$149 MYO armband brings wearable gesture control to Macs and iDevices

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 25, 2013

Here’s an accessory that looks like something straight out of a James Bond movie, or Minority Report for that matter. A company called Thalmic Labs has just launched a sci-fi gesture control for Mac and Windows PCs via its new armband called MYO. Connecting to your desktop or mobile device via low-power Bluetooth, the $149 gizmo detects the electrical activity produced by your muscles, translating finger and hand movement into user interface interactions, Kinect style.

For example, you could use a circular hand motion to control the volume of iTunes playback, scroll up and down a web page by lifting or lowering your hand, switch between running tasks by swiping to the left and right with two fingers and more. What’s best, the MYO is a standalone accessory in that it doesn’t require a camera to interpret the user’s gestures. The video certainly looks promising… Read More

 

Here’s gesture recognition tech Apple probably licensed for iTV

By Christian Zibreg on Aug 17, 2012

Jefferies & Co’s Peter Misek wrote in today’s note to clients that production of the rumored Apple-branded HD TV is in full swing. While we suspect there would have been plenty of leaks ahead of manufacturing ramp up, a pair of The Wall Street Journal reports yesterday (here and here) did claim that Apple’s been working on a set-top box with cloud DVR features and the ability to retrieve premium cable TV content.

Whatever living room gizmo Apple may have in the works (or in manufacturing), it could rely heavily on hand gestures seen in sci-fi movies like Minority Report. In order to nail gesture recognition in 3D space, Apple allegedly licensed a technology from JDS Uniphase Corporation (JDSU).

Here’s what so special about it… Read More

 

‘MusicGestures’ adds customized gestures to the stock Music app

By Jeff Benjamin on Feb 26, 2012

MusicGestures is a jailbreak tweak that lends the ability to control the stock Music app with gestures instead of button presses. There are a total of 6 actions (7 if you count disabled as an action) that you can assign to any number of gestures.

The gestures can be used to skip, play, pause, and gather info on both the album cover view, and the individual track view.

It’s not the deepest tweak in the shed, but the simplicity of MusicGestures makes it worth a look… Read More

 

Chpwn Unveils Zephyr, an Awesome Multitasking Tweak for the iPhone

By Cody Lee on Dec 28, 2011

Hot on the heels of the release of his popular Siri port, Spire, the infamous iOS hacker known as chpwn has released another jailbreak tweak. The utility, known as Zephyr, will change the way you switch between active apps.

The program is a two-part tweak with a focus on multitasking. Chpwn has been talking about Zephyr for several weeks, saying things like “you guys are really going to love this.” And tonight, it finally hit the Cydia Store. Read More

 

The Wall Street Journal Reveals Details on Apple’s Upcoming TV Set

By Cody Lee on Dec 18, 2011

Rumors of a secret Apple TV set project have been really heating up over the past few months. Word on the street has been that the iPhone-makers are looking to jump into the TV-making business, and the company’s first entry could revolutionize the industry.

We’ve heard a few whispers regarding the set’s features, including multiple screen sizes ranging from 32-inches to 55-inches, Siri voice control, and deep AirPlay integration. And now we have even more details thanks to a report by The Wall Street Journal. Read More

 

Simple Concept Gesture For Multitasking on the iPhone is Brilliant

By Alex Heath on Dec 5, 2011

Sometimes we see a concept video and think, “Wow, why hasn’t Apple done this?” Such is the case with a simple multitasking gesture concept by UI designer Max Rudberg.

While the iPad offers multiple enhanced gestures for navigating through iOS, including 4-finger swipes and pinch moves, the iPhone still lacks basic gesture support that would make navigating so much easier. Rudberg’s concept takes a very simple approach to reinventing the way we access the multitasking bar in iOS 5 on our iPhones. Read More

 

Apple Proposes a Brand New Kind of iOS Interface

By Alex Heath on Nov 26, 2011

Apple has filed an interesting patent with the US Patent & Trademark Office that details a revolutionary type of interface. The filing also contains a new social networking application for iOS. While we tend to stay away from boring patent filings on iDB, this particular one caught our eye with it’s unusual details.

A new way of managing data like webpages, music, and photos, has been outlined in an interface that Apple calls “Persistent Overlay.” The interface takes several elements from Notification Center and the multitasking bar, builds upon them, and expands them as a means to manage data on a systemwide level. We may have just got our first glimpse at iOS 6… Read More

 

Patent Suggests More Touch Gestures Coming to iOS

By Cody Lee on Nov 10, 2011

Patent applications are published every day by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, but perhaps none of them are more interesting than those from Apple. The filings give us a glimpse inside the company’s notoriously-private research and development labs.

PatentlyApple reports today that another batch of applications has just surfaced on the USTPO site bearing Apple’s name. While most of the inventions look intriguing, there’s one in particular that stands out above the others. And it involves powerful, new touch gestures… Read More

 

Patent Shows Apple’s Interest in 3D Gesture Controls

By Cody Lee on Oct 28, 2011

Apple has spent the last several years revolutionizing the way we interact with our mobile gadgets. Sure, there were touchscreen devices before the iPhone. But none of them worked as well Apple’s handset. And the same can be said about Siri and voice control.

It appears that Apple isn’t going to settle for just touch and voice controls. A new patent application has surfaced that reveals that the Cupertino company is experimenting with non-touch gesture controls for its iOS devices. And here’s how it would work… Read More

 

Gesturizer: Launch Apps and Actions Using Gestures

By Jeff Benjamin on Sep 19, 2011

Is your selection of Activator gestures wearing a little thin? Looking to add an infinite amount of app-launching gestures to your jailbroken iPhone?

If that sounds all too familiar, then Gesturizer could be just what you need. This jailbreak tweak allows you to launch apps and perform actions, using custom hand-drawn gestures. Check out our full video demonstration inside… Read More

 

StyleUnlock: Use Multitouch Gestures to Unlock Your iPhone

By Jeff Benjamin on Aug 18, 2011

There’s been no shortage of jailbreak tweaks that allow you to unlock you iPhone in some unique way, but StyleUnlock claims to take the cake when it comes to the stylishness that will ooze from your fingers upon swiping you lockscreen.

StyleUnlock is a tweak that focuses solely on its primary function — unlocking your iPhone from the lockscreen using multitouch gestures.

In total, there are over a dozen gestures for you to master, and the following video walkthrough showcases a few of them in action… Read More

 

‘LockGestures’ Adds Multitouch Gestures to Your Lockscreen

By Jeff Benjamin on Aug 11, 2011

“Soon we’ll need a lockscreen for our lockscreen,” states a comment on our YouTube video for LockGestures. Frankly, I couldn’t have said it better myself.

LockGestures is a jailbreak tweak for the iPhone and/or iPad that takes the “lock” out of the lockscreen. It’s a tweak that adds a plethora of multi-touch gestures right on the area that used to be solely reserved for unlocking your device.

Now, you can do everything on the lockscreen — launch apps, adjust power options, even make a sandwich. Okay, so I’m just kidding about the sandwich part, but you get the idea. Check inside to see the full scope of LockGestures in high definition video glory… Read More

 

Patent Suggests New ‘File Sharing Gestures’ Coming to iOS

By Oliver Haslam on Jul 9, 2011

Apple is known for registering patents for everything they think of, just in case it becomes useful, or indeed feasible, at a later date.

A new patent to come out of Cupertuno suggests the company is working on a new way of sharing files between devices, similar to the way HP’s new TouchPad and accompanying smartphones do.

The HP way involves touching the two devices together in order to initiate the connection and subsequent transfer of files and data. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the whole process is very similar to contact sharing app, Bump.

What Apple’s patent suggests, is a more metaphorical way of establishing the connection… Read More

 

New Multitouch Gestures Indicate No Buttons on Future iPads

By Guest Author on Jan 13, 2011

Apple has recently seeded to its developers iOS 4.3 and there is plenty to read in between the lines with this latest version. The biggest change is the additional gestures for users to enjoy.

You will soon be able to pinch-out with four or five fingers in order to get back to the home screen. In addition, you will be able to swipe up with four or five fingers to display the fast-switching app bar, no matter what app you are in. A simple swipe down with just as many fingers will hide the app switcher.

Also, to perform multitasking fast app switching, you can swipe to the left or right, again with four or five fingers, to quickly switch from other apps running in the background. This addition alone is going to be the most beneficial.

I for one have had so much trouble double-clicking that home button to bring up the fast-switching app bar. Sometimes I click too slow and it just takes me to the home screen. Or sometimes I click too fast and the device only registers one click, thus taking me again to the home screen.

I also really like the actual multitasking gesture of swiping through all the open apps. This is as if all the apps are running side by side and your iPad is merely a window into one of them. Such a cool concept!

Check out the video above for a demonstration of these new gestures.