Hasta La Gadget!

Apple may already be the favored child of Greenpeace and platform of choice for eco-minded gadgetistas worldwide, but it isn’t resting on its laurels. The company looks like it’s pondering an entrance into the home automation/energy tracking markets, filing for a pair of patents that would enable devices to register their power usage and communicate with each other using HomePlug Alliance standards. Users would be able to monitor the charging status of connected devices and delay their charges to occur during off-peak hours. There’s even a new type of plug that could internally perform AC/DC conversions and automatically provide the appropriate amount of juice to any supporting device. The end of the ubiquitous power brick? Sounds nice, but something tells us it’ll be a few decades before we can reclaim that precious space in our carry-ons.

Two new patents show Apple getting into the energy tracking game, killing power bricks originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 09:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pablo Picasso is quoted as saying, “good artists copy and great artists steal.” Good thing the quoter was Steve Jobs then, because the latest Apple patent application to go public looks very much like something Johnny Chung Lee pieced together with a Wiimote way back in 2007. Filed for in June 2008, the new patent is for a system tracking the location of the user’s head and responding to his movements in a fashion that should generate a realistic three-dimensional viewing experience sans those pesky glasses. We’ve got video of Johnny’s setup after the break, and as he himself describes it, the idea behind a “desktop VR” is to unbound imagery from the screen surface and to make your monitor or TV act like a window unto whatever is being displayed. That means Apple will need a new branding scheme should this application turn into a real product — iWindow just might be the least likely product name in the history of consumer electronics.

Continue reading Apple applies for head tracking patent, Johnny Chung Lee says ‘you’re welcome’

Apple applies for head tracking patent, Johnny Chung Lee says ‘you’re welcome’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen plenty of PlayStation motion control patents from Sony, some of them surprisingly similar to what we’ve actually observed of the as-yet-unnamed controller. This new one, however, gets a little odd. The basic structure seems familiar, but Sony’s recently-filed patent application deals with add-ons in wild ways that not even the peripheral-happy folks at Nintendo have envisioned. Our favorite is probably the double-ender (Fig. 6B for those of you following along at home), which is probably the most assured recipe for a little brother’s bloody nose to be run by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office since the longstaff was invented. So, does this mean more cash to shell out for a “full” PS3 motion control experience? We can’t imagine Sony being gung-ho about that strategy in the face of the (as yet) add-on free Project Natal, but we suppose we’ll just have to wait and find out.

Sony’s PlayStation motion controller patents venture into abstract realms originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Uh, um, ok… remember how Steve Jobs called the finger, the “best pointing device in the world” while chiding the stylus? Well, guess he wasn’t lumping handwriting capabilities in with his lambasting if there’s anything to this patent application for recognizing and processing “ink information” from a pen-based computer system that went public today (filed in July 2009). Naturally, the patent app makes liberal mention of tablets as the most recognizable pen-based computing systems; something that will certainly fuel speculation about the much rumored (it is still a rumor right?) Apple tablet possibly sporting a, gulp, stylus. Now go ahead and check the video after the break and listen to Steve Jobs describe the insanely great “pointing device we’re all born with” (1:54) in addition to how Apple “invented a new technology called multi-touch” (2:03) with the patents to prove it (2:27 and 6:19). Oh MacWorld 2007, isn’t there anything you can’t do?

[Via Unwired View]

Continue reading Apple’s patent application for pen-based computer remembers fingers can’t write

Filed under: Handhelds, Tablet PCs

Apple’s patent application for pen-based computer remembers fingers can’t write originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia’s no stranger to the patent application process here in the United States, and while we’ve certainly seen some strange ones emanating from its R&D labs, this one looks like something that should be implemented on the double. Explained as a “user interface for controlling an electronic device,” the multitouch solution would essentially allow you to pinch, zoom and rotate objects as usual, but it would also employ an array of pressure sensors in order to give your motions a sense of severity. If executed properly, one could theoretically envision the use of a strong push to simulate a double tap (for example), or as a means to activate a secondary function that generally requires another button press or the use of a ‘Function’ key. Hit the read link for all the mumbo jumbo, but be sure to keep your expectations within check. Or not.

[Via UnwiredView]

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia patent app reveals dreams of pressure-sensitive multitouch interface originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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