Clamshells? Pah! Talk about passé. No, a single hinge just won’t cut the mustard in today’s market and that is why Nokia is attempting to patent a unique (possibly with good reason) foldable handset concept that requires a ground breaking FOUR hinges.
I know! Do try to control yourselves. The patent application (USPTO 20080313857, if you are bothered) seems to be intended for a future revision of the Nokia Communicator line – e.g. the chunky but reliable Nokia E90 and 9500.
The phone is divided into four chunks – two halves of a QWERTY keyboard and two LCD screens that join to form one wide screen. The whole is articulated on four hinges that makes the diagram at least resemble one of those ‘fortune teller‘ origami things that girls used to make in school.
It is anyone’s guess if this will ever see the light of day – Nokia may have just tried to patent it to stop someone else having a crack at it – but fingers crossed, for no reason other than that I want to see how much it resembles a square black plastic sandwich in real life.
via Cell Passion
