Patentseed

Motorola is down but not out (yet).  They continue innovating as witnessed by their steady stream of patent filings.  Their recent patent application (11/937,830)  titled “Viewable Surface Having Unnoticeable Smudges” caught our attention.  Below is the abstract of the patent application.

A device (110, 151, 200) with a viewable surface (201) including a plurality of transparent pedestals (210) having a reflective material (406) disposed on its sides (408) make smudges forming thereon unnoticeable by taking advantage of optical characteristics including contrast and the user’s visual acuity. The pedestals (210) generally have a width (412) of less than 50 microns, a height (414) equal to twice the width (412), and a spacing (416) between adjacent pedestals (210) equal to the width (412). The device (110, 151, 200) may be an electronic device, and more particularly a portable electronic device such as a cell phone.

The application goes on to further explain that smudges are generally not observable when the display is on.   Smudges are also not very noticable when viewing the display dead on.  I.e., smudges are more noticable when viewing the display at an angle.  Thus, the “pedestal structure” of the invention “reduces the likelihood of the smudges being seen at these angles when the display is off.” 

Our iPhone and Treo Pro could definitely use this technology.  Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this helps with the glossy body as well as the screen.