Whether you like Microsoft’s new direction with Windows 8 or not, it is clear that it has since inspired several new changes in laptop designs. Particularly, it has brought forth an age of interesting hybrids and convertibles. Now it looks like Apple might be following suite, as a new patent describes a convertible MacBook design with a touch-sensitive screen.

As always, Apple’s patents tend to take familiar ideas and make them, well, Apple-y. In the case of the notebook convertible, Apple’s version isn’t about creating a standalone tablet that simply hooks into a laptop base.

Instead, Apple’s patent describes a touchscreen that detaches but communicates to the base using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other wireless methods, since the laptop’s base would still hold the guts: the CPU, GPU, storage, etc.

In other words, the screen would be more like a Wii U remote, where you can do touch-interactive things, but only as long as you are within range of the Wii U console. This method isn’t about replacing the iPad. Instead, it is about creating a way to interact with touch-programs like games and even drawing programs without having to deal with the clumsy way you would interact if it was still attached to the base.

It is an interesting idea, but I’m not sure if it is a good one. Microsoft Windows convertibles are basically tablets that can work like a notebook, the Apple patent is for a notebook that can work like a tablet – this could be a limiting form factor. It also means that it is pretty much guaranteed to run OSX, not iOS, which would mean that Apple would have to work hard to add decent touch-capable apps to the Mac App Store, or find a way to port or directly run iOS apps.

What do you think of Apple’s convertible concept, like it or not?

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Dubbed the OPN Pledge for short, the Open Patent Non-Assertion Pledge states that Google will not go out and attack other companies for infringing on their open source patents unless those other companies fire the first shot. In this way, Google is saying that it is holding on to these open source patents for defensive reasons rather than offensive ones.

In the pledge, it states that “it is Google’s intent that the Pledge be legally binding, irrevocable (except as otherwise provided under “Defensive Termination” below) and enforceable against Google and entities controlled by Google, and their successors and assigns.”

In this way, the OPN Pledge applies not only to Google itself, but also other entities that it owns — like Motorola — as well as any other “entities” that choose to use Google’s open source patents. I guess this would be similar to a Creative Commons or GNU kind of license. It is important to note that this pledge only applies to open source patents and that Google says nothing about any “closed” source patents it may hold or how it may choose to defend them.

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A new report just released shows that mobile patents make up 25% of all patents registered in 2012, and guess who has the largest share? That’s right Korea’s very own Samsung.

The Korean tech giant and current ‘winner’ at all things Android, has been heavily stocking up on mobile based patents during 2012 in the hopes to avoid lawsuit trouble, should they have to do battle in court again in the future. Samsung now apparently has more mobile patents than both Nokia and Microsoft, two companies who started stocking up way back in the mid 90′s. 

What do you think of this whole ‘patent war’ culture that has become so big in the last couple decades? Are you sick all of these companies grabbing up patents and then trying to sue one another or is it just the way the business world has to work?

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It looks like Microsoft wants to protect us from an army of germs in their latest patent. The not-yet-granted patent is a system that is designed to use ultraviolet light and bounce it through a film on or inside a touchscreen as a means of disinfecting fingertips and killing germs.

This method wouldn’t blast the person directly and the phone or tablet’s processing could decide how long or when to blast for germs. This isn’t the first time Microsoft has applied for a UV cleaning-type patent, but this new method is an improvement on past filings.

This could be perfect for those that will be passing their device (particularly tablets) back and forth to a bunch of people, like in a business environment or a school. It would protect from germs but not in an overly evasive way.

Of course there is currently no clue as to what Microsoft actually intends to do with the technology, or if they are even considering it for any of their products. Ultimately this wouldn’t be a “killer feature” in a mobile device, but it could still be a nice little extra, especially if germs are a concern for you, for whatever reason.

What do you think of the patent, a practical and useful idea or not?

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The idea of hiding certain software components on a mobile device isn’t exactly new. Many modern Android devices utilize buttons that are completely within the software. When they are needed, they show up. When they aren’t– they vanish temporarily. Apple apparently wants to take the concept further though, and has filed their own patent. In traditional Apple fashion, it takes an idea we’ve already seen and puts a new twist on it.

The patent highlights a system were a liquid crystal window is put into place. The window can actually change from opaque and transparent configurations. This means actual hardware components – such as the cameras on the device –have the illusion of being gone. As soon as you launch an app that needs that part, they can reappear.

The idea is kind of cool, but is it that necessary? I personally don’t think the components like cameras look bad. I suppose it could detract from the design or aesthetic if they are too huge or bulky looking, though. Besides possibly using this for a camera, the patent also seems to show the idea of an actual fingerprint scanner for logging in that is only visible when you go to use it.

Interesting idea, but it is just a patent. Many companies think of ideas like this that have potential, even if they aren’t practical now. This means they can come back to them later, or defend the concept in court if someone else eventually takes the idea and turns it into a reality. In other words, don’t expect this to arrive in the iPhone 5S or whatever they choose to call it.

What do you think of the new patent? Useful or not?

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Google wants to surround your entire body with tons of computing devices, it seems. First we have the smartphone, which Google already controls through Android. Next we have the Project Glass computerized glasses. It’s not enough to have a computer in your pocket (your phone, duh) and a computer in your glasses, now they want your wrist, too.

A new patent from Google has surfaced for a smartwatch with a transparent, flip-up touchscreen. The screen would be used for notifications and other information transmitted from your smartphone- not unlike the many other smart watches already on the market. Of course Google isn’t going to make something without putting a new spin on it. Unlike many other watches, the transparent flip out screen would give you access to full apps and would also allow you to look through it for augmented reality purposes.

In many ways the smart watch would act a lot like Google Glasses. Augmented reality functions would include letting the watch “see” objects around you. It would use this information to give you GPS-based instructions and directions based on landmarks that it detects.

The patent also describes putting the watch at objects and getting detailed, augmented information about them on the fly. Point to that brand new car you are considering at the lot and it will automatically bring up information about fair retail price and how cheap you can get it if you are willing to haggle, for instance.

What do you think, would you want to consider a smartwatch with similar functionality and abilities to Project Glass?

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For nearly a decade now i’ve been telling my friends and family while we’re watching TV, “I don’t care who does it, I just want a small box I can connect to the TV that will replace these annoying loud commercials.” And who, none other than Apple has answered my prayers; at least they have begun to anyway.

Apple on Tuesday has been granted Patent No. 8,249,497 for “Seamless switching between radio and local media.” The system will switch between broadcast commercials and your personal media, allowing you to interject their content with content you have stored on a cloud or storage device of some type.

For example, you are listening to a radio station or watching TV, the system can skip sections that you are not interested in and fill that time with family photos, music, a video, in other words, something a little more relevant and personal.

A user, however, may not be interested in every media item provided as part of a broadcast stream. For example, a user may not like a particular song broadcast by a radio station, or may not like a particular segment of a talk radio station (e.g., the user does not like the topic or guest of the segment). As another example, a user may not be interested in content originally generated by sources other than the media source (e.g., advertisement content). Because the user has no control over the media broadcast, the user can typically only tune to a different media broadcast, or listen to or consume the broadcast content that is not of interest.

This technology would be an obvious enhancement to the Apple TV experience, or even an actual iTV we have been hearing so much about. It would give Apple a revolutionary edge, combining traditional broadcasting technology with new streaming on-demand content. The future of Television is in Apple’s hands.

[ via Apple Insider ]

The post Apple Patent will Destroy Annoying TV Commercials with your own content appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

It seems that Apple is no longer content with third-party app systems that assist shoppers, as Patently Apple recently uncovered an Apple patent for their own alternative to these barcode scanning programs. The invention isn’t really all that different from what we’ve already seen, scanning codes and using image recognition to search the web for the best pricing around.

The patent really isn’t much different from what we’ve already seen, so how can they issue one? Non-surprisingly, the patent shows that Apple would have its own spin on familiar functionality, using the electronic device with the app to identify a product and obtain pricing relevant to retailers in specific geographical zones, it would also obtain information for a shopping list of products and give you the best possible prices and where to find them. The idea of the patent isn’t just about scanning things already in stores to get the best price, or so it seems, instead it is a tool that would make the entire planning of the shopping trip, and where to go, all that much easier as well.

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As much as many users love their Macbooks, wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to recharge batteries so often? Apple seems to think so, and has recently raised a pair of Apple patent applications for fuel-cell powered Macbooks and other Apple devices. The patents placed were for “Fuel Cell System to Power a Portable Computing Device” and “Fuel Cell System Coupled to a Portable Computing Device.”

In the patent filing Apple had this to say:

Our country’s continuing reliance on fossil fuels has forced our government to maintain complicated political and military relationships with unstable governments in the Middle East, and has also exposed our coastlines and our citizens to the associated hazards of offshore drilling. These problems have led to an increasing awareness and desire on the part of consumers to promote and use renewable energy sources.

Apple believes that the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool has helped increase customer awareness of environmental issues regarding electronic devices. As a consequence of this revelation, it is important to Apple that they explore alternatives like hydrogen fuel for future products.

Using hydrogen fuel most Apple devices would have power for days or even weeks without refueling the hydrogen system. The solution that Apple describes is a fuel system that can provide power to and receive power from a rechargeable battery like those found in MacBooks.

This is not Apple’s first show of interest in fuel cell technology, back in October AppleInsider revealed another set of patent applications from Apple that described lighter and more efficient hydrogen fuel cells.

Fuel cell technology is still a fairly new concept, at least in the capacity that Apple is proposing. While I won’t expect to pick up a MacBook Pro Fuel-Cell Edition anytime soon, I have seen stranger things come to pass in the world of technology.

The post Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Macbooks Could Become A Reality appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Lodsys is a company which purchases potentially great and super broad patents, and it employs these patents to threaten to litigate those who “might be infringing” on them. They do this by searching for a patent, finding out how many people are working on it and then they buy that patent.

Just a month ago, Google mustered the courage to protect and defend the Android coders against Lodsys. A few months earlier, Apple had also waged a fight against the patent troll.

After US President Obama had just signed a legislation on the nation’s shift to a “first to file” system from the “first to invent”, the issue about patent reform has become really sizzling hot.

You might think that this is no help to the patent troll situation at hand, and in fact, the legislation could exacerbate the matter. According to researchers Mike Meurer and James Bessen from the Boston University, patent trolling costs around $500B since 1990.

The two researchers also expounded that the cost of patent litigation has been exceeding benefits and rewards bestowed to the inventors from the year 2000. Since then, the problem got out of hand. Bessen and Meurer stated that within the past four years, the expenditure has an average of $83 billion annually and this is a lot greater than a quarter of industrial research and development funds in the United States during those times.
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