On June 29, 2010, the US Patent & Trademark Office published Apple's latest trademark application pertaining to the retail packaging for the iPhone 4 under application 85070775. Apple has filed their trademark under International Class 009 covering all aspects of the iPhone's features that are presented in this report. The iPhone 4 has broken another Apple record by selling 1.7 million units of a product in just three days flat.
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of thirteen newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today covering such matters as two design wins for Apple's iPhone 2G, the Apple Mail and garbage can icons, Apple TV, a notebook cooling system using a thermally conductive hinge assembly and more.
On June 24, 2010, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals various concepts behind a newly advanced shape shifting device interface that could transform a flat interface into a physical 3D embodiment. It could create a physical tactile keypad on a future iPhone or iPod Classic interface and technically provide the iPad with a physical-like keyboard. This incredible concept is packed with wild concepts that could transform a device automatically by simply being in a room with a notable temperature change. The concept could alter an iPod Classic to be a TV remote with various buttons in a configurable interface that will blow your mind. This is definitely a candidate for patent of the year and if Apple ever gets this out to market, it's ball game over for the iPhone and iPod wannabe's of this world.
In our June 18 report titled "Apple Tells FCC: There's more to the iPhone than the Public Knows," we presented Apple's letter to the FCC concerning product information confidentiality. One of the secrets Apple was holding back was that the iPhone was going to pack 512 MB RAM which was confirmed by iFixit today. In step 8 of their teardown, iFixit states: "Unlike the iPhone 3GS and iPad, who are both equipped with 256 MB, the iPhone 4 has a whopping 512 MB!" Prior to that on June 22, the Los Angeles Times revealed Apple's new privacy policy changes concerning geo-location. The LA Times stated that "Apple Inc. is now collecting the "precise," "real-time geographic location" of its users' iPhones, iPads and computers." This is confirmed in Apple's iPhone 4 Product Guide enclosed in this report – which all about the guide and nothing but the guide so that you could read it for yourself.
In part one of this two part series we covered Apple's iPhone 4 Product Guide from the cover to page 13 while pointing out that Apple's privacy policy concerning geo-location is in fact revealed in Apple's iPhone 4 Product Guide. In part two, we cover pages 14-27 for your convenience. While not having a lot of time to review the guide for secret details, you will indeed find new information about video calls that has never been revealed before. This is likely one of the little details that Apple would have considered a "secret." While not earth shattering, it is an interesting little twist that you may want to know about before you pick up your iPhone 4 tomorrow morning. For those of you who will be picking up your iPhone 4 tomorrow: Cheers!
Apple is suing High Tech Computer Corp a/k/a HTC Corp. for Patent Infringement according to the latest court documents filed in the District of Delaware. The suit also extends to Exedea, which the court documents reveal is a wholly-owned subsidiary of HTC BVI and incorporated in the State of Texas. Exedea imports mobile communication devices produced by HTC Corp into the United States and distributes and sells such mobile devices after their importation. Four distinct Apple patents are listed in the filing and are known as the "Asserted Patents." One of the more recognizable patents in this case concerns the iPhone's "Slide to Unlock" gesturing feature. The law suit focuses like a laser beam on smartphones incorporating the Android Operating System.
On June 23, 2010, the US Patent & Trademark Office published Apple's latest trademark for their "Apple Store" App icon under application 85064849. Apple has filed their trademark under two distinct International Classes which basically covers computer software and online retail store services. The new Apple Store App was released on June 15, 2010. A few of the Apple Store App screenshots that are presented in this report illustrate the user's ability to easily shop for products and/or access various services such as One-to-One session reservations and so forth – right from your iPhone and/or iPod touch.
On June 23, 2010, the US Patent & Trademark Office published Apple's latest trademark for their iPhone 4 "Home Screen" icon under application 85065521. Apple has filed their trademark under the single International Class 009 covering "Handheld mobile digital electronic devices for the sending and receiving of telephone calls, electronic mail, and other digital data, for use as a digital format audio player, and for use as a handheld computer, personal digital assistant, electronic organizer, electronic notepad, and camera," according to their filing. Apple's website states that "The Home Screen is where you'll find your apps and folders."
At this year's D8 Conference, Steve Jobs reiterated Apple's position that it's not a technological problem trying to reinvent TV, it's a go-to-market problem. And while Apple's engineers are burning the midnight oil to figure out how to unravel that mystery, the USPTO today revealed that Apple has been granted three key Apple TV related patents. The patents cover Apple TV's interface in respect to navigation, browsing, searching and playback of media including music, TV shows, movies, podcasts and so forth. In addition to those patents, Apple has racked up a number of key industrial design patents today covering the original iPod, the iPod nano, the iMac, the 2G iPhone and more.
Apple tells the FCC that there's more to the iPhone than the public knows and wants them to commit to a 45 day short term confidentiality that will freeze internal photos of the iPhone 4. What could Apple be holding back? Apple's FCC letter is enclosed in this report for your review.
A recently published patent application of Apple's reveals that iOS will at some point gain new widget creating modules specifically relating to stock and/or custom Emoji Characters. The architecture reveals that modules will appear around the time that videoconferencing comes to the iPhone. With Apple having just revealed FaceTime, the new emoji character modules should be on their way in the next year or so if all goes well. We know emoji better as simply emoticons, but that limits the technology. Apple will extend emoji to accept custom characters that you simply draw on your touch screen and then record for later use. Emoji will uniquely be able to be used as custom map locator symbols as well. While emoticons are big in North America, they're a craze in other parts of the world. So get ready, the iPhone is about to jump on board this craze and do it in style.
Not all patents could be about electronic wallets, integrated solar panels in a future iPhone or flying cars – although I wish they were, believe me. No – sometimes patents are simply about the little things that could add a new dimension to an existing product. For instance, Apple has just added a new sit-and-spin door to their latest iteration of the Mac mini. The fact is that Apple's new removable bottom panel was actually conceived back in 2005 for another application all together.
