Triple Slider Patent - Torn Apart Feelings
We are a little bit late on this one for a reason: I have been looking at this and trying to get myself to either love it or hate it, but I can’t seem to stick to one feeling without the other resurfacing in the next second. So what is it all about? Nokia just patented a triple slider concept device: it is a triple-layered device, with the top layer being the screen, the middle sliding both upwards to reveal a multimedia menu and downwards to reveal an ordinary keypad, and the bottom layer sliding sideways to reveal a QWERTY keyboard. Jump after the break for pictures and thoughts.
Seems like both the keypad and the keyboard can be open at the same time (see the picture), but with the QWERTY having a top raw of numbers, I wonder about the utility of such a feature.
Disclaimer: Even though this is a patent, and may be made real in a month, a year or never, I am going to tag along and say my thoughts on the matter, if such a device ever goes out of the Nokia labs.
- It definitely looks like an N810 meets the N95, but who am I to breed mobile devices?
- It looks like it could be a touchscreen device, and by now you must know that I am a big fan. I love that Nokia is thinking about adding navigation keys to their touchscreen devices that come with a keypad, that way the device is still easily usable on-the-go.
- I also love that this looks like a multimedia device that sports a QWERTY. Seems like Nokia is starting to think that multimedia fans also do a lot of typing, or that businessmen do like to listen to some music. Could it be an Nseries with a QWERTY like Ricky asked a couple of days ago, or an E-Series with multimedia capabilities? Or a new breed?
- Although I love the concept, I can’t help but think how solid this thing should be to handle a triple slide without creaking or squeaking or having a loose mechanism.
What do you think about this patent? Do you see an actual device sporting such a design or do you think it’ll just fade away in the drawers? Do you agree that less is more and that all these keys on one device make things a little too complicated, or do you think there is a real audience for such devices, especially after the public got used to the concept with the Helio Ocean and the Pantech Duo?
[Via: Unwired View]
I spent a bit of time analyzing this one myself and I am less than confident in it. I loves me some Nokia phones, but I don’t think that a first generation device of this nature will have anything near great build quality. I however do like that it is triple layered, unlike Helio’s Ocean. With it having three layers though, I am concerned about the thickness to durability realtionship. Also things like a way to angle the screen would be nice, especially as we get nicer and nicer displays. Lastly the keypads look cramped. I don’t like cramming more keys on a device and just making them smaller and smaller. The numpad espeically appears cramped and I am a N73 user who doesn’t mind the keypad at all.
I agree. A triple slider is a recipe for things to crammed in and possibly break. While I do value the qwerty keyboard, I still try to keep things as simple as possible. I have been an e62 user for about a year and I think that form-factor is perfect. It allows for one or two handed use. The fact that it was used for both the e61 and e61i, tells me that it is a favorable design. I would like to see a e61i design with a US 3G radio, and a high resolution camera. I think it would be a big success.
@ Malaeum
let’s not forget it is a patent and the keypad will probably look totally different on the actual device.
@ Demetri
Haven’t had the chance to play with an E61 or E62 yet, but I held the E61i for a couple of seconds and was extremely delighted. It looked great and felt great and solid in the hand.
What do you mean ?