Android Devices In Future Could Be Controlled Via Backside Touch

By Prarthito Maity email: p.maity@mobilenapps.com | Mar 11, 2013 08:01 AM EDT

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Android from Google is one of the most popular OS ecosystems around with a massive number of users all around the planet, and now it seems like the company is up to even more to offer the best possible experience for its users.

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Per reports, Google is said to have submitted a patent that will let its users owing an Android device to control the device using gestures and touches on its back.

However, those who are regularly following the exploits of Google and Android will know that this latest technology is not something new as Apple previously has also submitted a certain patent back in 2006 for future tablets that would deal with the same kind of gesture control.

As far as the concept brought about via this new technology is concerned, it’s quite simple. The concept deals with introducing touch controls to the rear casing of a device, with the control having the ability to be smartly reconfigured, by remembering the last performed action, to allow for quick recall of common functions just by tapping the rear of the phone.

“Google's invention covers simple backside device touch controls that will be applied to future Android devices,” a Patent Bolt report states. The report also says that the image offered for the patent “is a conceptual diagram of an Android smartphone identifying an operation to perform in response to non-touchscreen contact being detected on the backside of the Android device's backside housing.”

Google is hopeful that the new backside touch technology could apply to other future devices such as a tablet, ebook, Chromebook or other devices based on Android. The daily usage scenarios via this include turning a page in a document, skipping over to the next picture in a slideshow, or even playing the next track in a playlist.

The feedback for registering the back-tap could be visual, acoustic, or tactile, and the implementation might also make its way to tablets in the near future. The patent also states as to how the available torque on a computing device can help to indicate a location on the device where contact with the device was received.

“Google adds that the mobile device may provide visual, audible, and/or tactile feedback to the user indicating that the tap input on the backside housing has been detected, such as a click sound, beep or vibration,” the report adds. “Google's patent application was originally filed in Q3 2012 under serial number 593117 and recently published by the US Patent Office.”

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