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Upside Down Phone Patent

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the upsidedowntalkin dept.

An anonymous reader noted that "A patent has been filed for the "Upside Down Phone", which features the keypad on top and the screen on the bottom. The idea behind the upside down phone is, apparently, to allow faster texting by have a more comfortable position for the thumb to work from. A quick check of this seems to confirm the theory, making this one of those "Why didn't I think of that?" moments."

24 of 291 comments (clear)

  1. "Why didn't I think of that?" by alexhard · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I don't know..maybe because the hands will be right on top of the screen and you won't be able to see anything?

    --
    Infinite time means everything that can happen, will. You being you is absolutely incidental. You do not exist.
    1. Re:"Why didn't I think of that?" by Radon360 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I agree. Maybe I'm missing something, but the idea seems to go against simple ergonomics. I would compare it to the early versions of the Garmin hand-held GPS receivers. Several models had their buttons above the screen. You had to "drive" it with two hands; one to hold it and one to run the keypad with a finger so that you could navigate through the menus. It was my major gripe about their GPS at the time, and the reason that I went with a Magellen GPS receiver back then (I have since purchased a Garmin eTrex).

      I suppose if the intent is that proficient SMS users would simply tap out their message without looking, then it might work. But for people with big hands who need to see what they're entering, it would present too much of a visual interference issue.

      Once, someone suggested building in voice recognition for entering an SMS...My reply was, "why don't you just call them instead."

    2. Re:"Why didn't I think of that?" by fang2415 · · Score: 5, Informative

      One of us *did* think of that.

      --
      No jokes, please
    3. Re:"Why didn't I think of that?" by Retric · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The problem with that story is once your break it it's no longer an egg. It's the same with this keyboard idea many have considered placing the keyboard on the other side but considered it useless to not have the screen visible while you type. To truly be a "novel" solution it needs to not just be "new" but also useful. Otherwise several people may have considered and rejected the idea. Which is why you can patent using an existing drug to treat a new disease. Drug patents are not just about the drug but how to use or make it.

    4. Re:"Why didn't I think of that?" by ozbird · · Score: 4, Funny

      I had a job during the summer where I had to do a lot of data entry into phones ... this was all on a bicycle, so that makes a difference as well.

      I find your ideas fascinating, and I would like to subscrib*CRASH*.

    5. Re:"Why didn't I think of that?" by squiggleslash · · Score: 4, Funny

      Good story, and it reminds me of another story, involving - interestingly enough - Christopher Columbus again.

      In the story, Christopher Columbus attends a meeting involving Craig McCaw, Christopher Gent, Steve Jobs, and the entire staff of Nokia. Christopher asks all the people in attendance to design an easier way of entering text messages into a cellphone. After all those present have tried and failed, they state that it's impossible to get better than iTAP. Columbus then pulls out a whopping great IBM Model M keyboard, attaches it to his phone, and types in his text message. Columbus then states that it is "the simplest thing in the world. Anybody can do it, after he has been shown how!"

      Columbus then went on to patent his invention, but in one of the great tragedies of science and technology, received nothing in royalties due to the slight issue with his "solution" being as idiotic as his more famous attempt to stand an egg on end.

      It's a sad story, I know.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  2. haHA by TinBromide · · Score: 5, Funny

    Gonna get rich! I just filed a patent for the upsidedown laptop, where you pull up the keyboard and look down at the screen.

    Makes it easier for those of you who type with your feet. (I'm looking at YOU, AOLers...)

    --
    Is it sad that I am more likely to recognize you and your posts by your sig than your name or UID?
  3. Garmin GPS did this 10 years ago by cvd6262 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I bought a Garmin GPS12 back in '98 that had the screen on the bottom. It made for great one-hand used.

    I guess adding "cellphone" to a design is just like adding "on the Internet" to a business plan.

    --

    I'd rather have someone respond than be modded up.

    1. Re:Garmin GPS did this 10 years ago by montyzooooma · · Score: 5, Funny
      "I bought a Garmin GPS12 back in '98 that had the screen on the bottom. It made for great one-hand use."

      Whoa! There's GPS porn?

  4. Not Why Didn't I Think of That by ISoldMyLowIdOnEbay · · Score: 4, Insightful

    More

    How the H*ll Can You Patent That?

    1. Re:Not Why Didn't I Think of That by rolfwind · · Score: 3, Interesting

      And why the hell can you patent this?

    2. Re:Not Why Didn't I Think of That by monsted · · Score: 5, Informative

      Too bad Bang & Olufsen has done it for a few years now.

      http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/cellphones/serene-cellp hone-from-samsung-and-bang-olufsen-155610.php

      You may now rip that patent to pieces.

  5. Layout patent? by FredDC · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How is it possible to patent the layout of something? I'll just go and patent a much used way of laying bricks on top of eachother and everyone who builds a house has to pass by my bank account first? This patenting is getting way out of hand!

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    09 f9 11 02 9d 74 e3 5b d8 41 56 c5 63
  6. Nothing new by earthloop · · Score: 4, Informative

    Ericsson did this way back in 1999 with the "Hedvig".

    Project was cancelled, one reason being users didn't like the upside down configuration.

    1. Re:Nothing new by earthloop · · Score: 5, Informative

      (Replying to my own post, ugh!)

      Pics of Hedvig can be found here:
      http://semania.mobilmania.cz/content/view/87/2/

  7. No more dirty screen ? by Rastignac · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The screen (at the bottom) won't be touched by the ear, so it will stay clean.
    No more dirty sticky traces on the screen !

    --
    -- Rastignac was here.
  8. 'Texting' by bytesex · · Score: 3, Funny

    Brought to you for the people who do the most 'texting' (shudder at the term); British teens. So what if you gave one of 'em, when, in a rare moment, they use their phone for its intended purposes, a big push on the phone: they'd press all the buttons at once with their zitty cheecks. You'd have to scrape all that pus out from in between the buttons. Yek.

    --
    Religion is what happens when nature strikes and groupthink goes wrong.
  9. I can't help thinking that... by TheSHAD0W · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...the iPhone can do this in software. :-P

  10. Re:I guess.... by backwardMechanic · · Score: 3, Funny

    Whoa, slow down excitable-designer-person. This too fresh and clean idea is a phone, with buttons for pressing and a screen for watching. It's been done before.

  11. Plenty of Prior Art by LordSchnitzel · · Score: 3, Informative

    Here's a phone by B&O that came out in europe two years ago: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/cellphones/serene-bang- -olufsens-upside-down-cellphone-210756.php

  12. Next story? Upside-down slashdot! by neonux · · Score: 5, Funny

    "A patent has been filed for the "Upside Down Slashdot" which features the comments on top and the fucking article on the bottom. The idea behind the upside down Slashdot is, apparently, to allow quicker reading by not having to RTFA. A quick check of this seems to confirm the theory, making this one of those "Why didn't I think of that?" moments."

    --
    @neonux
  13. Re:Really? Not for me. by sconeu · · Score: 3, Informative

    I've never understood the infatuation with flip-phones

    No keyboard locking necessary. I can't count the number of times my wife has forgotten to lock the keyboard on her Nokia, and buttons get pushed on it in her purse.

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  14. cool by White+Yeti · · Score: 5, Funny

    Of course, this was all on a bicycle, so that makes a difference as well. We need more posts that end with this line.
  15. It's an *application* people by hacksoncode · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Complaining about the ridiculousness of a pending patent *application* is about as useful as complaining about people spending time thinking of what they'd wish for if they found a bottle with a genie in it.

    So someone thought they had a cool new idea because they hadn't ever seen anything like it and they were wrong... so what? If the patent *issues* then there's something to complain about (though pointing the patent office at the prior art would be a useful public service, unlike whining on Slashdot).