Is Apple working on it’s own Origami UMPC device? Well, judging from patent applications filed by Apple in recent months, it seems so.
Does this picture look familiar:
It looks just like variation of Microsoft Touchpack software, except it is a single arc QWERTY keyboard, instead of two split panes in Touchpack. This drawing comes from the latest Apple patent application filed today describing “activation of virtual keys of a touch screen keyboard”. The form and shape of the keyboard doesn’t appear to give any benefits to larger tablet PC or laptop sized devices and seems best suited for a small portable computer just like UMPC.
And there’s more. In patent application filed on February 2, describing “Gestures for touch sensitive input devices”, Apple is providing drawings of such a PC:
As you can see the look and size of the device seem to be very close to Origami UMPC. Of course, Apple wouldn’t be just copying Microsoft’s designs, it is trying to create even better user interface for UMPC. In this patent application Apple is talking about a multipoint sensing device that allows you to manipulate images on the screen with several fingers - like using virtual scroll wheel, turning pages or selecting and rotating images on the screen.
In another patent application published on February 16 Apple describes “Virtual input device placement on a touch screen user interface”, which is basically the virtual keyboard that that pops up somewhere on the screen depending on the application used. Nothing groundbreaking here, but still, a confirmation that Apple has been working on highly portable PC with a touch screen for a few months now.
So when we will see Apple’s origami UMPC? I have no idea, but these patent applications show that Apple is serious about such a device and we can expect some information on it soon.
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23 Responses to 'Apple Origami UMPC? Looks likely'
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[…] Staska does a nice roundup of recent Apple patent applications in the post Apple Origami UMPC? Looks likely. […]
[…] Als ich dann heute morgen bei UMPC News las, dass ausgerechnet Apple an einem UMPC arbeitet, war ich dann doch –positiv- überrascht. Die Skizzen für verschiedene Patente, die in den letzten Monaten von Apple eingereicht wurden, erinnern dabei stark an den omnipotenten Mediaplayer, den wir uns Anfang Februar zusammengesponnen hatten. Mit einem derartigen UMPC würde Apple allerdings weit über unsere Erwartungen hinausschießen – ich gebe ja zu, dass ich mich von Zeit zu Zeit gerne über Apple und ihre Produkte lustig mache, aber im Gegensatz zu den meisten Produkten von der Konkurrenz funktionieren ihre Geräte. Erstaunlich lang. Eine Bekannte von mir (in Sachen Computer ein klassischer DAU) kaufte sich vor drei Jahren ein Notebook von Apple (iBook? Powerbook? keine Ahnung) und sie benutzt es heute noch – täglich. In diesen drei Jahren musste sie ihr Betriebssystem nicht ein einziges Mal neu installieren, dazu gekaufte Hardware funktioniert anstandslos und sie ist nicht ein einziges Mal Opfer von Computerviren geworden … welcher Nutzer eines Windowscomputers kann all das von seinem Rechner behaupten ? […]
[…] Gizmondo/UMPC News […]
have a look at this video, maybe here are some expieriences
in relations to the apple user interface patents
http://mrl.nyu.edu/~jhan/ftirtouch/
Looks cool. I believe the success of the Origami form factor resides in the UI. Typing on it has to be comporable to using a keyboard. Handwriting doesn’t suffice. If anybody can do UI Apple can. However I would like to add that patents don’t necessarially mean shipping products any time soon. For instance still have yet to see the decorative lights in a case patents from a while back.
[…] Apple just filed a patent for an on-screen keyboard similar to the DialKeys application that various UMPCs are using. […]
[…] It looks like I’m not the only one who thinks that Apple will launch a UMPC-like device soon. Both Gizmodo and UMPCNews talk about new pattents that are dated today. […]
“Filed today”? That link says Sept 2005. wtf?
[…] Finally… The big news of the week. Is Apple getting closer to launching a Tablet PC? And will it be a UMPC? Recent developments make it look very possible. […]
One quiestion ?
Wouldnt this fall under Prior Art ?
Touch Screen Keyboards have been around for a while.
Using Jesters to control the system have also been around.
milhouse:
Sorry. Should have said “published today”. It really seams to be filed in September but made public and published only today.
Not sure how the patent application process works in this case since in most cases the applications are published very soon after filing.
Isn’t this the whole purpose of the patent system to tell the world that you inveted something and get your IP protected at the same time?
Just Wondering:
We’ll have to wait and see. The devil is in the details and you will have to go carefully through all patent applicatio to see what exactly is being patented.
They describe there what they think is a relevant prior art andhow their invention is different.
I guess this is what USPTO clerks will do in the months before/if issuing patent.
[…] Questa è la conclusione a cui Gizmodo e UMPC News sono giunti spulciando fra i recenti brevetti Apple: una tastiera “curva” e un touch screen. […]
staska-
no, the purpose is not always to let people know. in fact, its the opposite. The purpose is often to patent your ideas “underground”, sometimes sit on them and never use them..but to quietly stop other people from developing a product. Apple and Microsoft have thousands of patents they never made products from, but they can keep other people from making products. Its essentially drawing a line in the sand saying, “we were here first”.
I wonder why manufacturers of handhelds insists on applying the QWERTY keyboard? This was invented for touch typing using two hands and ten fingers, not one or two thumbs or an index finger. For this there has been conducted recent research offering better layouts, like the Metropolis-II, see http://www.yorku.ca/mack/hci3.html.
[…] Fuente: UMPCnews […]
[…] Others have taken a look at Apple’s patent filings over the last several months and are suggesting that an Apple version of the UMPC (Microsoft’s Origami project) may be in the works. UMPC News today details a pretty good case for this. Check out our earlier post on the touch sensitive screen demo that we loved, as it looks a lot like the multiple finger gesture controls from one of these patent apps. […]
Old news, these things were goign around in the last year or so (previous patents) and Apple is known to be working towards the tablet platform for a few years now (they showed a bigger demo model I think).
People get this confused with new Video Ipod, but I don’t know. I imagine this is a separate model, maybe Ipod, maybe just Mac. As Mac much better, and for games, if it uses features like the 965 chip set has, we hope
.
If IPOD, Ambarella has excellent ARM controlled Sparc massive parallel processor arrayed H264 chip that has most features features and supports camera. Low cost, low power consumption. Otherwise Arm has new chip architecture that will decode HD h264 in 350Mhz.
If it is UMPC, hopefully a HD display, OLED.
[…] The world is crazy about UMPC. And Apple also didn’t keep out this tendency and started develop its own ultra mobile PC. I found only sketches. But the computer world grows extremely quick. So, I think we’ll see the new iUMPC very soon. […]
[…] Indeed we can already see these trends in development - the first generation of UMPC devices are pretty similar to each other with vendors adding minor features like web camera or digital television to the basic reference design. However, as recent patent filings from Intel and Apple show, companies are experimenting with various user interface and usability features and other interesting innovations should follow as the UMPC market develops. […]
For devices with small areas and finger operation the interactivity and user interface is key, mostly for entering text. Apple or MS will do much, much better using something like MessagEase (www.exideas.com) which is designed for one, rather then ten fingers.
Next apple iumpc?
[…] TechCastUK - Episode ELEVEN Posted by richardhind on May 05th 2006 to Uncategorized This weeks episode has arrived early with recording taking place in the TechCast Network Studio. It’s a slow news week this week but none the less we talk more about the latest tech news for this week and more info on new Macs on the very, very, very, very near horizon (so very near that we’re getting tired of talking about it) and we also talk about some of the review products we’ve had here in the office. So this week we have… Sony Playstation 2 Price Cuts MySpace Saves the Day! Sony selling Carbon Fibre laptops without the Carbon Fibre Holographic storage - next generation of storage The first mp3 player created in 1979? Philips patents ad skipping technology Microsoft takes a swipe at Sony (again) Microsoft to launch HD DVD Xbox 360 Upgrade Two screens better than one or just buy one big screen? Oni’s wants to buy one of these Seagate leaks details on mammoth sized hard drive Microsoft to upgrade Xbox 360 CPU The Nintendo 64 Kid Mac Segment iTunes to move to Guernsey for tax break NAB event with launch of 17 inch MacBook Pro? MacBook Pro’s are under-clocked, over-clock at your risk! The 13-inch iPod/Tablet - Rich disagrees Review Segment Rich’s App of the Week - Blue Phone Elite iPod Hi-Fi - Review to be posted shortly Kensington SX2000 iPod Speaker Dock - Review to be posted shortly Click Here To Listen […]