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Apple granted new patent for original iPad design
We already know what some of you are thinking, but that doesn't change the reality on the ground: Apple has been granted a design claim patent for a "portable display device" that looks a whole lot like the original iPad. Filed just a day before the big reveal in 2010, it's both specific to the tablet and cites additional references dating as far back as the early 1990s. The claim likewise includes elements that transpired between the filing and the granted date, such as a certain legal squabble that carries on to this day. While we can't say we're enthusiastic for what might follow from the patent becoming official -- we know Samsung isn't, despite victories in the tablet space -- it does give Apple one more tool for arguing that its total iPad design is unique, not just the individual components.
Apple gets patent for in-cell touch display with impeccable timing
So Apple could be working on an iPhone with a thinner display, you say. Look what we have here, possibly in the nick of time: it's a newly granted Apple patent for a screen with in-cell touch, where the LCD and touch recognition are integrated into one panel instead of stacking up in separate layers. Apple's implementation would slim things down by either having electrodes share duties, both driving the display and taking finger input, or stuffing two electrodes into each pixel to accomplish the same goal. The net effect isn't just one of squeezing a device into a thinner chassis; the company also envisions costs coming down by reducing the number of parts and streamlining the manufacturing process. As envisioned, the screen looks like an ideal fit for a significant revamp of Apple's mobile display technology, although we'd be careful about assuming that this or any in-cell touch implementation is a lock for potentially imminent iOS hardware. Apple first filed the patent in early June 2007, before the original iPhone had even marched into a retailer -- display technology has come a long way since then.
Apple lands patent for NFC-ready shopping app, could make impulse spending an iPhone tap away
Apple has been filing more than its fair share of NFC-related patents, but it was just granted what could be one of its more important wins at the USPTO. The design for an "on-the-go shopping list" app would help buyers find and pull the trigger on deals through every tool an iPhone has at its disposal, whether it's taking a snapshot of goods with the camera, punching in the UPC code by hand or tapping an item for an NFC-based "touch scan." We'll admit that we're a bit disappointed at how NFC is used, however. As with an earlier filing, the very short range wireless is kept largely to price comparisons and adding products to a list for a purchase from a store clerk later on, rather than closing the deal outright as we've seen with Google Wallet. The original 2008 filing date will also have seen a lot of water flowing under the bridge; there's no guarantee that any enthusiasm for NFC from the iPhone 3G era will have transferred to the present day. Accordingly, we would be careful about drawing any connections between iOS 6's Passbook and Apple's ideas from four years ago -- even if Apple has regularly been a never-say-never sort of company.
RIM gets patent for logic-based text prediction, BlackBerry 10 keyboard now preserved for the ages (update: not so ambitious)
For those of us who aren't fans of swipe gestures, the highlight of BlackBerry 10 is undoubtedly a unique keyboard that's often a step ahead of its user. It's a good thing for this last camp that RIM was just granted the final version of a related patent for logic-based text prediction. Instead of simply hunting for typos, the patented keyboard guesses the next word based either on the context of the words around it or on other criteria, like common expressions. About the only time the technique doesn't predict words is for passwords -- RIM would rather not be that clever. While there looks to be a few differences in the practical implementation of the patent as we've seen it in a pre-release BlackBerry 10, theory and reality are close enough that RIM won't be worried about anyone else poaching its seemingly mind-reading technology anytime soon. Update: We've dug deeper, and it's more focused on simple frequency logic and auto-complete shortcuts (think "ttyl" generating "talk to you later") rather than anything too complex. BlackBerry 10 isn't so secure, then, although these are still quite important typing techniques.
Microsoft 'Shopping assistant' patent could help you find Elmo, more time for the kids
Microsoft's just been granted a patent entitled "Shopping assistant." The claims indicate a system that generates a route to a product based on user-defined criteria (i.e. quickest, cheapest, shortest distance,) it also indicates that certain real-time conditions from participating merchants, such as stock levels, could also help determine the route. Now we're no CSI, but sounds to us like someone got fed up pounding the Mall looking for the last Buzz Lightyear, and cooked up a system to help save folk from the same pain. The problem is, we're not sure we like the idea of Windows Shopping all that much either...
Apple patents workflow sharing using NFC, because it's never too late
Two things that are guaranteed to mess with your brain: playing the oboe and reading dense Apple patent applications. You do find the occasional gem, but often you'll read scores of pages only to discover that the so-called invention has already been put to use by others. In this instance, Apple has successfully patented the idea of using NFC to establish a master/slave relationship between two smartphones, as a prelude to making a fully-fledged WiFi connection that allows the sharing of contact details or more complicated sequences of actions. Now, this is a smart idea, especially since the patent specifically talks about retail applications (shown above), but is the end result so wildly different to Android Beam or even Bump? Even Fujitsu came up with a similar concept for using NFC to trigger location-relevant workflows. Either there's some significant overlap here, or we've spent too long playing reed instruments.
Apple granted patent for a 'reduced size multi-pin connector,' namedrops USB 3.0 and DisplayPort
Apple has just collected the US Patent Office's approval to add another to its vast hoard of patents. This one, numero 7,918,689 in the USPTO annals, describes a multi-pin male plug connector and a corresponding female receptacle, with the innovation being a reduction in size thanks to a single row of contacts. You can think of it as Apple's next generation of 30-pin connectors, or rather the next generation as the company envisioned it back in late 2008, the date of filing for this document. Back then, while the age of the click wheel was still upon us, Apple wanted to transfer USB 3.0 and DisplayPort signals over its newfangled plug, aspirations that were codified in claim 11 of its patent. We may now be a solid 30 or so months removed from that doc hitting the Patent Office's inbox, but the desire to have advanced data transfer tech integrated straight into the company's proprietary connectors is unlikely to have withered. Would it be a stretch to expect Apple's now working on a similar solution for the Thunderbolt interconnect -- whose plug looks identical to the one used for DisplayPort -- that is presently gracing its MacBook Pro line? %Gallery-120503%
Patent granted on smartphones, everyone sued
What would you do if the US patent office gave you the go-ahead on a far-reaching, non-specific application filed for a "mobile entertainment and communication device"? If your answer was that you would immediately draw up lawsuits against almost every major electronics manufacturer that even looked at a smartphone funny, you get a cookie. Yes folks, as impossible as it is to believe, the holders of the aforementioned patent have just sued Apple, Nokia, RIM, Sprint, AT&T, HP, Motorola, Helio, HTC, Sony Ericsson, UTStarcomm, and Samsung... amongst others. So eager was this company to sue, in fact, that legal papers were filed a day before the patent was granted, and subsequently had to re-submitted. The real sucker-punch here is that the patent simply combines a list of prior technologies jumbled into one product, a practice which has recently been ruled against by the Supreme Court. Still, we doubt it will stop the holders from trying to nab a few dollars in settlements, staying the work of real innovators, and generally making a mockery of our patent system. Bravo![Via Slashdot]
