“‘Apple’s going to put a lot of innovation, not just on the hardware, but also on the software of the new iPhone,’ said Taipei-based Chen, a member of Asia’s top-ranked technology hardware research team,” Culpan and Engle report. “The handset will feature a new plastic casing similar to that used for Apple’s touch-panel Magic Mouse released last year, he said.”
Culpan and Engle report, “Magic Mouse, a computer mouse released in October, has a touch-sensitive solid plastic shell that replaces mechanical buttons. The technology may be replicated in the new iPhone to offer touch-sensitive features on the rear of the handset, Chen said.”
Full article here.
Hope not… I don’t have a magic mouse but sometimes the mighty mouse I have drives me crazy with it’s pressure sensitive left and right buttons. This is the artsy fartsy part of Apple esthetics that can be so aggravating to the end user!
Great, my Magic Mouse drives me nuts, wandering at times. Now my phone will wander, call China, etc. LOL
I did like the mighty mouse, except that the track ball fails a lot, but the touch sensitive buttons are great.
I don’t have a magic mouse yet, I will wait until I get my new iMac. 🙁
The iPhone already does have “the same plastic as the magic mouse” on its back.
The “plastic” is just almost completely irrelevant to the MagicMouse’s functionality – the copper antenna array below the plastic is what’s doing the actual work.
And I see no plausible motivation whatsoever to make the back of the iPhone touch-sensitive.
…instantly putting lots of case makers out of business, and instantly exposing lots of iPhones to more dings, scrapes and scratches.
I don’t quite see this happening. What would be cool is if you can perform certain features to the phone by just tapping/shaking the whole thing. e.g. it rings, and you want to silence it? Just shake the phone. it’s asleep and you want to wake it up to see the lock screen? shake it, etc.
I read about this in a earlier MDN link. Someone put this info out in the thread. Looks like more than one “analyst” looks for information in MDN feedback.
How could this possibly work? If you’re using the back to make finger gestures, how can you see the screen to know what you’re doing? Unless I guess if it was just basic finger gestures that could be performed while the screen is facing you. Hmm…
Ok, so I can see how it could work now. But even so, it wouldn’t be able to do anything the touchscreen can’t. What’s the point in making finger gestures on the back when you can just do it on the touchscreen?
I too like the mighty mouse except if they could have fixed the problem with the ball. the touch sensitive right and left clicks worked fine wish they would turn this setting on in my colleges computer lab which of course they lock the settings so you cant turn on secondary button which is helpful and all the non apple users are always asking how to right click and lol its funny because they dont know about the usb on the keyboards and you always see them turning there the computer around to put in there flash drives
Doubtful.
I so look forward to the 26th!!!!! Then maybe all the hype about the “tablet” and iPhone will be comments not ideas different people have, iam very excited about both the tablet and new iPhone though!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I read macDailynews constantly and am waiting in anticapation like a kid before Christmas!!!!
Let’s keep in mind this is all rumor. I trust the design group at Apple to get it right most of the time, and in my experience, the magic mouse is the finest mouse ever. Once you acclimate to the touch sensitivity and functioning, it’s pretty much perfect.
I doubt the back of the case will be active, I think they may somehow use a panel to replace the mechanical home button, I recall that is something in the original iPhone design that Steve Jobs was never satisfied with – a touch-sensitive area that requires a certain amount of force could possibly replace the mechanical button on the bottom edge of front. Maybe even an unlock swipe could be integrated in that bottom area where the home button now resides
I am also doubting the active rear touch area(s). See it as too much of a problem with case designs. Maybe with a pressure senitive as well, but still very unlikely to me.
Rumor and more rumor stacked so high now that anything short of a thousand year tech lead will send Apple stock falling like President Clinton’s pants in the oval office!
“What’s the point in making finger gestures on the back when you can just do it on the touchscreen?”
‘Cause when you’re holding it, you got four to eight fingers back there. Personally, I doubt an Apple device, if forthcoming, will have a control area on the back, but I can see some utility for such.
This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Seriously. The stupidest.
I’m sure all the case makers will love this
Actually in terms of touch on the back I can see a very cool application… game controls. Right now the biggest pain is that with your fingers on the screen you lose some view, but if on the back could work. You don’t have to see the controls, slide a finger on your left hand left, you move left, right you move right.. could be cool
blablablablabah
@Johnny
And how exactly would you hold the phone?
Not to mention I already have enough trouble accidentally flipping the silent switch, if all i had to do was “touch” it to make it silent that would be hell.
@Troy & MAC_kid
Turn the mouse over and run the ball over a plain, white piece of paper in all directions keeping an eye on the screen. That’ll fix it. Keeping your hands clean when using it also helps.
There’s the new (Samsung?) BackFlip phone at CES that has this feature. It actually looks like an interesting feature: instead of your hands covering up the screen, you’re able to scroll and move through photos and album covers by swiping the *back* of the phone.
Seems gimmicky and I’m not sure Apple would do it, but they might. I like the idea of the whole back of the case supporting it, rather than just one narrow area like the BackFlip.
@JES42
Yep, I use the LCD screen cloth for that purpose. Fixes them every time.
Yes, clean hands. Can’t tell you how sloppy some users are. Don’t even want to touch their mouse.
I loved the previous clear keyboards, I could just point to them and see all the food crumbs the users got in them and lay the blame on their stupid eating and unclean hand habits.
I see limited functionality for this on the iPhone, on the tablet however the keyboard on the back makes sense
It’s for the tablet and it will make the screen virtually transparent while you interface. This makes a lot of sense to me for a two handed ui. If this were combined with the screen side touchyou could do even more. The value is that your fingers get out of the way. Genius,
Adding this to the back of the phone will enable game developers to add virtual buttons (triggers) to the back of the phone. Just like a Left and Right trigger on a joystick. NICE!!!