Apple Patents Suggest A Multitouch Display Is Coming To The Mouse

While Apple may have already tried to revolutionize the current mouse we all know and love/hate, that doesn't mean the company has stopped trying to figure out new, and better ways to make the mouse even more ridiculous. What better way to go above and beyond the call of duty, then to include a multitouch display on the top of it? According to some new apple patent applications recently awarded, the Cupertino-based company may be doing just that.

The new patents suggest that Apple is toying around with the idea of putting a multitouch display on the top of a mouse peripheral. The display would be able to show off different pieces of information. As one image shows, a calculator could easily be displayed there, and touch-sensitive keys would allow for the numbers to be activated when necessary. Apple wouldn't get rid of the left- and right-click buttons, though. It would just be the middle of the peripheral that would see the majority of alterations.

Part of the patent, is Apple's idea of a virtual keyboard. Having the ability to change the keys to whatever a user needed at any given moment, and then being able to switch back when needed. Apple would also include a dedicated haptic feedback motor, so that when a digital key is pressed the user would feel it. Considering how popular multitouch is in today's gadgets, and how a programmable virtual keyboard would be a benefit to those who use their keyboards often and for varied reasons, it seems that Apple would more than likely have a hit on their hands, if these were to come to market.

[via Patently Apple]