Apple awarded key iPhone multitouch patent

Apple has been awarded a patent that appears to cover much of the iPhone’s multitouch user interface.

World of Apple (via MacRumors) spotted the patent, which was awarded last Tuesday to several Apple executives, including Steve Jobs, iPhone software chief Scott Forstall, and Wayne Westerman, one of the founders of a company called Fingerworks that Apple acquired in 2005.

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Mac patent iphone technology

Apple is laying claim to the navigation interface provided by the iPhone, a new patent application reveals. Published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the filing is simply titled Touch Screen Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Providing Maps, Directions, and Location-Based Information. Apple begins its claim by noting that as the number of functions presented by handhelds grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to build a matching interface, and multiplying the number of buttons present may be useless when dealing with applications such as Google Maps.

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Apple Considering ‘At a Glance’ Notification on iPhone

A recent patent application from Apple reveals that the company is considering adding a proper “At a Glance” notification screen for the iPhone. The proposed screen would allow users to quickly jump to the desired notification simply by pressing on the corresponding notification.

Apple files patent for multi-touch plus

So far, the multi-touch interface on the iPhone has kind of just been a novelty. Sure, it changes the way we use the phone, but it hasn’t completely overhauled the way we think about interacting with technology. However, Apple has now filed a patent app that could be pointing to future multi-touch functions and bringing them beyond taps, swipes and pinches.

Read the full story at iPhoneBuzz.com