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Apple Patent Application Points to 3D Multi-Touch Manipulation

rtdunham said:
Think of it as a reverse-engineered laptop with a removable screen, but one that in tablet mode is so much more than what's formerly been imagined..

Whether or not the new device runs full OSX, i see this as the start of migration of App Store Apps to Apple's larger products. And that's an exciting prospect.
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You just made me realize something awesome. What if Apple re-engineered the Macbook Air so that the screen could pop off? In its docked mode, it ran at full power and ran full OS X. However, in undocked mode, the interface took all the data with it, but dropped into iPhone OS or tablet OS with a reduced set of Apps and only mobile functionality. Then you could charge $1699 for it and noone would think twice. You have a tablet and a laptop. Oh, and of course, it is also available as a stand alone unit for $999.
The only think keeping that from being true is that the Air is 13" and the tablet is supposed to be 10". Apple would never release a 10" laptop. That would be $1699 Netbook. Yikes. I'm still thinking this is going to be some form of hybrid.
 
That apple would enter into 3D computing through an innovative interface makes complete sense... AND IT IS ABOUT TIME.

once apple's dedication to 3d is implemented it'll take 4 years or so for 3d computing programs to settle into the mac environment...

r.
 
Some type of 3D sensor ability could aid in finger/type/touch input as well.
 
rtdunham said:
It doesn't have to be that tricky. Don't forget Apple's proclivity for simplicity. Expect easy connectivity for a keyboard and external monitor. It thus becomes a component laptop, answering objections to a $1,000 product that's not a laptop but costs as much as one. Think of it as a reverse-engineered laptop with a removable screen, but one that in tablet mode is so much more than what's formerly been imagined..

Whether or not the new device runs full OSX, i see this as the start of migration of App Store Apps to Apple's larger products. And that's an exciting prospect.
Click to expand...

The newest Mac bluetooth keyboard is the perfect size for the slate.
apple-wireless-keyboard.jpg
 
Originally Posted by BabyFaceMagee View Post
This cool video shows some of the potential of a 3d interface if the tablet were to have the ability to track head movement. Worth watching. The good stuff happens a few minutes into it so you might want to fast forward past the 'setup' portion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw
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Very cool indeed!! Thanks for the link!!
 
Maybe an interface like the alien uses in the spaceship in the movie District 9... It's 3-D and multitouch... :cool:
 
adamw said:
This would be very cool. I am glad that Apple owns this patent and not someone else...
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One problem with that statement. Remember Microsoft's 3D motion sensor control code named NATAL? That means Apple is NOT the only nor first to have that patent. An Israeli company provided that tech to Microsoft. But if the 3D Multi-Touch is what we're seeing, there's a good chance it'll go on the tablet since the camera is probably motion sensing.

BUT, on the other hand, will it increase the tablet's price due to new 3-D OS? I suspect it'll be multi-touch with a 3-D effect onscreen to move around objects or windows. They're not gonna go super fancy "Minority Report" with the device.

Yet. That's a few more years or so down the road.
 
No doubt Nokia will demand access to this patent in its lawsuit so it can properly show its senior managers how far it has fallen behind Apple.
 
harley3k said:
Some type of 3D sensor ability could aid in finger/type/touch input as well.
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Exactly... the patent has a lot of potential for gaming etc... but all I want today is the ability (option) to flip pages or fast forward video etc. without leaving finger prints all over a tablet. Although this patent doesn't directly address this, it's still along the same line (input without touching the screen).

The iphone/ipod is a generally a personal device, the tablet may be a shared device, the surface can get pretty messy.
 
Pilgrim1099 said:
One problem with that statement. Remember Microsoft's 3D motion sensor control code named NATAL? That means Apple is NOT the only nor first to have that patent. An Israeli company provided that tech to Microsoft. But if the 3D Multi-Touch is what we're seeing, there's a good chance it'll go on the tablet since the camera is probably motion sensing.

BUT, on the other hand, will it increase the tablet's price due to new 3-D OS? I suspect it'll be multi-touch with a 3-D effect onscreen to move around objects or windows. They're not gonna go super fancy "Minority Report" with the device.

Yet. That's a few more years or so down the road.
Click to expand...

It's not like there's one patent for 3D viewing. There are probably many, each technically different in how they work. It would be great if Apple has something that can be brought to market in the near term, but I wouldn't expect them to be the only company with a product that will function similarly as far as the end user is concerned.
 
I had this crazy fantasy the other day - something that will most certainly not be in the putative tablet, but someday, perhaps. Since the idea of eye- tracking seems to be a distant possibility, I imagined them also including micro-projectors that use the eye-trackers to align their rich content to your irises so that you can see full 3D detail without any other special equipment. The huge advantage to such a system is that you could use it on the plane and the person next to you would be unable to "look over your shoulder". All fantasy for now, but not necessarily that far off.

And I am not really getting the "Minority Report" business. I guess the Clamdroid kind of spoiled the movie for me, the UI they depicted did not look like the wondrous ideal to aspire to.
 
ctt1wbw said:
I was just going to say, doesn't Nokia own the patent for this already? The own the patents for damn near everything, including microwave ovens, velcro, and those plastic wraps at the end of your shoelaces.
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Here is 2008, by Corporation:

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/topo_08.htm#PartB

NOKIA and Apple are small potatoes, especially Apple.

2007:

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/topo_07.htm#PartB

2006:

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/topo_06.htm#PartB

What's interesting is that yes Apple is ramping up, but their ROI is massive compared to the big boy patent freaks.
 
oops this is it I guess

This must be the "really interesting" or was it "surprising" way that the iSlate works. Those (purposefully) leaked teaser comments from "people in the know" kept saying that... this is the only thing I think that would be possible to be "surprising"

Edit: oops... yeah what Slush said.

Guess I'm kind of bummed that this is it.... 3D interfaces in general have been really cumbersome. Lets hope Apple can succeed where other haven't. Quite frankly if this is it, I'm really more shocked rather than bummed... I really thought this think was going to be coverflow crazy. Magazine pages basically beg for it.
 
adamw said:
This would be very cool. I am glad that Apple owns this patent and not someone else...
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Ugh. How sick of a statement is that?! :rolleyes: Always a one-way street when it comes to Apple. Someone else patent it, fanboys here screech "patent troll!", but never (ever!) the other way around.

I don't know why it would bother you if someone else had patent it first. Apple's always allowed to "borrow" from its competitors (never the other way around, mind you). Just the law of the land in Appleland. :)
 
lightpeak said:
Ugh. How sick of a statement is that?! :rolleyes: Always a one-way street when it comes to Apple. Someone else patent it, fanboys here screech "patent troll!", but never (ever!) the other way around.
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There's nothing inherently wrong with his statement - patents allow you to exclude, they don't allow you to practice. If someone else had the patent, Apple couldn't actually USE these ideas (unless they reached an agreement). If Apple patents it, that means no one else can, and thus no one can stop Apple from using those ideas.
 
huntercr said:
That is indeed new picture for an old patent. There have been several other apple patents where the user touched the borders ... before the iPhone even came out. I'm not saying this feature isn't in the iSlate, but it's hardly revolutioary... the only reason I think it would have any value is that your screen wouldn't get as smudgy.
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Sort of reminiscent of the Palm Pre's little strip thingy.
 
cmaier said:
There's nothing inherently wrong with his statement - patents allow you to exclude, they don't allow you to practice. If someone else had the patent, Apple couldn't actually USE these ideas (unless they reached an agreement). If Apple patents it, that means no one else can, and thus no one can stop Apple from using those ideas.
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You're assuming this person actually has the intelligence and foresight to research the portfolio of patents by Apple before they shot their mouth off and spewed nonsense on the screen.
 
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