Patently Apple

Apple Reveals New Two-Way "Airplay" Interactivity & Hints of TV

On May 23, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals Apple's next generation of "Airplay" that will be able to operation in a two-way manner that is also interactive. Apple also hints that the separate devices of an Apple TV and a Television could be combined into a single device, an Internet-enabled television.

While Apple & Google App Stores Reign Supreme, Microsoft & BlackBerry fiercely Battle it out for the Number Three Spot

New research surfacing today highlights the size of the task facing the vendors eager to become the 'third ecosystem' in mobility. Apps have become fundamental to how consumers use, personalize and engage with their mobile devices and connected services. While the iOS and Android duopoly is firmly in place when it comes to App availability at their respective App Stores, Microsoft and BlackBerry are feverishly battling it out to gain that third spot in the App Store market.

Apple Invents New Touch Pad Electrode Design & Diamond-Like Carbon Coating to Help Keep Battery-Powered Devices Cooler

Last week we learned about Apple inventing an all-new touch sensor panel that would support larger displays like those found on a MacBook Air or Pro. Today, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals yet another major touch related invention relating to an all-new touch pad electrode design which is to reduce the effects of noise and thermal drift and to provide users with more precision in their interaction with a touch display. Another invention covered in our report covers an amorphous diamond-like carbon coating for increasing the thermal conductivity of the structural frames of any Apple mobile device that is battery-powered. We close out our report by covering a new camera patent and providing you with a list of continuation, provisional and divisional patents that were published today that may interest some.

Thanks to Apple, Samsung Opens New Patent Business in Washington while Landing OLED Contract for Google Glass

Yesterday we reported that Apple had found proof of patent infringement deep inside Samsung's source code, and today we find out that little trickster Samsung is now opening a new company in Washington called Intellectual Keystone Technology (IKIT). The new company is being set up in order to beef up their patent-related business. According to a Samsung official, the legal battles with Apple encouraged them to invest more in patents.

Foxconn Reveals New Carbon Nanotube Display Technology

Some of the major mobile device players in the market have been seeking replacements for indium tin oxide (ITO) used in today's touch panels in the hopes of resolving technological issues and related costs. Hon Hai's Foxconn subsidiary who makes most of Apple's devices including the iPhone and iPad has recently acquired new carbon nanotube (CNT) technology from the Tsinghua University and its own subsidiary in Tianjin China.

Apple's Intelligent Orientation-Based Audio Coming to iDevices

On May 23, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals an all-new intelligent audio system that is coming to future iDevices that will be based on a device's orientation rather than depending on its fixed speakers. Depending on the way the user is holding their iDevice and which content they're enjoying, Apple's new audio processing router will ensure that the very best audio output configuration is chosen using its intelligent audio mapping system.

Apple Finds "Proof of Infringement" in Samsung's Source Code

Apple informed the court last week that it intended to amend its infringement contentions in the second California patent litigation with Samsung to target the latest Galaxy S4. Yesterday, Apple followed through on their intentions and filed its motion against Samsung Electronics (Korea), Samsung Electronics (America) and Samsung Telecommunications America with the court in San Jose California. Apple's motion lists a series of specific patents allegedly infringed by Samsung's S4 as well as two patents allegedly infringed by Google's software known as "Google Now." Apple's document makes mention that they scoured through Samsung's source code and found "proof of infringement."

Stats Show that e-Books are Still a Tough Sell in North America

A new and interesting e-book trend has emerged showing that e-books are still not the preferred choice for books in Canada. While the Canadian market for ebooks remains steady, the reality is that they've already plateaued. The stats show that paperback books comprised 58% of all purchases in 2012. Hardcover made up 24% and ebooks came in at a miserable15%. And within that dismal figure, Apple's iPad struggled to come in as the number three e-book reader.

Apple Accused of Seeking the Holy Grail of Tax Avoidance (Updated)

The US Senate investigation, results of which were disclosed Monday, found that Apple employs a group of affiliate companies outside the United States to avoid paying taxes. The subcommittee's chairman, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and other panel members could hold up Apple as an example of a powerful company using its privileged position to avoid taxes while ordinary Americans must pay them. The subcommittee last fall derided executives from other technology giants over similar allegations. MAJOR REPORT UPDATE 2:08 PM EST

Apple Granted 26 Patents Today Covering a Double-Sided Touch Panel for iPhone, Push-to-Talk and Magic Mouse's Touch Design

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 26 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover three main granted patents. The first covers the possible implementation of a native Push-to-Talk feature for a future iPhone. The second covers a new flexible circuit supporting a double-sided touch panel that technically could be used for a wraparound display for a future iPhone. The third covers the touch technology that went into the design of Apple's Magic Mouse. Our report concludes with a full list of the remaining granted patents of the day.

Apple Granted a Patent for a New Magic Mouse Force Sensor that Could Debut Later this Year

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 26 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover Apple's future Magic Mouse that will utilize a new force sensor. Our report also covers and 4 new design patents covering Apple's Smart Cover and more.

Will Apple's Next iPhone use LG's Upcoming 5" HD LCD Display?

The Society for Information Display (SID) is one of the display associations in the world. The association's tradeshow kicks off today in Vancouver, Canada. Hundreds of research papers are presented at the event and new display technologies are introduced. Noteworthy is that LG, Apple's main LCD supplier, will be introducing a new display that Apple may be able to use for a future iPhone.

Analyst Targets AAPL at $888/share with Mid-Market iPhone

A new and wild analyst report sees Apple's stock rocking to $888/share in the not-too-distant future based on Apple announcing an inked deal with China Mobile later this year driven by a new mid-range iPhone.

New Record for Apple Retail Revenues Boggle the Mind

A new report by Asymco states that Apple retail stores in the US, on a sales per square foot basis, continues to perform twice as well as Tiffany & Co., the second best retailer, and three times as well as lululemon athletica, the third best retailer. The stats show that the average-visitors per store have steadied to 250,000 per store per quarter. This is a quantum increase from about 170,000 per store per quarter in the twelve months ending Q1 2010.

Teen Killed in Las Vegas Refusing to give up his iPad

A sad story comes out of Las Vegas today. The Associated Press reports that two men have been arrested in the killing of a teenage boy over an iPad in Las Vegas. Police announced Sunday that two young men were booked into the Clark County jail in the killing of a teenage boy over an iPad in Las Vegas.

Video: Google's Sergey Brin Shares his Philosophy about Glass

It's not a demo, more of a philosophical argument: Why did Sergey Brin and his team at Google want to build an eye-mounted camera/computer, codenamed Glass? Onstage at TED 2013, Brin calls for a new way of seeing our relationship with our mobile computers -- not hunched over a screen but meeting the world heads-up.

Sadly, more Suicides from Foxconn Factory have been reported

According to a new press release by China Labor Watch, another Foxconn employee from their Zhengzhou factory where Apple's iPhone is assembled jumped off a building to his death last Tuesday. The news that was officially made public hours ago stated that this was the third employee from the same factory to have fatally jumped off of buildings in the span of the last 20 days.

Apple to cut iPad mini Orders to AU Optronics, an iDevice Camera Shortage is Brewing & Corning Upgrades their Glass

In November we reported that AU Optronics was having problems ramping up to mass production of the 7.9 inch display panels used in Apple's iPad mini. The company was only producing about halve of their production target. Today we learn that AU Optronics is once again unable to keep up with Apple's orders.

Apple Advances their Future Shopping App Again & More

On May 16, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals their ongoing work with their future "Shopping App." Apple first revealed an extensive patent filing for NFC as it related to "Shopping" back in 2010 as a companion app to their future iWallet. Just like Apple's Passbook keeps gift cards, coupons, tickets and passes into an organized app, Apple's iWallet is likely to contain another round of things that relate to their financial app and the "Shopping" feature is just one. Last week's update to the Shopping app focused on methods of setting payment option preferences and more. Today's patent application adds at least five major aspects to the "Shopping" apps patent claims. The base of the patent doesn't change much if any. It's all about securing key aspects of the invention that Apple wants to protect, just in case they have to go court over it in the future.

Apple Invents All-New Touch Sensor Panel for Larger Displays

On May 16, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals an all-new touch sensor panel design for larger displays. Today's touch sensor panels are designed like a checkerboard taking on a matrix of drive and sense lines arranged in rows and columns in horizontal and vertical directions. That may be fine for smaller touch displays but as the touch displays become larger such as those for a future MacBook or even an iMac, the current design becomes a drag on the speed of touch command execution. Apple's next generation touch sensor panel is likely to take on either a web-like design or one that incorporates thick diamond-like shapes so that the user's finger is more likely to hit the sensors faster and easier.

Apple Reveals a Future Illumination System for iDevice Cameras While Hinting of a Stand Alone Camera & Beyond

On May 16, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a next generation lighting system for iDevices. The new system is designed to provide superior lighting to your photos day or night in a unique manner. Apple's patent also describes a new remote light source accessory while strongly hinting that a standalone camera is still a future option of theirs. With Samsung's Galaxy Zoom or the like on the horizon, a standalone or new kind of hybrid iDevice camera or advanced camera accessory isn't out of the question for the future.

Apple Moving Away from Hon Hai may be a Good Thing

Hon Hai, the world's largest contract manufacturer of electronics suffered their biggest decline in sales in its history, according to a new Bloomberg report. To give this a larger perspective, a new report out of Beijing yesterday stated that "Foxconn's net loss in 2012 was US $316 million, the biggest loss it had suffered since listing in Hong Kong in 2005." So Hon Hai's downward trend has been ongoing since 2012. In April we posted a report titled "Windows 8 is a Disaster Leading the PC Sector to its Worst Quarter in Roughly 20 Years." Bloomberg echoed this in their report by stating that the "failure of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 8 to drive PC growth pushed Hon Hai's revenue down the most in at least 13 years." So Hon Hai's downward trend isn't caused by an "Apple slowdown" alone, but rather a number of problems with the tech industry at large and the company itself.

With Gartner seeing a Slowdown in Feature Phones in 2013, Is it Time for Apple to Step into the Mid-Range Smartphone Market?

New research data from Gartner states that sales of Mobile Phones in all regions except Asia/Pacific declined in the First Quarter of 2013. The new Gartner statistics show us that Apple's iOS operating system remained in the number two spot in Q1 2013 but dropped 4.3% from the same quarter last year.