The iPod click wheel is the navigation component of non touch-screen iPod models. It uses a combination of touch technology and traditional buttons, involving the technology of capacitive sensing, which senses the touch of the user's fingers. The wheel allows a user to find music, videos, photos and play games on the device. The wheel is flush on the face of the iPod and is located below the screen. The click wheel was invented by Norihiko Saito in 1998.[1][2]
The design was first released with the iPod mini, and was last used with the iPod nano (5th Generation). The click wheel's design is credited to Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller.[3]
- ^ D'Orazio, Dante (September 26, 2013). "Apple ordered to hand over $3.3 million to Japanese inventor in click wheel patent lawsuit". The Verge. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ JP 3852854, Saito, Norihiko, "Contact operation type input device and its electronic components", published 2006-12-06, assigned to Saito Shigeru Kenchiku Kenkyus
- ^ US7710394B2, Robbin, Jeffrey L.; Jobs, Steve & Schiller, Philip W., "Method and apparatus for use of rotational user inputs", issued 2010-05-04