Apple Gets An Exhaustive #iWatch Patent

#GNN - #Apple has received a patent from the #USPTO (via #AppleInsider) that covers #multiple kinds of #smartwatch devices, such as a modular design that includes a smart strap with built-in sensors and controls that can host a plug-in personal media device (like the previous iPod nano) and an all-in-one that likely bears more resemblance to the coming iWatch we’ve been hearing so many rumors about.

The new patent, which refers to a device dubbed ‘iTime’ in one graphic, mostly deals with a convertible device that incorporates both a central unit that can be removed and used separately from its strap, and the strap itself, which could add features to the central component, including GPS modules, Wi-Fi radios and haptic feedback motors for vibration notifications. The design looks like a typical wrist strap for the older sixth-gen iPod nano, many of which appeared on Kickstarter, but it also can transfer data wirelessly between itself and an iPad and iPhone, according to the patent.

Functionality for the smart band and media player combo when connected to another device make it effectively a smartwatch, but Apple also describes different physical form factors, including a completely contained device, which sounds a lot more like the iWatch we’ve heard described in recent rumors. Interestingly, Apple also describes how gesture controls might be incorporated into such a device, letting a user answer a call by flicking their wrist, for instance.

The most recent rumors suggest a launch of the iWatch either late this year or early next, so we shouldn’t have to wait too long to see what Apple does with its smartwatch. In the meantime, while this may be an earlier design, it is one of the surest signs yet that Apple has been thinking seriously about smartwatches for years.

Related articles

• Advertise With Us - #Advertising at #GNN
• Why Marco Arment Built A Podcast App
• A #Fox-Time Warner deal would give Murdoch new heft in #China
• Yahoo Is #Buying #Mobile #Analytics Firm Flurry For North Of 300M
• Tokyo stocks open up 0.28 percent
• Compressed diamond sheds light on mega-planets

• Mobile services to be suspended in Lahore on Sunday (gnn-aip.tk)
• Blast in Khuzdar leaves 2 dead, 10 injured (gnn-aip.tk)
• #CM presides meeting to review security on Youm-e-Ali (gnn-aip.tk)
• Arrested US citizen released on bail (gnn-aip.tk)

Apple Patents A Way To Make All-Glass iPhones, iPads, Monitors And TVs

(GNN) Apple has patented a method for building devices with all-glass outer casings (via AppleInsider), by fusing pieces together for a completely seamless final look. The all-glass device casings could be used to hold the internals of an iOS device, or to house a TV or monitor, too.

The all-glass structures are designed for maximum durability but also weight savings, with designs that fuse pieces together to avoid having to use a single heavy block of material, and internal structures like fused-on ribs and reinforcement points, also made of glass, placed at key points where structural integrity could be weaker.

Unlike the iPhone 4, which featured front and back glass panels, the patent would allow Apple to build completely glass-encased gadgets, which would allow for a completely different aesthetic vs. other gadget-maker’s designs. An all-glass Retina Cinema Display would certainly stand out from the crowd in terms of monitors, and an all-glass iPhone would definitely draw even more headlines than usual.

Of course, glass is still subject to impact damage and other potential pitfalls, and as with many of its other patents Apple may simply have experimented with the tech but then moved on to something else (like sapphire glass construction, for instance), but the patent does cite Apple SVP Jony Ive as one of its main inventors. Flat glass slabs are a staple of sci-fi TV and movies, after all, so maybe Apple wants to help usher that future into production.

IMAGE FROM THIS ALL-GLASS IPHONE 6 CONCEPT VIDEO

Apple Patents LiquidMetal And Sapphire Mobile Device Construction Method

Apple has just renewed its exclusive licensing deal with LiquidMetal, a fairly exotic metal alloy that behaves like plastic, and today it was granted a patent by the USPTO (via AppleInsider) for use of that material combined with glass displays, including those made by sapphire. The patent describes the process of bonding a display to a LiquidMetal device case, which could form the basis for a LiquidMetal-built future iPhone, iPad or iWatch.

The patent provides renewed reason to believe Apple might use LiquidMetal in the construction of future devices. Already, it’s rumored that the company will employ sapphire glass in its upcoming iPhone 6. Apple has an arrangement with GT Advanced Technologies in place that will see it build and run a massive sapphire production plant in the U.S., and this has been taken by many observers as a sure sign it wants to make use of the material in future products. Sapphire has an extremely high scratch resistance factor, even when compared to Corning’s engineered Gorilla Glass.

LiquidMetal has been rumored as a material for use in previous iPhones, including the iPhone 5, but it hasn’t yet been used for that purpose. It’s a technology that has been used in military and medial applications, and even some previous consumer devices. It’s a high-strength alloy, with terrific abilities to resist wear and corrosion, and what amounts to an elastic property that allow it to make particularly bouncy ball bearings, for instance. In consumer electronics, it has benefits in terms of manufacturing process and extending the durability of consumer gadgets.

It’s unlikely that we’ll see LiquidMetal used to make the next iPhone, as there probably would’ve been more chatter about that from the supply chain at this point. But Apple has recommitted to the tech, and now it has this patent that involves another material key to its future, so that’s a strong sign it has plans for the tech down the road.

Justices signal narrow ruling in software patents case

Supreme Court justices gave little indication on Monday they would set new guidelines on patent eligibility of software.

People walk in front of the Supreme Court building in Washington, March 24, 2013.

From their questions during an hour-long oral argument, the court appeared likely to rule for CLS Bank International by saying Alice Corp Pty Ltd patents for a computer system that facilitates financial transactions were not patent eligible.

Although some of the nine justices signaled a willingness to set a test that would describe exactly what types of computer-implemented inventions were patent eligible, others suggested there was no need for a broader ruling. A decision is expected by the end of June.(GNN INT)(Reuters)

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Howard Goller)

Apple Awarded $290M By Jury In Patent Case Retrial Against Samsung

Samsung has been ordered to pay out $290 million to Apple in a retrial of the major, over-$1 billion patent infringement case that made headlines last year. Samsung won a retrial of around $450 million of the damages when Judge Lucy Koh found that a portion of the award was subject to re-evaluation.

Apple had been seeking $380 million total from this decision, but Samsung was looking to pay only $52 million, so while neither side got exactly what they wanted, Apple came out more or less a winner. The lawyers in the case have a chance to go over the figures and dispute any numbers they take issue with, which they likely will, but for now that’s where the decision stands.

Samsung has been accused of paying out what it owed to Apple in small value coins in a number of false memes circulating the web, both when the original award went through and this time, too. It likely won’t do that, as it’s ridiculous, but it can’t be pleased with this result.

The eight member jury that awarded these damages was evaluating how much Samsung owes apple for the violation of five patents related to iPhone and iPad across 13 Samsung products in total.

Developing…(techc)(techcrunch)(GNN)

Apple Patents Home Automation Technology That Adjusts Settings Based On Device Location

Apple has just been granted a new patent (via AppleInsider) which describes a very comprehensive system for controlling connected home devices.

The elaborate setup would make it possible for Apple to use location data fed from things like your iPhone and iPad, as well as use of credit cards or RFID badges to inform automated systems of a user’s whereabouts, and do things like turn on or off power, climate control, lights and more.

The system described works very much like geo-fencing does currently with Apple’s own native Reminders app on iOS: Once a user exits or enters a pre-determined location, other actions are triggered.

Instead of simply alerting someone of something they wanted to remember, however, the system described can essentially turn an entire household or office off and on, and prepare it for comfortable human occupancy.

It’s a little more complex than simple geo-fencing, however. The patent describes an information-gathering system that would be able to incorporate not only where a user is and where they’re going, but also what activities they’re engaging in along the way.

This would make their location predictions more accurate, since they could include estimates about when exactly someone will arrive.

The location data is either polled at regular intervals from devices like iPhones, gathered from fixed remote devices like keycard receivers, or when trigger events communicate with software on iOS or Mac devices, such as when they connect to a specific cell tower.

A smart connected home is one thing, but the really desirable goal of all home automation is a system that anticipates your needs and responds without any user input, operating at maximum efficiency.

That’s exactly what Apple describes in this system, and it’s done using devices that Apple is already actively selling to users, with the very same capabilities already built-in.

The question here is exactly how much it would take on the user’s side, in terms of time, effort and resources to implement such a system, should Apple decide to make it a feature of its products.

Apple certainly has the ecosystem on its side in terms of device-making partners, but it may be another few years before users are at the point where they’re willing or ready to accept the cost of setting up the infrastructure for something like this. Still, it’s a very intriguing route for Apple to explore, and could offer some glimpse at where iOS is headed down the road.