Patently Apple

Apple Wins 26 Patents Covering Multitouch, Magnifying Loup, Noise Cancellation & More

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of twenty-six newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we briefly cover Apple's granted patents relating to multitouch, the iOS magnifying loupe, noise cancellation for the Mac and iDevices and finally a design patent. To top off our report, we provide you with a full list of the other twenty-two patents that were granted to Apple today.

Apple may Advance to Oxide-Based LCD Displays in 2013

In a Korea Times report this morning they talk about the battle between LG and Samsung for OLED display dominance in 2013. Yet within that report a great little nugget of information arose concerning Apple.

Asian Rumors Continue to Bolster an Apple HDTV for this Year

Over the past week there have been a series of Apple product forecasts for 2013 reported on by MacRumors and AppleInsider based on KGI Securities analyst Minch-Chi Kuo. One even went so far as to predict Apple's use of fingerprint technology for iDevices. Today, China Times out of Taiwan is reportedly claiming to have sources with a few more tid bits of information about what we could see surfacing in 2013. The report claims that two new iPhones will surface in June but that a third one will reportedly surface in Q4 with a 12 mega-pixel camera. The report also continued to bolster the rumor of an Apple based HDTV surprise for Q4 and in total, they foresee Apple launching seven to eight new products throughout the year.  

Koreans Dream: Could Samsung be Cooler than Apple?

The Korea Times posted a report this morning stating that what Samsung wants most "is to be admired." They further stated that "the main source of inspiration in the technology industry in recent years has been Apple, the maker of the revolutionary iPhones and iPads and Samsung's bitter industry rival." The report then goes on to make a valiant effort at positioning Samsung as the innovator for 2013 that will put Apple on the ropes. But The Korean Times never delivers on that dream. Instead it confuses market share with innovation and simply points to Samsung's internal manufacturing capabilities as innovation, which missed the mark.

Apple may Waterproof Future iDevices with Nano-Coating

Soon you won't have to worry about your phone falling in the toilet, tumbling into a puddle or someone inadvertently dribbling coffee into the headphone socket, as the top 10 smartphone makers are lining up to use a revolutionary new nano-coating waterproofing technology from a British firm called P2i.

Apple Files for New iPad Trademark in China

After settling their iPad trademark case with China's Proview back in November, it's clear that Apple wants to ensure that they continue to securely safeguard their key trademarks in China, especially those relating to the iPad. Earlier today Apple submitted two designs to China's Patent and Trademark Office that covers one in black and white and the other in full color. Apple filed their trademark under the sole international class 009 which basically covers computers, book readers, email and more. 

Copycat Google Copies MIT Student's Invention

In 2009 we posted a report that pointed to a fascinating invention by MIT's Pranav Mistry who had invented a wearable device called the SixSense. Our report included a TED video of Pranav introducing his invention to the world. One of the applications created by Mistry was having his device project an active keypad onto the users hand or a wall so that they could key in a phone number. Apparently the engineers at Google were so inspired by Mistry's invention that they decided to copy and modify it for their future Project Glass product that's due to arrive sometime in the mystical future.

Reuters "Exclusive" Report on iPad Slowdown is Fluffy Nothing

Reuters has an exclusive report out this morning, but all I'm reading is an excitable line about nothing. They're reporting that the troubled Sharp Corp is having a production slowdown on Apple's 9.7 inch iPad displays. That in itself means nothing. According to Reuters, their "sources were unable to say how much of the slowdown was due to seasonal changes in demand or consumers opting for the smaller iPad mini and were unable to characterize Apple's overall tablet sales." Furthermore, Reuters quotes Macquarie Research who has estimated that "iPad shipments will tumble nearly 40 percent in the current quarter to about 8 million from about 13 million in the fourth quarter – although Apple's total tablet shipments will show a much smaller decrease due to strong iPad mini sales." In the balance, Reuters report is saying a lot about nothing. They can't even come to a conclusion as to what they're reporting on. The rest of their "exclusive" report just rambles on about nothing again. Of late, it just seems to be the "in thing" to find any scrap of nothing to hit Apple with while pumping up Samsung. Report Updated January 24, 2013

Google's CEO thinks that Apple is a Bore

Google's CEO Larry Page thinks that Apple is a bore. In an interview with Wired Magazine, Page stated that Apple "lacks ambition to change the world." That was a direct hit against Apple's Steve Jobs who directed the famous Think Different ad campaign that talked about the crazy ones that thought could change the world, were the ones that did. Shortly after the ad campaign was launched, Apple delivered on that vision. They actually created products that revolutionized the music industry with iTunes and the iPod and did it again and again with their revolutionary iPhone and iPad. The great copycat company called Google directed by Page had a few other cheap shots to say about Apple in a published interview with Wired Magazine and we'll point them out.

Reputable Study Acknowledges Samsung's Innovative Year

According to a new report published by the global consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG), one of the largest private companies in the United States, Apple remains the number one company in terms of innovation for the eighth straight year. Does that surprise anyone? It shouldn't with the quality of products that Apple offers. Yet the report did hold a surprise this year. It came by way of Samsung leaping to the third position from number eight just a year ago. Samsung's meteoric rise was likely due to their high profile patent battle courtesy of Apple.

Asus Beats Apple in December Tablet Sales in Japan

According to Japan's national newspaper called the Sankei Biz, Taiwan's Asus has inched Apple out as the top market share leader in tablets sold in Japan for December 2012. Market researcher BCN stated that Asus won 44.4% of the Japanese market versus 40.1% for Apple. Usually stats are based on quarterly results and so it's an odd statistic to get excited about. That's like cheering for a hockey team who won one out of three periods. Clearly Apple's detractors will grasp at any sign of Apple losing ground as a means of attack. It's just a known fact that Apple's iPad continues to beat the competition and with some production problems out of the way, we should see sales of the iPad bounce back and accelerate in Q1.

Patent Lint: The Other Apple Patents that Might Interest You

The US Patent office published a number of Apple's patent applications today and we covered two of them in-depth. However, there were nine other patent applications that were published today and in this report we simply provide you with the links to each of them just in case something may be of interest to you. They cover such matters as security, camera/photography tools, wireless technology and more.