In the annals of "clever patents that may never amount to anything, " we now have an entry from Sony: a method of sensing touch strength with sound.

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In those days, the must-have gadget of the trucker craze was the CB radio, the method by which truckers kept in touch and warned each other of lurking "Smokies, " or police officers, setting speed traps.

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"The compelling combination of pen and true multi-touch offers users the freedom to select the input method of their choice, whether it be the pen or their fingertips, when interacting directly with their slate, tablet, notebook or other computing device, " said Amichai Ben-David, CEO, N-trig.

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In accordance with some embodiments, a computer-implemented method for use in conjunction with a device with a touch screen display is disclosed.

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The second mode of the panel functions as a highly sensitive, multi-touch trackpad with intuitive gestures built-in, offering an alternative method of navigating games or PC desktops.

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In the method, a movement of an object on or near the touch screen display is detected.

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"My project involved a method for treating leather so that it stayed warm to the touch in a hot environment and warm to the touch in a cool environment, " he said.

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Artiphon's method involves creating a high-quality muli-instrument device that uses an iPhone or iPod touch as its brain.

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