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Every once in a while we check out various IP databases around the world to see if we could find any Apple activity. Well, Bingo, we found three all new smart pen patents from Apple that are chock full of great ideas. In between Apple's US patent filings published in May and December, Apple's engineers were filing new patents in Europe that were published just two months ago. These have not been published in the US yet and so they're new to us. And boy does Apple go deeply into the rabbit hole or what. Apple has a ton of new ideas on how to advance the smart pen. Yet the one twist that I thought was intriguing is that Apple appears to be seriously thinking of turning smart pen tips into an accessory business. Do you want your pen to be a brush? No problem, here is a new pen tip for that: Ka-Ching. Do you want your pen to double as a bar code reader? No Problem, here is a tip for that: Ka-Ching. And there are a lot of "Ka-Chingy" ideas in these three new patents to go around. Check it out.
Continue reading "Apple Secretly Filed Three Dynamic Smart Pen Patents in Europe that are Chock Full of Cool Ideas " »

Our friend Florian Mueller over at FOSS Patents has an interesting report out this morning. Mueller states that "By far and away the weirdest ruling in the worldwide smartphone and tablet wars came down last year in the UK, where a publicity order forcing Apple to promote Samsung's products and to make itself ridiculous in public was upheld by an appeals court, and where Apple's efforts to comply with the order were deemed "false and misleading". I thought Apple was being treated way too harshly because in the end it was just trying to defend its intellectual property rights in court and merely had refused to withdraw a German lawsuit after a UK ruling by a lower court." Mueller added "I wonder how certain people in Cupertino feel about it." Yes, this could be interesting. Will it mean challenging that ruling in favor of Samsung? Time will tell - but for now the general cry I'm hearing is: Off with his Head!
Continue reading "Foul Play! UK Judge who issued an Extreme Ruling for Samsung against Apple is now working for Samsung" »

A Japanese court Thursday rejected a claim by Samsung that Apple stole its technology, in the latest round of a global legal battle between the smartphone giants over patents. The Tokyo District Court ruled that Samsung has no rights over data transmission technology used in some of Apple's iPhone smartphones, said a spokesman for Samsung's Tokyo office.
Continue reading "Tokyo Court Ruling: Samsung has No Rights over Data Transmission Technology used in Apple's iPhone" »

On February 28, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals technology that could support a future iPhone with satellite capabilities. Satellite phones or satphones are popular on expeditions into remote areas where terrestrial cellular service is unavailable. Apple's patent filing states that the use of satellites for personal and business communications is an important technique in global communication networks. Satellite communication systems provide obvious benefits that allow users to transmit and receive communication signals over a large footprint.
Continue reading "Apple's Satellite Phone Patent Could Technically Apply to TV" »

On February 28, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a system for magnetically attaching a tablet device to a supporting structure. Apple presents us with a series of possible new iPad stand configurations for such applications as a super advanced music stand, a way to connect two iPads together to create a notebook with a large virtual keyboard or a way to create a portable gaming system with an advanced video game controller. Apple has some wild ideas worth noting in this invention.
Continue reading "Apple Invents Advanced iPad Magnetics System for Dual iPad Notebook, Tripod Stands, Gaming Controller & Much More" »

On February 27, 2013, The Hong Kong IP Office's Database shows that Apple has filed for a retail "cables" symbol trademark as noted above. It's plain, simple but legal. Considering that Apple ended up paying $60 million to use their iPad brand in China, you could understand why Apple, going forward, will be sure to trademark anything and everything in China A.S.A.P.
Continue reading "Apple Files for Retail Cable Symbol Trademark in China" »

Back in November ABI research stated that Samsung dropping Qualcomm for its own chipset for the next Galaxy smartphone could mark the beginning of a new platform war. Samsung has historically been known for its high-end application processors that appear in a number of its smartphones but the modem in its product has typically been supplied by companies such as Qualcomm, Intel, Broadcom, STE, or Via Telecom. The research noted that Samsung's move to manufacturing its own solutions plus Samsung's recent purchase of CSR's handset business could prove a key turning point that signifies a shift in the handset component market towards a platform battle between two major powerhouses of the mobile industry. News now out of Barcelona shows that Samsung is in fact trying to kick-start a new platform war as first suggested by ABI.
Continue reading "Samsung Starts Platform War & Deadly Chemical Leak has Three Samsung Execs being investigated for Negligent Homicide" »

The Financial Post is reporting this afternoon that Apple's CEO has stated that he understands shareholder disappointment over their stock slide to more than 30% but promised that the company was working on new product categories. However, as usual, Cook would not elaborate as to what that could mean. Instead of announcing a stock split, Cook relied on soothing stockholder's pain with a promise. The pressure is now on Apple's CEO to deliver – and if it's to be meaningful, it should be later this year. The good news is that the key word that Cook carefully chose to convey his message with was "categories," which means a lot more than just a simple upgrade to current products. And in plural form, that's really something to look forward to.
Continue reading "Tim Cook Says be Patient, New Product Categories on the Way" »

The news that Foxconn was freezing hiring for the iPhone sent shivers through Wall Street recently, but a new report from DigiTimes this morning provides a truer context to the original rumor; one that has nothing to do with trouble with the iPhone.
Continue reading "Foxconn's Hiring Freeze had nothing to do with Apple's iPhone" »

It looks like we're in store for a wild holiday season this year as developments out of Barcelona's Mobile World Congress show us that the mobile industry is going all out to best each other in smartphone, phablet and tablet designs and services. Our cover graphic illustrates one of the most exciting smartphone designs to show up at the exhibition. It's a dual display smartphone that may entice some to choose this design over a mini tablet. With this design you get dual displays and each could carry its own content for true multitaskers or present users with one image like a large map using both displays cooperatively. Yet, there was a bull in the China Shop at this year's exhibition and that was of course Samsung. We'll update you on their latest important developments that could have an impact later this year and for years to come.
Continue reading "First Dual Display Smartphone Shown at Barcelona Tradeshow & Samsung Finds a Partner for their new OS Debuting this Year" »

MAZ Encryption Technologies, a document security firm, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple. The patent infringement lawsuit concerns Apple's iOS security system and architecture. After the discovery process, MAZ Encryption Technologies is claiming that the infringement was willful. In legal terms, "willful" opens the door for triple damages awarded to the Plaintiff if the court finds that the defendant, in this case Apple, is found guilty of the charges.
Continue reading "Security Software Firm Sues Apple over iOS Security Architecture" »

SmartPhone has filed their second patent infringement lawsuit against Apple in the last fifteen months. Their first patent infringement case claimed six counts of infringement and this current suit claims four new counts of infringement. Smartphone is associated with Acacia Research Corporation with licenses technology to the likes of LG Electronics, Microsoft, Samsung and others.
Continue reading "SmartPhone Sues Apple on Four Counts using PalmSource Patents" »

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 34 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In our third and final granted patent report of the day, we cover the mechanics behind Apple's fifth generation iPod nano and more importantly, a unique security latch for a possible future MacBook Pro that will include a pivotal and detachable camera. To top off today's report we provide you with a list of 26 other inventions that Apple received granted patents for.
Continue reading "Apple is Granted 34 Patents Covering a Wide Array of Technologies Including a MacBook Security Latch & More" »

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 34 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In our second granted patent report of the day we focus on two of Apple's foundational patents covering Multi-Touch input discrimination and user interface gestures that relate to all iOS input gesturing and in-part covers devices such as Apple's Magic Trackpad, Magic Mouse and next-generation OS X based trackpad gesturing on the MacBook Pro.
Continue reading "Apple Granted Key Patents for Multi-Touch & UI Gesturing" »

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 34 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In our first granted patent report of the day we cover Apple's four new design wins covering a docking station and three iOS elements. Yet the big surprise this morning is for an all-new invention relating to user security while shopping online. This is the second such surprise within a year. The first one we covered discussed a new Anti-Big Brother surveillance system. This appears to be a part of a huge project at Apple that may be a part of a future iWallet application.
Continue reading "Apple Granted 4 Design Patents & an all-new Online Shopping Security System that has yet to Surface" »

In December we reported that Apple was to greatly expand iPad mini production in 2013 and we could now understand why. DigiTimes is reporting this morning that LG is currently shipping 3.5 to 4 million iPad mini panels a month. The research firm WitsView stated that 65% of Apple's tablet shipments will be for the iPad mini. This explains LG's current drop in panels for the iPad 4 which is quoted as being as high as 90%. Apple is also known to shift orders between suppliers as needed without explanation.
Continue reading "Apple's iPad Mini will Account for 65% of iPad Shipments in H1" »

Apple opened 41 new retails Stores in 2012 but some think that Apple should be doing better. On another front, iOS 6.1.2 becomes the most popular iOS version ever and it only took a week to do it.
Continue reading "Apple Opened 41 New Retail Stores in 2012 & iOS 6.1.2 Becomes the Most Popular Version of iOS in Less than a Week" »

Under the blind leadership of Leo Apotheker, HP's brilliant move into tablets with WebOS was yanked out of existence after only being in the market for 30 days. Under Meg Whitman, HP is back into the tablet business. The announcement was made in Barcelona late yesterday at the Mobile World Congress event that runs until Thursday. HP is moving back into the market very aggressively with a new 7 inch tablet that will begin to roll out in April. But there was also some fascinating news about WebOS that will be officially announced at some point in the next few hours or days. Report Updated February 25 at 1:50 PM MST.
Continue reading "HP Moves Aggressively into 7" Tablet Market & LG to Adopt WebOS for Future Smart TVs" »

We reported at the beginning of the month that Au Optronics was piloting the production of the iPad mini 2 with a display pixel count of 324 pixels per inch. Today, news out of Korea states that sources have confirmed that Apple has asked LG to deliver a premium class iPad mini display for their future iPad mini 3 pushing pixel density to over 400 pixels per inch for the 7.85 display. Report Updated at 3:45 PM MST
Continue reading "Apple's Third-Gen iPad mini Display to Push Pixels Past 400ppi" »

Earlier this month Patently Apple slammed Google for their blatant attempt to copy Apple's Retina display before it was made official late this week. Today, our Patent Bolt site is reporting on a new patent application from Google that once again copies ideas from a couple of Apple patents filed back in 2011 and 2012. The Google patent is about a touch sensitive tablet housing that could manipulate interface elements by the user's own touch.
Continue reading "New Google Patent Reveals Chrome OS for Future Tablets and a New Tablet Idea that Copies another Apple Concept" »

The website Phone Scoop revealed Huawei's new smartphone earlier this morning. One of the photos of Huawei's new home screen clearly illustrates that that they've implemented a new virtual clickwheel to access key apps. The question becomes, is Huawei's virtual clickwheel infringing on any of Apple's patents.
Continue reading "Is Huawei's New Phone Infringing on Apple's Virtual Clickwheel?" »

A new report this morning states that Apple manages its businesses on a geographic basis. With the release of the company's December quarter results, management created an additional revenue region called "Greater China" and now reports revenue from other countries in the former Asia-Pacific revenue region as "Rest of Asia Pacific."
Continue reading "Apple's 2012 Growth by Revenue Region Revealed with Charts" »

On Wednesday we reported that Google's Glass Project was ramping up and we presented a nice collage of Google Glass and a video. While updates are now coming in from various sources, there are two keys. One is that the price is going to be about $1500 and it will be available for the iPhone. The Verge confirms that "The device gets data through Wi-Fi on its own, or it can tether via Bluetooth to an Android device or iPhone and use its 3G or 4G data while out and about. There's no cellular radio in Glass, but it does have a GPS chip." It'll be one hell of an expensive iPhone accessory, but the benefits may worth it. And just as we're getting ready for Google Glass for Q4 2013, a new Google patent was discovered by Patent Bolt today that reveals Google Glass Part 2 is already in the works. Google Glass 2 is all about Binocular Vision. Google Glass part one is about the famed monocular design for a single computerized lens and camera while their future Binocular design will be for dual lenses and cameras to double your fun.
Continue reading "Google Glass V1 will be an iPhone Accessory & Google Glass V2 will double your Fun" »

In 2010 we reported on Apple renewing their classic Newton trademark that supported Apple's ground breaking 1987 Newton PDA. In 1997 Apple's then iCEO Steve Jobs abruptly dropped their PDA known as Newton as a cost cutting measure in an effort to save the company from Bankruptcy. Patently Apple has just discovered that Apple has now officially abandoned their iconic Newton trademark. The Canadian IP Office shows that it was officially deemed abandoned on February 12, 2013.
Continue reading "Apple Finally Abandons their Iconic "Newton" Trademark" »

Late Yesterday China's Hong Kong Patent Office published a series of 14 granted design patents for Apple. In total, there were ten granted design patents relating to Apple's iPad Smart Case and two covering Apple's 30 pin to HDMI Adapter Cable. One particular design that was highlighted in this lot covered the micro holes found at the bottom of the iPad's Smart Case that allows for the iPad's audio to escape through.
Continue reading "China Grants Apple 14 Design Patents for Smart Case & More" »

It came to light this morning that Apple was sued by Tina King late on Wednesday for $75,000 in a personal injury/ product liability lawsuit. King alleges that her iPod touch blew up in her face while listening to her music. Her incurred medical costs were claimed to be a whopping $600. That's right, $600, which is about the cost of a Band-Aid these days at a local hospital or clinic. Yet that will somehow cost Apple $75,000 if it is found liable. The formal complaint was filed in Eastern Texas.
Continue reading "Apple Sued for exploding iPod touch" »

Elia Data of Texas has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple. The patent infringement lawsuit alleges that Apple infringed upon a 2001 patent titled "Method and system for secured transport and storage of data on a network." Elia claims that Apple's Remote Desktop, OS X Server, iCloud, iTunes and App Store services infringe upon various claims of their patent. It would appear on the surface that Elias Data is little more than a patent troll.
Continue reading "Apple's OS X Server and iCloud Targeted in new Patent Lawsuit" »

Taiwan's Central News Agency is reporting this morning that a flat screen research institute in Taiwan predicts Apple will ship more than 82 million iPads globally in 2013 which will be exceed 25% growth.
Continue reading "Apple's iPad to Experience Stellar Growth in 2013" »

In a new research report published by ABI today they forecast wearable computing devices such as Apple’s iWatch to exceed 485 million annual shipments by 2018. The report states that "Wearable computing devices are projected to explode in popularity over the next year and with a wave of new gadgets set to hit the consumer market, could soon become the norm for most people within five years."
Continue reading "Wearable Computers to Reach 485 Million Annual Units by 2018" »

On February 21, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published 16 original patent applications from Apple not including their continuation filings. While we covered a number of the higher profile patent applications this morning, our wrap-up patent report covers a few patents relating to camera technologies, magnet machining, communications and a dozen more. For those of you who love to know everything that Apple's engineers are working on, there's a treasure trove of links to the original patent filings for you to track down and check out. Good hunting.
Continue reading "Apple Files for New Patents Covering Camera Technologies, Magnet Machining, Communications and Much More" »

On February 21, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals that they're working on extending tools for users reading an iBook, iMagazine, document, electronic newspapers and likely the web. The tools go beyond the traditional use of "copy" and "paste." Apple wants readers to be able to easily and quickly highlight text, share an article, make notes or access search all from a new customizable floating tool bar. Apple also illustrates that they're likely to add a new "card" element users could call up so as to better keep track of formal notes or to have them handy during a presentation. Our report covers a ton of graphics illustrating the new floating tool bar options to help you visualize what Apple is thinking of introducing in a future iOS upgrade. At present, Apple has implemented this specifically for iBooks and iBook Textbooks as shown in this example screenshot. Here's to hoping that Apple's tools will spill over for the rest of us who surf the web for news and research on a daily basis.
Continue reading "Apple Reveals New Floating Toolbar Options for Quick Searches, Taking Notes & Highlighting in the Works for iOS" »

During Apple's iPhone-5 event in September 2012, Phil Schiller introduced Apple's new, highly advanced "Integrated Touch" display that was one of the upgrades that made the iPhone 5 so much lighter than previous generations. Today, Apple's In-Cell display patent application has come to light. Yet perhaps the real story here is that Apple has clearly stated that this technology could apply to Macs and went out of their way to list the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and even a future iMac. So contrary to Tim Cook's adamant position that Apple has no interest in creating a hybrid MacBook-iPad variant whatsoever, today's patent filing shows that Apple's engineers were obviously given different instructions that contradict Apple's "marketing position." If the new Ultrabook Convertible segment becomes a run-away hit over the next 24 months, it's clear that Apple has a backup plan, just like they did when the 7" tablet segment proved to be the consumer's sweet spot. I personally have my fingers crossed that Apple will surprise us on this front sooner rather than later. Hey, a guy could dream can't he?
Continue reading "Apple's iPhone 5 Integrated Touch Display Technology Comes to Light and it loudly Screams it's Coming to all Macs Eventually " »

Well, talk about timing. The buzz over Apple's iWatch has been at fever pitch all week. Today, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals an advanced wearable computer in the form of a bracelet that could double as a watch. That's the key, as the bracelet goes far beyond being a wristwatch. Apple states that with a multitouch display, the user "can accomplish a number of different tasks including adjusting the order of a current playlist, or reviewing a list of recent phone calls. A response to a current text message can even be managed given a simple virtual keyboard configuration across the face of the flexible display." Apple also contemplates utilizing a solar panel beneath the display as well as take advantage of kinetic energy. This is one hot little invention and the drum that's been beating very loudly of late calling for an iWatch, appears to be well into development. Report Update March 01, 2013
Continue reading "Talk about Timing: Apple's iWatch Patent Arrives " »

According to Canadians, Apple's iPad is still king. Those addicted to their tablets read more news and watch more streaming video, and the popular gadgets are mostly used at home, even though they're often called "mobile" devices, says a new report that details how Canadians are adopting and using tablets.
Continue reading "Apple's iPad still Reigns among Canadian Tablet Users" »

In late November 2012, Apple's invention for a new wireless charging system came to light in a new patent application that fully described a "Virtual Charging Area." The basic idea is that the new charging system will be able to charge your iMac's wireless keyboard, a Magic Mouse or Trackpad along with all of your iDevices like your iPhone and iPad all at once. Today it was revealed that Samsung has developed a new charging technology of their own with assistance of Korea's Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
Continue reading "Apple, Samsung in Race to deliver Wireless Charging Systems" »

if you happen to be a Sony PlayStation fan, then it's time to feast your eyes on the PS4 capabilities that are on their way. The video that was on our site has now been removed as it was only intended to be available for a few days. If you still wish to see the presentation, then check it out here.
Continue reading "Sony's Full PS4 Presentation is Now Available for Viewing " »

The afternoon edition of MORENEWS presents you with four links to interesting reports noted in our byline along with photos and a new video covering Google's upcoming Glass product line.
Continue reading "Google's Glass Project is Ramping up; the iWatch may adopt a Spiral User Interface; and the Woz Calls for iTunes on Android" »

Apple has been working on a true iPhone based credit/debit card system for years that most call the iWallet. Apple has an extensive series of patent pending technologies and methods supporting such a product. The question isn't if Apple will debut a financial instrument called the iWallet but rather when. Today a new a report out of Canada confirms that the powerhouse group of TELUS, Bell and Rogers under their joint venture of Ensign is set to bring the electronic wallet to Canada big time later this year. Savvy iPhone users in Canada that are up for renewal this year won't want to miss out on such an important smartphone feature – which begs the question, is this the year that Apple introduces their long awaited iWallet application?
Continue reading "Could this be the Year that Apple Introduces the iWallet?" »

The morning edition of MORENEWS presents you with seven links to interesting reports from around the web. Some of the reports that we're covering this morning include:
Einhorn hedge fund may succeed in Apple case; Apple releases malware removal tool after being hit by computer hackers; Apple TV launched in India; the ITC to review Apple victory in Motorola patent case and more.
Continue reading "Einhorn may succeed in Apple Case, Apple Releases Malware Removal Tool & Apple Launches Apple TV in India" »

A new report out of China this morning quotes new market research data from Strategy Analytics that shows that in Q4 2012, Apple's iPhone 5 became the world's best-selling smartphone surpassing Samsung's Galaxy S3 despite the press cheering on the S3.
Continue reading "In Q4 the iPhone became the World's Best-Selling Smartphone" »