Apple patent applications hint at Wi-Fi iPods, new mice
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has revealed a raft of new patent applications submitted by Apple's lawyers, covering new technologies for iPods, Web pages and mice.
Macsimum News spotted several patent applications that were filed months ago but just revealed this week on the PTO's Web site. The most intriguing example appears to involve a method for allowing an iPod or iPhone to talk to a neighboring device through a wireless network. The application assumes that mobile devices already are capable of downloading data from the Internet over cellular or Wi-Fi networks, "however, as portable electronic devices become more versatile and more interactive, it is advantageous to exchange (send and/or receive) media or other types of data with other electronic devices in a wireless manner."
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what Apple's patent applications mean.
This, of course, is exactly what Microsoft's Zune music player is capable of doing, exchanging songs with fellow Zune owners. Previous Apple patent filings have hinted at this type of capability, but it appears that momentum is building for a Wi-Fi iPod that can talk to other iPods. The iPhone comes with both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, but it doesn't appear possible for fellow iPhone owners to swap songs over a wireless network, at least yet.
The other filings include input technology that would allow designers to manipulate three-dimensional images with a two-dimensional input device, like a mouse. Apple also filed for a patent on ways for inexperienced Web designers to create fancy Web pages using tools generally confined to the pros. At the company's shareholder meeting earlier this year, CEO Steve Jobs promised improvements to the company's .Mac service, which has languished behind other projects like the iPhone and Leopard, and easier Web page creation could be part of that.
As always, bear in mind that patent applications do not necessarily turn into future products. They are designed to be written as broadly as possible to cover lots of possible implementations, and there are lots of ways to interpret what the technology in the applications might produce. Around this time last year, several patent filings were revealed that sort of point to iPhone-like technologies, but that also hint at products like wireless iPods that haven't arrived yet.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. 
http://www.electronista.com/articles/07/07/12/apple.zune.like.patent/
" Apple may be ready to not only bring wireless file sharing to the iPhone and iPod but could affect Microsoft's Zune as well, according to the details of a newly publicized patent. The filing would allow fully mobile devices such as cellphones and MP3 players to automatically discover each other on a local network, similar to the way the Zune can recognize nearby devices on its Wi-Fi connection; also as with the Microsoft jukebox, owners would be able to "push" media and other files to other devices. But the patent's implementation would also let a device make such requests, Apple says, allowing one handheld to pick files for download in a way the Zune currently forbids. A wireless sync method could automate these requests simply by coming near the right device. "
Beyond Zune Wi-FI capabilities.
was shown off in Nov.
Videos do not squirt because the file size does not make them ideally suited. It's not as if they couldn't be.
As for documents..the zune is a media player, not a PDA. If you want to go into that realm you have to stop looking at the Zune and start looking at Windows mobile devices. These have been able to transfer data of any type between each other for years now. It's nothing new. It also occurs at speeds far beyond what the iPhone is currently capable of.
Really, none of this is any sort of stunning innovation. When the Zune did it it was already long overdue. It's good to see the competition helping the consumer though.
How does Apple plan on getting around the legal hurdles, according to your sources? (Are your sources Jobs-level, or lower?)
- Good patent?
- by billmosby July 12, 2007 4:24 PM PDT
- I realize it hasn't issued yet, and furthermore I haven't read the
- Reply to this comment
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(15 Comments)application, but does anybody else think that the idea of one
mobile device talking to another is novel or unobvious? Maybe if I
saw the details I might have a different take on it, but on the face
of it the idea seems unpatentable.