apple news/media reports

08/28/2007, 2:55pm, EDT

Tuesday, August 28th

Apple files iPhone movable-interface patent

Apple has filed a patent covering user interfaces on portable devices with touchscreen interfaces (presumably the iPhone and or iPod) that would allow for quick reconfiguration of on-screen elements, including icons. For instance" the user makes contact with one of the icons and moves the point of contact across the display surface; the motion and contact are detected by the portable "electronic device" and the displayed icon is moved accordingly. This would appear to represent an easy method for re-arranging the applications that appear on the iPhone's home screen, or SpringBoard. The patent also allows for icons to be automatically displaced by other icons, and the movement of icons to static-placed holders akin to the Dock in Mac OS X.


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njfuzzy
This is already present
0
08/28, 3:14pm, EDT
This is already part of the iPhone interface. In the iPod section, the icons for things like playlists/albums/podcasts can be rearranged.
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testudo
Wow!
0
08/28, 3:47pm, EDT
Its like rearranging icons on your desktop Mac, but using your finger and performing it on a mobile telecommunications device!

Thank god Apple's patenting this!
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cgmpowers
one word....
0
08/28, 5:03pm, EDT
lcars...

a nickle for anyone who knows what lcars are...

Chris
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nhmlco
Sad
0
08/28, 5:53pm, EDT
That someone can patent dragging and dropping icons. Is there no applicable prior art or obviousness test at all?

Hey, I just used my finger on the trackpad to move an application icon onto the dock on my MBP, and the other icons rearranged themselves accordingly. Isn't my WiFi-enabled notebook a "portable communications device"?
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slider
Well Yes, but....
0
08/28, 7:11pm, EDT
The thing is, lets say Apple doesn't patent it. I mean I know Apple has never been sued or anything by someone trying to cash in on it's success, but someone comes out of the woodwork and say hey, I patented this in 1984 as you can see from this extremely vague description, which I meant to mean this very thing Apple is now using. On second thought, that's just fantasy. I suppose the difference is Apple is using these patents in it's products.
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Joined Oct 1999
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EnviroG
to cgmpowers
0
08/28, 8:53pm, EDT
Try this link for a possible explanation of "LCARS". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LCARS

Nice patent for Apple to apply for!
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testudo
Re: well yes, but
0
08/28, 10:53pm, EDT
The thing is, lets say Apple doesn't patent it. I mean I know Apple has never been sued or anything by someone trying to cash in on it's success, but someone comes out of the woodwork and say hey, I patented this in 1984 as you can see from this extremely vague description, which I meant to mean this very thing Apple is now using. On second thought, that's just fantasy. I suppose the difference is Apple is using these patents in it's products.

Apple patenting it does NOT prevent someone from claiming they patented it in 1984. (Of course, the patent from 1984 has expired, so that won't help anyway). If someone has a patent prior to Apple's application (and other paperwork/proof of development), they still can be sued.
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ccrider
one thing interesting...
0
08/29, 11:24am, EDT
Sounds to me like a future update to the phone will allow us to change the 4 main apps at the bottom as well as rearranging the "subapps" at the top.

Also a chance there will finally be games?
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Joined Mar 2001
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