Patently Apple

China Approves Eleven iPod Nano Design Patents

 
Today, eleven iPod Nano Design Patents were published in China. Apple applied for the design in February and received registered status on Friday. The designs cover such elements as music, genius mixes, FM Radio and others. Apple launched the iPod nano with Multi-Touch in September 2010.  

IDF Beijing 2011: The Rise of Tablets

 
There was a time not too long ago when an Intel Developer Conference (IDF) was considered one of the most anticipated PC industry events of the year. Yet that seems to have all gone to hell after Apple released their first iPad with an A4 processor inside. Apple dared to shatter the standard computing model by abandoning the traditional PC chip makers – and the Chip Gods fell to earth with a mighty thud. Was Intel caught off guard by the ferocity of the iPad's success? Yes – most definitely. They've been caught off guard ever since the debut of the iPhone in 2007. In fact all of Apple's competitors appear to be in some kind of perpetual stupor with every attempt at a counter attack being as anemic as the last. To be honest, Intel could never do it alone and with Microsoft fumbling in the dark and the amateurish Android looking more like Windows for the mobile age every day, it doesn't look promising. In today's report we hone in on Intel's central IDF keynote that honestly attempted to address the iPad revolution head on. Was it enough? You be the judge.  

Walker Digital Sues Apple on a Second Front regarding iTunes

 
Earlier this morning we posted a report covering Walker Digital's first patent infringement lawsuit against Apple concerning the iPhone's Map + Compass feature/app. On a second front, Walker Digital is suing Apple regarding their iTunes Store system. Apple is only one amongst 28 other defendants that offer online sales. The others include such brands as Amazon, Microsoft Wal-Mart, Verizon, Target and Saks. Less than a month ago Cordance Corporation sued Apple over their iTunes system as well. This is obviously going to take years before all of these iTune store system lawsuits get ironed out. As online app stores are about to explode onto the market in the coming years, these types of lawsuits will become commonplace as companies jockey for the right to royalties for their online sale patents. There's a lot of money at stake here for the winner(s) and the noise has only begun.  

Walker Digital of Priceline.com Sues Apple Over iPhone Feature

 
The first of two major patent infringement lawsuits have been filed against Apple by Stanford Connecticut's Walker Digital. This heavy weight company which was behind such ventures as Priceline.com and others and originally funded by the likes of George Soros, Paul Allen and John Malone is suing Apple over its "Map + Compass" GPS based iPhone feature/app. The lawsuit which was filed against thirteen companies, singles out Apple and Google for willful infringement.   

Apple Invents New Location Services System and EMI Shielding Process for Thinner Mobile Devices

 
On April 14, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published two patent applications from Apple that reveal the next chapters for both a new geo-location service system that uses WIMAX transmitters and a new EMI shielding process that is needed to support Apple's desire to create ever thinner mobile devices.  

Apple's Official US Trademark Filing for "Lion" Arrived, in Green

 
On April 12, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office officially published Apple's latest trademark application for "Lion" under application 85288157. Apple's trademark was filed under a single International Class 009 for computer operating systems. The interesting twist to this is that while Apple claims that "Lion" has no specific color, the example that they provided the USPTO with is certainly green. It's like a forest green and I was actually looking for my Pantone color book to verify a specific number when it dawned on me. This is a special green. It's one the competition will be turning when they see Apple's glorious new OS debut this fall. It's called: Green with Envy. Obviously it's an inside joke and one that I like: do you?  

Apple Working on Simplifying Multi-Touch Gesturing

 
A new series of patent applications that have surfaced at the US Patent and Trademark Office recently, clearly indicate that Apple is working on new ways to simplify their multi-touch gesturing on both iOS devices and Mac's via multi-touch and/or Magic Trackpads. One of Apple's key patents within this group of nine, introduces us to some newly contemplated methods of gesturing. The methods include the use of mid-drag gestures, microgestures within gestures, and other gesture modification motions to modify and/or alter user interface behavior. One of the gesture modification motions already reviewed to date relates to Apple's use of Spaces on iOS devices. In the big picture, Apple states that their newly proposed methods and interfaces will reduce the cognitive burden on a user while saving battery life. If we're lucky, we may even get to see some of these new gestures playing out in various demo's at this year's WWDC keynote. Time will tell.    

Apple Wins Key Desktop Centric Multi-Touch Gesturing & iPhone Patents

 
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of eight newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. The most notable patents of the day cover such things as the iPhone's built in compass technology as well as its unique nitriding stainless steel conductive bezel antenna. And yet the one patent that stood out prominently this morning was one that focused on bringing advanced multi-touch gesturing to a desktop display. Apple first gave us a peek at the iMac Touch last summer and now we see some of the gesturing that such a unit could employ. At this point in time, it's impossible to estimate when such technology will come to market – but it's evident that Apple is working on several angles to this project and we'll only see it come to market when it's actually ready to rock'n roll.   

Apple Files Figurative Trademark for "AirPlay"

 
The US Patent & Trademark Office just published Apple's latest trademark filing for "AirPlay." Apple's figurative trademark, as noted in our cover graphic above, consists of a rectangle and triangle. In September 2010 Apple rebranded their AirTunes feature to that of AirPlay.  

Apple Files for New iAd Graphic and "Lion" Trademarks

 
The US Patent & Trademark Office has published Apple's latest trademark application relating to a new iAd Graphic trademark to be used in advertising and/or marketing products or services. Apple introduced their new iAd service during a June 2010 Keynote. The newly applied for graphic may be associated with their iAd Producer programming tool. A second trademark filing popped up this week in Europe which relates to Apple's next generation operating system dubbed "Lion." Interestingly, their US filing for "Lion" has yet to be made public.  

Apple Patent Points to Strobe Light & Multi-Value Coded Pulses

 
A new Apple patent application points to advancing the cameras in all Mac and iOS devices to include advanced strobe lights of visible and invisible light. The strobe light provides the picture with important metadata to assist in deblur operations. I'm not the biggest camera buff, but this sound like Apple is once again working on improving their latest iOS device cameras to produce better and better photos and videos as time goes on.  

Apple Devising Smart Hybrid e-Paper/Video iOS Displays

 
The first Apple patent of the day that surprised us was all about an incredible smart bezel using a secondary printed segmented electroluminescence display that would allow for hidden illuminated controls on devices such as the iPad. Apple's second patent surprise of the day is all about Apple devising a next generation iPhone that would effectively offer us a smart hybrid display that could switch between a standard LCD and an e-Paper display. In fact, it's so smart that the display could actually subdivide itself into quadrants that could intelligently switch display types depending on the content that the user is running. That would work very nicely with Apple's proposed use of Spaces on future iOS devices.