Apple Granted Patent for Horizontally Docking iPad Tablet

Posted by | 05/11/2011 | 2 Comments

Long rumored as a feature for the second-generation iPad but was missing from the iPad 2′s design, Apple has been granted a patent for its design of a dock connector to dock the tablet horizontally. The patent illustration shows a tablet with dock connector ports in the standard vertical position, just below the home button, as well as on the left hand side to dock the tablet horizontally.

A horizontal dock would be useful in many situations, such as when a user is watching a movie or when using with the iPad keyboard dock.

The application for the patent was filed in early January and the image depicts a SIM card slot next to the dock connector on the left hand side of the tablet.

It’s unclear if Apple will deliver the horizontal dock design in a future iPad tablet; the Cupertino, California iOS-maker typically files for patents to protect its ideas. Sometimes, those patents and ideas do not get commercialized.

Via: AppleInsider

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Category: Mobile

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Tech enthusiast in Silicon Valley enjoying the possibilities of ubiquitous connectivity, information sharing, and collaboration enabled by mobile broadband. You can contact Chuong on Twitter @chuongvision or with the same ID on Skype.
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