Wouldn’t it be cool if you could share files between an iPhone and iPad simply by making a pouring motion from one to the other? Or by gesturing as if one is sucking up the info from the other device? It looks like that just might happen, as patents have been uncovered that show Apple’s desire to make file-sharing between iOS devices easier.
Always innovating, HP introduced its own “Touch to Share” feature earlier this year, and coupled with its sexy webOS and brilliant notification system, iOS has been catching up in many ways. However, Apple has been working on its own sharing feature for about a year and a half now, and it looks like it just might trump what HP has had up its sleeves.
Here is Patently Apple explaining the process:
Apple’s solution begins by stating that a user could make an intuitive, physical gesture with a first device, which could then be detected by one or more onboard motion sensors. The detected motion triggers an animation having a “physics metaphor,” where the object appears to react to forces in a real world, physical environment. The first device detects the presence of a second device and a communication link is established allowing a transfer of data represented by the object to the second device. During the transfer, the first device could animate the object to simulate the object leaving the first device and the second device could animate the object to simulate the object entering the second device.
In some implementations, in response to an intuitive, gesture made on a touch sensitive surface of a first device or by physically moving the device, an object could be transferred or broadcast to other devices or a network resource based on a direction, velocity or speed of the gesture.
Particular embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification could be implemented to realize one or more of the following advantages. 1) Users could transfer files and other data between devices using intuitive gestures combined with animation based on physics metaphors. 2) Users could transfer files to a network using intuitive physical gestures, and 3) Users could broadcast files and other data to other devices using intuitive interface or physical gestures.
Although the gestures seem intuitive, I’m still trying to picture myself making such motions in order to transfer files. Wouldn’t it seem a little silly to be waving and flailing your devices around each other? Perhaps a touch-to-share has been the best implementation so far, or maybe we’ll see something out of Apple that will blow us away.
[Via: Patently Apple]