Motorola have applied to the US Patent and Trademark Office for a patent for a ‘usable audio area’ whereby they want to turn the touchscreen on smartphones into a speaker, reports ExtremeTech.
Motorola looking to turn touchscreen displays into huge audio speakers
The design means that users would be able to hear audio in speakerphone mode and privately through the display. The patent has been described as being a free floating display lens that would be attached to the device via a “stiffner” ring. What this means in simple terms is that they are proposing a way of transmitting sound via an electrical signal which is made audible through vibrations. In addition to this the screen of the device would be able to provide haptic feedback whenever selections were made.
This could change the way devices look and how they act and it is thought to be something that Motorola Mobility and new owners Google are going to use to try and pick up the performance of sales following the closing of the acquisition deal of $12.5 billion in May. At the moment devices are made with screen and speakers that are different pieces of hardware and if the new tech comes to fruition this could see device designs change forever.
Of course this is not the first we have heard of a company looking to dual purpose screens, Apple filed a patent in 2006 for a screen that would have thousands of cameras of pixel size integrated into an LCD screen. It was hoped that this tech would be featured in the iPhone, however now this has not happened (iPhone 5 anyone?).
Motorola DROID RAZR HD shows how lesser is better
The Motorola RAZR is already one of the thinnest smartphones in the world. If Motorola manages to combine more component functions and continue to eliminate single ones, there is no telling how thin, streamlined and slick they can make their devices. The Motorola DROID RAZR HD for one is already rumored to show how Motorola has eliminated the softkeys on the device (bottom area of the RAZR outside of the screen where the 4 navigation keys are located) and instead utilize Ice Cream Sandwich on-screen keys.
