Lenovo Patent Indicates Handgrip Keyboard for Tablets

Are we seeing the return of the physical keyboard for tablets in a different form? A patent filed by Lenovo shows a physical keyboard unlike the docks that are available for prominent iPads and the Asus Eee Transformer Prime. A patent application discovered by the folks over at PatentBolt shows Lenovo going into details about a set of hand grips that can be clamped to a tablet to add a physical keyboard. Apparently, you can still use it to enter text while holding the tablet in your hands. The queer thing here is that the QWERTY keyboard is split in half and divided between both the clamps.

In addition to laying them flat on a table and using them like a regular Bluetooth keyboard, the diagrams show that the majority of characters on the clamp are on the underside of the clamp so you would not be able to see the keys as you type. Of course that will definitely need some getting used to but nothing will stop users from flipping them upside down; laying them flat on the table and going nuts. As always with patent filings, it might never see the light of day but it doesn’t stop this from being an interesting take on physical keyboards and the role they might play in future Lenovo tablets.