Samsung’s next-gen stylus could double as a headset
A recently uncovered patent filing from Samsung could give us a clue as to where the company wants to take their recent stylus obsession in the future. Thanks to devices like the Galaxy Note, the digital pen as an input device is making a bit of a comeback, and Samsung’s patent portrays a capacitive stylus with quite a few tricks up its sleeve. The first is an embedded NFC chip that would make pairing with a device as easy as touching the two together. The second is a built-in headset.
We’ve seen the stylus as a headset concept previously with ASUS’ three-in-one Padfone. Given that the phone portion of the device docks into a larger tablet, it makes sense to provide a more convenient way for users to take phone calls. Instead of prying the phone back out of the tablet, the stylus does double duty by becoming the phone’s earpiece. It isn’t farfetched to think Samsung has similar plans in the future, with the line between phones and tablets blurring more every day and a trend towards larger screen sizes.
While the patent certainly fits into Samsung’s current device strategy with the Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 10.1, there is no guarantee that such a concept will ever see the light of day. Given the nature of what is described, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear a device of this sort announced over the coming months, either.
[via Engadget]