Comments on: Apple patent applications hint at Wi-Fi iPods, new mice

Apple has filed for several patents that could hint at future iPods that talk to each other and a mouse that moves 3D objects.

[Llib Setag]

Beyond the ZunieTunes Wi-Fi

Go to MACNN for further details on this topic:
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.

[MaLvaDo39]

Months before

And the patent was applied for in Sept, months before the Zune
was shown off in Nov.

[DrtyDogg]

Takes time

You can also look up a patent from m$ that was filed two years ago that covered sharing files between mp3 players including the iPod.

[bobmarksdale]

Not just squirting.

The File sharing that is to be implemented in the i* line-up is more than just squirting crippled songs to your few and far between zunies, It is any files such as songs, videos, AND documents and the songs are not crippled by 3 day/play.

[Charleston Charge]

Question

If people are able to share files wirelessly is there the possibility of running into another Napster situation?

[smilin:)]

Not innovative

First the crippled 3 day/play is dictated by the IP owners, not any technological challenge the Zune faces. Apple will have the same limitation.

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.

[KTLA_knew]

Pointers?

Can you point us to the design docs that state this? (I assume you didn't just make this up.)

How does Apple plan on getting around the legal hurdles, according to your sources? (Are your sources Jobs-level, or lower?)

[Xenu7-214951314497503184010868]

Ballmer and Gates

Do you think Ballmer and Gates whip out their Zunes and "squirt" each other in private?

[billmosby]

Good patent?

I realize it hasn't issued yet, and furthermore I haven't read the
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.