On America's Thanksgiving 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals an all-new concept for managing data on future versions of iOS devices. Apple introduces us to the "Persistent Overlay" which is going to be appreciated for those who need to be productive on their iOS devices. It's something like a personal multitasking bar system that will hold photos, tunes and documents that you need quick access to during the day. The patent also reveals that a new social networking app is in the works and that you'll have the ability to use your Magic Mouse or Trackpad with your iPad when docked.
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of nineteen newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. The most interesting one within this group was by far the one relating to 3D Object Recognition Technology that we posted earlier this morning. Yet there were a number of other practical patents published today that were worth noting. The first one pertains to Apple's push notification system. The second patent relates to the magnometer found in some iOS devices that works tightly in conjunction with their "Maps and Compass" app. A third patent relating to iOS touches on "text input using speech data and non-speech data." And finally, a forth patent relates to the timer mechanism in iOS devices designed to automatically shut down the display when not in use so as to conserve energy. All in all Apple Legal gained an important basket of granted patents today.
On November 10, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a series of new gestures that will provide users with a number of advantages. It will allow users to view clusters of photos as well as greater detail of photos, maps and/or documents with greater ease and speed. Two of the new gestures are currently dubbed "Hold then Swipe" and "Swipe then Hold." And lastly, we end today's report by sharing Steve Jobs' thoughts on Intellectual Property, according to the Book of Jobs.
Apple today announced that GarageBand, its breakthrough music creation app, is now available for iPhone and iPod touch users. Introduced earlier this year on iPad, GarageBand uses Apple's revolutionary Multi-Touch interface to make it easy for anyone to create and record their own songs, even if they've never played an instrument before. Apple's news fulfills their patent application which we covered in March 2011. Apple's patent was originally filed in Q3 2009. The patent was well ahead of the launch proving once again that patents can present trends well ahead of the curve.
On October 27, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a new media tagging system that will be integrated into Apple's iCloud. In some respects portions of what is described in the patent is likely already in place. However, Apple is shown to already want to push iCloud services deeper into the sources of media like radio and TV. They also want to work closely with car and/or car stereo OEMs to integrate their new tagging standard to better tie content to iCloud for the benefit of iOS device customers. According to Apple's invention specs, iApp Developers will be given design specifications so that current and future apps on iTunes will be able to conform to Apple's new emerging tagging standard. Apple's patent even illustrates a new iTunes UI for iPhone that will integrate media tagging prominently as shown in our cover graphic.
The year began with news that Apple was working on a new cloud-based safety-deposit box followed by an iTunes Cloud service before it was officially unveiled weeks later. Then in August Apple introduced us to future iCloud based printing services. To round it all out, Patently Apple posted an in-depth special report titled "iCloud: Winds of Change" which discussed how iCloud services would eventually push us into the era of the NC or Network Computer. Something that the naysayers have vehemently claimed would never ever happen. Well, today's patent application as revealed by the US Patent and Trademark Office, interestingly reveals how Apple is using a "librarian Service" on iOS devices to coordinate iCloud services and also create unique user credentials effortlessly. But more interesting perhaps is that the patent reveals that storage in the 1TB range is already on Apple's roadmap – and that certainly paves the way for the Post PC era's entry of the Network Computer – plain and simple.
On October 13, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published two patent applications from Apple that reveal that they're working on a new facial recognition/Signature system in addition to a new encryption system for a future implementation of iOS. Apple's new iPhone 4S offers new face detection capabilities but the next step appears to go one step further with tagging the photos for applications like your address book and so forth. In the case of Apple's newly proposed encryption, it's definitely a must have feature if Apple wishes to push further into the Fortune 500 and beyond.
On October 13, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published two patent applications from Apple that reveal a very detailed overview of an advanced avatar editing app. Using and creating Avatars has been a new trend emanating from Apple's engineering labs. The year began with Apple introducing us to "the Personalized Shopping Avatar" concept and have since followed through with an avatar creation tool for tablets in July and even mentioned Avatars being used in a mobile clubbing app just last week. In the bigger picture, Apple envisions the day when Avatars and related environments will be so rich that we'll be able to shop online in an Avatar centric Apple Store environment. When you think of the power of Apple's new Siri, an online Apple Rep with Siri's brain would seem very natural indeed. But for today, it's all about advanced creation and editing tools for Avatars. In the future, Apple envisions Avatars working with a wide variety of apps including but not limited to address books, chat sessions, video conferencing, email, games or any other application that could support an animated avatar. Apple is even working on a few humorous animated Avatars as well that will quickly replace antiquated emoticons. Apple obviously see's Avatars playing an expanding role in our online experiences, even when most of us just don't see it yet.
On September 1, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a new accessory protocol for touch screen device accessibility that will allow those that are disabled to use an iOS device. The new protocol is likely to be an extension of Apple's "Voice Over" Framework allowing third party developers to fulfill a need in the marketplace. Providing the disabled with access to an iPhone and its various services is bound to be applauded by many.
Earlier this morning a rumor report stated that "Apple announced (internally) that they have put the final touch to the tools that will facilitate a diagnostic." That's interesting, considering that an Apple patent application that was just published last week introduces this diagnostic process in great detail. If you want to know more of the real details, then this is the report to read. According to Apple, the new diagnosing application that will reside on future Apple devices will be ingeniously tied into iTunes where you now get updates and so forth. It'll be an easy way to get simple device problems fixed without having to visit a Genius at the Apple Store. Now that's a great idea.
On August 18, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals one of the next chapters for Apple's "Map + Compass" iOS feature. In the future, you'll be able to capture an intersection on your iPhone's camera and do a search based on that image. If you're looking for the Golden Gate Bridge while visiting San Francisco, Apple's Maps + Compass feature will be able to superimpose the directions from your current location to where you want to go. It will include turn by turn instructions according to Apple's documentation. Apple's hire of founder and CEO of PlaceBase, an advanced digital mapping firm, illustrates just how eager they are in advancing Maps + Compass for iOS devices with augmented reality. In fact, in typical Apple fashion, their new augmented application features will go far beyond just software. Apple has clearly indicated that they're developing a new interactive augmented reality 3D display that is considered to be a smart transparent display. This is what creates Apple's "Magic" product feature declarations when introducing a new product feature that drives the competition and critics crazy. Now you know that it's magic for very sophisticated reasons. It's a perfect blend of advanced hardware and software that few could match.
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 20 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In our third and final granted patent report of the day we take a look at Apple's yet to be released sporting app that Apple calls a "lifestyle companion" plus we take a look at a camera lens baffle for iOS devices. The last item in this report takes a brief look at a series of patent applications that cover Apple's upcoming iCloud printing services. No, Apple doesn't describe these services as being revolutionary – but rather as being a "cloud computing paradigm." I suspect that CEO Steve Jobs will retain the former for a future press release. What else is new? - ha!
