Microsoft may not be the only one looking to develop its own Wiimote-like game controller. Apple is researching a 3D remote of its own, according to AppleInsider.
The Apple TV and its current remote control.
(Credit: Apple)The research, reportedly outlined in a November 2006 patent filing disclosed this week, describes a device that would work similarly to the Nintendo Wii controller "in video games to position a user's character or to otherwise track the movement of the remote control in a user's environment." The remote would apparently be designed to work with Apple TV as its console.
The device would also use some of the multitouch features seen on other Apple products, including the iPhone and MacBooks. According to the filing, it would "zoom into and out of an image or a portion thereof based on the absolute position of the remote control."
Patent filings are never any guarantee of actual products, of course. But there will be particular interest in this one because a move by Apple into the game industry has been rumored--and hoped for, by loyalists--for years. So if nothing else, it will keep that flame alive at least a little while longer.
A peek at an Apple patent filing that seems to indicate the company is working on a 'digital lifestyle' product.
(Credit: AppleInsider)Are you disappointed that your iPhone still hasn't made you sexier in the eyes of potential mates? Hey, don't give up yet. AppleInsider has unearthed a series of patent filings that seem to indicate the company is working on a new "digital lifestyle" product to help track and manage a fitness routine.
In a move that could rival Google's upcoming health initiatives, the Apple screenshots show that health information could also be shared with a user's authorized physicians.
The filings were submitted on Thursday.
The iPhone/iPod Touch interface in Apple's new patent filing.
(Credit: AppleInsider)The product appears to be an application that would require both a personal computer (reportedly both Mac and Windows) and one of Apple's iPod Touch and iPhone devices. The desktop-based software would initially ask the user to fill out an extensive survey pertaining to health and lifestyle, as well as workout goals and preferences, and then determine a workout regimen that would then synchronize to the mobile handset for trips to the gym.
Also in the filings were hints that there may be some new hardware components, too, as with the Nike+ iPod add-on that Apple released back in 2006. Like that product, this one could allow users to challenge their friends to workout competitions, and then keep track of rank with a points system.
Privacy wonks might freak out when (and if) this new product hits: according to the AppleInsider post, the survey in the desktop software includes questions about occupation, religious belief, identity, income level, familial status, and other things that go far beyond what the average Facebook profile discloses. Apple could potentially have a whole lot of information on a whole lot of people--right on down to whether they think they're fat.
On the bright side, maybe it really does take Steve Jobs & Co. to turn thousands of pasty geeks into toned, buff gym rats.
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