Just issued Sony patents - new dual touch screen possible for their e-readers?

[gardenstate]

http://www.investorplace.com/24269/s...s-fuel-rumors/

"The patent describes a touch-screen solution that should ease issues caused by users’ hands blocking the screen during use. Rather than touching the display screen directly, users will a separate touch screen or touch pad near the display touch panel for basic controls. A diagram in the patent highlights a section of the screen devoted to readable text that can be manipulated and scrolled through using a touch panel on the back of the screen. A user holding the device with a single hand could, for example, browse a tablet-formatted newspaper by using their gripping fingers on the rear of the device. Other diagrams of the technology show that the two panels can be repositioned to face the same way or facing opposite directions but offset from one another to accommodate a book-style holding position. The patents do not, however, indicate if the second touch screen will also be a display."

"Sony’s e-reader division could also benefit from the technology described. Sony dropped the prices on its line of Reader e-readers last summer in an effort to compete with the rising Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) Kindle and Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKN) Nook, not to mention Apple’s iPad, but the devices have continued to trail their competitors. In a Reuters report published this past Sunday, though, Sony announced that it was relaunching the Reader line in its native Japan after having pulled out of the Japanese e-reader market three years ago. The relaunch is fueled by a wealth of new content in the company’s e-book store, the Reader Store, with 20,000 titles compared to the 10,000 titles available when the Reader left shelves in 2007. It’s very possible that, once its Japanese business is better established, Sony will begin an aggressive campaign to win the e-reader market with a new device incorporating the new multiple touch-screen layout. The technology would give Sony a leg up over the lower tech offerings from Amazon and Barnes & Noble as well as a compelling alternative to the iPad, provided the new Reader stays within the price range of the current line."

[mbelec]

Well, we'll have to see where this one goes. It's an interesting idea, however. Sony should come up with something new and different to make a bigger presence in the market.

[hoichi]

AFAIR, a Notion Ink Adam tablet got a touch panel on the backside

[lack]

ew, sounds unusable to me. Saw the notion ink's proof of concept vid but I didn't dig it.

Now if sony comes up with videos to show off.. Oh wait it's only a patent...