Patent-watch

Patent Watch: iPhone Dock and Battery Swaps?

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Feb 6, 2009 a 7:46 am

Apple patents are strange and mysterious things. Like sums over futures, they give us a peek at thousands of strands of potentiality, but no clue about eventuality. In other words, Apple patents tons of stuff, most of which we never see in actual consumer products. Some of these, however, are pretty interesting looking. The Register says:

One of the applications describes a "host machine" - looking much like an iMac in the accompanying drawings - that has battery-charging slots built into its body.

Patent Watch: iPhone Audio Sensor for Ringtones

By Rene Ritchie, Thursday, Jan 22, 2009 a 10:41 am

Apple Insider brings word that Apple has filed a patent for:

an ambient sound sensor to the iPhone that would allow the handset to adjust its ringtone volume to its surrounding audio environment, which would ameliorate potentially-disruptive audio outputs.

Sounds nifty! In addition, Apple has also filed for a patent for self-cleansing audio jacks:

Patent Watch: Apple iGloves for Toasty iPhone Tapping

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Jan 2, 2009 a 2:00 pm

What makes capacitive touch displays so responsive is what makes them so unfriendly to hostile environments: they need skin-to-screen contact. Well, technically, they need the electric field around skin, and yet another Apple patent makes it seem like the iPhone team is figuring out a way for us to stay warm and still enjoy the multi-touch lifestyle. Says Apple Insider:

Patent Watch: More Multi-Touch Gestures for the iPhone

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Dec 26, 2008 a 2:00 pm

MacRumors brings word of yet more Apple patents passing through the system, this time focusing on multi-touch gestures. How can you patent a gesture? Don't get us started. The USPO has raised the bar on ludicrous so high a giant could now safely run under it. The particulars of this one is interesting to anyone interested in the iPhone interface, however:

Patent Watch: Apple's 3D Multi-Touch... er... Skin?

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Dec 19, 2008 a 12:00 pm

Apple has had more success than anyone marketing multi-touch as of late -- we give you, the iPhone. But how far can even Apple push this technology? Right to the line? Past the line? Apple Insider sheds light on a new patent application that might just be way over the line:

portable multi-touch skins that can be wrapped around three-dimensional objects such as an iPod or steering wheel to provide addition GUI interfaces for those objects that can be configured via the touch skins themselves.

Too. Many. Jokes. Flooding. Blogsphere.

Patent Watch: Always-on iPhone Status Indicators

By Jeremy, Friday, Nov 21, 2008 a 8:00 am

In similar fashion to the patent for a today screen, Apple Insider is reporting Apple's new filing shows a way of displaying icon-like status indicators on the iPhone's display even though the phone is locked with the backlight not turned on. Apple seems to be paying attention lately to alerts/notifications and that is great news!

Updated: Apple Patents "Today Screen" for iPhone

By Rene Ritchie, Saturday, Sep 20, 2008 a 8:55 am

UPDATE: There was a minor uproar in the iPhone developer community (yup, again!) when some felt that this patent "ripped off" Intelliscreen. Ars Technica points out, however, that this patent was originally filed before the iPhone was even jailbroken, and hence before Intelliscreen came out.

ORIGINAL:

Patent Watch: Say Hello to... iStylus?

By Rene Ritchie, Thursday, Jul 3, 2008 a 2:24 pm

Patent-mania running wild from Apple is nothing new, though these recent filings do seem a tad focused on enabling new form factors, don't they? To go along with the iFlip and iPhone Nano, and the iSlider, comes a little something that just might allow for an iStylus:

Patent Watch: Apple Preparing for iPhone Nano?

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Jun 20, 2008 a 7:55 am

First came the iPod, then came the iPod Nano. Well, okay, there was the intermediary Mini, but that's neither here nor there. Eventually -- and currently -- there was -- and is -- the Nano. So it should come as no surprise that ever since Steve Jobs dropped the iPhone bomb back at Macworld 2007, people (and analysts, who may still technically be people?) have been predicting an iPhone Nano.

And now some Apple patents have been revealed which may just bring it a few technical hurdles closer to being!

Patent-Watch: Steven Jobs, Architect of the iPhone

By Rene Ritchie, Saturday, May 31, 2008 a 7:08 am

Another day, another Apple patent. This one's a biggie, the whole iPhone enchilada. Current functionality and future potentials (web clips? blogging app?) all rolled into one monstrous document, and all sitting beneath the top-tiered name of Steve Jobs. Yup. According the US Patent Office, El Jobso was the architect of the iPhone. And you know what that means!

[Carrier signal intercept...]