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Apple files for patent on Smart Cover with embedded display

The company's patent application, which was published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today, involves a cover that could display extra icons, according to the document.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
Don Reisinger
2 min read
Apple

Apple has some ideas up its sleeve to make its Smart Cover, well, smarter.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today published an application Apple filed last year related to a Smart Cover boasting a "thin flexible display" that "greatly enhances the overall functionality of the tablet device."

According to the patent application, the cover would come with a connector that would attach to the tablet to draw power. Once connected, the Smart Cover could be used to "present visual information" and work with the same touch technology found in a slate's display. In one image in Apple's patent application, the company shows the Smart Cover displaying icons that users could interact with simply by clicking on them.

Engadget, which was first to discover the patent application, posted a host of photos from the document, showing how the Smart Cover might work. In one case, Apple describes a method for folding it under the iPad and allowing users to control on-screen video with touch controls on the cover. In another, the Smart Cover is laid out below the iPad to create a dual-screen experience, similar to Nintendo's 3DS. Apple also presented an image showing how the cover could double as a virtual keyboard.

Interestingly, Apple's Smart Cover won't lose its current functionality. The cover would still be used to protect the iPad's screen and would be flexible, allowing users to fold it and use it as a stand.

Microsoft in June announced its own cover for its upcoming Surface tablet. That cover, which will protect the tablet's screen, can be unfolded and used as a keyboard.

Whether Apple will launch its improved Smart Cover to compete against Microsoft's offering remains to be seen. Apple, like other tech companies, files a slew of patent applications for products that, even if the relevant patents are awarded, never launch.

CNET has contacted Apple for comment on the patent application. We will update this story when we have more information.