A good notebook computer needs a good touchpad, but some folks prefer a mouse. Foxconn has a possible solution for people that don’t want to carry a separate mouse: a touchpad that you can eject from the laptop and use as a wireless mouse.
The Taiwanese device manufacturer recently filed for a patent for a “laptop having detachable touchpad.” Just because the company is seeking a patent doesn’t mean we’ll actually see the product built anytime soon — but it looks like Foxconn (also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry) it at least thinking about it.
The patent application describes a system where the touchpad can be locked into place and used like a typical notebook touchpad, but there’s also an ejection mechanism that lets you remove the device and use it for external use.
For the most part, the documents talk about the ejection mechanism and how the touchpad can be connected to the laptop. There’s not a lot of discussion of how you’d actually use the mouse once it’s removed from the laptop.
Since there’s a touch surface, I suspect you’d be able to use it as an external touchpad with support for multitouch gestures. But if there’s an optical sensor on the bottom, then you could also use the device to move an on-screen cursor by dragging the touchpad across a table or other flat surface.
via Patent Bolt
That’s actually quite clever.
Doesn’t make up for them being completely evil though.
I wonder if it’ll fit into Ultrabooks or if this will become yet another feather in the cap of traditional notebooks along with optical drives, etc.
Are they stupid? Acer did this with the Ethos Series like 2 years ago
wonder how many foxxcon employees jumped off the roof of their Chinese factory making this bad boy
The Ethos detachable touchpad is shown here http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2011/06/acer-aspire-ethos-a-detachable-trackpad-is-a-pretty-good-idea/
Foxconn’s patent is very short and is linked to this post. Anybody can read it in a couple of minutes. It’s about the ejection mechanism and that could be different enough to be patentable without the Ethos being previous art.
I don’t see how this can turn out to be a real-world product but if it does, users would still prefer a curved mouse. May be the touchpad can be curved into a palm-fitting ball.
the idea seem pleasing, if it makes it for the real world usable product