Hasta La Gadget!

A new Apple patent application published by the USPTO today describes a magnetic connector similar to the one used to attach Smart Covers to the current iPad, but designed to be far more flexible with a variety of possible accessory combinations. It’s a smart connector system that could recognize the attached peripheral and change functionality accordingly.

The types of peripherals described in the patent are many and varied, and include things like speaker docks, trackpads and keyboards, drawing tablets, radio wave antennas, cameras, game controllers and card readers. There’s also a provision which describes how two iPads might be linked together via an intermediary magnetic hinge dock that connects to the smart magnetic link in each.

It could work either with basic magnets, or with electromagnets that can be turned on or off using controls built into iOS, according to the filing, which would allow you to theoretically ‘lock’ accessories in place, including docks that simply stand the iPad up or hold it on a positionable mount for different viewing angles.

The system’s flexibility doesn’t end there, however – Apple also describes various in-car mounts for connecting an iPad to your vehicle’s dash or headrests, as well as to a treadmill or other gym equipment. Each could be a simple enough magnetic connection with no attendant change in functionality, but the patent also describes how they could complete a circuit, too, to deliver power, and communicate with the attached peripherals to transfer specific kinds of data back and forth.

Finally, there’s mention of wearable tech that could be used to trigger the magnetic sensor and prompt various behaviour from the iPad. This could take the form of a ring, for instance, which when worn by the user would do things like unlock the iPad when the hand it’s on is waved deliberately across the tablet’s screen. In the context of other Apple wearable rumors making the rounds, this could theoretically also work with magnetic connectors built into some kind of iWatch, possibly for identification and unlocking purposes as well as for simple proximity-based communication with certain apps.

The system described in this patent is elaborate and filled with potential, but it’s worth noting that peripherals connected via the Lightning port can do some of the things depicted in the application. Still, were Apple to actively invest in putting this into shipping iPads, it would no doubt open up a world of possibility for accessory makers. Connections that don’t require physical I/O, and that could automatically prompt different behavior from an iOS device and from specific apps would significantly enrich the already vibrant appcessory ecosystem.

Apple already has magnets within the iPad’s chassis, so space constraints for components aren’t necessarily a huge concern, and this could easily be a focus feature for an iPad generational revision, especially in lieu of form factor or display changes. Apple patents rarely make their way intact into shipping hardware, but in this case, I’m holding out hope we do see something similar make its way to consumer hands.

Not to be out-done by the Jailbreak-only emulators of gaming consoles of the past, the developer behind GBA4iOS has created a release of his Game Boy Advance that works with … Continue reading

Ubuntu will sell pre-loaded on smartphone hardware, despite the failure last year of the incredibly ambitious Ubuntu Edge crowdfunding campaign. The company detailed plans today (via TheNextWeb) to ship Ubuntu-based smartphones later this year, via hardware partners including Spain’s bq and China’s Meizu.

Ubuntu isn’t talking specifics yet, so don’t expect specs, but the company did reveal in a statement that initial devices will focus on “mid to high-end hardware,” so these won’t be the budget devices you might expect from an upstart mobile OS looking to compete in a crowded smartphone market. Given that the software maker originally wanted to launch the ultra premium Edge for an ultra premium price ($600 for ‘early’ backers), not immediately going after the entry-level market makes a lot of sense.

Calling Ubuntu’s efforts to crack the mobile market an uphill battle would be an understatement: Existing examples of latecomers who’ve tried to make a dent don’t inspire much confidence, with Firefox OS being the most noteworthy example that comes to mind. Mozilla’s project did focus on entry-level devices, however, which could provide another clue as to why Canonical won’t start off with that strategy.

Canonical’s differentiation strategy is to make content and services the central focus of the UI, rather than hiding them in siloed apps that each serve a different purpose. Still, Canonical hopes to have the top 50 apps available at launch, including Evernote, Grooveshark and Weather Channel to start. The company is also working with a Carrier Advisory Group formed out of the Edge campaign, which includes Vodafone, EE, T-Mobile, Verizon, Deutsche Telecom and many more.

HTC is set to unveil its next-generation flagship phone, and all indications are that it will continue what it has accomplished with last year’s HTC One, but with some tweaks and enhancements to push things forward. A new leaked image from @evleaks today reveals that the new One could be very similar indeed to the old One on the outside, albeit with improvements to the camera system.

The press shot depicts an HTC One that looks like the aluminum device HTC released last year, but with a gold tint (it’s said to be launching in gold, silver and gray). Also noteworthy are the twin camera lenses on the back of the device, which include the larger primary one found on current models and the smaller one at the top of the case. There’s also a dual LED flash next to the main lens, which you might recognize from the similar setup on Apple’s own iPhone 5s, and more rounded corners, plus what looks like a wraparound metallic bezel, as compared to the plastic edging on the existing HTC One.

Rumors suggest that the new One will have dual camera sensors, to offer focus that can be changed after the fact and selective deletion of objects from photos, which explains the twin lenses. Based on what’s been making the rounds so far, HTC will be focusing on camera quality this time around, in a bid to give it something that clearly differentiates it from other Android OEMs.

Another feature of this leak is the prominence of HTC’s Sense UI on the home screen, where it seems to take over entirely. The interface resembles Windows Phone 8′s UI to some extent, with information pulled from feeds displayed on live tiles, which extend behind the Android home icon dock.

Personally, I’m excited to see what HTC comes up with to follow the extremely solid HTC One. It’s still among my favorite Android phones, right up there with the Nexus 5. My only concern is that HTC takes its positive critical reception as an excuse to coast this time around – that’s bound to fail in the highly competitive Android smartphone market, regardless of how good the original was.

Apple has gained an entire percentage point of market share and cracked the top five smartphone manufacturers, according to the latest figures from research firm IDC. Apple’s share rose from 6 to 7 percent during the fourth quarter of last year, according to a new report (via WSJ) and though that isn’t a huge bump, it makes Apple the fifth-largest smartphone maker in China.

There’s also reason to believe that Apple could climb higher still: These numbers don’t include any sales made through Apple’s partnership with China Mobile, which only began selling the iPhone on January 17, and is in the process of building out its new network to support the device across a wider swath of the population.

Apple’s rise late last year might have something to do with the fact that the company opted to launch its latest iPhone models in the Greater China market simultaneously with its North American and major European market launches – this marks the first time it has done that, and likely helped boost overall iPhone sales by a considerable margin in the company’s fiscal holiday quarter. Apple also won a bigger chunk of a Chinese smartphone market that isn’t growing with nearly the speed it has in the past, so the China Mobile deal is even more significant, as it represents a way for Apple to grow its share in the key market without having to seek out new smartphone buyers.

For Apple, the China Mobile deal represents a huge potential new buyer pool, and signs are good if the iPhone 5s and 5c are already helping drive up their share. But China’s own Xiaomi is nipping at its heels, coming in sixth overall among smartphone makers in the country per IDC, so that could make for a tight race between the two as the Android-based startup OEM continues to chart impressive growth at home.