Research In Motion (RIMM) Patents Surface

Ok, ok, that's not the new RIMM patent photo but its kinda funny.

Here's the real drawing:



Unwired Article on RIMM patents

The patent was filed on February 7, 2008. It's clear RIMM is hard at work on a Blackberry counter to the iPhone. This may be part of the 9000 series that's been speculated. This one has some kind of slider mechanism and a hinge that lets you angle the screen. In general I'm opposed to complicated mechanisms on top of technology, especially in portable devices where the oops-i-dropped-my-gizmo factor is so high. The touchscreen technology senses location, finger pressure and can handle multiple points of contact simultaneously -- at least in theory. Pressing on the screen to zoom in on an area strikes me as far less idiotic feeling than flicking the screen 300 times to get it sized right.

One day this product will be great for RIMM's stock (when it launches) but a patent is a far cry from product shipment. It's not actionable though it is noteworthy.