It's hard to tell exactly what Motorola is thinking of here, but it probably isn't a billowing sheet of fabric stretched loosely over the face of a smartphone -- even if that's what it looks like. Instead, this appears to be a patent application for a "free floating display lens" that helps the panel of a mobile device to be used as a Beo-style acoustic speaker. The idea is that you can get louder and less resonant sound without having to dedicate more precious real estate to a larger traditional speaker unit. The application also talks about generating haptic feedback on the lens, using the same underlying piezoelectric structures that would power the audio. Creating vibrations this way could require "eight times" less voltage than current methods while also delivering a higher-amplitude sensation. Merge that with KDDI's weird vibrational speaker technology and the results could be deafening.

'Free form' lens over mobile display could improve audio and haptics, says Motorola patent filing originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jun 2012 08:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.