Samsung thinks about putting touchscreen on a tablet’s back

Staska  By on 03 Aug 10

Now that Apple showed how a  real tablet device should look and work, everyone else is scrambling to make their own tablet that will be at least on par with the iPad.

Samsung is no stranger here, and has already confirmed that it will have an Android tablet ready for market this fall. We’ve even seen quite a few pictures of Samsung Galaxy Tab by now.

And, according to this new patent application for a “Mobile terminal having dual touch screen and method of controlling content therein”, Samsung has been thinking about how to add their own touch (no pun intended here ;) ,   to the tablet form factor UI.

Their idea? A dual touch screen tablet. With a traditional operation on a big touchscreen on the front of the device. And a second touch sensor layer on the back of the tablet, allowing for additional touch control gestures and operation patterns.

I might see some use cases where sliding a finger on the back of the tablet  is a more comfortable option then doing it on a touchsreen. But only in some cases, while for most usage patterns – a traditional multi-touch screen is much more preferable.

Overall, I’d say it’s an interesting idea on Samsung’s part. But Samsung is one of the most prolific patentees out there, every week filing more patent applications then Nokia, Motorola, RIM and Sony Ericsson combined. Very few of them end-up in actual products.

So the likelihood of us ever seeing an actual working dual touchscreen tablet form Samsung? I’d put it into “not very likely” category.

Follow Us on:   



If you liked the post, you might find these interesting too:

  • http://sefanboy.com/ mobile phone

    Too much technology, it will not practical to use.

  • http://laptop-computer-planet.com/blog LaptopMan

    To much going on with this idea it won't work now but maybe in 20 years

  • Dead Hand Control

    The Notion Adam device is set to have a touchpad on the back (if it ever makes it to market). http://www.notionink.in/

  • Guest

    This idea was published on June 30th, http://twitter.com/ydfeed/status/17434422941

  • Guest

    Microsoft already has patents on this exact technology from about 5 years ago. http://www.technologyreview.com/infotech/19300/…

  • Abstrapov

    that's very old…. “Now that Apple showed how a real tablet device should look and work” really???
    hilarious…

  • http://www.staska.net Staska

    Yep. Really. Unless you think Microsoft tablet efforts – tablet PCs and
    UMPCs – were a huge commercial success, and they are still trendsetters in
    tablet biz…

  • Abstrapov

    This is only your opinion…. mine is that I dont think that the Ipad isn't the prototype for the next tablets… also Apple didnt this tablet concept, neither the mousse or the graphic interface as I've seen in some blogs…

  • JohnDoey

    iPad is a radical departure from previous full-size tablets, replacing the stylus with the fingers and the PC architecture with mobile architecture and desktop-optimized apps with tablet-optimized apps. It's the first tablet ever to sell over 1 million, and they did that in the first week. They'll sell 10 million in 2010, which is more tablets than were sold by all other manufacturers combined over the past 20 years. Every PC maker has an iPad clone under development, and Microsoft is currently being criticized for not having software ready for them. So, yes, Apple showed how a real tablet device should look and work.

    I would love to hear your well-reasoned counter argument.

  • JohnDoey

    The bottom touchscreen is for the feet.

  • Abstrapov

    Yeah, my answer is very simple… Apple marketing and fanboys….
    Any other brand never appear in the news or received this attention that people give to Apple products.
    Do you think if other brand would commercialized this kind of device, or even better, would be so popular?
    Only Apple can sell 1 million of useless devices and makes to their clients thinks that they are over the rest

  • Mhxebec

    now thats alot of fanboys… what something like 70 million idevices out there… and that 70 million must be stupid people to buy those “useless” devices.

  • http://www.jammer-store.com/ Michael

    I am absolutely agree with mobile phone, it will not practical to use at all.

« »