Jun 02

Apple wants to make your calendar sensitive to location and traffic, get you there on time

Posted in: Apple, ios, maps, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, patents, Today's Chili

As Apple rushed to allay privacy concerns over its handling of location data, it also let slip that it was working on a “crowd-sourced traffic database”. Now a patent application dating from 2009 has been made public which suggests Apple is thinking of this technology not merely as an add-on to iOS Maps, but as something which could feed into other areas such as calendars and alarms. The implicit suggestion is that if Apple can figure out how long it will take you to get from A to B, then it should be able to adjust your appointments to make sure you get there on time without having to go on a rampage. Until then, if everyone just stays out of the way, then no one will get hurt.

Apple wants to make your calendar sensitive to location and traffic, get you there on time originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Jun 2011 15:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Apple Insider  |  sourceUSPTO  | Email this | Comments

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May 31

Patent reveals Microsoft’s Zune Nano, reminds us of an ambitious past

Posted in: Microsoft, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, PMP, Today's Chili, zune
See that there? That’s a hope and a dream, both of which are seemingly situated in a nondescript box six feet beneath the surface of reality. Thanks to a bit of digging by the folks at Techie Buzz, a Microsoft patent was unearthed containing pictures and descriptions of a bantam media player, not unlike the sketches here. Naturally, the first thing that comes to mind is an iPod nano competitor, and one has to wonder when exactly the plug was pulled from such an initiative. The application itself was originally filed in April of 2009, and was just made public within the USPTO database today — the last Zune device to be produced was the HD (which landed in the fall of ’09), and given Redmond’s insistence on making Windows Phone 7 its next Zune, we’re guessing this little guy won’t ever see the light of day. Maybe in another life, though. For now, feel free to pour one out as you think of what could’ve been, and give that source link a poke if you’re good at holding back tears.

Patent reveals Microsoft’s Zune Nano, reminds us of an ambitious past originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink WinRumors, Techie Buzz  |  sourceUSPTO  | Email this | Comments

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May 22

Apple patent application reveals an LCD with switchable, privacy-protecting viewing angles

Posted in: Apple, ipad, iPhone, ipod touch, IpodTouch, laptop, LCD, macbook, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, privacy, screen, tablet, Today's Chili

Don’t you hate it when the guy next to you on the subway is looking over your shoulder, watching you screw up in Fruit Ninja? Well, Apple could have predicted your discomfort — back in November 2009, before the iPad was anything more than a unicorn, the company applied for a patent on an LCD display with adjustable viewing angles, explicitly designed to “shield the display away from unintended viewers.” According to the filing, the display would include steering modules made of liquid crystal material, which aim the so-called scattering modules that sit on top of them. The top layer then redirects the light, making it possible to narrow down and alter the viewing angle. The patent specifically calls out cellphones and laptops, paving the way for discreet displays on MacBooks and iPhones, though the broad phrase “other portable electronic devices” leaves plenty of room for iPads and iPod Touches. No word, of course, on when or if Apple will secure this patent and if so, what devices might incorporate such screens. We may just be seeing this concept go public now, but it seems consumers could use this even more today than they did back in the fall of ’09, when all they had to worry about was a stranger squinting at their 3GS’ 3.5-inch screen.

Continue reading Apple patent application reveals an LCD with switchable, privacy-protecting viewing angles

Apple patent application reveals an LCD with switchable, privacy-protecting viewing angles originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 May 2011 05:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Electronista  |  sourceUSPTO  | Email this | Comments

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May 19

Apple patent application suggests partial storage of music to speed up streaming

Posted in: Apple, cloud, ios, iPhone, ipod, Music, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, streaming, Today's Chili

Could Apple’s forthcoming cloud-based music service have a leg up in speed compared to its competitors? It might if a recently published patent application from the company actually pans out. It suggests that just a snippet of the beginning of a song (or movie, for that matter) could be stored locally on a device, and then be synced to the complete version in the cloud, which would let you begin playback “immediately” rather than having to wait for the usual buffering to take place. The patent application also explains that the streaming playback could be adjusted based on the type of communications network, and that there would naturally be various means to authenticate your device and ensure that you actually own the music you’re streaming. Of course, there’s no guarantee that such a system will indeed be a part of Apple’s seemingly imminent streaming service, but the patent application was filed way back in November of 2009, which certainly means it’s had plenty of time to implement it if it chose to.

Apple patent application suggests partial storage of music to speed up streaming originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 May 2011 18:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 16

Nuance voices found in OS X Lion, patent application suggests new iPhone speech / text capabilities

Posted in: Apple, iPhone, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, Today's Chili
Apple’s certainly no stranger to speech recognition, but it looks like it may have enlisted a bit of outside help for the next version of OS X, otherwise known as Lion. As Netputing reports, some of the text-to-speech voice options available in the developer preview of Lion just so happen to match the voices available from Nuance — which would seem to suggest a partnership or licensing agreement of some sort, as the voices themselves cost $45 apiece directly from Nuance. In somewhat related news, Apple has also recently filed a patent application that would bring some fairly extensive new speech recognition options to the iPhone — if it ever actually moves beyond a patent application, that is. In short, it would let you either instantly have a phone call converted to text, or send some text and have it converted to voice on the other end — which the application notes could come in handy both in noisy environments or in situations where you simply aren’t able to talk. It would even apparently incorporate a noise meter that could automatically trigger various options when the ambient noise hits a certain level. Hit up the source link below for a closer look at how it would work.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Nuance voices found in OS X Lion, patent application suggests new iPhone speech / text capabilities originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 May 2011 15:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink 9 to 5 Mac, CNET  |  sourceNetputing, Patently Apple  | Email this | Comments

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May 13

Apple patent application shows keyboard that doesn’t require contact, blows air

Posted in: Apple, imac, macbook, macbook air, MacbookAir, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, patents, Today's Chili

We’ve been generally satisfied with the chiclet-style keyboards that have become omnipresent in laptops and Apple’s latest generation of desktop keyboards, but Cupertino feels that these thinner, lower-profile input devices limit tactile feedback. A patent application from Apple, filed in 2009 but only now revealed, aims to improve the user experience by “expelling air from the input device proximate the key when user selection is imminent.” That’s right — your keyboard could blow on your fingertips as you blow our minds in the comments. Another solution in the patent would function like a vacuum to pull keys away when a proximity sensor detects that you’re about to type, providing simulated feedback. If this concept takes off in the future, your next MacBook Air could really live up to its name.

Apple patent application shows keyboard that doesn’t require contact, blows air originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 May 2011 10:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink AppleInsider  |  sourceUS Patent & Trademark Office  | Email this | Comments

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May 13

Apple patent application suggest iPod nano could become even more of a ‘fashion accessory’

Posted in: Apple, camera, Games, ipod, iPod Nano, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, Today's Chili
There’s no guarantee that it will show up in the next iPod nano — or any iPod nano at all, for that matter — but a newly published patent application has now offered a few more hints about how Apple might make such a device even more wearable. Titled simply, “Environment Sensitive Display Tags,” the patent application details how a small, wearable device could use a variety of sensors and inputs (including a camera, microphone, accelerometer — even a thermometer) to obtain information about its surroundings and translate that into a visual element that’s displayed on the screen. So, for instance, the camera could be used to create a background that matches your shirt or jacket, or the accelerometer could be used to make a screen saver react to your movements (like the rain drops illustrated above). All of which, the application suggests, could serve to make the device even more “aesthetically pleasing” as a “fashion accessory.”

Incidentally, the patent application also noticeably features “Games” as a menu option in some of the illustrations — which would be new to the current variety of iPod nano — but there’s no mention of it in the actual claims. And, given that it was filed back in November of 2009, the application’s authors could well have simply been working on the assumption that games would simply carry over from the previous generation.

Apple patent application suggest iPod nano could become even more of a ‘fashion accessory’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 May 2011 04:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 22

Microsoft patent application shows custom Kinect gestures, roaming user profiles

Posted in: kinect, Microsoft, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, patents, Today's Chili
Since Kinect entered the world, modders have been hacking it for everything from playing Tetris to controlling a web browser. And really, Microsoft never seemed to mind. In case it wasn’t obvious how much the company wants you to help find new uses for the technology, the folks in Redmond have filed a patent application for custom profiles. We can see that having implications for gaming and even Windows shortcuts, but for now Microsoft expects it to improve Kinect’s accuracy by learning how you move — after all, no one jumps or points or apes Lady Gaga’s dance moves in exactly the same fashion, right? In other cases, the system might note that you prefer to make an “X” sign instead of a checkmark when selecting an object onscreen. And those personalized settings can roam over a network, shadowing you as you switch devices. Personally, we’re stoked about the idea of making our best Julian Assange dance a bona fide gesture, but we’ll be happy enough if Kinect can make up for our natural ungainliness.

Continue reading Microsoft patent application shows custom Kinect gestures, roaming user profiles

Microsoft patent application shows custom Kinect gestures, roaming user profiles originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 11:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Being Manan  |  sourceUS Patent & Trademark Office  | Email this | Comments

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Apr 15

Apple patent application reveals more projector possiblities, including a projector-equipped laptop

Posted in: Apple, laptop, laser, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, pico projector, PicoProjector, projector, Today's Chili
We’ve already seen a few patent applications that suggest Apple is at least mulling over the idea of using projectors for one purpose or another, and another newly published one has now offered a bit more fodder for speculation. Described as a “display system having coherent and incoherent light sources,” the patent application suggests that the projector would be laser-based, and be both cheaper and more power efficient than conventional light projectors, while also overcoming the so-called “speckle” problem sometimes seen with laser projectors. What’s perhaps most interesting, however, is that the patent application also suggests the projector could be integrated into other devices — in fact, one of the claims specifically mentions a laptop with an integrated projector, as artfully illustrated above.

Apple patent application reveals more projector possiblities, including a projector-equipped laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Apr 2011 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Picopros  |  sourceUSPTO  | Email this | Comments

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Apr 01

Apple patent application reveals plans for external battery pack, spells further trouble for HyperMac

Posted in: Android, Apple, charging, Mac, macbook, macbook pro, MacbookPro, patent, patent application, PatentApplication, patents, solar, Today's Chili

Way back in September of last year, Apple filed a patent-infringement suit against HyperMac, the folks behind these external batteries. At the time, it looked like Apple was protecting its patented MagSafe power connector, but a newly released USPTO application for a “Power Adapter with Internal Battery” might reveal a more accurate view of the company’s litigious motivations. From the look of things, the outfit intends to make its mark on juicing solutions with what is basically a wall charger packing an internal battery. According to the patent filing, the contraption would include a processor for parceling energy to the host device as well as the adapter, and could also incorporate a supplemental energy source like a solar cell. Among other things, it would also communicate with the device being charged to allow users to monitor the juice stored in the extra battery. If the thing does end up making it to market, it looks like HyperMac could have a whole lot more trouble on its hands than a little patent-infringement suit.

Apple patent application reveals plans for external battery pack, spells further trouble for HyperMac originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 18:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink AppleInsider  |  sourceUSPTO  | Email this | Comments

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