Apple bringing tablet touch to its iMac line?

by Steven Mostyn - Aug 24 2010, 05:11

Having scored a clear hit with the iPad tablet, rumour has it that gadget-specialist Apple Inc., is now planning to bring touch-screen functionality to its popular line of iMac computers.

More pointedly, a patent filing by the Cupertino giant appears to show an iMac that, while supporting traditional keyboard and mouse, also includes touch-based interfacing through an adjustable hinged display stand.

According to the filing, the new iMac will carry positioning sensors and accelerometers capable of triggering a change between “input modes and corresponding user interfaces,” whenever the screen is tilted from a standard front-facing angle into a more top-down tablet position.

The filing also suggests users will be able to switch between operating systems, depending on their chosen form or screen orientation. This would likely mean Apple’s Mac OSX platform when in desktop mode, and the touch-compatible iOS platform when using the screen’s tablet interface.

The concept, which was published by the World Intellectual Property Organization, was filed on July 9 of 2009. Paul Costa, a hardware engineering manager at Apple Inc., is listed as the design’s creator.

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