A More Touchy Touch Screen

What is this? A more touchy touch screen means that they are working on the technology to have an even more sensitive screen so it will respond to as many as ten fingers!
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Apple Patent Applications Predict New iPhone Possibilities

The sad thing about new technology is how quickly it gets old. This is good news for the iPhone, which is getting better, one patent at a time. Currently, Apple engineers are in the development stages for some features that render the iPhone 3GS rather old school. As UnwiredView and Engadget closely watch the rollout of Apple’s patent applications, these interesting features come to the fore.

The “What is it?” App
Using an environment-sensitive basis, new iPhones may have the ability to recognize physical objects, barcodes, and RFID tags. Merely by aiming the phone toward any given object, say in a store or in a museum, users can instantly gain real-time information on the object, whether it’s history, prices, or latest news.

And Your Name Is?
If you’ve used the latest version of iPhoto, you may have played with the face-recognition feature of the software. Imagine having the same feature built in to pictures that you take on your iPhone. It could be possible through Apple’s proposed “personal computing device control using face detection and recognition.” Just don’t point your camera at the guy whose name you just can’t remember. That could be rude.

Tighter Text Messages
Just want teens want: more parental control. Apple also proposes a new “text message filtering” feature that could scan every message that comes in, whether in an e-mail or text message, that would eliminate or alert to text messages containing preset keywords or other objectionable elements. It’s more than just a no-no filter, though. It’s a learning tool, too. The new feature could actually stipulate that a certain phone send messages only in Spanish (at certain times), force correct spelling, punctuation, or vocabulary. And if not…the application would alert the parents to the problem.

Intelligent Phone Conversations
Have you ever called or e-mailed someone without realizing that they left you a message that you haven’t listened to? A new feature could prevent this problem. Before you send a message or make a call, the phone can screen your unread messages or e-mails to make sure you have all the info you need before making the call. In fact, even when writing about certain topics, the phone can inform you (based on the keywords in your message) that you may have an unopened e-mail or voice message about that very topic.

Voice Changing
Apple thinks of everything. Chances are, you’ve never been too concerned about changing the sound of the voice in an audio book that you’re listening to, or a podcast you subscribe to. Would it be interesting to hear what Paul McCartney would sound like if he read War and Peace? You might be able to do just that. Audio playback could come equipped with a “different voice” option that gives you a variety of choices for voices—yours, celebrities, and the retinue of stock models.