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Apple None-Touch iPod Interface?
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network23 said:
Well, while I'll admit that some touching is unavoidable, I could easily hover my finger over the controls on my iPod or on the track pad on my PB. I only glanced off the surface once in a mock navigation of the iPod to get to a playlist and start playing. How much better is that than having tones of sweep marks and finger prints from scrolling and tapping?
billchase2 said:
As did I, only 80+ posts prior...
Seriously though, the tech is cool, but it's one more thing to drain on the battery. I'm looking forward to the days when all iPods will be flash memory--sleeker, better battery life, and faster. I'm not too interested in the magnificent disappearing scrollwheel.
Just a story...
The announcer swings his hand towards one corner of the ring, "And in this corner, with the full weight of Microsoft behind it...a device that will play your music...it will play your movies...it doesn't even have too, too many buttons....it's the challenger, the mother of all iPod Killers...it's the one....the only...THE MIGHTY....ZUUUUUUUUNE!" (Polite applause from the audience.)
The announcer then waves his hand towards the other side of the ring as the crowd now rises to their feet, cheering raucously.
"And in this corner, we have your undisputed champ...showing off a new physique...it's your video iPod!! With controls that simply...vanish...when you take your hand away?!?"
The announcer rolls his eyes, and motions, and in wheels the mechanical broom and dust pan. It whacks the Zune into little pieces, sweeps up the debris, then whirrs away.
"NEXT?"
The announcer swings his hand towards one corner of the ring, "And in this corner, with the full weight of Microsoft behind it...a device that will play your music...it will play your movies...it doesn't even have too, too many buttons....it's the challenger, the mother of all iPod Killers...it's the one....the only...THE MIGHTY....ZUUUUUUUUNE!" (Polite applause from the audience.)
The announcer then waves his hand towards the other side of the ring as the crowd now rises to their feet, cheering raucously.
"And in this corner, we have your undisputed champ...showing off a new physique...it's your video iPod!! With controls that simply...vanish...when you take your hand away?!?"
The announcer rolls his eyes, and motions, and in wheels the mechanical broom and dust pan. It whacks the Zune into little pieces, sweeps up the debris, then whirrs away.
"NEXT?"
"Readers should realize that while Apple continues to publish patents on technologies that never make it into shipping products, the concepts described in this patent were referenced by Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou in June 2006:"
What other patents does apple have in which they didn't make the product?
What other patents does apple have in which they didn't make the product?
xfiftyfour said:
I am not going to read all 110 replies, so this may have already been put out there.
Remember the other patent with the LCD with the built in little photo cells, think these would know when something was above them?
The screen will have a clear scratch proof cover over it that you could touch if you wanted too.
I can't see people Not touching the screen, just hovering mm above it, no way.
stunna said:
Consider the current ipod is $400. This is looking like it could be quite expensive. I just don't see it selling for less than half a grand
living for the concept
Wonders though how close you'd have to be, i mean if it is a few inches or less it is still a touch screen and the sillys will touch it anyway, but can you blame them it is an iPod. How can you not touch, even if youre not supposed to
Wonders though how close you'd have to be, i mean if it is a few inches or less it is still a touch screen and the sillys will touch it anyway, but can you blame them it is an iPod. How can you not touch, even if youre not supposed to
rumors
Well, I just had to wipe my hands to type this after eating my nachos, so i wouldn't mind not touching it, so I could still be eating....that being said..this is too weird...A bar rumor. I was out last weekend and a friend told me about a friend of his with an Apple powerbook prototype that he is testing that uses exactly that. It's a three dementional, no touching, control. I guess it works with sensors behind the screen and in between the keys on the keyboard. You can write in the air, move items, etc. I wish I can say it was first hand that I saw this, so you have to take it as it is...only a rumor...BUT it does fit into this thread.
Well, I just had to wipe my hands to type this after eating my nachos, so i wouldn't mind not touching it, so I could still be eating....that being said..this is too weird...A bar rumor. I was out last weekend and a friend told me about a friend of his with an Apple powerbook prototype that he is testing that uses exactly that. It's a three dementional, no touching, control. I guess it works with sensors behind the screen and in between the keys on the keyboard. You can write in the air, move items, etc. I wish I can say it was first hand that I saw this, so you have to take it as it is...only a rumor...BUT it does fit into this thread.
whooleytoo said:
As DNA prophesied:
"A loud clatter of gunk music flooded through the Heart of Gold cabin as
Zaphod searched the sub-etha radio wavebands for news of himself. The machine was rather difficult to operate. For years radios had been operated by means of pressing buttons and turning dials; then as the technology became more sophisticated the controls were made touch-sensitive you merely had to brush the panels with your fingers; now all you had to do was wave your hand in the general direction of the components and hope. It saved a lot of muscular expenditure of course, but meant that you had to sit infuriatingly still if you wanted to keep listening to the same programme.
[...]
The music swirled and dived for a moment. Another voice broke in, presumably Halfrunt. He said: Vel l, Zaphods jist zis guy you know? but got no further because an electric pencil flew across the cabin and through the radios on/off sensitive airspace. Zaphod turned and glared at Trillian she had thrown the pencil."
MattG said:
Well, mine almost do it...
But seriously, I'm not sold to that idea. Most of the time, my pod is in my bag and I became pretty good at changing songs without taking it out.
Anyway, with this idea, I guess that I would HAVE to take it out to skip songs... without touching the unit...
but who would want to have a full featured iTunes when you still haven't solved the problem of typing. The most efficient part for me is to type out what you're looking for. I do, however, see the advantage to making playlists more efficiently on the go, giving you the ability to shuffle anything you choose, not just "All Songs" which is a bother.dongmin said:If this patent is anything close to reality, Apple may be prepping something much bigger than an iPod, something closer to a full-featured OS X tablet computer. You'll be running a full-featured version of iTunes, not just the simplified UI of the iPod:
Lollypop said:...all the rumors are getting a bit much, next thing the ipod will be a all purpose video edeting aplience called the... macbook!
when I first bought my iBook, I used to call it "my big iPod"
Some of these patent applications have also included keyboard overlays that magically pop up on demand and so on. Much of this gesture stuff looks like major overkill for a media player, I do wonder if the iPoddish appearance of the examples is a red herring.rockthecasbah said:but who would want to have a full featured iTunes when you still haven't solved the problem of typing. The most efficient part for me is to type out what you're looking for. I do, however, see the advantage to making playlists more efficiently on the go, giving you the ability to shuffle anything you choose, not just "All Songs" which is a bother.
BrianMojo said:
Actually, that (and not smudging the screen) would be side-benefits - the main benefit is you can use the on-screen controls without your fingers and hand obscuring them.
Generally, most touch-screens tend to have large controls as it's difficult to accurately press small controls when your hand is (inevitably) covering them. Having the touch/motion sensors at the back would obliviate this problem and make it possible to have smaller (and thus, more) controls on screen, as needed.
Text input can be addressed in a lot of different ways. Bluetooth portable keyboards, for example. If I got a tablet, I'd also get myself a foldable keyboard to take along with me. Or you can make do with a virtual keyboard activated by gestures (2nd image):rockthecasbah said:but who would want to have a full featured iTunes when you still haven't solved the problem of typing. The most efficient part for me is to type out what you're looking for. I do, however, see the advantage to making playlists more efficiently on the go, giving you the ability to shuffle anything you choose, not just "All Songs" which is a bother.
I'm going to assume it doesn't mean that you actually control the thing without touching it, rather it just makes the wheel disappear when you aren't holding it. That seems to be a more useful idea.
I mean, otherwise, it's a useless feature, except to prevent screen scratching.
I mean, otherwise, it's a useless feature, except to prevent screen scratching.
Scruff said:
Yeah, if you read the whole patent, you'll notice that it makes mention of "force sensors" underneath the display to tell if it is a "light" or "hard" touch. A finger being waved above an object doesn't have force to sense, and in looking at the more tablet-oriented part of the patent, you can see that a hand is clearly holding the object. The document also makes several references to the input devices appearing or disappearing based on the proximity of a finger.
It would seem that the main purpose of this is to make overlays like this possible:
This isn't a "none-touch" patent.