Hasta La Gadget!

If you were planning on opening a store selling your brand new computer brand with a setup that’s not unlike the Apple Store, you’ll probably want to re-think your strategy starting this week. Apple has officially been granted a trademark protecting their retail store design and layout by the US Patent & Trademark Office this week. The original trademark request application was made all the way back in May of 2010, so whatever you remember about the store design back then that’s survived until now you’ll want to avoid when knocking out your own store in the future.

This fully granted trademark listing includes items such as “oblong table and stools [that are] set below video screens flush mounted on the back wall.” That’s essentially describing the sections many Apple Stores had where people were invited to classes on what their Apple product was capable of and what they could do with it in the future. You won’t see that feature in too many Apple Stores these days as the back is mostly reserved for the Genius Bar or sales counters (where applicable.)

Another feature listed in the trademark is “a clear glass storefront surrounded by a panelled facade.” This joins several other patents and trademarks surrounding the stores interiors that’ve been granted in the past, one of which is a design patent for a floating glass staircase granted back in 2003. You can find the full trademark listing at the USPTO right this minute complete with registration granted date set for January 22nd, 2013.

The original drawing of the store (which you see above) includes a note about what the store is put in place to show: “retail store services featuring computers, computer software, computer peripherals.” This listing goes on to note “mobile phones, consumer electronics, and related accessories, and demonstration of products relating thereto.” This should ring a bell as the patent was first applied for in 2010 and lists mobile phones but not specifically tablet computers – they must simply be included in the overall computer listing in the first place.

Have a peek at the patent and let us know if you find anything else that rings your bells on what Apple now has the rights to. Were you planning on opening your own store soon with an Apple look? Let us know what you plan to do now!

[via Reuters]

Apple Store design and layout granted official US trademark is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It was just yesterday that Apple announced the 128GB iPad 4 and if you were planning on picking one up for yourself, it seems that Sprint will be one of the places that you will be able to get your hands on it. This was confirmed by Sprint’s Vice President of Product Development, Fared Adib in a statement released to iMore where he was quoted as saying, “Sprint is delighted to confirm that we will be offering our customers additional iPad options with the new 128GB iPad with Retina display.” For those who missed the news, the iPad 4 with 128GB was announced just yesterday and apart from the upgrade in storage, everything else remains pretty much the same.

The price tag on the other hand saw an increase and if you are planning to get the WiFi + Cellular option, be prepared to fork out a whopping $929 for it! Of course with the Retina display, apps, ebooks and digital magazines are getting noticeably larger in terms of the amount of memory they take up, so for iPad users who rely on the tablet heavily for their reading needs, perhaps the price tag might be justifiable although personally I think at $929 Apple might be asking for too much.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: iPad 4 128GB Model Officially Announced, iPad 5 Back Plate Leaked,

Unsurprising reports about what the next iPad will look like have been coming out, parts showing off an iPad Mini-esque casing for the bigger iPad have been leaked and well, I’m no math expert but one plus one usually equals two. If you want to get an idea of what the next iPad might, maybe, possibly, no guarantees here! will look like, we’ve got you covered. More »

Earlier today, we pointed out some photos of what look to be the shell of the iPad 5 right up next to the iPad mini that we all know about. Nothing seemed too off at that point, until people started to notice that the size difference between the two tablets shown in the photos wasn’t that great. It appears that the iPad 5 will come with the same 9.7-inch display, but Apple may slap it into a smaller package.

In the size comparison photo below, the iPad 5 will be slightly shorter and significantly narrower than the 4th-gen iPad, but as far as we know, it’ll have the same 9.7-inch display, hinting at the fact that the iPad 5 may come with a thinner bezel all the way around, similar to the bezel design of the iPad mini.

It’s not all that surprising, though, and it makes sense that Apple is looking to unify the look and design between the iPad and the iPad mini, by making the larger iPad a bit smaller and sleeker and giving it a black matte finish on the back. We have to say that we’re big fans of uniformity, so this comes as a happy surprise.

The iPad 5 is said to be thinner than past iterations, although we’re not sure if it’ll surpass the thinness of the iPad 2, which is Apple’s thinness iPad so far. Other than the design change, everything else should be relatively the same. Volume buttons, the screen lock/mute switch, and the power button all look to be in the same locations, and it’ll obviously come with Apple’s new Lightning connector, as well as a rear-facing camera along with a front shooter.

[via MacRumors]

iPad 5 to be smaller than usual, thinner bezel on the way is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Today we’ve seen confirmation of the iPad 4 being released with a newly massive amount of internal storage as well as, here and now, a new case for the up and coming iPad 5. The “confirmation” bit on the iPad 5 case we’re seeing here is more of an assurance from the source which we can’t independently confirm, but whose photos imply what’s expected either way – a case that matches the iPad mini. With the iPad 5 hitting some time this year and the newly massive iPad 4 being shown today, we must expect that this fifth generation 9.7-inch (standard iPad size) display-toting machine will be appearing closer to October of this year than the previously suggested March.

With the iPad mini out on the market now taking names and serving up the competition for lunch, a show of power from Apple comes in an upgraded iPad 4. This most massive of iPads is the same model we saw in late 2012 with the launch of the iPad mini, this model coming with the same Lightning connector as the iPad mini and the iPhone 5 (and several iPods, mind you), complete with the same Retina display as the iPad 3. And a new processor, to boot.

This iPad 5 model being shown by 9to5Mac is one which we’ve got little reason to doubt will take on an appearance much closer to that of the iPad mini than to the original iPad. Here with slightly rounder corners and a flattened color back (black in this case), we’re seeing Apple change while it stays the same. The version you’re seeing here appears to be the mobile-connected (4G LTE more than likely) iteration complete with the same tone as the iPad mini model depicted right next to it.

This version of the iPad has been tipped to be thinner than past iterations, perhaps thinner than the thinnest model, that being the iPad 2 (fun fact!) All the greatest hits are still here in the screen lock/mute, volume buttons, back-facing camera (still without a flash), microphone hole up in the center back of the device (paired with another under the speakers near the bottom almost certainly) and an overall sleek look.

Sound like a winner to you? Have a peek at the timeline below to see other recent iPad news and see if you can track this model all the way to the bank – the bank being October of 2013 – just you wait!

iPad 5 photos appear with Mini aesthetics is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.