I’m really not sure what to make of this. At first glance the device in the images almost looks like that Verizon LG VX9400 from the Iron Man movie, but then you’ll notice that it’s not the screen that rotates, it’s the keyboard. Not only does the keyboard rotate, apparently it also has two sides with a numeric keyboard on one and QWERTY keyboard on the other. Here’s a bit from the patent details:

“In a first aspect, a handheld electronic device, such as a smartphone, has a first device member and a second device member that are connected via a connector. The second device member is rotatable about a rotation axis that is canted relative to an axis of the second device member. As a result, when the second device member is rotated between a first position and a second position, its orientation changes. This may facilitate, for example, switching the handheld electronic device between a text entry mode and a telephone mode. “

We’ve seen other patents where RIM had interesting keyboard concepts but this has to be the most far-fetched. What do you think? For more info check out the patent on the USPTO website.

via GoRumors