HTC’s no stranger to stuffing ridiculous mechanisms into smartphones. I mean, have you seen the HTC Tilt — or better yet, the HTC Universal? Looks like they’re at it again, if this just unearthed patent is any indication. The graphic above may be a bit confusing, so here’s how it works: Imagine a clamshell phone, like the LG enV. Instead of opening the handset by pulling the hinged halves apart, however, you slide the top layer down a few millimeters, and bam! It springs open.[Read more...]