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November 2009

Apple Acquires a Key Trademark: TabletMac

Notebook to Tablet - cover graphic 

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.   

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Apple Plans Touch Based Graphic Equalizer for Media Players

GRAPHIC EQUALIZER FOR IPHONE, IPOD 

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.

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Apple Wins Patents for Nike + iPod, Stereo Headset, Virtual Keyboard, Camera & Multi-Touch Technologies

Nike + iPod Wireless Antennas Icon 
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.

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Apple Wins 4 Industrial Design Patents Covering the iPod nano, LED Cinema Display, MacBook Air SuperDrive & Keyboard with Number Keypad

Apple Cinema Display LED rev a 
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.

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Apple Introduces New Athletic Sensory Technologies & Devices in Development

Cover icon 

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.  

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Apple Reveals a New GUI System for In-Car Infotainment Systems

Apple Media Player GUI in Sync wit In- Car Stereo GUI 

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!

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Apple Wins Hot Virtual Keyboard Patent with Many Interesting Twists

Large Virtual Keyboard - Report Header jpeg

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.

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Apple's Fanatical Design Team Racks up Big Wins for Notebooks & More

New Macbook
 
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.  

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Apple Reveals New iPhone Security Patents

SECURITY ICON - Copy

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.

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Apple Files Tablet Computer Patent for Handwriting & Forms

1 Cover - Pen Based Input Tablet 
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.

 

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Apple Working on Next Gen Millimeter-Wave Communication Applications

 

Next Gen Wireless Icon

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.  

 

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Apple Wins Patents for iPod Illumination System, Macroscalar Processor Architecture & Airport Extreme


ILLUMINATING SYSTEM FOR MEDIA PLAYER 

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.

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Apple Developing 'Grab & Go' Application for Life in the Fast Lane


NFC INTERFACE, DEVICE 10 & GRAB & GO APP 
On November 5, 2009, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals various concepts behind a newly advanced application in development code named Grab & Go. Apple's patent introduces us to simplified data transfer technologies such as Near Field Communication Interface and Sony's new TransferJet. The new application will allow users who live in the fast lane to transfer data quickly between devices like their desktop and iPod by simply tapping their iPod against an iMac, for example. The new application will also allow users to transfer data quickly from Apple TV to an iPod, from a gaming console to an iPod and so on and so forth. The patent also discusses sending complicated or simple files to MobileMe with yet another app dubbed Revisit. The new app will allow users to review their downloaded information using Cover Flow which is a very cool idea. This is the most in-depth patent of 2009 and the extent of detail would suggest that this is going to be a major new iPhone app hopefully for 2010. The extent of the detail also shows the passion that Apple has for this project. This hot new iApp from Apple has tremendous potential for the iPhone – and for giving their competition a headache!

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New Magic Mouse Secrets Revealed in Apple Patent


Magic Mouse - Multi-Touch Mouse Intro 
The US Patent & Trademark Office has published a patent application from Apple today that reveals more of the in-depth technology behind Apple's all new Multi-Touch Magic Mouse. Technically, Apple's patent relates to touch sensor panels, and more particularly, to capacitive multi-touch sensor patterns and stack-ups in which both row and column traces may be formed on a single conducting surface. These stack-ups may be made thinner and more flexible allowing them to be particularly well-suited for curved or other non-flat touch sensor panels, such as those that might be present on a mouse or other device designed to be grasped by a user's hand. Apple's first Magic Mouse related patent surfaced in March 2008 and in this report you'll also hear about Jonathan Ive's take on the Magic Mouse.

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Apple Trademarks iTunes Extras


ITunes Extras graphic

On November 3, 2009, the US Patent & Trademark Office published Apple's latest trademark application for iTunes Extras under application 77860851. Apple has filed their trademark under International Classes 9, 35, 38, 41 and 42 which basically covers computer software, retail services, telecommunications, entertainment services and on-line facilities via a global computer network. Apple claims priority based on foreign filing 54328, filed in August 26, 2009. Apple's iTunes Extras mirrors the extras that you'll find in a retail version of a DVD – be it an interview with the director or various actors, view on-set photos or have access to specialty features like a poster gallery. Apple's iTunes Extras is now standard with iTunes 9 and higher.

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Apple Trademarks iTunes LP

ITunes LP Trademark 
On November 3, 2009, the US Patent & Trademark Office published Apple's latest trademark application for iTunes LP under US application 77860835. Apple has filed their trademark under International Classes 9, 35, 38, 41, 42 which basically covers computer software, retail services, telecommunications, entertainment services and on-line facilities via a global computer network. The full details of each classification are outlined below. Apple claims priority based on foreign filing 54381, filed in August 26, 2009. With iTunes LP, the visual experience of the record album returns. You could download select albums and experience a beautifully designed interactive world right in your iTunes library on a Mac or PC. Apple's iTunes LP provides animated lyrics and liner notes and could also allow customers to watch performance videos, see band photos and enjoy other bonus materials.

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Apple Wins Key iPhone Virtual Keyboard Patent, More


Virtual Keyboard

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of ten newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. The notables within this group include one relating to Apple's iPhone/iPod touch virtual keyboard, another for the iPhone's isolated antennas and two important NAND Flash related patents.  Apple's virtual keyboard was one of the initial differentiating features that made Apple's smartphone so revolutionary and ahead of anything that came before it. The iPhone's software keyboard is adaptable, allowing users to switch between more than 40 international layouts. Apple's iPhone also features sophisticated character recognition software that lets users draw a Chinese character with their finger and tap to choose the matching result. Check out Apple's webpage for more information about this sophisticated virtual keyboard 

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