Monday, March 17, 2008

iPhone 2.0 Patent...Finally, a Flip iPhone

Apple devotees aren't the type to sit on a technology for very long, and even though the iPhone is hardly old news, the patent office has received an application and drawing from Apple of their latest incarnation of the iPhone, 2.0 styles.

The concept is a flip phone where the flip is a clear dual-sided multi-touch trackpad. When closed, the clear multi-touch flip lays over top the phone's display, and controls the device in the same way as the present iPhone. When open the underside of the flip turns into a keypad for dialing. Of course, being that it's an Apple, they had to get 'cute' with it. In addition to the standard phone pad layout, this new concept calls for a mock up of an old school rotary phone, and the ability to just draw the shape of your numbers individually.

Despite my tagline, this concept seems more about providing choice in the iPhone's form rather than replacing the current iPhone. The clamshell phone design has deeply embedded itself into the culture of technology, starting with "Star Trek", but continue on through to the iconic Razr, and beyond. Plus, it's smaller. It only makes sense for Apple to diversify their product offerings; no phone manufacturer has gained a disproportionate share of the market through just one phone, not even Apple.

The video below is a concept video produced by Christopher DeSantis that has gained some attention recently due to Apple's patent news. The concept presented in this video, if brought to fruition, would bring a new form factor into play. One I think would succeed.



..via unwiredview..

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