MacRumors broke the news this morning that Apple had acquired Axiotron's 'TabletMac' trademark in 2008. In this brief report we provide additional USPTO documentation to confirm this transaction while confirming that Apple's official registered trademark date took effect on March 17, 2009.  The report also questions the irrational thinking that Apple will only have one kind of tablet computer in the future.   

On Thanksgiving Day 2009, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals one of the next chapters for Apple's iPhone and iPod family.  Apple's patent reveals that a more robust graphic equalizer will be added to their media players sometime in the future. Beyond today's basic Equalizer (EQ) settings that are found on various iPods, Apple plans to implement a more sophisticated virtual touch-based Graphic Equalizer interface for the iPhone and other iPods - especially the iPod touch. This will provide music enthusiasts with much greater control in fine tuning their favorite music. There's even a hint, however small, that a Graphic Equalizer could be designed to illuminate on other accessories like a mouse or notebook touchpad which, in my opinion, would be very, very cool.

 
Beyond the four design patents that were granted to Apple this morning, the US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 14 other newly granted patents that were issued to Apple today. The notables within this group include two key patents relating to the Nike + iPod product covering various antenna technologies and the iPod/iPhone adapter, Apple's iPhone Stereo Headset, another virtual keyboard patent, an important multi-touch/multi-event touch patent and lastly a camera related patent covering the prevention of  media file damage.

 
Apple keeps on racking up new design wins for their cool consumer and pro products and today, the US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a new series of granted design patents for their fourth generation iPod nano, LED Cinema Display, the MacBook Air SuperDrive and large Keyboard with Numeric Keypad.

Within a year it's been for Apple patents regarding Athletic Sensory Technology! In March we read about advanced sensors relating to ski and biking equipment. In April we read about sensors in cyclist's helmets with GPS and head-gesturing. In June we were blown away with news about advanced Sports-TV technologies covering kick boxing, wrestling, NASCAR racing and more and in September Apple rocked the gym with new sensory technology for treadmills and other gym equipment. Today's newly published patent is no less exciting with new sensory devices being devised by Apple. The two main devices include a new headset/earplug system and an arm or belt band all of which incorporate advanced sensors that monitor your heart and oxygen levels without the need of using a traditional chest strap-on system. Apple's patent also covers a new pedometer which of course was incorporated into their latest video iPod nano. So the technology is slowing crawling to market and perhaps we'll see more exciting components described in this year's patents come to life in 2010.  

A new Apple patent application published by the USPTO today reveals that Apple is working on a new system that will give in-vehicle infotainment and gym equipment manufacturers the ability to sync their various display information or entertainment GUIs to that of  Apple's media player GUIs – be it an iPod or iPhone. Today's in-vehicle infotainment or stereo systems stating to be iPod compatible don't really provide us with much of a UI to work with and certainly not one that is reflective of Apple's media players accurately. Apple's new system could expand to include apps like iCal, Voice Memos, Maps, iPhoto or iMovie depending on the size of the infotainment system and the condition of the vehicle. Movies can't play in the dashboard while the vehicle is moving but could play if on the seat back for passenger enjoyment. This future capability will be greatly appreciated by all who love Apple's media players.  The sooner the better!

Every once in awhile we get a special glimpse into Apple's crystal ball and see what they're working on for the future.  Well, here we go again. Apple has been granted a patent for technology behind the implementation of large virtual keyboards. The concepts behind this technology are sweeping yet generalized. The patent could apply to a future notebook where no mechanical keyboard is present or apply to a future tablet, full desk-surface computer or multi-touch wall. On the flip side of the equation, Apple's patent briefly introduces us to two additional concepts. The first is the ability to incorporate a multi-touch display directly into garments of one sort or another. Think of a hoodie or ski jacket sleeve incorporating a simple flexible screen that could present the user with a simple incoming text message or tweet without having to fumble around in a subway or crowed bus to find their iPod or iPhone. The second concept that the patent introduces us to, is called the pen grip.  This yet-to-surface multi-touch gesture involves using an advanced hand-finger combination that will mimic the use of a pen for simple tasks like a signature. Although today's patent will likely add fresh fuel to tablet rumors, make no mistake about it: the concepts revealed in this patent go far beyond just a single application.

 
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 10 newly granted design patents for Apple Inc. today which includes several for their MacBook Pro, Unibody MacBook and MacBook Air notebooks in addition to others covering the iPhone interface, the iPod touch 2G, their wireless desktop keyboard and Component AV Cable.  Apple's fanatical design team headed by Jonathan Ive -go into incredible detail with 47 patent figures covering every conceivable angle of their notebook masterpiece.  Finally, this report presents you with a special PBS video emphasizing Jonathan Ive's obsessive passion for designing breakthrough Apple products.  

On November 12, 2009 the US Patent & Trademark Office published two patent applications from Apple that reveal yet another chapter in iPhone security. Apple's patent generally relates to authentication and more specifically relates to a system and method of providing authentication based on a weighted average principal. Apple's iPhone security includes protection of digital content from theft or corruption and also addresses the preservation of system availability. In many communication systems, the weakest link in security is not the encrypted data but rather cryptographic key management and handling. Unauthorized users may gain access to sensitive data when key management is not performed securely. During Apple's WWDC 2009, Phil Schiller stated that businesses had asked for hardware encryption and that all iPhone 3G-S models would now incorporate Apple's new security features. These patents mark the fourth and fifth such iPhone related security patents since September and demonstrate Apple's commitment to the enterprise market. Apple's patent shrouds their technology under what is known in the industry as the "black box" approach.

 
On November 12, 2009, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a new patent application from Apple that reveals various concepts behind a newly advanced pen-based Tablet. Interestingly Apple won their first ink engine patent this past July. In that particular report you'll be able to find other links to a tablet related patent that illustrates a classic notebook/tablet combination design. Today's patent closely relates to their recently granted patent but provides us with a little more insight into the tablet's future usage with apps such as pen-based notations, musical scores or even business forms. The oddity to this patent perhaps, lies in the speed in which it became public. The patent was only filed in July of this year and published in less than three months: Is Apple in a hurry? In late September Apple rehired one of their original Newton developers Michael Tchao. Although Apple's groundbreaking Newton ultimately failed, the fact is that it was a pen based tablet computer. In context, today's patent data has to be added to the facts that Apple is indeed working on a new type of tablet computer that may in fact include an ink based engine that could use a stylus-like pointer.

A new wireless technology called Millimeter-Wave is currently being developed by several industry groups including WiGig and TGad.  One of the primary goals of this developing standard is to deliver wireless communications that are ten times faster than today's solutions based on 802.11n. Apple has always delivered products with the very latest wireless technologies available and two recent 2009 patents have surfaced to show us once again that Apple is preparing yet a new round of next generation products that will capitalize on the coming wireless standards.  According to a recent report published by Nikkei Electronics Asia, the way to bring costs down for this technology is to build it right into mobile phones. This is an advantage that Apple has with their iPhone. More interestingly however, is that this same report states that the coming millimeter-wave communications revolution won't happen until there's a so-called "killer" application for this technology to make it popular. According to one of Nikkei Electronic Asia's sources within a firm manufacturing millimeter-wave communication components, the killer app is going to be Kiosk Downloading.  

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of nine newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. The notables within this group include one relating to the iPod/iPhone's illumination system, another relating to a macroscalar processor architecture and finally one that relates to Apple's Airport Extreme.