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September 2012

Heartwarming Story: Disabled Vet Given New Smart Home run from an iPad

1BB- Heart Warming Story - ... Smart Home run from an iPad
CNN reports that while serving on an assignment in Afghanistan on October 23, 2010, Marine Cpl. Juan Dominguez landed on a buried bomb after slipping down an embankment and lost both of his legs and his right arm in an explosion. Dominguez has spent months undergoing multiple surgeries and grueling physical and occupational therapy sessions since that life-changing October day. To help aid in his recovery, the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and its partner, the Gary Sinise Foundation, are donating a new "smart home" for him to share with his wife, Alexis, and his 9-year-old daughter, Victoria. The home's features include kitchen cabinets and shelves that lower for easy access to items, an elevator, and doors that automatically open as part of an electronic-sensor system run from an iPad.  

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Apple Attempts to Rescind the Sales Ban of iPhone in Korea

1. Apple attempts to rescind sales ban of iPhone in Korea
Korean IT News is reporting this morning that Apple filed for a stay of execution with the Seoul Central District Court on September 10 to rescind the sales ban on the iPhone in Korea. The request is due to the ruling of August 24 handed down by its civil chamber that Apple had infringed upon Samsung’s 3G patents and the iPhone3GS, iPhone4, iPad1 and 2 should not be transferred, rented, imported or displayed. The report states that "If the court accepts Apple’s request, the execution could be stayed for a certain period of time." 

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NPD Forecast: Apple's iPad mini to Sell 8 Million Units in 2012

1. NDP Forecast - Apple's iPad mini to sell 8 million units in 2012
According to a new NPD DisplaySearch report published yesterday, Apple's forthcoming iPad mini will sell 8 million units in 2012 and give them more traction with consumers who love eBooks. 

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Apple Wins 27 Patents Including Smart Cover & iPhone Haptics

1. Apple wins 27 patents ...
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of twenty-seven newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In our second granted patent report of the day we focus on three patents. The first is Apple's third Smart Cover win, the second covers Apple's iPhone haptics the last one covers the iPhone's cover assembly. To round off our report, we list an additional nine granted patents with some interesting ones worth exploring.  

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Apple Wins MIMO LTE Antenna & Cellular MacBook Patents

1. Apple Wins MIMO LTE Antenna & Cellular MacBook Patents
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of twenty-seven newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In our first report of the day we focus on two patents. The first relates to a future cellular MacBook that will likely access 4G LTE data networks. Apple's second patent win relates to an MIMO antenna which Wikipedia states is an important part of modern wireless communication standards such as LTE. Whether this particular antenna will be used in Apple's forthcoming iPhone 5 or future cellular data ready MacBook is unknown at this time.

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Korean Source Confirms Samsung will Sue Apple over LTE

1. Korean Source Confirms Samsung will Sue Apple over LTE
A Korean source is reporting this morning that Samsung Electronics has clearly stated this morning that they'll "sue Apple over its release of the iPhone 5 for infringing on its fourth-generation (4G) long-term evolution (LTE) connectivity patents." Major Report Update 10 AM MST

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Korean PR War Spotlights Apple as Patent Troll

1AA. Korean PR War Spotlights Apple as patent troll with twisted facts
After Apple's victory over Samsung in a patent infringement case that ended last month, the Korean Times has been publishing a number of articles supporting Samsung. Some points are interesting, but like Samsung, they cling to the notion that Apple is an aggressor and, get this, a patent troll. The problem is that their source doesn't see it that way, at all.

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Microsoft Envisions Where Gaming is going, and it's Wild!

1. Microsft Envisions Where Gaming is Going, and it's Wild!
While we've all read about Microsoft's next generation Xbox 720 gaming console coming to market in 2013, a recent Microsoft patent application reveals what Microsoft envisions for gaming beyond that point. On the drawing board is Microsoft's next generation immersive gaming environment – which is simply wild! This could really be a hit with die-hard gamers and with a little imagination you quickly realize just how cool this could be. First there was the Xbox, and then came Kinect and now the next great thing in gaming from Microsoft is on its way and we detail it all in our report.

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Is Samsung Copying Apple's Earphones? It sure looks like it

1. Is Samsung Copying Apple's Earphone's - It sure looks like it
Apple was granted two patents covering their earphones with remote and mic back in 2011. The first was granted in January and the second in March of that year, the very month and year that Samsung just happened to file for a patent that mirrors Apple's product. Is Samsung trying to copy Apple? You be the judge.

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Apple Gives Taiwan's Eva Airways a Big Thumbs-Up for integrating iPad into their Operations

1. Apple gives Taiwan's EVA a big thumbs up for iPad integration
The Taiwan press was glad to report this morning that Eva Airways (EVA), Taiwan's second largest airline company was touted by Apple as a model to have successfully incorporated smart technology -- the iPad -- into flight services. According to the report, the Apple team came to Taiwan twice earlier in the year to profile EVA, which since 2011 has outfitted each of its 800 pilots and 200 cabin service managers with an iPad containing specially designed applications to deliver more real-time information.

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Apple Researches a New Haptic Option & More

1. Apple Researches a New Haptic Option & More
In March of this year we posted our first haptics related patent report for 2012 titled "Apple Looking to deliver a little More Buzz to iOS Devices." Then in May we posted another haptics report titled "Apple Reveals Wildly Intelligent Multi-Tiered Haptics System," which was a very detailed and ambitious application. Then in August we posted our third patent report covering haptics that related to a low Z profile linear vibrational motor. Today, in our fourth haptics report of the year we take a quick look at Apple's work on a linear vibrator which provides localized haptic feedback. Obviously Apple is searching for the right haptics solutions for the right devices. In fact, our morning report titled "Apple Advances Work on Virtual Keyboards for iMac & MacBook," is the ideal application for Apple's localized haptic feedback technology.

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Apple Attempts to Patent Virtual Knobs & New Instrument for GarageBand

1. Apple Attempts to Patent Virtual Knobs & New Instrument for GarageBand
On September 6, 2012, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals new virtual controls that are in the works along with a new virtual instrument for a future version of GarageBand.

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Apple Advances Synchronization Between iDevices & Vehicles

1. Apple Advances Synchronization between iDevices & Vehicles
On September 6, 2012, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals some of the technology that is scheduled be integrated into cars from nine auto companies in the fall of 2013.

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Apple Advances Work on Virtual Keyboards for iMac & MacBook

1. Apple advances work on virtual keyboards for iMac & MacBook
On September 6, 2012, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals their continuing work on virtual keyboards for both the iMac and MacBook. For the MacBook, such work could lead to a future hybrid notebook/eBook iDevice. 

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Apple Reveals Future iPad with Backside Controls for Gaming

1. Apple Reveals Future iPad with Backside Controls for Gaming
There's great news for gamers this morning. A new patent application published by the US Patent & Trademark Office published this morning clearly illustrates that Apple has been working on backside controls for the iPad specifically for controlling video games. Of course being Apple, the sensor based controls are positioned beneath the surface of the iPad so as to not to appear as hard buttons of yesteryear. Although Apple has already been granted a patent regarding backside controls for the iPad, we find that today's revelations build on this foundation with specifics aimed at video games. 

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Rumor: Apple May Shift Processor Orders away from Samsung

Sept 05, 2012 - Rumor - Apple may Shift Processor Orders away from Samsung
During the Credit Suisse Asian Technology Conference held in Taipei today, Randy Abrams, Credit Suisse's head of equities research in Taiwan, stated that "Apple may place most processor orders using the advanced 20-nanometer technology to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rather than Samsung" sometime in 2014.

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Apple Wins a Major Multi-Touch Display Patent & 25 More

1. Apple wins a major multi-touch display patent & 25 More
The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of twenty-six newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today which covers a lot of ground including the advancement of the MacBook's housing, cellular wireless communication systems, location technology and more. One of the most important granted patents of the day relates to the multi-touch display technology used in the original iPhone and beyond.

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Apple's iDevice Vision Clearly Outmaneuvered Intel's Netbook

1. Apple's iDevice Vision Clearly Outmaneuvered Intel's Netbook
During Intel's 2009 IDF Keynote delivered by CEO Paul Otellini, he talked about the astounding Netbook that was the fastest growing device in the last three years. He compared the Netbook with the Nintendo's Wii and Apple's iPhone. According to Otellini there was no looking back. Oh how things could change in the blink of an eye.

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Apple Seeks to Ban Samsung's Popular Galaxy S3 Smartphone

1. Apple Seeks to ban samsung's popular galaxy s3 smarphone
According to a new report, Apple has added the best-selling Samsung Galaxy S3 handset to a list of products it says infringe its patents. The Galaxy Note tablet is also included in a new list of 21 gadgets submitted to a court in California. The report notes that it's not the same court that last month awarded Apple $1.05bn (£644m) after finding Samsung guilty of "wilful" copyright infringement.

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Hon Hai Invents Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Control System for Security Surveillance

1. Hon Hai Invents Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Control System for Security Surveillance
Earlier this summer Bloomberg reported that employees of LG Electronics, the world's second-largest flat-panel maker, had been charged over theft of business secrets relating to Samsung Mobile's organic light-emitting diode technology. Seoul-based LG Display said it plans to take legal action against Samsung Display for defamation. Some technology websites think that Apple may use OLED technology in the future and so we can understand Samsung's apparent paranoia over their technology possibly falling into the hands of an Apple supplier. The game of industrial espionage is a serious one. Some of the largest companies in the world have been tried for such activities and just recently an industrial espionage computer worm was discovered stealing AutoCAD Designs from companies and secretly sending them to sources in China. In this light it was interesting to recently discover that Hon Hai, Apple's hardware supplier in China, has filed a pair of patents for an unmanned aerial vehicle for security surveillance. Whether these aerial vehicles are now securing plants where Apple products are made is unknown at this time.  

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