Google’s new smart watch patent describes touchpads for zooming and scrolling
Google has been thinking about the smart watch market for a while. Its last patent application detailed a smart watch that had a transparent cover which could flip up and act as a transparent display. That unique functionality is about to be flanked by another patent today, as Google has filed a patent for a smart watch that implements touchpads on the sides of the digital timepiece.
The touchpads would effectively allow users to pinch and scroll without needing to touch the display itself. It sounds like a practical solution to a problem that has kept touch-based smart watches from being even more popular than they already are.
If you can control the user interface of a watch via touch without having to obscure your view of the display with your finger it could make way to more practical application user interface design. We’re not exactly sure how smooth this could be in implementation, but if the touchpad on Google Glass is anything to go by it should prove to be very intuitive. With that, we’re just about sick of hearing about these patent applications — it’s time to show us the real deal, Google.