Phandroid
Nexus 6 and Nexus 8 make surprise appearance in Chromium code
Rumors of Google working on a Nexus 8 and Nexus 6 have gained some traction this afternoon. While it’s not much to go on, references to the two devices have recently appeared in Chromium’s source code, as dug up by Florian Kiersch on Google+. Right now it’s still unclear how reliable these commits are (their age is raising some eyebrows) but of course the news has quickly begun spreading ’round the usual Android circles. For now, we’ll keep these filed under “rumor.”
Other than the names, this new “leak” doesn’t reveal much. Occasionally, Chromium code can show us other specs like display resolution, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case here. It’s possible we’ll see these two Nexus devices making another appearance in the near future. Before we leave — do you think we can have a discussion regarding the Nexus 6 and its number typically denoting screen size? My hands can only handle so much phone, Google.
Facebook prepares their apps for smartphones with side-mounted touchpads [PATENTS]
Patents are fun. Often times they offer a sneak peek into the mind of its inventor. But just because a big company files for a patent doesn’t always mean it’s something we’ll see come to fruition. More than often, they’re simply trying to cover their bases in the event they decide to move in that direction. You know, before someone else steals their idea.
While digging through some recent filings at the USTPO, we came across an interesting patent from our friends at Facebook. A continuation of a patent filed back in October of 2011, it appears that we’re once again seeing Facebook toy with the idea of a future where side-mounted touchpads are just another way of interacting with our mobile devices.
In the patent, Facebook shows how users would interact with their applications — such as Facebook Home — using a side-mounted touchpad. What we found particularly odd was the fact that we still haven’t seen a phone with a trackpad as a secondary form of input, leaving us to scratch our heads as to exactly what Facebook is even trying to patent here.
Still, it makes us think. With the upcoming Amazon smartphone exploring new technologies like 4 infrared cameras to help track eye movement, could Facebook be planning yet another foray into the mobile device space — this time with a touchpad on its side? Even with the flop that was the HTC First “Facebook phone,” maybe old habits die hard.
[USPTO]
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