Patents aren’t new to Samsung. If there’s any company that has had to vociferously participate in patent litigation, it’s Samsung. Mostly, in response to Apple. What’s interesting though is that Samsung has filed a patent application (discovered by Patently Mobile) for what could possibly be an Android Windows hybrid.
The concept by itself isn’t unique. Dual-boot operating system configurations have been in use in desktop systems for decades. Similarly, Asus Padfone combines the flexibility of a mobile device with the accessibility of a tablet device. What’s unique though, is the idea of a seamless experience across form factors and hopefully, if Samsung can pull it off, seamless uninterrupted transition while working.
Simply dock your smartphone and it’d switch from Android to Windows 10! Image: USPTO
You won’t need a trackpad anymore. The smartphone’s touchscreen doubles up as your trackpad. Image: USPTO
The system automatically detects the connection state and uses the operating system with the best user experience. Image: USPTO
At CES 2011, Lenovo had announced the IdeaPad U1 hybrid with LePad slate combining a high-definition slate with access to Android applications as well as full Windows 7 computing experience. Indeed a lot has evolved in the way users interact with operating systems. Windows itself, with Windows 10, now focuses towards a seamless experience across device form factors, making the patent application by Samsung significant.
Whether it is Continuity by Apple or Continuum by Windows, the modern tech world is heading towards a universal computing experience across mobile, desktop, tablet or other screen sizes. Even BlackBerry in 2011 had its CEO at the time Thorsten Heins say, “I’m not just looking at the smartphone. The smartphone is a stepping stone to mobile computing. In 5 or 7 years we will have a totally different world in how we use these devices.”
Given the constraints however, of providing a seamless experience between operating systems, it stands the risk of falling between a Lenovo IdeaPad UI hybrid and the Asus Padfone.
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