A force-sensitive back-side interface for the Tablet?

Yesterday’s post was the fruit of trying to imagine how a tablet could work, from the bare usability standpoint, and I came to the conclusion that the device would be operated from the back side with a “touch sensitive” surface where your fingers would play.

Today, by doing casual research on “back side touch” keywords, I found a very interesting 2007 patent filing by Apple:
Back-Side Interface for Hand-Held Devices

The patent is credited to Apple engineer John Elias. This guy is the founder of Fingerworks.com, a company dedicated to develop devices than can be controlled by gestures. Apple hired him 5 years ago, and surprise! the website has been shut down this week…

Timing is perfect for a 27 January presentation.
I don’t intend to convert this blog into a rumors place, but God! speculation is exciting!