Article: Apple Smart Bezel Patent

[urkel]

With "Buttongate" building up I thought I'd just fuel the flames with this old article about the Apple Smart Bezel patent.

Patently Apple: Apple Blows us Away with Smart Bezel Details!

Personally, I much prefer buttons over touch but I'm open minded to seeing if Apple can amaze us once again by taking something that exists but making it useful and practical.


Edit: Too bad I used a stupid word in this post. It completely distracted from discussing an amazing patent that would explain the bezel.

 

[spiderman0616]

Why are we calling this "buttongate"? First of all, I'm sick of everything having a "gate" attached to it. Second of all, it's usually when something has gone wrong. (Batterygate, Antennagate).

 

[GoCubsGo]

What the hell is "buttongate?"

 

[phillyred79]

Hmmmm... I can envision a translucent black traditional bezel around the iPad 3, but with lighted icons shining through that are touch-sensitive and can be positioned where you want them to be so that you can still hold your iPad comfortably without touching the icons accidentally. They would move accordingly in either portrait or landscape mode and you could save their positions. Perhaps the traditional Home button, volume control, and screen orientation lock/mute would be icons.. I dunno.. Maybe a little cheesy- I still like having physical buttons and switches to actuate.

 

[Doombringer]

What the hell is "buttongate?"

A play on Watergate.

And yes, this patent does lend credence to the claims of a touch-only Home button. It's possible.

 

[GoCubsGo]

^ Except that Watergate and Antenna Gate were problems (not even on the same level but I understood it). This stupid idea that the potential missing home button is an issue or the inclusion of it on the newest iPad being a problem is just as I said, stupid.

 

[rdowns]

^ Except that Watergate and Antenna Gate were problems (not even on the same level but I understood it). This stupid idea that the potential missing home button is an issue or the inclusion of it on the newest iPad being a problem is just as I said, stupid.

Let's call it StupidGate then.