If Apple makes a flip iPhone, for the love of pete, give us freaken real buttons...
And a built-in CD-RW drive, while they're at it...

If this phone flipped up (when you flicked your wrist) then every trekkies wish will have come true.

Codename iPhone DS.

cool

this iPhone would iRuin the product.

oh please no.
I don't want a clamshell iPhone.
I've had enough bad experience with clamshells and sliders to last me a lifetime.
I love the iPhone (which I don't own, but I have a 32GB iPod touch) simply for the fact that it has so few moving parts.
Ok, I can type faster on my Treo, but I was positively surprised how fast I've become on my iPod in just a week.

I'm iffy about this one, but if they can make a smaller, cheaper more communication-centric device that deals more with connectivity than capacity, then it's perfect for me, since I already have an iPod, and just want a nice phone.

@trendspotter: Why do buttons? They're static. Like the iPhone, this design would allow the bottom half to take several forms for different applications rather than remain a fixed dial pad.

Gizmodo sux.

@Marty_MacFly: I think he's making a joke anout turning it into a laptop...

@Marty_MacFly: I like the fact I can dial 911 with my hand still in my pocket, if ever need be. Try that on an iPhone (or the iPhone DS).

@TVGenius: I've never gotten the hang of that with my Ericsson, what with it's little half sucked tic-tac sized keys.

@TVGenius: What else can you do with your hand still in your pocket? ;)

@Marty_MacFly: The reason to do physical buttons is to allow for non-visual dialing and typing. While the iPhone is an excellent product and quite versatile there is a drawback to the lack of a physical keyboard.

I think the best option for Apple to get more customers is to release a flip phone with teh bottom half as physical number pad and the top have a capacitance touchscreen. This, of course, has to be running the same OS X as the current iPhone. There would obviously be less capabilities than the iPhone but it may allow many to transition from their vanilla cell phone to a more powerful system with ease.

It's strange, but with all this talk about blind dialing, how many people actually prefer to do this? Wouldn't this make it more likely to dial a wrong number?

If they can get it like this concept video, i'll get one :) [video.google.com]

I think this patent is a joke so that the iPhone (Apple) rumors keep on doin' what they do best - promoting 4 free!

@slstsang: That was the first thing I thought of when I saw the headline.

Serpent2: I hope you read this post. Here's a perfect example of how Apple gets panned just as badly as Microsoft.

"If this were a Microsoft product, everybody would be fellating Ballmer!"

:bad sarcasm:

damn, even as a joke that's just gross.

:shivers:

My apologies...

@Kaiser-Machead: out of interest, which SE phone do you have?

Anyway, this pales in comparison with the AU 'Actface' conecpt - link.
Also, here's the video Giz never quite seemed to get working:

+ Watch video

@Step666: damnit, I misspelt 'concept'...

I hate candy bar phones. Please make this the iPhone mini.

@Kaiser-Machead: I'm with you. How many blind dialers could we possibly have in the room.

@Step666: It's an old T-610

Can the blind use voice dialing?

Looks like its taking a page of out Palm's Graffiti technology; I don't think its an "old school dial" but rather a way to input "2" using the touchscreen, much like old palm handhelds used to do.

Is blind dialing anything like drunk dialing?

apple is all about simplicity, this looks to complicated.

Hopefully both screens will be the same size, or I smell failure

I hate to point out that Apple, and other companies, often patent ideas that they never plan to produce.

@DeadWriter: No you don't. You LOVE it!

I'm be a bit surprised that they'd do flip instead of slide-out, but it makes sense to me. While I am more than happy with my iPhone, there is the issue that if you turn the phone on its side, the keyboard takes up too much real estate (though it becomes much easier to type on). Though, they way the show it flipping out wouldn't necessarily help this problem..

Also, not sure the diagram they show would work when you flip it over.. guessing it's just another patent, and won't ever see the light of day.

@silversurfer: Well - that already happened with the RAZR and the TimePort before that_

@silversurfer: that already happened with the RAZR and the TimePort before it_

@Kaiser-Machead: I agree - I can't remember the last time I dialed a number_ I press 1 button and it brings up my PhoneBook_ I press the same button and it scrolls thru the names in the List_ I press any number on the keypad and it jumps to a location in the list that corresponds to the Letters on the keypad_ I find the name and I press the green button_

No need for numbers and remembering them_ I have to even look up my own number just to remember it sometimes_

@jdunns4: Well put. I HATE the idea of a flip phone iPhone. Its a radical departure from the iconic iPhone design. I think its FUGLY (for an iPhone at least), and looks too delicate and expensive to mass produce (with at least 3 big screens). You'd REALLY hate to drop something like this, as it wouldn't bode well.

The candybar style served the iPhone well. If Apple produces this, it'll actually be very close to a RAZR2 clone!

Plus it would lose the geek-factor by no longer resembling a tricorder.

I just want a smaller iphone, I care about size first it can be thin as hell but i wont make a difference if its to damn wide when turn side ways

@TVGenius: i get what your saying about dialing 911 in your pocket i had to dial it before when phone is in my pocket and takes more time to pull something out of your pocket and start dialing than it would take dialing then taking out your pocket and putting to your ear or dialing and listening to on ear piece

@Kaiser-Machead: I used to have one of them.
In fact I think I found it on a shelf the other day, worn-out joystick and all.

@uberfu: everyone uses their phone in a different way - personally I tend to manually dial certain numbers like my house because I find it quicker than going into my phonebook.
on top of that, I'm forever dialling numbers I don't have saved and will never need again, so they have to be manually dialled as well.

Great, give it a moving part so there's something to break. What a waste of time.

@EdRocker:
There's always the Home button on the original iPhone - That's a moving part...

@slstsang:You want it to float around in the air too? Geez you consumers are picky! ;-)

NO FLIP PHONE PLEASE. The iPhone Design is just fine. Just add faster data network and improve the current apps. June will be an awesome month as well.

AWESOME. Right now my iphone gets a pocket all to itself, cause if I put keys or coins in there with it the screen will get scratched up. Consequently, the other pocket gets wallet, keys, gum, and everything else. I hated my razr, but at least I didnt have to baby it.

I think this is probably IPhone 3.0 or 4.0. Maybe it's even iFlip 1.0. Who knows. Pretty sure they'll milk their current design Apple-style before releasing a new look.

Apple is famous for sitting on technology until the market dictates change. Look at the iPod Classic 80/160gb. How many were surprised it came out looking the same as previous models in the midst of iPod Touch, redesigned iPod Nano and iPhone. I sure was.

@TVGenius:

I like the fact I can dial 911 with my hand still in my pocket, if ever need be.

other than in your dreams... how often does "needing to dial 911 with the phone still in my pocket" become such a huge issue to you that it becomes a key point when phone shopping?

you are either overly paranoid delusional or a crack government double agent. (or both i guess.) too bad since making that comment... we're onto you now. watch your back!

@ShinySideUp: I think that's more of a mental thing. My RAZR would blow up if you coughed while on the phone. iPhone is a lot more durable but more expensive. And flip phones are the bane of my existence. If Apple does make this and I have to get a new phone, they better have a candybar design still as well as the flip or I may have to jump ship

This + the game application patent makes me very interested.

I'd buy the candy bar Iphone but would prefer a clamshell designed phone.

And I'm still stuck on the previously filed game patent apple filed for but the GameBoy SP's form factor and clamshell design made it the best portable gaming device still today.

WANT
WANT WANT WANT

I have often said that I would buy an iPhone as soon as it included GPS and 3G (and maybe an AIM application).

But that is only because I thought there could never be a flip iPhone. I hate candybar phones, from the unlock sequence to the distance from mouth to microphone to the more difficult answer or hang up motions.

Please, Steve, give us a flip iPhone!

iPhone DS?

i think this would actually be a good idea. I dont usually like flip phones, but if it was a flip phone that opened to two more screens, or possibly one large screen, how sick would that be?

@Marty_MacFly: Because humans like tactile response? They could incorporate optimus-style keypads if they wanted to keep the buttons versatile.