on steroids." Like its iPhone brethren, the tablet is said to sport an ARM processor, adding the caveat that the processor will be "incredibly fast." Also according to the report, the tablet will support multi-touch gestures that are said to be "out of control." Back in 2005, Apple acquired FingerWorks, a company that specialized in gesture-based computing. According to former Apple engineers, FingerWorks will have its footprint -- er, fingerprints -- on the purported tablet. The meat behind these potatoes is said to be the iPhone OS kernel. For this reason, there hasn't been an updated build of the iPhone OS out of fears that tablet-related references in the code would leak.
Apple rumor roundup: improbable removable battery edition
Now that CES is officially over, it's apparently time for the vague Apple rumor factory to start churning out sketchy reports about tablets, next-gen iPhones, and "vanishing" domain names. Yeah, it's getting silly out there, but judging by our tip box you all can't get enough, so let's do this thing rapid-fire style. The rumor: The Korea Times, citing unnamed sources at Korea Telecom, says the carrier is planning for a 4G iPhone featuring an OLED display, a front-facing video camera, a fast new dual-core CPU, and a removable battery. General launch is expected in June, but corporate clients will be doing a "litmus test" in April. Our take: We will eat our hats if Apple puts a removable battery in the iPhone. Plus, Apple doesn't do focus group testing, least of all with enterprise customers. This just seems like wishful thinking -- we could have made up a more convincing rumor while eating a hat. The rumor: 10.1 OLED and LCD display panels are no longer available anywhere, because Apple has "pre-ordered them all" to secure volume discounts and keep the tablet's price down. Our take: We certainly saw plenty of new 10.1-inch netbooks and slates at CES, including some multitouch LCD units, and no one was complaining. Also, we saw several larger OLED displays at CES, but they were all too expensive and impractical for shipping products, so that's gotta be one hell of a discount. The rumor: Apple has mysteriously shut down the FingerWorks website, which means something tablet-related because... well, it must mean something, right? Our take: Apple bought FingerWorks years ago -- we're surprised this hadn't happened sooner. We bet the hosting contract just ran out. Alternatively, Steve Jobs is trying to send us a message by yanking an obscure touch-related domain just weeks before a highly-anticipated product launch, because he is the master of extremely minor hints about nothing. All in all, a pretty lame set of rumors -- there's barely anything here for pundits and the mass media to conflate and distort into something bigger. At least give us a poorly-translated French telecom executive speaking off the cuff, you know? Have some dignity.
Former Apple engineer: FingerWorks may be a part of the tablet
The New York Times is the latest big source of tablet rumors today, and they went way back for the latest stab in the dark. All the way back to 2005, when Apple purchased a little company called FingerWorks, known for their work with gesture recognition on a multitouch interface like the Touchstream keyboard above. The Gray Lady says they spoke with "former Apple engineers" who have worked on the tablet itself, and those guys claim that it makes use of gesture recognition to operate: "for example, three fingers down and rotate could mean 'open an application.'" Another former employee told them that Apple's been putting together a multitouch version of iWork for years, and that the tablet is actually a full-featured Mac, not just an e-reader or larger iPod touch. Of course, we don't know how long ago these Apple engineers worked for the company -- given that the App Store has vastly changed things over there in just the last year and a half, the tablet itself could have changed its focus in that same period of time. At this point, given all of the things you can do with a multitouch screen, finger gestures are probably the least impressive. But then again, Apple's been obsessed with multitouch for a while, so it's not a stretch to think they might be included some of this FingerWorks technology in a larger multitouch screen. Wait and see, wait and see. Update: MacRumors now notes that some content on FingerWorks' website has been pulled despite being online since Apple made the purchase in 2005. Very interesting. [via MacRumors]
Some iPhone touchscreen roots 'splained by FingerWorks inventors
It really wouldn't be an Apple device if it didn't involve the practical kidnapping of a pair of inventors and secretive technology buyouts, and the iPhone seems to be no exception. Word is getting out of John Elias and Wayne Westerman, co-founders of FingerWorks, who were struggling to keep their dream of gesture-operated gadgetry alive when the company suddenly closed up shop a year and a half ago. Few doubt Apple snapped up the pair, and with interesting touchscreen abilities of the iPhone, it looks like it found a use for the men in some secretive underground laboratory. The greatest admission so far to such cahoots comes from Westerman, who said recently: "The one difference that's actually quite significant is the iPhone is a display with the multi-touch, and the FingerWorks was just an opaque surface. That's all I'm going to say there. There's definite similarities, but Apple's definitely taken it another step by having it on a display." FingerWorks devices, which included a no-touch keyboard, mouse-less mouse pad and other multi-touch devices, have developed a bit of a cult following from "Fingerfans" on the internets, with people paying upwards of $1,500 for a FingerWorks keyboard that originally sold for $250. The ergonomics and usability enhancements of FingerWorks devices appeal to a small niche right now, but the hope is that Apple won't be limiting its implementation of these technologies to just the iPhone -- of course, nobody is holding their breath.[Thanks, Geezer]
