Apple has won a US patent on a multi-touch interface that works even when a display is blank, notes AppleInsider. Titled Playback control using a touch interface, the patent documents using gestures such as a single tap for play/pause and a double-tap to skip tracks, up through more complex gestures such as a triple-tap-and-hold to rewind, and clockwise or counterclockwise motions to change volume. Diagrams depict a sixth-generation iPod nano; Apple comments that using such gestures allow a device to save power, save space on physical buttons, and work even if the screen is facing away from
