Lots of posts and conjecture over the past 28 hours regarding some recent apple patents (see pic above). Apparently a touchscreen and an on-screen keyboard automatically equal a UMPC these days. However, I believe that they simply repreent the next evolution in Apple’s iPod.
Apple is making a PMP. Not a UMPC.
The key here is neither the touchscreen nor the keyboard component of the patent, it’s the implementation of Apple’s navigational/orientation interface via a touchscreen (i.e. a scrollwheel via touchscreen versus physical “buttons”).
But what about the keyboard shaped as an arc? Ah, yes. I expected this question. We’ll now, it appear that this is a full keyboard contained in one arc. Making it all but impossible to use with two hands. No, this keyboard is there to allow the user to easily enter a few letters with a single thumb.
But, why would you make a keyboard that is really most effective at thumbing in a few letters or words at a time? Man, you ask a lot of questions! Again, the answer is because Apple is making a PMP, not a UMPC. I imagine that the arc keyboard will complement the scrollwheel so that you can search through a large playlist by just keying in the first letter or two of the video/song. If I were you, I would also consider the fact possibility that Apple has wirelessly enabled this future-gen iPod, allowing you direct access to iTunes on it. That thumb-driven arc keyboard should would come in handy when searching their library of video, music and podcasts directly on the super-iPod itself. Oh, and it sure would make entering in Credit Card information much easier.
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