Apple's US 20090303231

Gus Sentementes at the Baltimore Sun pushes US published application 20090303231 as showing technology which might be in the iTablet.

Claim 1:

A computer-implemented method, comprising:

at a portable electronic device with a touch screen display:displaying a first perspective in a three-dimensional virtual space on the touch screen display, wherein the three-dimensional virtual space includes a plurality of three-dimensional virtual objects;
detecting a first finger gesture on a first three-dimensional virtual object in the plurality of three-dimensional objects;
and in response to detecting the first finger gesture on the first three-dimensional virtual object,
displaying an animated transition from the first perspective to a second perspective in the three-dimensional virtual space on the touch screen display, wherein the animated transition includes enlarging and substantially centering the first three-dimensional virtual object on the touch screen display in the second perspective in the three-dimensional virtual space, wherein the second perspective is different from the first perspective.

Not the clearest method claim ever written.

The abstract is simple: An electronic device with a touch screen display, a computer-implemented method, and a graphical user interface for navigating in three-dimensional virtual spaces and manipulating three-dimensional objects in the virtual spaces using simple finger gestures are disclosed.

Gus writes:

In patent filings, companies typically lay out a current problem or hurdle in a field of technology which they then propose, to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, that their new innovation will address.

In this case, the patent application states: "...[T]here is a need for electronic devices with touch screen displays that provide more transparent and intuitive user interfaces for navigating in three dimensional virtual spaces and manipulating three dimensional objects in these virtual spaces."

So, what is the essence of this patent filing and Apple's interest in it? Let me try and distill it for you:

*) This patent filing is meant to cover the implementation of three-dimensional image-handling on different types of devices, including multi-touch sensitive tablets.

*) The 3D images, or "virtual objects," that can be generated include an icon, a virtual game object or a virtual game character. Basically, your icons and characters on this device will have a three-dimensional quality in a two-dimensional space, which could lead to novel ways of interacting with the device.

Perhaps this - 3D graphics -- is the future of Apple's interfaces for its portable multi-function devices. What do you think?

**See also

http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2009/07/chinesetaiwanese-companies-who-make.html

**On Baltimore, from the AP on 19 Jan 2010:

BALTIMORE – Is this tradition "nevermore"?

A mysterious visitor who left roses and cognac at the grave of Edgar Allan Poe each year on the writer's birthday failed to show early Tuesday, breaking with a ritual that began more than 60 years ago.

"I'm confused, befuddled," said Jeff Jerome, curator of the Poe House and Museum. "I don't know what's going on."
The tradition dates back to at least 1949, according to newspaper accounts from the era, Jerome said. Since then, an unidentified person has come every Jan. 19 to leave three roses and a half-bottle of cognac at Poe's grave in a church cemetery in downtown Baltimore.
The event has become a pilgrimage for die-hard Poe fans, some of whom travel hundreds of miles. About three dozen stood huddled in blankets during the overnight cold Tuesday, peering through the churchyard's iron gates hoping to catch a glimpse of the figure known only as the "Poe toaster."
At 5:30 a.m., Jerome emerged from inside the church, where he and a select group of Poe enthusiasts keep watch over the graveyard, and announced to the crowd that the visitor never arrived. He allowed an Associated Press reporter inside the gates to view both of Poe's grave sites, the original one and a newer site where the body was moved in 1875. There was no sign of roses or cognac at either tombstone.

**Update. The iPad (tablet) not being well-received.

from aolnews story titled Does Apple Have an iDud on Its Hands?

But something unusual has emerged in what has been called the Jobs Reality Distortion Field. Tech writers are starting to rebel against the iPad -- a sign that one of the most-loved consumer technology brands may have a significant iDud on its hands.

As New York magazine notes in its roundup of coverage: "the iPad backlash is in full swing," and "it seems everyone's eager to toss a little haterade Apple's way."