Apple Researching Gloves for Use with Multi-Touch Devices

[Artikas]

Ah im jealous. I have so much trouble controlling my iphone when im snowboarding.

Hey BigD!
This might be old news for you but damn I didn't know about it!
I usualy listen to music on my iphone when boarding and i used to get pissed cause i couldnt change to song but then my buddy showed me that the headphones that come with the iphone have a microphone so i dont need to take the phone out to take a call and the microphone also works as a button:
press the microphone once: it plays and pauses songs
press 2x: skips song
press 3x: it goes back a song

I hope that might help u and any other boarders around!
Cheers guys

 

[PCMacUser]

Mr. New Zealander who lives at the opposite end of the world, do you have any idea about what daily life is like in Canada?

Do you think we have a network of heated tunnels connecting all the buildings (well there is one in downtown Toronto but most of us don't don't live there and I rarely even visit it)? Do you think that students have magic heated busses that show up right in front of their homes whenever they want? Do you think that public transport is readily available to those who live in the middle of nowhere?

Yes schools & supermarkets are indoor but did you know that even the cityfolk (who don't have cars or are high school students) have to walk almost a kilometre to a bus stop, wait up up to half an hour for a bus in the cold, take a long ride in a bus where the door keeps on opening every minute or so, and then walk another kilometre to their destination. And then we people of the Great White North like to go outside and have a life too.

I never knew Canadians were such a serious bunch, and I'm married to one. I tried to make it clear that I was joking with the 'end satire' bit, but you still don't understand. I give up.

BTW, I've been to Montreal and Toronto in winter and yes, there were underground tunnels connecting a lot of the shops. In fact, in Montreal, a large amount of the shopping is done underground.

I'm sorry if I offended you, I didn't realise you were so sensitive.

 

[pair-a-dice]

Totally looks like...

 

[Lesser Evets]

^^ haha Awful.

I thought the terrible design drawing looked like it would good for making spreadsheets while gardening.

 

[SilvorX]

I've been to Canada in the middle of winter, and yes it is cold. But when I did my grocery shopping there, they had these buildings called 'supermarkets' where all the food and stuff was. Schools were buildings too. The kids would go 'inside' these buildings. People would go 'inside' the supermarkets. I'm not sure what your town is like, but to live somewhere where the grocery stores and schools are outside is a real shame.
<end satire>

I do not own an "automobile" so I cannot randomly just instantly "appear" at these large buildings. I walk 15 minutes back and forth to and from school every day. I just put up with it. -40C freaking sucks, but I'm used to it, but using a freaking iPhone in -40 weather is near impossible. It's Canada, deal with the weather or go elsewhere, of course. I was in the city waiting for a bus a month ago, it was -40C that day, brutal day, and it was near impossible to do anything on my iPhone, the iPhone isn't even supposed to be exposed to -40 weather, it sure starts getting laggy when it's in the weather..

right now there's only a windchill of -36C so that isn't bad, but it could always be worse..

If someone could patent a pair of thick gloves that were compatible with iPhone, I would be quite happy, but in reality, I don't even wear gloves or a toque in winter.

Anywho, I would LOVE to be la belle province du Quebec (Montreal) or Toronto, Montreal is 10C warmer than where I live (-12 Montreal, -22 here), and lucky Montreal doesn't have windchill right now, here.. it's -36.. and dear ol' Toronto is only -4, minus freaking 4! I was still wearing my spring jacket the last time we had that weather (but then again there's a windchill of -10, but still). But this should get back onto topic

 

[o0samotech0o]

I do not own an "automobile" so I cannot randomly just instantly "appear" at these large buildings. I walk 15 minutes back and forth to and from school every day. I just put up with it. -40C freaking sucks, but I'm used to it, but using a freaking iPhone in -40 weather is near impossible. It's Canada, deal with the weather or go elsewhere, of course. I was in the city waiting for a bus a month ago, it was -40C that day, brutal day, and it was near impossible to do anything on my iPhone, the iPhone isn't even supposed to be exposed to -40 weather, it sure starts getting laggy when it's in the weather..

right now there's only a windchill of -36C so that isn't bad, but it could always be worse..

If someone could patent a pair of thick gloves that were compatible with iPhone, I would be quite happy, but in reality, I don't even wear gloves or a toque in winter.

Anywho, I would LOVE to be la belle province du Quebec (Montreal) or Toronto, Montreal is 10C warmer than where I live (-12 Montreal, -22 here), and lucky Montreal doesn't have windchill right now, here.. it's -36.. and dear ol' Toronto is only -4, minus freaking 4! I was still wearing my spring jacket the last time we had that weather (but then again there's a windchill of -10, but still). But this should get back onto topic

Ahh... The cold mighty frosts of south eastern England.... Minus 2.5 and we're all complaining LOL

-Sam

 

[PCMacUser]

Ahh... The cold mighty frosts of south eastern England.... Minus 2.5 and we're all complaining LOL

-Sam

Heheh, well I've been to Canada and the USA in winter, I've been dog sledding in the Arctic circle. I've even survived a year in the southern most city in the world.

But I also lived in England for 3 years, and there are few things that can compare to a winter there.

But when summer comes, and you're sitting in a pub garden drinking beer and having bangers and mash, watching the boats go past in the canals, there's nothing that can beat it.

 

[branjosef]

I was in an elevator with Steve Jobs and go figure- I was able to spy an early prototype of the glove. I snuck a pic with my iphone... I think it will be a big seller when it's released. It's soo easy to type and do stuff on the iphone Steve told me the glove will be powered by a G5 Processor and have an 80GB SATA Hard Drive for no apparent reason.

 

[sgntscrawn]

Hehe, some of these comments are downright hilarious. Some people have to remember that Apple files all sorts of crazy patents, most of which have never actually seen the light of day, or only have in some highly modified form.

Apple is an innovating company, so there's bound to be some crazy stuff they'll never actually implement. Any search of Apple patents would verify this.

Anyways, minority report styles gloves would be awesome!

 

[Rhosfelt]

first of all they already mentioned these in the article, second of all, just looking at those i can tell that they'd be way too thin to actually wear c'mon, what are they, good for 10 degrees celcious or warmer?

Not to mention I think I'd want a larger finger tip surface area than those little dots. Specifically on the thumb.
I know in my experience, I tend to use the side of my thumb (more than the tip) when (say) pinching photos.

But, I have not seen these in person, let alone used them.
Surely they work as expected...

For much colder temps than Dots look capable of, several outdoor apparel manufactures (The North Face, Burton, Columbia, etc.) make low-temp mittens where the mitten part pulls back to reveal your fingers.

I am not saying they are great or anything new, I am saying the look EXACTLY like the patent apple filed. And they will be 1/3 the price.

Me? I have an iPhone and I take my gloves off to use it. Not a big deal.

 

[sultanq]

I never knew Canadians were such a serious bunch, and I'm married to one. I tried to make it clear that I was joking with the 'end satire' bit, but you still don't understand. I give up.

BTW, I've been to Montreal and Toronto in winter and yes, there were underground tunnels connecting a lot of the shops. In fact, in Montreal, a large amount of the shopping is done underground.

I'm sorry if I offended you, I didn't realise you were so sensitive.

lol, I wasn't really offended

We may live in a territory dominated by maple leaf throwing beavers dressed in red that go around on horses, but we're real serious about our weather. It frequently dips below absolute zero here - its so cold that it froze our PM's brain and so George Bush lent him a tiny piece of his defective unit.

 

[html]

Would it be possible to...

Is anyone familiar enough with apple patents to (without violating NDA, of course) tell me if it would be possible to simply create a glove material with similar conductive properties to a human finger? This all seems overcomplicated. Besides, wouldn't your fingers get cold?

 

[sgntscrawn]

Is anyone familiar enough with apple patents to (without violating NDA, of course) tell me if it would be possible to simply create a glove material with similar conductive properties to a human finger? This all seems overcomplicated. Besides, wouldn't your fingers get cold?

I thought that was what those North Face gloves were all about: http://www.thenorthface.com/webapp/...&catalogId=10201&productId=38781&variationId=

 

[PCMacUser]

I thought that was what those North Face gloves were all about: http://www.thenorthface.com/webapp/...&catalogId=10201&productId=38781&variationId=

Those North Face gloves are the bollocks. I want them.

 

[amusedchimp]

Well, I for one am very interested in seeing if the government actually grants a patent for a friggin glove with 3 fingertips cut off.

 

[macwall]

apple's powerglove technology is going to be awesome

 

[PCMacUser]

The main problem is that whatever gloves Apple makes, they won't be warm enough because Apple makes everything super thin.

They'll also be battery powered, but the battery won't be user-replaceable.

To keep you warm, you'll first need to subscribe online to an activation service through iTunes.

You will not be permitted to wear the gloves with any non-Apple branded clothing.

There will be two colours available, white and black, but the black gloves will cost more.

 

[Gaspode67]

Is anyone familiar enough with apple patents to (without violating NDA, of course) tell me if it would be possible to simply create a glove material with similar conductive properties to a human finger? This all seems overcomplicated. Besides, wouldn't your fingers get cold?

Actually, it's not conductance that's needed. Rather, it's the dielectric coefficient that's important. Using a conductive stylus alone won't guarantee that a projected capacitive touchscreen would work. You need a large enough area of contact, and for the material to allow enough charge to pass from the electrode area to the finger. If someone could make a material that has such properties, then there's no reason to confine it just to the pad area at the tip of the finger. You could make the whole finger of the glove "active". The reason I know all this? I worked for 3M Touch Systems for 12 years until the summer, where I was an FAE, and now I work for another touch company (I won't say which) that deal specifically with touch implementation on small devices (I won't say which for obvious reasons).

Now to brave the "colds" of the British winter as I go shopping at T€scos!

 

[tys]

Hey BigD!
This might be old news for you but damn I didn't know about it!
I usualy listen to music on my iphone when boarding and i used to get pissed cause i couldnt change to song but then my buddy showed me that the headphones that come with the iphone have a microphone so i dont need to take the phone out to take a call and the microphone also works as a button:
press the microphone once: it plays and pauses songs
press 2x: skips song
press 3x: it goes back a song

I hope that might help u and any other boarders around!
Cheers guys

While skiing in Colorado last week, I found that the little microphone/button didn't work in cold temps. Pressing the button didn't work, so I'd have to dig the phone out and take off my gloves to answer a call. Anyone else have that problem?
I just ordered some Marmot iGloves so I don't have to expose my fingers to use my iPhone when it's cold out. I got the thin liner type to wear under my bulky ski gloves:
http://marmot.com/fall_2007/womens/gloves/liner/iglove_liner/
they also have this glove which looks a bit heavier and might be enough when it's not too cold:
http://marmot.com/fall_2007/mens/gloves/multipurpose/iglove_multi

tys

PS: I found mine on eBay. Both the Marmot and North Face versions seem to be sold out pretty much everywhere. I guess they've been popular!

 

[Jafuah]

I've over came this obstacle years ago... back with my first ipod. Two words, Shooters gloves. The index finger isn't all the way closed so it can flip up. Currently i have a pair of under armor ones. just being able to flip up the finger tip of my index finger to be able to switch songs or check a text. I never really respond when I'm snowboarding anyway. Might not solve everyones problems but it works for me.