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Next-Generation iPhone to Offer Touch-Sensitive Casing?

ibrainch said:
what if this technology is the killer feature on the new tablets. imagine holding the screen of your laptop with two hands on either side. now imagine that your fingers in the back do all of the scrolling and minority report **** (interacting with apps, safari, etc) your thumbs would do most of the stuff on the front (in fact I think i remember seeing some early iphone sketches that had virtual buttons along the side). i think this would definitely be the most comfortable way to interact with the tablet. thoughts?
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Absolutely. I was pondering this in a post about tablet text input speculation:

http://forums.macworld.com/index.ph...xts-the-thing/page__view__findpost__p__784637

There are so many things you could do with this on the tablet. On the iPhone, not so much, but I could imagine a very limited set of gestures if they can figure out how to eliminate unintended activation while keeping the gestures from getting unnatural.
 
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Unless we all of a sudden want to see the hardware lineup fragmented, I'd say it's unlikely.
 
the best there is...

...a dream come true. I can envision scrolling with the index finger of my left hand while holding my iphone. envision this technology across the Mac platform;man, its a good time to be an addict.
 
What I don't understand is why so many people are so keen on performing multitouch gestures on the back. At least for me the whole point of multitouch screens is so that I can manipulate objects directly with my fingers without the abstraction that is need when manipulating objects with a mouse or trackpad.

I could only see them adding touch sensitive buttons on the back. Like for gaming controls or maybe a keyboard on the slate. Although I really don't like the idea of typing on the back of a device.

IMO multitouch gestures on the back won't happen.
 
do not want.

where is all this "controls on the back" stuff coming from? first the tablet and now the iphone. just keep the controls easy to use. not some clunky thing you have position yourself carefully to use.
 
Ljohnson72 said:
Forgot, it's just so hard to scroll, click and zoom with one hand.
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You can zoom with the hand holding the phone? How many fingers do you have? That's actually my only gripe about the iPhone, that you have to pull your other hand out of your poket to zoom. I think it's the Pre that let's you spiral to zoom in and out, that's genius.
 
miketcool said:
Now you can touch your iPhone ANYWHERE and get it to react to your touch. It'll be just as aroused and turned on as the iPhone user is when they touch their phone. You could stroke it's back, or fumble with the docking port. The iPhone will now react to the secret bedtime caressing that goes on much to the dismay of jealous spouses worldwide. ;)
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Have you been talking to my wife?

Anyway, this functionality would be no doubt limited to scrolling webpages and the return of the scroll wheel for iPod functions. While the scroll wheel doesn't work on the front, it just might on the back. Case makers would design their cases around that.
 
Umm... Do not want?
No.

This would piss me off, no matter how much Id get use to it. Unless you could turn it off, I wouldnt buy it. I also saw a post about using it as a mouse @ that: lol.
and at everyone talking about petting their iphones... :p HAHAHA. :D

I dont think :apple: are that dumb. To do it...
 
?

So basically it will be like having an iPhone with a Magic Mouse on the back? Sorry, but I also don't think it will be a smart idea, unless it is limited to a couple of "points" or it allows Jobs and Ive to get rid of all remaining buttons on the iPhone, which we all know they are allergic to.

Having touch sensitive "sides" of the iPhone might be helpful because it might allow some operations. But a touch sensitive back? There will be basically no way to carry some protection around the iPhone (have a Freitag protective sleeve and love it). As for a 5 MPX camera. There will have to be a flash, and personally I don't need more than the current 3.2 mpx since when I'm in for serious shooting I have a dSLR. Speaking of which one thought comes to mind... WHERE IS MY APERTURE 3.0??
Sorry for the off-topic rant. But this is getting ridiculous.
 
bedifferent said:
In trying to keep an open mind I could justify utilizing the back surface for touch sensitivity in tasks that require full and uninterrupted use of the front facing screen. However, if there is not way to disengage rear input sensitivity, this may create more problems than it proposes to solve. There have been a few patents from Apple demonstrating utilization of the rear surface of an iPod Touch while watching movies and playing games. Perhaps such technology would be better suited for the rumored tablet, as holding the tablet while invoking rear surface multitouch controls would be more logical for such a form factor.
Click to expand...

Perhaps there will be a melding of the iPhone, Touch and Tablet's OS to the point where app developers can use the common sensitivities of the devices across all three products to build apps that can do things we cannot currently imagine.
 
I'm in the minority...

... I actually think this sounds like a good idea :eek:

Perhaps not complicated, multi-touch gestures, but IMO a touch sensitive back / casing / basel would be great in a number of circumstances. For example:

Gaming -- I like playing games on my iPhone (and I'm sure the iPod touch is the same), but having some controls on-screen can be distracting. A specific example is Doom (sorry - child of the 90s!). Instead of having the trigger / 'fire' button on screen, a touch sensitive back could act as a trigger and the directional pad could be invisibly built into the front bezel... It would take some getting used to, sure, but it would leave the whole screen clear.

Phone -- The iPhone can already detect when it is being held to your ear thanks to the proximity sensor. At the moment, this switches off the screen and touch functions. What if it also activated the back touch sensors... Tap to increase volume; double tap to decrease; double tap and hold for mute... you get what I'm saying.

I'm not sure whether or not these claims are true, obviously. But to me, it sounds like Apple has only just started when it comes to innovating the way we interact with phones / computers / slates, and that can only be a good thing. :)
 
baslotto said:
Maaaaybe for gaming it could be useful (to a certain level).
Otherwise I don't see too much use for a touch case at all...

WAIT A MINUTE!!! Maybe while I'm talking holding the phone I could...
...no... I can't think of anything I could do with it. :D:D

PS: maybe rubbing the phone while I'm using it will make it feel more appreciated...
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:D:D:D:D

I laughed out loud... hahahaa. :p

^no sarcasm
 
There's a patent for that.

Touch sensitive casing? It's already been discussed a while back when an Apple patent came out. Could work with iPhone, Touch and Tablet (And also ACDs, MacBooks....)

Will go find it, but it's definitely surfaced. This isn't rocket science. The problem is covers - most covers cover the edges, and only allow finger access to the screen, not the bezel.

Thought another way - WOW!
The handset will feature a new plastic casing similar to that used for Apple’s touch-panel Magic Mouse released last year, he said.
Click to expand...

A Tablet/iPhone running OS 4 which can take inputs from touches from the shell would be big enough to go get another cover...
Apple could also use it so it detects fingers that are *just close by*.... hence work through the cover, and not use inductance?
 
Mr. Gates said:
I already accidentally dial people when its in my pocket . This is ridiculous.

False
Click to expand...

Ugh really? How is that possible? The iPhone only responds to skin touches. And unless you leave it on, you'll need to slide to unlock anyway. Do you even own an iPhone?
 
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