Patently Apple

Apple Wins Stunning Patent for New iPod Video Headset Display

 
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of ten newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. The notables within this group include one relating to the iPhone's isolated antennas, another relating to Apple's iPhone and iPod touch user interface and three industrial design wins which include one for Apple's iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle designs. Yet the one granted patent which is by far the story of the day relates to a powerfully strategic patent covering Apple's proposed advanced video headset.  This paves the way for Apple to boldly move this project to the front burner as it is now fully patent protected. In light of Apple's newly designed iPod Nano with video, we can see that Apple's next bold move in their iPod family could very well be the introduction of an iPod video headset display. The headset display could easily double as an iPod itself due to the miniaturization of components now found in today's video iPod nano. Imagine this video headset display also being able to contain a built-in video camera so that you could record hands free. And – the patent states that the video headset display design will also sport an advanced zooming feature that will allow the glasses, when not in video mode, to double as a next generation binocular headset. You'll be able to use this feature at concerts or sporting events to see your favorite artist or athlete close up no matter where you're sitting. That's in addition to it being your own private movie theatre. Can it get any cooler?  

 

Revealing Otellini Keynote Takes a Whack at Apple's iPhone

Tuesday's opening IDF keynote by Intel's CEO Paul Otellini was interesting in many ways. It presented us with a message that Intel was on the cusp of change. A change from a company focused on computers to a company focused on computing. Otellini shows us the how the industry is rapidly evolving and reveals a rather stunning shift that Intel is prepared to make in order to prove that they're ready for this new era ahead. The implications of that shift will have a rippling effect in the years ahead I suspect. Otellini also pointed to in-vehicle infotainment, in part because of their Wind River acquisition – and to spice up the show, Otellini takes a whack at Apple's iPhone in no uncertain terms.

Apple Gains Major Design Wins for MacBook Air, LED Cinema Display, more

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of five newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. The patents reveal three new design wins for Apple which includes one for their now defunct first generation iPod Shuffle, one for their LED Cinema  Display and another for their hot and lickable MacBook Air.  The remaining patents cover a technology relating to Final Cut Pro and another relating to media player dismounting, a technology which Apple just updated in a new July filing. 

To Music Publishers & Apple: Buzz Off Charging for Samples!

The music industry never learns. There was a time not so long ago when the music industry was in chaos with plummeting sales. Illegal downloading was to blame. Along came Apple's iTunes and millions stepped forward to buy music legitimately online. I was one of those people who had dropped out of buying music all together. Not because I was illegally downloading music, because I wasn't. I just didn't go to music stores anymore. Then the iPod and iTunes came along. It brought my wife and I back into the music market again as it did for tens of millions, I suspect. So when I read the CNET article this morning about the music industry wanting to get back into our faces and gouge us again for buying legal music, my head popped.

Apple Reveals the MIPI Testing System behind the new iPod Nano

In 2003, the Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) Alliance was formed by ARM, Nokia, STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments who shared the objective of defining and promoting open specifications for interfaces inside mobile terminals. In 2006, the EE Times reported that Boris Bobrov, marketing manager for multimedia applications in the wireless group at Freescale Semiconductor Inc. stated that "We are already designing in quite a few of the MIPI interfaces. We see a lot of progress in their camera, display and audio interfaces and are looking at implementing those first." Fast forwarding to today, we read in one of Apple's patents that they think that the mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) advantageously enables a processor to substantially directly communicate with a peripheral, thereby further enabling tighter system integration, but that it also makes it more difficult or practically impossible to test and/or calibrate the peripheral after it is installed in the device. So in today's patent, Apple introduces systems and methods for testing a peripheral in accordance with a MIPI protocol. Apple's new iPod Nano clearly demonstrates that Apple now has the means to advance the integration of a video camera into a tiny device with stunning results due to the fact that they could properly test and calibrate the peripheral before going to market. Apple's leadership in this field is definitely shining brightly.