Does HTC own web page reflowing?
In our regular trawl of the patent office we came across 2 patent applications by HTC which appear to apply to reflowing text to fit in a small screen width and allows reading without side-ways scrolling.
This handy feature has been present in every version of Opera Mobile shipping on HTC devices, and also in the webkit browser on their android devices, but strange absent of the generic version of Opera Mobile and also from the standard Android browser.
The two patent abstracts reads as below:
METHOD FOR DISPLAYING INFORMATION, AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS AND STORAGE MEDIUM THEREOF
Abstract
A method for displaying information is provided. A display area is provided for displaying at least a portion of an information page, wherein the information page includes at least an information column, and the information column is composed of a plurality of information units arranged along an arrangement direction. When a select event occurs in the information column, the information units in the information column are displayed according to a display size within a predetermined size range. Next, the layout of the information units in the information column is changed so that an arrangement length of the information units along the arrangement direction does not exceed the width of the display area.
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISPLAYING INFORMATION AND STORAGE MEDIUM THEREOF
Abstract
A method and an apparatus for displaying information are provided. The information includes a word or a picture. The information is displayed with an original proportion. When receiving a first input signal, the information is displayed with a first proportion within a predetermined boundary, according to the first input signal. When receiving a second input signal, the information is arranged according to the second input signal so that the information is displayed with a second proportion within the predetermined boundary. Therefore, the information with adjusted proportion can be still displayed within the predetermined boundary.
It is rather unusual to have a software feature belong to a hardware OEM like this, but it provides a significant advantage to HTC, and in powerful devices such as the HTC HD2 may help turn the web browsing domination tide against devices such as the iPhone.
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interesting.
I actually prefer view the webpage as it was intended though.
[Reply]
wmpoweruser Reply:
October 24th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
The beauty of HTC’s system is that it only reflows when you zoom in, so you still see the webpage as the designer intended.
[Reply]
Jonny Reply:
October 24th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
Thats true. HTC seem to have alot of interesting patents up their sleeves
I want to see the capacitive stylus!
[Reply]
Argh Reply:
October 25th, 2009 at 2:34 am
Not a very productive post from me here, but:
+1
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I would get an aneurysm trying to read web pages without HTC or Opera's web re-flow feature. I really would go completely nuts…
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Interesting indeed. When I bought my Touch Pro, my provider’s own internal web pages would correctly fill the full width of the screen in Opera using Mobile View. As soon as I install any new or older version of Opera they never 100% fill the full width of the screen in Mobile View. Perhaps this explains why.
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How can someone own reflowing, the main design principle behind HTML was to allow the displaying application (browser) to render the display in the optimal format for the end-user. It is only later corruption to HTML, to satisfy those obsessed with layout over usabilty, that ''broke' this philosophy. If anyone owns reflow, it's Tim Berners-Lee
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