Introducing the all new iSlate with Magic Touch (prediction)

[rdowns]

Link

Looks sweet.

Take a sheet of letter paper and fold it in half. You're holding something about the size of Apple's new iSlate. Imagine that scrap of paper is a beautiful, shiny combination of glass, aluminum and plastic, weighing about 10 ounces. How does it feel?

The first thing you'll notice is that, unlike the iPhone, you want to hold it with both hands. And this presents a bit of a problem. You don't have a hand free to touch the screen.Your thumbs are resting on the edges of the device, and are not long enough or manoeuvrable enough to reach the middle. Your fingers, however, are idly stretched across the back of the device.

And this gives us the clue we need to suspect that there's some truth the rumors doing the rounds that Apple's working on a multi touch surface for the back of a new iPhone. But perhaps it's destined for the new tablet, instead (or as well). More than just a gimmick, this all-new input method would enable users to interact with the device without moving their hands from its sides. It also has the benefit of enabling you to use the device without obscuring the screen with your hands.

How would it work? Some gestures, such as scrolling and swiping will be easy, because precise positioning is not essential. But what about tapping buttons and entering text? I think the way this will work is that when you tap and hold, a cursor will appear on the screen (or the text magnifying loupe when you're over text). This will persist until you release your tap, enabling you to be more precise in your positioning before you finish your tap. The cursor icon would probably look like a circle, rather than an arrow - which would be more fitting with the accuracy of a finger, relative to a mouse.

The neat thing about this approach is that it doesn't require any major changes to the existing input method of the iPhone OS - and so all three devices: iPhone, iPod touch and iSlate, could run on the same system, regardless of whether they have multi touch on the reverse. I'm going to take a guess and say they'll call this system "Magic Touch."

While this solution might seem a little too "out there" for a finished product, if you do a little experimenting with that folded over piece of paper, I think you'll realise that this could work. And your accuracy would be pretty good anyway, because it turns out you can intuitively judge a position on the back, relative something on the front.

There is even a prescident for Apple taking this "front and back" approach in a design. The original iMac G5 had its power button positioned directly behind the power light on its front. In order to hit the power button, you had to grope around the back of the device in order to hit it. But the thing is, you didn't grope - you intuitively found it, because the power light on the front guides you hand to the spot on the back. Apple's design team frequently reprises successful concepts from earlier products in this way.

Note: This article is just speculation based upon rumor. The original touch sensitive casing rumor was put about by Goldman Sachs analyst Robert Chen, and related to the iPhone, rather than a tablet.

 

[MacBoobsPro]

If thats true there's going to be a lot of dropped iSlates out there.

 

[iShater]

That would be sweet. But I don't know what I would use it for.

If thats true there's going to be a lot of dropped iSlates out there.

And lots of "I dropped my iSlate in ....." threads.

 

[shrimpdesign]

Multi-touch casing is just about the most awkward way to interact with a device, and completely wrong. What stops you from triggering multi-touch while simply holding it? And then, if not the casing, where do you hold it?

It would create too much user anxiety.

 

[robbieduncan]

How do you type? Or use it when it's lying on a table? What happens when you hand it to someone else and there is input from them grabbing it?

 

[pup]

I think the tech is more sophisticated than you think - well capable of determining the user's intent. I posted this link at CoM - the patent. I'm surprised no one has dug that one out of the bin yet.

More interesting might be how the front and the back could interact. ; )

 

[rdowns]

How do you type? Or use it when it's lying on a table? What happens when you hand it to someone else and there is input from them grabbing it?

Possibly the KB can be used both on the screen and via the back.

Like I'd ever let anyone else touch my iPod slate.

Accelerometer would turn off gestures to rear.

How the hell do I know? I still think it looks pretty.

 

[robbieduncan]

I think my biggest problem with this is that you would have to learn to use the interface. Like Graffiti input used to be on the Palm. The real strength of the iPhone interface is that it's immediate and intuitive...

 

[125037]

It's----BEAUTIFUL! Well, I guess I know (have known) where a portion of my income taxes are going )

 

[ntrigue]

That's terrific! I imagine a split keyboard semi-circle in each lower corner of the screen. This would be much like a virtual Fingerworks keyboard.

 

[Surely]

Most realistic prediction I've read about the tablet.

It has been said that it will take some time to get used to the tablet's UI.

It would be really amazing if there was a way to type on the back of the device so that you could continue to hold it with both hands as in the photo.

Perhaps two halves of a keyboard would appear at the corners (as ntrigue suggested), and if you keep your fingers in contact with the back surface, dots would appear on the keys you were 'virtually touching' with those fingers. That way, you would know the positioning of your fingers on the keys. If your fingers are merely touching, the dots are there. Press harder, and the key is typed.

 

[GermanSuplex]

I was going to disagree entirely with this possibility until I picked up a DVD case, held it with both hands and motioned like I was typing with my fingers on the back of the device. Its something that I can see me being able to do decently at first and then mastering to the point where I could type almost as fast as if I was on a physical keyboard. It's a really novel idea.

Text input would be easy when held with both hands, and when the tablet is lying flat on a surface, perhaps a more advanced version of the iPhone keys will appear... or something entirely new to allow fast text input.

Its the best solution I've seen yet. I really don't think this device can work if the text input is the same as an iPhone. A lot of people only need basic, iPhone-like apps, but even many of those people will want to type. And if this machine allows for speedy text input, I see no reason why it won't become of the iPhone of the netbook and maybe even laptop world.

 

[t0mat0]

I think the tech is more sophisticated than you think - well capable of determining the user's intent. I posted this link at CoM - the patent. I'm surprised no one has dug that one out of the bin yet.

More interesting might be how the front and the back could interact. ; )

Several threads have already touched on this. Engadget rumor round up did. Patently apple has covered it and I know my thread on the subforum covered it.
What was missed by most from the patent is that it covers pressure also (which can be transmitted through a case).

We await to see - they could have a touch sensitive bezel similar to the Palm Pre.
For gaming, in the horizontal position you'd probably like multitouch on either side of the screens' side edges.
Some of Apples patents seem to suggest it's more about more complex multitouch finger gestures (though these could be done on the back). I know many people can or do pick their MacBooks up by a corner and move one handed. The weight will be the big factor on doing that. Probably research out there totell you the cut off point people can hold a device like that single handedly. The iPhone fits well enough into the palm with fingers wrapped around that a user can steady and hold securely with just one hand. Maybe a more slightly askew vertical will become more used when browsing. I don't see the finger covering screen problem going away just yet - we'll see.
Apple could also use the side edges (wheel on side, blackberry/HTC scrollball...)

Being a right handed I could see gestures where if discounts the palm pinkie ring finger and uses index and middle together to scroll. Or middle finger tap.
Their patents on understanding what the hand is doing and what the intends gesture is will definitely come into play.
Watching a film or surfing you could be on a coach on your front - no back gestures there.
That's why he standard behaviour is to rotate the screen if it's turned upside down from horizontal- thus allowing users to read horizontally whilst on their side on a q coach etc.
People are already used to typing either single thumbed in a vertical position or double thumbed in a horizontal position device.
I can see that just being modified and carried over.

Goings on with the rear cover - interesting if it happens. 4th gen iPhone Will get it too, I'd be happy about that!

As germansuplex points out - it's worth grabbing a DVD box or better a book of a 11 inch diagonal and then pretending it's an iPhone. How'd you hold it - what feels better ?
Apple has been looking into this for years and likely iterating in this for a while (Jobs wants to show Newton ideas were right but executed wrong last time). There was a recent quote to say the iPhone was just a byproduct beforehand of the tablet - that the iPhone was a small tablet not the other way around.
Magic touch sounds a little weird. You could search late ts on it- but Apple owns the phrase Multitouch in that it's associated heavily with Apple.

By Apple keeping usin the word multitouch it then raises the bar for anyone wanting to use the phrase (on Android handsets). Users will take "multitouch" to mean what Apple with what OS 4 and the new round of iPhones/ tablets bring - leaving the competition potentially lacking in this regard.

We'll see!

 

[infosprt]

Multi-touch casing is just about the most awkward way to interact with a device, and completely wrong. What stops you from triggering multi-touch while simply holding it? And then, if not the casing, where do you hold it?

It would create too much user anxiety.

Inadvertent touches on the screen will be a problem. I know it is an issue with me with the iPhone. I have an Amazon Kindle and one of the things I like about it is that the screen is not touch sensitive. So I can put it in my pocket touch it whatever and it doesn't change the displayed content.

Notebooks had a similar problem with the mouse pad being touched inadvertently. A real pain. The ones I see now have a way to turn the mouse pad off (when using an external mouse for example).

It will be interesting how Apple solves this problem.

 

[greygray]

I think my biggest problem with this is that you would have to learn to use the interface. Like Graffiti input used to be on the Palm. The real strength of the iPhone interface is that it's immediate and intuitive...

Ah . . the days when Palm PDAs were cool . . . I still have the guide to using the Graffiti input on my Palm M505. . .

Anyway, r, that mockup looks better than the others I've seen so far.