Apple Virtual Arc-Shaped Keyboard Patent

[monkeyandy]

Hate to say it but Apple missed the boat, Microsoft's implementation seems way more intuitive and makes more sense. You can argue till you are blue in the face but 2 hands > 1 hand anytime.

How would you hold it if you have to type with two hands? You would have to put it on a table. With this design you can hold it with one hand and tap in the letters with the other hand

 

[macEfan]

I dont like it... It seems quite akward to use... Now a touch screen would be a better idea...

 

[Airforce]

How would you hold it if you have to type with two hands? You would have to put it on a table. With this design you can hold it with one hand and tap in the letters with the other hand

No, you wouldn't have to put it on a table....you type with your thumbs. This has been said about 2-3 times on this thread already.

 

[Analog Kid]

You've got to be joking.

Because the idea that a short, segmented digit anchored at one corner of the device strikes a circular path as it moves was difficult to stumble on?

 

[Analog Kid]

The patent itself isn't for the design of a keyboard-- it is for a way of making touch screen input of "GUI" elements more reliable. Subsequent claims indicate a keyboard as being one such set of GUI elements. Apple can put whatever they want to in the drawings used in teaching the invention-- the drawings aren't the protected invention.

This is a patent application, not a patent. Nothing has been awarded or protected yet. It is a continuation-in-part of another application that I can't seem to track down using the USPTO's crappy tools. All of this goes to answering my question of how Apple got a patent issued in 6 months-- they didn't.

One thing that ties in nicely with an earlier thread is that one of the claims covers using a "plurality of simultaneous touch inputs". It's one of the later, dependent claims.

 

[Ghost2]

There is an arc in this old "leaked" image of a mac tablet as well. Maybe there is more of a possibility of apple creating a tablet than I had thought.

http://www.macshrine.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/02/tablet1.jpg

 

[Cinch]

ergonomic and make sense

There is an arc in this old "leaked" image of a mac tablet as well. Maybe there is more of a possibility of apple creating a tablet than I had thought.

http://www.macshrine.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/02/tablet1.jpg

I've always thought that typing on a keyboard that is 90 degree from the screen was a bit unnatural. I think typing on the screen is more ergonomics and perhaps has a "natural" feel. Think of the Sony PSP. The best scenario that I can think of is: when you read a manuscript or a paper at your desk, you don't hold it front of you, rather you look down at it. Here typing or editing a paper/tablet totally make sense to me. I believe it makes sense to see a tablet that can do a few things well e.g. Word, Acrobat reader/editor, Safari and email.

I think a perfect tablet would be capable of typing a document (Word), reading a document (Acrobat), online access (Safari and email). Other apps such as iTunes, iPhoto and Excel will fit in without compromise. This should cover about 90% of all laptop user now. This Tablet should last the entire workday without charging (10 hours). Who needs a laptop that has a sensitive screen and wires dangling from your coffee table! And for the love of style, please no optical drive to make this thing bulky!
Currently, I don't think laptop are compeling tools anymore. Seeing grotesquely looking Dell and HP laptop in coffee shops makes me want to vomit It is so stylist to see that massive parallel port on the back of Dell computer and the tacky design....

I rant too long
Cinch

 

[mooncaine]

How would you hold it if you have to type with two hands? You would have to put it on a table. With this design you can hold it with one hand and tap in the letters with the other hand

If you're right-handed. I'm not. So far I hate the idea of an arc keyboard in the right corner of the screen. Make it switchable, for left-handers.

 

[mooncaine]

I've always thought that typing on a keyboard that is 90 degree from the screen was a bit unnatural. I think typing on the screen is more ergonomics and perhaps has a "natural" feel. .... The best scenario that I can think of is: when you read a manuscript or a paper at your desk, you don't hold it front of you, rather you look down at it.

I grew up before kids had computers, so I had to do all my schoolwork on paper -- I have many, many hours experience with hand-written, large documents. Ergonomically, typing on a keyboard [that's at the right height and angle], while looking straight ahead or slightly down at a monitor, is way, way more comfortable for long hours of work than hunching over a page, writing with one hand. Even if there were such things as proper writing desks these days, with platforms you could adjust to make the writing surface more ergonomically suitable for you, you'll find you put more strain on your body writing than if you were typing and mousing.

I don't think it feels or looks natural to type on-screen, but for portable devices, a small amount of typing done that way would be OK, I guess.

 

[mooncaine]

A couple of years ago, wasn't there a projector keyboard?? It projected light onto the table and you could use it??

I've seen quite a few implementations of the projected interactive display, at conventions, and quite a few nice applications. They all seem to depend on lots of hardware, a room to install it in, and/or very controlled lighting conditions. Not ideal for portable consumer use. Great for coin arcades, amusement parks ....