Patentseed

Remember all the TV ads introducing the BlackBerry Storm?  A touch screen display with a virtual keyboard that also clicks?  Could it be?  The best of both worlds?  Many, including us, would say it was a good first attempt, but far short of the hype and expectation.

Will BlackBerry ever crack the nut and figure out a way to provide us with a full touch screen and a keyboard with the right tactile feedback?  We can’t tell you the answer to that question, but we can tell you that they’re diligently working on it.  Patent application 11/956,647 filed in Dec 2007 reveals what may be in the pipeline for the 2nd generation of the BlackBerry Storm.  The patent application discloses a virtual keypad (on a display of course), where “the display transmits external pressure to the switch assembly” when you press a key within the virtual keypad.  Each key within this virtual keypad has “an elastomer located between the display and the switch assembly.”  This “feedback system” may be comprised of a “collapsable dome.”  The point to be made is that each key has it’s own individual feedback, much like an actual keyboard.

In addition, there may be a “cap” on top of each key.  Presumably this is so that you can feel the keypad as your fingers glide over it.  The obvious question is, how will this distort the display, even if the caps are translucent.

The patent application also states that “the display may be a cholesteric liquid crystal display.”  We’re not sure exactly what that means, but persumably it has to do with the need for a flexible LCD?  If somebody knows, please chime in.