Some electronic devices that are on the market today are called and are used as eBooks even though they're really just tiny tablets like Amazon's Kindle. In the not-too-distant future we're going to see true eBook-like devices emerge on the market en mass that will offer a foldable frame supporting dual displays. These next generation eBooks are now beginning to surface in Microsoft patents (one and two) in great detail. They're also emerging in Samsung patents (one and two) with some pretty cool ideas associated with them. This current trend suggests that that Microsoft has spoken with their partners about supporting dual display devices in the foreseeable future, as Toshiba has now shown their hand in a patent application that surfaced this month. Dual display designs are bound to delight both eBook fans and multitaskers alike.
Toshiba's Future Book-Like Device
Unlike Apple or Microsoft who's patents mesh software and hardware ideas and concepts together so as to provide readers with a fuller understanding as to what a device may be able to deliver, Toshiba focuses in on only the hardware being that they support Windows related software. It's obvious that Toshiba knows that Microsoft is going to be promoting next generation dual display devices in the future and so they now have some initial prototype concepts on record.
All we know about Toshiba's next generation device is that it will use LCD or OLED displays that will support the viewing of "documents, images, web pages and other information" while the "units are open."
The one novel idea that Toshiba will be bringing to these next generation eBooks is the ability to watch TV on the go. Toshiba's patent reads as follows:
The communication portion is a communication module such as a wireless or wired LAN, through which various types of data of images (video) and the like are received via a network such as the Internet or a home network. The receiving portion is a receiver device such as a television receiving tuner, and receives BS digital broadcast waves and digitalized terrestrial broadcast waves to obtain image (video) signals superimposed on the broadcast waves."
Toshiba also emphasizes the unit could also double as double frame photo stand-like apparatus.
Toshiba's patent FIG. 11 illustrated below is an exemplary perspective view showing the electronic apparatus 1 in which the first and second units are opened by an angle of 180.degree; Toshiba's patent FIG. 3 is an exemplary enlarged cross sectional view of the structure around the hinge portion (patent point # 5) of the electronic apparatus.
Toshiba's patent application was originally filed in Q1 2012 in the US, Q1 2011 in Japan, and published by the US Patent and Trademark Office earlier this month.
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