Hasta La Gadget!

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.

Filed under: Cellphones, Displays

Apple gets patent for in-cell touch display with impeccable timing originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 12:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung may have convinced Judge Koh to toss a few international handsets out of Apple’s lawsuit, but the Korean firm still has Cupertino’s patent licensing accusations to contend with. Their tactic? Convince the court that Apple’s claim to the inventions are invalid, and that the technology was developed prior to the disputed patent’s filing. It’s called showing “prior art,” and Sammy’s done it before — famously showing a scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey in an attempt to put Apple’s iPad design claims to rest. Today’s examples were more grounded in reality, focusing on debunking Cupertino’s claim to the “bounce back” effect that happens when a user reaches the end of a page and common multitouch zoom / navigation gestures.

Samsung pitted the famous “bounce back” feature against an old PocketPC interface called LaunchTile, which allowed users to navigate through 36 applications by zooming in and out and a panning across a grid-like “world view” of said apps. Movement between grids snap to each zone, marking the end of a page. Apple shot back, noting that LiveTile’s snapping navigation didn’t work on diagonals, and cited other differences as well. Samsung wasn’t deterred, however, and brought out DiamondTouch, a projector based multitouch table that utilized both one touch scrolling and pinch-based zoom gestures. The table even takes aim at the aforementioned bounce-back patent with a technology called TableCloth, which bounces back images that are pulled off screen. DiamondTouch’s creator, Adam Bogue, told the court that he had demoed the technology to Apple privately back in 2003, noting that it was also available to anyone who visited the Mitsubishi Electronic Research Laboratories’ lobby.

If the jury takes to Samsung’s claims of prior art, it could severely cut Apple’s claims against it. Even so, Cupertino’s lawyers aren’t going down without a fight, and still have a number of navigation and design claims that Samsung hasn’t addressed. The two parties are expected to keep up the fight for about a week, we’ll keep you posted on the inevitable revelations as they come.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs

Samsung’s defense against Apple patents begins with DiamondTouch table, LiveTile UI prior art originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Aug 2012 23:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen the rumored next iPhone’s minuscule docking port more than once. Any of the cabling that plugs into that port, however, has been non-existent until today. If photos slipped to Nowhereelse.fr are more than just flights of fancy, they show a much narrower and possibly slimmer connector that matches up with the hole we’ve seen. It’s so small that a full-size USB connector dwarfs it by comparison, and there’s only eight contact pins per side (or possibly total) versus the 30 overall that we know today. We’re not told if there are any special tricks besides the size reduction, though: while the new cable end looks dual-sided, there’s no guarantee Apple will have eliminated the right-side-up requirement that afflicts just about every mobile-sized port format we’ve seen to date. If real, the redesign could lead to one less hassle for charging and syncing. It just wouldn’t be much consolation to those who’d been hoping for a switch to a standard like micro-USB — or, for that matter, to long-time iPhone owners who may have to give up or convert legions of accessories.

Update: since we first posted, the rumor has fleshed out a bit. It’s claimed that there are eight pins on both sides, but that they perform different functions and might not let us plug the connector in any which way. Supposedly, the connectors also aren’t the final models and reflect the problems the unnamed contractor has had meeting Apple’s standards. Don’t worry about claims of future iPads leaping to the new connector: if there’s really a format switch underway, it’s only natural that other devices will follow suit.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs

Next iPhone’s tiny docking connector possibly spotted (update: more details) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Aug 2012 14:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This month the epic court war of Apple vs Samsung is taking place and the newest battle is in: Apple is presenting a set of slides which accuse Samsung of straight up copying their designs for mobile device icons. In each of the following slides (included in this post) you’ll find Apple’s presentation (via CNET) to be quite convincing in some areas and perhaps a bit of a reach in others. It’s all up to your own senses, of course, until the jury is able to reach a conclusion of their own in this massive and multi-faceted case.

First have a peek at what could be an undeniable theft or, if Samsung is able to convince the jury, an incredible coincidence. This is the Telephone app icon for the iPhone – which still exists today – as it appeared on the first iPhone. Below the image, as it is with the rest of the examples as well, Apple shows a collection of Samsung devices with their icon of choice for the Samsung Android version of the Telephone app. Green icon with a white landline-type phone aiming upward and to the right.

Next is the iTunes trademark as compared to Samsung’s choice of a CD with a music note in front of it. This is a bit of an odd one because Apple’s icon for iOS (on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch) is actually more of a music note in a white circle than it is an iTunes logo. Apple presents their original trademark application image for the iTunes logo to the right of the mobile icon for comparison to Samsung’s collection below.

Next is the Settings icon from iOS being compared to the Samsung Settings icon on everything from the Captivate to the Galaxy S II. One might ask one’s self why the gear is being claimed by Apple when it should be clear that the base Android system the Samsung devices in question were built on also had a gear for its own shortcut to Settings. Have a peek first at the Apple comparison to Samsung, then to an icons pack from an early version of Android: version 1.6 Donut.

There’s a Notes app in both the iPhone and each of the Samsung devices Apple is showing in this next slide. This is where things get a bit more suspicious once again as not only are the colors replicated rather closely, but the lined yellow paper looks the same as well. Why on earth neither company went for the more obvious sticky-notes type icon, we cannot say!

The Photos icon comparison between iOS and the Galaxy line of Samsung smartphones is a bit odd as there is indeed a flower in both of the options – but they’re sized quite differently. Apple’s icon is a clear image of a sunflower on a blue sky background while Samsung chose to have flower pedals shown with two photos of those pedals sitting on to, with a play button on top of the stack as well.

Finally there’s the Contacts icon as presented by Apple (as it is with the rest of these slides) with the original iOS icon up top and a collection of Samsung Galaxy smartphones below. Though the color scheme here isn’t the same, it’s quite clear that both of these groups grabbed inspiration from the same source. OR that one saw the other at some point and decided to make good.

Make your own judgements here and let us know if you feel that Apple or Samsung – or both – were wronged in how similar their mobile device icons look to one another. It’s no small accusation saying that a design was copied directly from your own, and we hope neither company is taking any of this situation lightly.

Have a peek at the timeline below to see additional insights into this case and stay tuned as Apple and Samsung cut each-other to shreds over the coming weeks and months.

Samsung “icon theft” images shown by Apple is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Yearning to break free from earbud-induced isolation and spring towards a music listening experience with a social slant? Seedio for iOS can help. Built by a team of six developers, the app networks local iDevices over WiFi and allows one user to stream music to others. Audio from iTunes or YouTube is queued up by the designated disc jockey, or “seeder,” and plays through each device’s speakers in unison to create a distributed, makeshift loudspeaker. If the situation calls for a quieter jam session, however, you can forgo the speakers and listen in with headphones instead. Up to 150 devices can connect through a single router, but four is the current limit when relying on an ad hoc network created by an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Seedio isn’t the first of its kind to roam the wilds of the App Store, but its creators claim to have nailed syncing audio across gadgets. The app is free for a limited time, but will soon pick up a $2.99 price tag. For those content with merely tuning in and leaving the playlist duty to others, the app will remain free.

Filed under: Software

Seedio app networks iDevices into loudspeaker, blasts music far and wide originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Aug 2012 01:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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