First of all, rumors this early, or any rumors for that matter, should be taken lightly. With that said, don’t fire up your torches and come after the messengers if this proves to be wrong.
Gizmodo reported earlier this week on a rumor that had me scratching my head at first. According to this piece of scuttle, the next iPhone will have a touch sensitive casing. If this has you confused, think of it as similar to what MacBook track pads are capable of, multi-touch commands and the like, and the new Magic Mouse.
What this could mean is a brand new way of interacting with the phone.
Obvious uses include multi-touch commands where the phone recognizes how many fingers you are swiping across its smooth shell. I would be most excited for this if it meant I could scroll through documents and web pages one-handed; as doing so now often leads to a cramp in my thumb.
Another prospect to consider is what this would mean for interacting with other applications. Obviously, the fewer fingers you have on the touch screen, the better the view of whatever you’re viewing.
Consider this though, and let me know what you think. It has already been tipped that Apple has been working on a 3-D version of iWork. So, imagine what an interface would be like where you can input commands on more than one surface! Applications could display a whole new depth.
So, give some thought to this. Even if it doesn’t come true, it is still very exciting to consider where touch interfaces are headed.