Patent filings sometimes clue you in to the direction a company is headed with their devices. Sure, some are crazy and others are ridiculous, but you can get a general sense of what the company is trying to accomplish in those stencil-like drawings and comic-like blurbs.
Well, Apple has filed a patent that strongly hints toward developing an add-on/dongle/hub/dock-type device that will accept AM, FM, HD, or satellite radio along with cable TV, satellite TV, antenna, or IPTV. The multiple connecting devices, as shown in the patent filing, could range from being a dock, a stereo, or even a computer.
What makes this Apple patent unique is its ability to “tag” information about the current movie, TV show, or song, allowing you to save the information presumably to let iTunes develop a list of movies, shows, and music you might be interested in.
Honestly, I’m lukewarm about this “media extender” device coming into fruition partly because I would hate to have a dongle attached to my iPhone and more importantly, can’t imagine Apple pushing media that isn’t sold through their iTunes pipeline.
Either way, this patent filing makes for good conversation. What do you think?
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Patent-mania running wild from Apple is nothing new, though these recent filings do seem a tad focused on enabling new form factors, don’t they? To go along with the iFlip and iPhone Nano, and the iSlider, comes a little something that just might allow for an iStylus:
Another interesting possibility raised is the use of both capacitance (finger tip) and resistance (fingernail) to provide secondary functionality in future touch screens. [...] Apple suggests the addition of pressure sensitivity to provide additional functionality. For example, touching an item in a list with your fingertip would select it, while pressing it with your fingernail (or otherwise shielded finger or stylus) could bring up a pop-up menu (see picture above).
It’s suggested that the patent could make things like text selection and — wait for it — cut and paste much easier to multi-touch, with the resistance input being akin to a right-button action on a mouse. Of course, we all know how much Steve Jobs loves buttons, never mind his audible YUCK! at the concept of a stylus.
However, resistance touch could be a blessing to those with long nails, who have complained that they have trouble getting the fleshy part of their finger to properly make contact with the current capacitance sensors. No matter how outdated (–cough–Treo 600–cough–) the technology is.
But never mind what I think, are you hankering to get your iStylus on? And if so, why so?
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Your plane’s landing in the middle of nowhere. Scratch that. WAY past the middle of nowhere — that little state on the other coast you’ve never been to, where the people have funny accents and McDonald’s has menu items you’ve never seen before.
The pilot flips off the seatbelt light, you whip out your iPhone to make a quick call, and before the bars come up you’re greeted with a screen that lists off all the local service providers complete with up-to-the-minute rate information. You flick-scroll to the cheapest one, tap to select, the bars pop up, the network springs to life, and you start your call.
What? Your iPhone doesn’t do that? You don’t get to pick your service provider? You don’t get to choose just-in-time data rates? You’re stuck with AT&T 24/7?!
Yeah. That’s because you’re in the real world, not the world of what might-have-been. Not the world Apple could have created had they gone ahead with a little patent just recently brought to public attention…
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