New Apple Patent Could Spell Trouble for Multitouch Smartphones
New Apple Patent Could Spell Trouble for Multitouch Smartphones
Posted 01/27/2009 at 1:00pm
| by Andy Salisbury
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Patent #7,479,949 (better known as Touch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics) has been awarded to Apple at long last. And while this is mighty good for Apple, this brings a lot of potential trouble for other multitouch smartphones in the future.
The Palm Pre is one of the many devices that should be looking over its shoulder. Given that it supports swiping and pinching, much like that of the iPhone, it has plenty to worry about (namely, Apple’s legal department).
And, if the rumor is true about Tim Cook’s thirst for the blood of anyone that’s looking to rip off Apple’s intellectual property, then just about anyone that’s looking to swipe, pinch or squeeze their way to a new phone experience should be careful to tread lightly.
Image Credit: Apple, United States Patent Office
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Antilogic81
January 28, 2009 at 1:44am
The cat's out of the bag, this is repressed emotions stemming from when Microsoft took the idea of a GUI instead of DOS to navigate a system. They can't stand the idea of another company "taking" things and improving upon the idea.
It gives little incentive to stick with apple otherwise. Unless you're a die hard for expensive service fees, and overpriced peripherals and components that could be easily acquired for much less, whose only defense for it's OS is that they are so remotely insignificant in terms of demographics that it's simply not worth exploiting.
Honestly I think Virii makers feel sorry for these folks...
hogkill
January 27, 2009 at 4:16pm
wtf? this technology has been out in japan for years
do patents only apply within the country they are made in?
Keith E. Whisman
January 27, 2009 at 3:58pm
I wonder if Apple will offer any rewards for information leading to the successful lawsuit of a device violating An Apple Patent?
Balgaroo
January 27, 2009 at 2:56pm
Now apple will send out Mr. Cook to everyone that can remotely be considered touse multitouch on a portable device and squeeze out millions and millions fromthem which they will have to pass onto the consumer, yay! Oh, and Applewill continue to charge 200% over what any of their products have ever beenworth because people buy it.
I swear, everyone should just stop buyinganything with an apple on it. Bankrupt the damn company and buy productsthat are competitive with other products on the market, not just ones that arewhite, chrome, and thin.
I would say that I will never buy anotherapple product again but I have never actually bought an apple product before,so I will just continue my trend until apple becomes a company that does notseem to be a money grubber in my eyes.
I find apple shallow and pedantic. . . yes shallow and pedantic.
big_montana
January 27, 2009 at 1:37pm
I do not know how this patent could be awarded considering Micorosft has a similar technology with the Surface and Oblong Industries also has a multi touch screen (remember the movie Minority Reports)? Same tech as they were the consultants on the movie and their tech works just like in the movie. You also have Gesture Tek and gaming hardware manufacturers like OCZ Technologies, Neurosky, and Emotiv who have devolped or are developing touchless tech. To bad you have to go to court to overturn a poor decision by the patent office today.
nekollx
January 27, 2009 at 1:48pm
the keyword i see is "portable"
Surface and Minoroty report were Hardly Portable Multi Touch
big_montana
January 27, 2009 at 2:05pm
Portable does not matter as they patented the gestures as well. Apple's mammoth, 358-page patent application, which covers all the broad multitouch concepts, including "detecting one or more finger contacts with the touch display," "applying one or more heuristics to the one or more finger contacts to determine a command for the device," and finally, "processing the command."
nekollx
January 27, 2009 at 2:10pm
but if, as the diagram illustrates, this is all tied to "portable hardware" there wont be a issue
big_montana
January 27, 2009 at 4:13pm
Obviously you do not realise that the surface technology is being incorporated into Windows 7, so your next laptop purchase will violate the patent. And the patent can be applied broadly, not just to portable devices, you are looking at to narrowly. It is like starting a business that manufactuers widgets and wanting to name it McDonalds, you cannot even though you sell a different product, you cannot even call it Mickey D's. The same law will apply broadly if the tech that Apple patented is used even for non portable items.
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