March 3rd, 2006
Apple patents new wider "touchpad"
One of the things that cracks me up is the depths that a company will go to obscure their patent filings. It’s even funnier that the maker of arguably the best graphic design computers in the world with some of the best designers on their payroll files patent drawings that look like they were scribbled on the back of a bar napkin with a crayon after a few too many Anchor Steams at BJ’s Brewhouse in Cupertino.
Nonetheless, Macsimum news bring us the the news of a new Apple patent filing for a "Wide touchpad on a portable computer" that extends almost the entire width the the notebook, as opposed to being just in the middle.
The wide touchpad and keyboard disposed on the base assembly allow a user to interact with the display screen (e.g., enter data). In one embodiment, the wide touchpad may be a cursor control device having the capabilities of conventional computer mouse devices, such as the ability to point, drag, tap, and double tap objects on a graphical user interface, as well as more general purposes such as scrolling, panning, zooming, and rotating images on display screen. The wide touchpad extends into the areas on the surface of the base assembly that are normally reserved for palm rest areas (e.g., flat areas on the surface of the base assembly that support a user’s palms and/or wrists while typing).
If that has suitably confused you, check out the reasonable summary over at GadgetReview.com. If you’re a real weenie you’ll want to check out the eight drawings over at Macsimum News.
Jason D. O'Grady is the editor of PowerPage.org, which has been publishing daily mobile technology news since December 1995. For disclosures on Jason's industry affiliations, click here or to view Jason's full profile click here.
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