Michael Johnston
April 30th, 2007, 02:24 PM
LG has recently filed patents for a new touch-screen phone that may keep Apple from expanding into the flip phone market with their iPhone line.
According to <a href="http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220070094620%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20070094620&RS=DN/20070094620" target="_blank">the patent</a>, this new line may incorporate even better on-screen information representation. One of the examples used resembles a school of fish swimming on the phone. Using the stylus or a finger, you could move a fish up to an element representing a function, such as reading mail. When an item is selected, it can perform specific tasks, or spawn new items illustrating the entry of a sub-menu. This shows that LG is moving away from traditional static interfaces and allowing elements to move freely upon the screen. One of the most important aspects of creating intefaces in this fasion is to give a dynamic representation of real world actions and ideas. This plays a dual role by creating an intuitive environment that allows tech savvy individuals to work more quickly, and enables new users to learn the device quickly and effortlessly.
<a href="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/DImg-4.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/thumb_DImg-4.png" alt="" style="padding-right:10px" /></a><a href="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/DImg-9.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/thumb_DImg-9.png" alt="" style="padding-right:10px" /></a><a href="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/DImg-4.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/thumb_DImg-4.png" alt="" style="padding-right:10px" /></a>
In <a href="http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220070075915%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20070075915&RS=DN/20070075915" target="_blank">another patent</a> LG is expanding upon their current touch-screen phone technology seen in the <a href="http://www.pradaphonebylg.com/" target="_blank">Prada</a> phone by moving to a flip-phone based design. This new design, according to the patents, would place control functions such as keypads onto the lower screen and display information on the top. It doesn't stop there, however. The patent also describes the ability to move information across the two screens for complete flexibility.
<a href="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/DImg.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/thumb_DImg.png" alt="" style="padding-right:10px" /></a><a href="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/DImg-1.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/thumb_DImg-1.png" alt="" style="padding-right:10px" /></a><a href="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/DImg-2.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/thumb_DImg-2.png" alt="" style="padding-right:10px" /></a><a href="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/DImg-3.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/thumb_DImg-3.png" alt="" style="padding-right:10px" /></a>
According to <a href="http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220070094620%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20070094620&RS=DN/20070094620" target="_blank">the patent</a>, this new line may incorporate even better on-screen information representation. One of the examples used resembles a school of fish swimming on the phone. Using the stylus or a finger, you could move a fish up to an element representing a function, such as reading mail. When an item is selected, it can perform specific tasks, or spawn new items illustrating the entry of a sub-menu. This shows that LG is moving away from traditional static interfaces and allowing elements to move freely upon the screen. One of the most important aspects of creating intefaces in this fasion is to give a dynamic representation of real world actions and ideas. This plays a dual role by creating an intuitive environment that allows tech savvy individuals to work more quickly, and enables new users to learn the device quickly and effortlessly.
<a href="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/DImg-4.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/thumb_DImg-4.png" alt="" style="padding-right:10px" /></a><a href="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/DImg-9.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/thumb_DImg-9.png" alt="" style="padding-right:10px" /></a><a href="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/DImg-4.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/thumb_DImg-4.png" alt="" style="padding-right:10px" /></a>
In <a href="http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220070075915%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20070075915&RS=DN/20070075915" target="_blank">another patent</a> LG is expanding upon their current touch-screen phone technology seen in the <a href="http://www.pradaphonebylg.com/" target="_blank">Prada</a> phone by moving to a flip-phone based design. This new design, according to the patents, would place control functions such as keypads onto the lower screen and display information on the top. It doesn't stop there, however. The patent also describes the ability to move information across the two screens for complete flexibility.
<a href="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/DImg.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/thumb_DImg.png" alt="" style="padding-right:10px" /></a><a href="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/DImg-1.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/thumb_DImg-1.png" alt="" style="padding-right:10px" /></a><a href="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/DImg-2.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/thumb_DImg-2.png" alt="" style="padding-right:10px" /></a><a href="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/DImg-3.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/lgpatents/thumb_DImg-3.png" alt="" style="padding-right:10px" /></a>