Patents can be frustrating things to track: often something will show up that’s really exciting, only to disappear with no discernible commercial application. Which makes it all the more interesting that Hrmpf has managed to actually pin down an Apple patent to a software release, in this case the leaked iPhone v1.1.3 update and the new ability to rearrange icons by dragging them with your finger. The application, number 20070157089, details the process of “interface reconfiguration” where buttons ‘wiggle’ to let you know you can move them, and then can be dragged into new configurations, as shown in the animation hrmpf put together:

Mac Rumors has picked out one particular element of the patent which Apple don’t appear to have gone ahead with, at least in the leaked 1.1.3 release: the ability to ‘throw’ or flick buttons across the UI:

“Upon breaking contact with the touch-sensitive display, the respective icon may resume varying its position. In some embodiments, the respective icon can be “thrown,” so that the final position of the respective icon is different from the point at which the icon is released. In this embodiment, the final position can depend on a variety of factors, such as the speed of the “throw,” the parameters used in a simulated equation of motion for the “throw” (e.g., coefficient of friction), and/or the presence of a lay out grid with simulated attractive forces” Apple patent

It’s difficult to think of a reason why you might want to rearrange your Home screen in such a haphazard way as drifting icons across it, but maybe Apple are planning playlist building and other applications using the new UI tweak.

hrmpf.com