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iPhone Roundup
Some of you are tired of the blizzard of coverage the iPhone is getting, so this roundup of iPhone stories is running off the main page. First off, EMIce points out what seems to be plenty of prior art (as well as a booming research scene) on the multi-touch interface that Steve Jobs demo'ed, boasting of having "filed for over 200 patents." FastCompany has a profile of NYU researcher Jefferson Han and his killer demo of a multi-touch interface at TED. Next, Toreo asesino writes in with Microsoft's Steve Ballmer's take on the iPhone; the Microsoft CEO doesn't sound very impressed. And finally, an anonymous reader notes CNet's article on why the iPhone, once it's in the hands of consumers, may be the most muggable item of consumer electronics ever.
Jobs said that they've filed for over 200 patents on the iPhone overall, not multi-touch specifically. You can see it in his slide here:
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http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/me
Your comment makes no sense. What brains are missing? We've already seen what the phone can do in the Keynote and the Apple website: play music, play videos, surf the web (rendering pages correctly), check e-mail, send text messages, visual voicemail - the list goes on and on, and it looks likely that Apple will allow the release of third-party widgets, if not full-fledged applications.
And it will do all of this with Apple's usual ease-of-use and pleasant aesthetics. Not to mention, they have six months to refine it further.
What brains are missing, exactly? I can't really think of much else that I want a smartphone to do. 3G would be nice, but I can live with that omission for now.
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I don't really see this working too well. iPhone will be eminently lo-jackable. It's got the cell phone's GPS, and is a closed platform meaning that the thief probably won't be able to disable it. Steal it, and you're inviting the cops to come pick you up.
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
Apple bought FingerWorks several years ago.
You may remember them for their Multi-Touch keyboard nearly 4 years ago. Apple first began incorporating the technology into their scrolling trackpads about 2 years ago. Now it has found its way into the iPhone.