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Video iPod Patent Pictures and Touch Sensitive Bezel

lorien said:
Anyone know what the button 914 on the top right of the "vPod" screen is meant to signify in Figure 17? Could it be WiFi signal strength?
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Think of it as the button in the upper right corner of OSX windows. It displays or hides a menu.
 
if the bezels have touch sensitive areas, wouldnt that be hard to just hold the ipod without accidently hitting one of the 238934843 areas?

haha, i may not be fully comprehending this, i'm strugging to read the screen, as i just woke up 😕
 
720x480P or bust.

I want full DVD resolution. I have since refused to purchase any videos or movies on itunes until I get full DVD quality picture, not crappy 4:3 VGA movies. Was not for this nonsense on Apple's part I would have had a huge collection of music videos by now.
 
Aldyn said:
if the bezels have touch sensitive areas, wouldnt that be hard to just hold the ipod without accidently hitting one of the 238934843 areas?
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From what I understood.. the sides aren't touch sensitive. It's just showing on the screen where it's touch sensitive, kind of like the x and y axis on a graph...
 
Macrumors said:


Hrmpf reports on a particularly revealing patent application from Apple that was published on October 26, 2006.

The name of the patent application is "Electronic Device Having Display and Surrounding Touch Sensitive Bezel for User Interface and Control". The patent describes and depicts a full-screen touch sensitive iPod very similar to the various Video iPod Mockups that have been floating around the web. The application was filed in June of 2006.

The focus of the patent is the incorporation of a touch-sensitive bezel (edge of screen) that can adapt to the screen contents to provide an input method for the user. Hrmpf suggests that the use of this non-screen area would eliminate many of the "smudge" and "scratch" concerns for a full-screen touch iPod.



The diagrams included clearly depict what appears to be a full-screen Video iPod. The rumors of a full-screen Video iPod have been ongoing for some time, but picked up steam in February 2006 with claims that the full screen Video iPod would arrive in the coming months. Later reports indicated a delay with some recent reports of a late 2006/early 2007 release.

Numerous other patents have described possible touch-interface methods, but this is the first patent application to depict a full-screen iPod so clearly. It also could represent the "None-Touch" iPod interface that was described in July.

Update: There seems to be some misinterpretation of the picture. The circles in the bezel do not represent "buttons". The entire bezel would be a smooth surface that would be touch sensitive. A touch-sensitive Bezel iPod would still look like this mockup:

120px-Ipodvideo.jpg
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This patent was purchased from a company in Buffalo, NY
It will be implemented in the new ipods.
When ?
 
:^\

oh, man i hope they're not sacrificing one of the MAIN benefits of the iPod, usability, for a big screen. one of the things that's always made the ipod great is that you can hold it in one hand & navigate easily w/ your thumb. having to slide your thumb around the edge of a 4" tall device would suck.

i'll wait until i hold one in my hand before i start freaking out.
 
iTunes Movie Res

I'm just hoping they at least give us the OPTION to download HD movies soon (not for this product obviously, but just in general). Just like they have options for watching trailers, we should be able to download the HD version of a movie if we want to/our bandwidth can allow it. I'd actually buy movies of iTunes if this was the case!
 
Come On, People!

Seriously, all you folks who are saying this and that about the bezel control (i.e. Every time I touch it I'll adjust the volume, or change my ringtone... blah, blah...), do you really think Apple would release it's "next big thing" without making sure it worked perfectly, intuitively, and didn't just go completely haywire every time you touch it or bump it?

For crying out loud, the company's future depends in no small part on the iPod, I'm fairly certain Apple's going to make sure each successive iPod is as innovative and market-dominating as the rest of the line has been. THat includes ease-of-use.

Have a little faith, here. You see one patent filing and freak out. Sheesh.
 
justflie said:
I'm just hoping they at least give us the OPTION to download HD movies soon (not for this product obviously, but just in general). Just like they have options for watching trailers, we should be able to download the HD version of a movie if we want to/our bandwidth can allow it. I'd actually buy movies of iTunes if this was the case!
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I can only assume that we will see the current video resolution (which was only offered just recently) being offered for quite a while. We heard the same complaint with audio since they started offering music downloads without much, if any, increase in quality from Apple (maybe better compression algorithms but I don't think bigger files because of higher bit rates).

I do believe that the resolution that they sell on iTunes (640x480) hints towards what the resolution of this 'video' iPod will be. I'm sure that this decision was made with this device in mind.

Does anybody know what size screen this resolution would imply? How small can/should technology allow a 640x480 screen be?
 
ddma said:
Would that be possibly that Apple is trying to patent as many as possible user interface/method so that no one can get anything closer to the REAL video iPod?
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I work for a multi-national company on one of their product and development teams, and we patent pretty much every single idea we come up with, and the majority of them are merely to protect the actual idea. I would think that Apple is just protecting themselves, since they have had touch screen patents out long before this one was even filed. All of you that still was the click wheel on the screen, there is still a large chance.
 
AppleInsider said:
Furthermore, Apple said the touch sensitive bezel can be used to obtain touch data corresponding to multiple user controls simultaneously: "For example, the user controls of the bezel can be configured so that one side of the bezel controls brightness with a touch and drag motion by the user, while the other side of the bezel controls contrast with a touch and drag motion by the user. Thus, using both of these sides of the bezel, the user can simultaneously adjust both the contrast and the brightness of the display using touch and drag motions on the sides of the bezel."

...

Apple noted that its latest filing shows several different configurations of electronic devices, each of which contain certain features, details, and configurations. "However, one skilled in the art will understand that such features, details, and configurations can be used with the various different embodiments, even if such features, details, and configurations were not specifically mentioned in conjunction with a particular embodiment, and that this disclosure contemplates various combinations of the features, details, and configurations disclosed herein," the company wrote. "More specifically, the foregoing description of preferred and other embodiments is not intended to limit or restrict the scope or applicability of the inventive concepts conceived of by the Applicants."
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http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=2177


I think we'll be seeing this technology in the bevels of all future Macs and displays. Imagine Mr. Jobs' smug little grin when he adjusts the contrast and brightness of an iMac or Macbook display with a stroke of his finger and knows that no other PC or monitor manufacturer can use it! 😎
 
I can't see this new iPod mockup as replacing the original iPod, but just falling into a niche market (as many here have suggested), with the primary focus being video. I kind of wonder if Apple will try and expand its market by providing 'content specific' iPods, with different designs for a user preference in games, photos, ebooks (a bit of a stretch, I know 🙂 ). I mean, at this point, there's only so much you can do to reinvent the wheel, and while every iPod can still play music, different design options appeal to different buyers.
 
MrFirework said:
Seriously, all you folks who are saying this and that about the bezel control (i.e. Every time I touch it I'll adjust the volume, or change my ringtone... blah, blah...), do you really think Apple would release it's "next big thing" without making sure it worked perfectly, intuitively, and didn't just go completely haywire every time you touch it or bump it?

For crying out loud, the company's future depends in no small part on the iPod, I'm fairly certain Apple's going to make sure each successive iPod is as innovative and market-dominating as the rest of the line has been. THat includes ease-of-use.

Have a little faith, here. You see one patent filing and freak out. Sheesh.
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I agree with you.
Whatever Apple's introduce will be clever and easy to use. Remember that's their core philosophy, That's why I am not worrying too much.
I am skeptical of this patent. I believe Apple did patent the above, but they do that all the time to protect their ideas. That doesn't mean it's going to be the final product like that.
The only thing I can certain say is that the video iPod will be here soon. I hope before xmas. If not then at MWSF.
 
gugy said:
I agree with you.
Whatever Apple's introduce will be clever and easy to use. Remember that's their core philosophy, That's why I am not worrying too much.
I am skeptical of this patent. I believe Apple did patent the above, but they do that all the time to protect their ideas. That doesn't mean it's going to be the final product like that.
The only thing I can certain say is that the video iPod will be here soon. I hope before xmas. If not then at MWSF.
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If its not announced by the week before thanksgiving we won't see it until at least MWSF.
 
MongoTheGeek said:
If its not announced by the week before thanksgiving we won't see it until at least MWSF.
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yep, I agree. We have 1 month to hope so!😀
and I do think a special event will be announce to introduce it.
I wish it comes on the same week of the Zune just to kill those bastards!
 
C'mon People...

jagolden said:
Based on the above drawings, this would be a disaster.

The interface is now clunky, crowded and unintuitive.
Biggest problem- take a look-it will require two hands to operate, thereby negating what every one else has been trying to imitate-the ease of use of the iPod scroll wheel.
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Do you think Apple would include exact specs/layout/design in a patent application? The illustrations included are to convey the function ONLY. Not meant to represent their industrial design. Apple has filed a gazillion applications for patents. Some never see the light of day and NONE of them (that include illustrations) give any real visual clues to final designs.

That said, we all know Apple will put out something that looks and functions very well. It's what they do. I'm just hoping they do it in time for the holidays shopping season.
 
Kwi-Chang said:
AppleInsider Article: "The filing is credited to four Apple employees: Nick King, Duncan Kerr, Paul Herbst and Steven Hotelling."

Is this the type of thing Apple does? Thought they had more control over employee/press relations...

The whole article sounds a bit overloaded with info - is it April Fools?https://forums.macrumors.com/images/smilies/redface.gif
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They just got all the information from the patent...they are incredibly extensive documents. And the employees credited are probably the patent attorneys that wrote the document. This has nothing to do with apple's control. April is not for five months...a bit premature.
 
Buttons Around Screens Old News

They've been using function buttons around a screen in aircraft displays for some time now:

gr-gmx200-3-lg.jpg


Leave it up to Apple to take it a step further and give it to the masses.

I can't wait to order one...
 
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