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Apple patents digital media reservation system
Time for another peek into the Apple patent catalog for some gool ol' speculation into that mysterious product pipeline which Steve Jobs called the "best I've ever seen in my life." This time, a patent titled "reservation of digital media items" filed waaay back in December 2004 (but only published this week on the USPTO website) has broken free. Like the filing for the audio interface seen yesterday, this patent again describes a system relying on the relative computing strength and fast network access of a PC / Mac working together with a second, portable wireless device. This time however, the "portable wireless device" is used to browse and then tag an item of interest from an "online media store" with the PC / Mac then being used to purchase or preview the tagged item at a later time. The patent specifically references eBooks and ring tones as some of the items of interest for download by a cellphone or wireless PDA. Now, If you're a believer then this is just further confirmation of that oft rumored and all but confirmed iPhone. Or perhaps it's just insight into an extension of that crippled Moto partnership. We don't know. However, these filings do give some insight into Apple's views on the continued importance of synchronization between future portable devices and the PC/Mac digital hub.[Via c|net News]
Wii trademark surfaces, naysayers wiip
Remember last Thursday when some disappointed Wii (née Revolution) fanboys got to thinking, "Hey! There's no trademark on file! It's got to be a publicity stunt! Viva la Revolution!"?Of course, we tried to set them straight, but the conspiracy theory persisted -- as conspiracy theories are wont to do -- and now, with the help of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, we can see that Nintendo has indeed registered the name "Wii" with no fewer than nine applications!The trademark applications were filed on April 27 (the day the name was publicly announced), but have a "priority date" of November 11, 2005, meaning they had decided on the new name as far back as November of last year and delayed the trademark registration, lest the proverbial cat be let out of the proverbial bag.The trademarks cover the use of the name Wii in applications ranging from "printed matter" like iron-on transfers or, who knows, console packaging to "clothing" like wrist-bands or, perhaps maybe, t-shirts. They also cover "watches containing a game function", "providing temporary use of non-downloadable video game programs provided via the Internet", and about a thousand other things, meaning there's a wealth of info to be misinterpreted here by the fan community. You'd better put your tinfoil hats back on...let the crazy theories commence
RIM's patent for automatic call volume adjustment
It's not exactly the sexiest patent application we've seen, and its October 4th 2004 filing date doesn't sound very promising, but RIM has recently has had a patent published by the USPTO in reference to an automatic call volume adjustment feature. Groundbreaking, we know, but the tech is supposed to -- you guessed it -- adjust call volume automatically based on the level of noise in your environment. As simple as it sounds, we sure wouldn't mind this functionality in a handset, Blackberry or not, but we can't imagine this feature headlining any marketing material, so we'll be lucky to know when we do have it. Other than the fact, of course, that we might actually be able to hear who we're talking to.
PSP keyboard and cellphone patents surface
A pair of PSP patents recently went public via the United States Patent and Trademark Office. We've heard rumor of keyboard and cellphone USB attachments for the PSP before, so it comes as no surprise that these patents were officially filed back in November 2004. While the keyboard is still a possibility, given that an email function is on the way, the chances of a phone extension hitting retail are slim.
