Qualcomm patent demos triple-screen tablet

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Posted on 12 Mar 2010 at 10:33

Chip maker Qualcomm's latest patent filing offers a sneak peak at the future of tablet-style PCs - a triple-screen context-sensitive folder.

The filing, highlighted by Electronista and published in full on the USPTO website, suggests a triple-screen layout which is capable of changing the device's abilities according to its alignment.

The suggestions in the patent include folding the uppermost screen back to form a self-standing desk clock, bringing the uppermost screen forward to produce a portrait-display netbook with the lower screen acting as a keyboard, and all three screens being laid flat in order to display a widescreen video.

Going from the scale images provided in the patent filing, Qualcomm is thinking about the portable media player (PMP) market with this particular design, with the device as imagined measuring around the same as a Nintendo DS Lite. How usable the on-screen keyboard would be in such a small form factor - and precisely how you stop the thing from toppling over when you take your hands away - isn't immediately obvious.

While the patent doesn't necessarily relate to a product planned or even in serious development at the company, it's an interesting diversion from the current raft of slate and tablet-style touch-screen devices - and certainly one-ups Microsoft's Courier dual-screen tablet concept.

Author: Gareth Halfacree

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