Does this mean that Apple may one day release a phone which can not only take digital photographs, but also shoot video footage, all on the same device? Does the innovation of these men from Cupertino know no bounds?

Thank goodness their brilliance has been rewarded by this timely patent, such that other companies can no longer unfairly compete with Apple by, say, releasing a touch-screen device with any kind of decent user interface.

There used to be a time when the 'process' of doing something was the subject of a patent : ie a crane was patented, not 'lifting stuff'....

Now 'waving your finger around' and 'touching a screen' is considered to be patented.....

Pah.

I would really like to see this stand up in a court when it is challenged, assuming Apple try to enforce it of course.....

P.

"Patent number 7,479,949 is very abstract and wordy"

Compared to regular patents? Or at about par, there?

Paris, because she can be abstract and wordy, too, I hears.

Is it just me or do these new and innovative 'gestures' that Apple has patented look absurdly like my old Palm 1000 Graffiti cheat card?

I'm thinking that based on the drawing presented in this patent that Apple may have a hard time using this patent against Palm in any meaningful way (and might actually open themselves up to a few payments the other way for the right to use 'gestures' on the iPhone).

Ah hell... we all know this will just wind up in court until nobody cares about either the iPhone or the Pre anymore anyway. Ain't technology grand!

The iPhone itself is not, or at least unlikely to be, "prior art" assuming that the preceding applications, upon which this granted Patent is based, filed on 6 Sep 2006, 7 Jan 2007, 8 Jan 2007. Interesting that there where three other preceding applications filed on 29 Jun 2007 (x2) and 5 Sep 2007. The 29 Jun 2007 ones are probably pretty important as what day was the iPhone launched it the US? Yep, 29 Jun 2007.

So, the iPhone is prior art for any subject matter introduced by the application filed on 5 Sep 2007 only - you can have a look at the USPTO website's online file inspection if you can be bothered to find out what that application contained - http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal/pair

I do seriously doubt whether Steve Jobs contributed enough to be an inventor though. If he's not, that's pretty serious in the US, as only inventors have the right to apply for a Patent application (something to do with the American constitution I think).

Not sure about a Palm 1000 Graffiti cheat card, but from a quick google, that looks like a specific way of writing characters. Claim one of the Apple Patent (copied below) basically says a touch screen device which recognises the difference between a horizontal scroll, a screen translation, and a next gesture.

Infringement is easy (ok well not easy but not that hard), does whatever the potentially infringing thing is have all the features of the claim.

Validity is the reverse (almost), does the previous thing have all the features of the claim and if it doesn't are the thing that are not there obvious.

So, is this claim going to stand up? Don't have a clue but I'm not sure it is as flimsy as suggested.

1. A computing device, comprising: a touch screen display; one or more processors; memory; and one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including: instructions for detecting one or more finger contacts with the touch screen display; instructions for applying one or more heuristics to the one or more finger contacts to determine a command for the device; and instructions for processing the command; wherein the one or more heuristics comprise: a vertical screen scrolling heuristic for determining that the one or more finger contacts correspond to a one-dimensional vertical screen scrolling command rather than a two-dimensional screen translation command based on an angle of initial movement of a finger contact with respect to the touch screen display; a two-dimensional screen translation heuristic for determining that the one or more finger contacts correspond to the two-dimensional screen translation command rather than the one-dimensional vertical screen scrolling command based on the angle of initial movement of the finger contact with respect to the touch screen display; and a next item heuristic for determining that the one or more finger contacts correspond to a command to transition from displaying a respective item in a set of items to displaying a next item in the set of items.

For example http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_7710

It's true that not all functions on 7710 were not usable with thumb (like writing), but basics like taking photo/video were.

phone featured basic phone functions, camera for pictures & video and complete PIM suite including:

- office applications (word processor, spreadsheet and PowerPoint viewer),

- E-mail client (SMTP, POP3, IMAP4)

- video and audio player

And yes it was released back in 2004 and I don't know what they're trying to accomplish with saying nokia 5800 xpressmusic is the first touch screen phone from nokia ;)

Hmm... the proximity sensor next to the optical sensor. There was me thinking they can be the same thing. Isn't proximity detecting lack of light?

Then again, not sure how that would function in the dark...