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Apple awarded multi-touch patent, PSP2 and Pre stymied?

Could spell bad news for Palm and the PSP2

Apple awarded multi-touch patent, PSP2 and Pre stymied?
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At the end of December, Apple was awarded a patent it applied for way back in April 2008, according to Mashable.com.

This patent is for “Touch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics”, which is essentially translated as a multi-touch touchscreen.

So what? Other companies can’t use the iPhone’s technology, right? Well, that’s true, but it also seems to cover the way users interact with a touchscreen, as actions like pinching and pulling come under the cryptic ‘heuristics’ phrase.

The most immediate threat is to Palm, with its CES show-stopper, the Palm Pre.

This gorgeous new handset uses very similar interface options to the iPhone, despite the operating systems being completely different. If this patent holds true, it could prohibit Palm from allowing these kinds of user operations and seriously shackle the Pre’s usability.

And if rumours regarding the PSP2 are to be believed, the hardware update could be stymied before it even gets going, as the latest reports suggest a multi-touch interface on Sony’s system as well.

We’ll have to wait and see how Apple chooses to handle the competition concerning its new patent, but we might finally know what the company's new CEO Tim Cook was talking about when he said “[Apple] will not stand for having our IP ripped off, and we'll use whatever weapons that we have at our disposal."

Troubled times ahead.

Spanner Spencer
Spanner Spencer
Yes. Spanner's his real name, and he's already heard that joke you just thought of. Although Spanner's not very good, he's quite fast, and that seems to be enough to keep him in a regular supply of free games and away from the depressing world of real work.