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Apple's patent for Concert Ticket+ could change your concert experience
We know that Apple has a propensity for patenting anything that moves, and most of them don't see the light of day. But Patently Apple has written, in copious detail, about a very interesting one called Concert Ticket+. I would bet money on the likelihood of this one becoming a reality. It all starts with buying concert tickets through iTunes and syncing it with your iPhone. Then, when you get to the concert, the electronic ticket will be received either by a manned or unmanned turnstile using Near Field Communication (NFC). This is the same technology that starts a Prius without a key, or is embedded in my Lexus car key. When turning on the car, an NFC connection must be wirelessly transmitted or the car won't start. It also takes into account other methods of authentication such as bar code scanning. It doesn't stop there. Lots of other information can be provided once the ticket is registered as being collected. E-Tickets for food and merchandise discounts can also be stored on the iPhone and when presented to get a cheaper T-Shirt or soda, the amount spent can be deducted from your iTunes account. Impulse purchasing of apps has been tremendously successful and that concept can be easily transferred from the app store to the concert hall. An electronic coupon for $5.00 off a T-shirt is going to sell a lot of T-shirts. The patent also provides for value added services either free or at a price. You'd probably be able to obtain a concert schedule, lyrics to what is being played or a set-list for free, but if you want a recording of the show you've attended, that can be made available for a price.
Sixteen new Apple patents, from CoverFlow to iDVD
The USPTO published a whole slew of new patent applications from Apple today, covering everything from iChat to some CoverFlow animation. Patently Apple has the whole writeup as usual. Probably the most interesting thing among them is a "virtual keyboard for media players" that uses a modified QWERTY keyboard, with more than one letter on each key. That doesn't seem like an idea that Apple will ever use, but maybe that was one of the prototypes that was originally being worked on for the iPhone. There are also some more technical patents for iChat video encoding and error adjustments on touchscreens, as well as overall patents for the MacBook Air SuperDrive and iDVD. It seems like the USPTO is just cleaning out Apple's old patents -- most of these were filed back in 2007. Now, maybe they can set the legal patent team up on newer accomplishments.
