Apple’s love-affair with the multi-touch technology has advanced to the next level by expanding its touch-capability to the iPod categories. After the iPhone, iPod touch and Mac notebooks line-up, now its time to see the iPod nano with the same gesture-based technology on its click-wheel (not a touch-sensitive big screen though).
In words of AppleInsider, a patent filled in September by Apple indicates that the multi-touch capability will apparently debut for the fifth-generation iPod Nano. It is believed that the iPod with this capability would detect “input gestures that traverse the center of the scroll wheel and to detect multi-touch input.”
The multi-touch gestures through click-wheel would have the ability to sense moving objects (such as a finger or multi-finger touch/motion) as and when moved. Further, it hints that the speculated iPod model would support a rotational motion as well as a linear movement across the center of the scroll wheel.
“Applications can be enhanced by the improved range of input enabled by the scroll wheel circuitry,” Apple is believed to explain. “For example, linear motion, such as a swipe across the scroll wheel, can enable an image browsing application to cause images, such as album cover pictures for example, to be transitioned across a screen.”
Besides the multi-touch capable click-wheel, the upcoming nano is rumored to employ a built-in digital camera and more compact circular scroll wheel.
Apple hasn’t confirmed any of this yet but the latest enhancement raises the hope to see the boost in the company’s sales this fall!
