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Flip Version of iPhone Revealed By Apple Patent?

by Tim Stevens on March 19, 2008 at 03:14 PM

iPhone Flip Revealed by Apple Patent?

It's been awhile since the iPhone rocked the mobile world with its simple aesthetics, supple user interface, and overwhelming media hype. The buzz has been silenced as people have long-since settled into the day-to-day routine with their gadgets, but a recently uncovered patent application by Apple indicates that the now familiar iPhone could have looked quite a bit differently at release, or may hint at a second, smaller flip iPhone that's still in the pipeline for some future release.

The patent application pictured above shows what is called a dual-sided touchpad. It's a translucent touchpad that would flip up, clamshell-style, to protect the screen of the phone, though you could still control the phone with the phone closed. For more touch-intensive apps, you could flip it open and use the inside of the touchpad with your index finger.

It looks like a great way to interact with a relatively small-screened device, while also protecting the screen from scratches and from fingerprints. What we don't know, though, is whether this was just an idea that proved impossible to implement or is a device that is, right this very moment, going through the rigors of refinement and testing prior to release.

We probably won't have an answer to that until one of these shows up in the hand of Steve Jobs held high at some Apple event or another. One thing's for sure: Fantasy or reality, we're flipping for this dream of an iPhone.

From Engadget and Unwired View

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Tags: Apple, iPhone, Patent, Touch

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