Apple files for patent on zirconia iPhone
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Apparently, zirconia is a good material for any small device that needs to transmit radio frequency signals. From Crave, CNET's gadget blog.
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Google has applied for a patent for methods and technology that can be used to find and extract text from images.
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The patent Apple is seeking covers the &quot;methods and systems for submitting media to a media distribution site. [... The submission of media to the media distribution site is able to be performed
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(InfoWorld) - Fear of litigation has led to an indefinite delay in theÂ planned Saturday release of software to unlock Apple Inc.'s iPhone. John McLaughlin, founder of Uniquephones, based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, said Saturday that he received a phone call about 3 a.m. Saturday local time from a man claiming to be from O'Melveny & Myers LLP, an international law firm, calling on behalf of AT&T. The firm has worked with Apple in the past. The man informed McLaughlin that if he posted the unlock code, he could be sued for copyright infringement and for dissemination of Apple's intellectual property (IP). McLaughlin was not completely awake when he took the call and did not get the full name of the person on the other end, he said. The man presented "friendly advice," but because of the timing of the call and the fact that it came on a personal mobile phone that McLaughlin never uses for business, it felt more threatening than friendly. "If he wants to give me advice, he could have sent me an e-mail," McLaughlin said. Spokespeople with O'Melveny & Myers, AT&T Wireless and Apple could not be immediately reached for comment Saturday. McLaughlin and his team had planned to release software by 2 p.m. EDT that he claims would unlock the iPhone so it could work with SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards from carriers other than AT&T Wireless. Uniquephones set up the Web siteÂ right after the iPhone's release on June 29 and had been working on the software since then. McLaughlin is concerned that fighting a lawsuit with AT&T or Apple would sink his small company, which does a modestly successful business unlocking wireless handsets in the U.K. and Europe. At the same time, he and engineers in several countries have invested time and money to come up with the unlock software. "It really annoys me," he said. "We have the solution sitting there and we have the customers there, but if you connect the two you could lose everything." About 550,000 people have signed up on Uniquephones' iPhone unlocking site as of Saturday afternoon in the U.K. McLaughlin said he still plans to release the software eventually, but is not sure when. "We'd be happy to let another company take the heat and be the second or third company to post [the software]," he said. In addition to Uniquephones' software, there have been two other reports of ways the iPhone can be unlocked. On Friday, blogger George Hotz posted a step-by-step tutorial for unlocking the iPhone that involves both hardware and software modifications. At another site, www.iPhoneSimFree.com, a company claims it can unlock iPhones through software only. The iPhone has been a hot target for unlocking since its launch, both because of its advanced design and features and because AT&T has an unusual long-term exclusive relationship with Apple. It's common for U.S. mobile operators to lock the phones they sell, but in some cases they will later unlock the phones free or for a small fee.
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While many consumers are standing in line to get their hands on a $500 iPhone, Apple&#39;s new toy is not the only major release in the technology world today. Indeed, Friday also marks the release of version 3 of the GNU General Public License (GPL).
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Apple and Cisco settled a dispute over the iPhone trademark, which Apple wants for its much anticipated device.
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InfoWorld - Two claims of unlocking Apple&#39;s iPhone have surfaced in recent days, and a third is set to be announced Saturday.
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Cisco and Apple announced Wednesday that they had settled their trademark lawsuit over Apple's use of the name iPhone for a new portable device that includes mobile phone features.
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Cisco(R) and Apple today announced that they have resolved their dispute involving the "iPhone" trademark.  Under the agreement, both companies are free to use the "iPhone" trademark on their products throughout the world.
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Cisco Systems Inc and Apple Inc have returned to the negotiating table over Apple's use of the "iPhone" trademark for its smartphone-video iPod device, and Apple has been given more time to respond to Cisco's lawsuit.
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A U.S. patent granted to Apple on Thursday seems to support reports that the company is working on an ultramobile PC to compete with Microsoft and its hardware partners in that market.The patent filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office defines &quot;a docking area configured to receive a portable computer,&quot; according to the filing. Apple and the legal firm of Van Pelt, Yi and James LLP filed the patent application on July 3, 2006.According to the patent, the docking station will serve as a monitor for a portable computer and also enable connections between data lines and devices and the portable device when it is docked in the station. It also will enable the portable device to communicate with the docking station using Bluetooth and IEEE 80.2.11 wireless connections.Rumors have been swirling that Apple is working with Intel to use a new generation of ultramobile processors as the basis for a new line of devices, but so far the companies have not confirmed that. Microsoft released a Windows-based ultramobile PC platform code-named Origami in 2006, and some of its hardware partners, including Sony and Samsung, have released devices based on the OS. So far, the devices have not garnered widespread interest from customers.Apple&#39;s interest in an ultramobile PC would make sense based on the popularity of its iPhone device, which was released last June and was widely hailed as the best gadget of 2007. The iPhone has a user friendly interface with the ability to check e-mail and surf the Web, so it would not be a stretch for Apple to move into the market for devices that fall somewhere between the iPhone and notebook computers.Apple did not reply to requests for comment about the patent Thursday.
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This patent, as well as others, could yield information about company's plans for a "Gphone."
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(InfoWorld) - With the release of Apple's iPhone on June 29, IT managers are hustling to find ways to support the devices, anticipating the moment when the CEO walks in with one and demands, "Give me my corporate e-mail on this gizmo." Analysts and IT managers said Thursday the iPhone will be popular among their workers who buy them for consumer uses, but the devices will certainly challenge businesses because of the needed support for e-mail, iTunes songs, and other applications. For example, at communications conglomerate ABC in New York, the official policy, for now, is not to support the iPhone at all, but there will be some exceptions for top executives. "At this point, with a few exceptions, the iPhone is not a supported device, but for one or two ABC presidents, we'll make the walls move to allow it because we're in the communications business" and they will want to see iPhone's capabilities, said Jeff Plotkin, an engineer for broadcast operations and a technology liaison at ABC. "We'll figure out how to allow them access to e-mail." Plotkin and other IT managers said there will be plenty of iPhone allure for their workers even though the multifunction device doesn't support Lotus Notes or Windows Outlook e-mail, which are popular in corporate settings. Instead, iPhone will provide a Web access client for e-mail access, analysts noted. "After it is out and the price point comes down, more people here might set up a business case for it, saying it could do this or that," Plotkin added. "I can see our policy changing eventually." Also, the iPhone will pose a nightmare for IT because it requires an iTunes music directory account for each user, IT managers said, putting IT in the position potentially of providing song storage capacity and justifying that the copyrights for the songs were not violated or that the songs were properly paid for. "How many enterprises want iTunes software running around in the enterprise?" asked Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney. Meanwhile, corporate policy at Marriott already prohibits iTunes registration on Marriott's systems by its workers, said Arnaldo Impelizieri, director of hotel technology for the Grande Lakes Orlando resort, which is run by Marriott. "We're worried about the size of iTunes files and also who is buying songs or not, and the huge concern about potential copyright infringements," he said. However, Impelizieri said the hotel chain faces a dilemma because it will want to support the iPhone, and iTunes, for its hotel guests. "If a customer has one, we'll do our best to support it, but that will require some sorting out. We have to get our hands on the iPhone and see if it's all that it's beefed up to be. When BlackBerry first came out, there was a wave of uncertainty at first." For months, industry analysts have warned about e-mail access, security, and whether the voice quality of the iPhone will be up to corporate standards. Dulaney is finalizing a report describing iPhone concerns but would not discuss it until its release next week. "Lots of Gartner clients are asking" about iPhone for business uses, Dulaney said. "They are scared of this device." Tim Ma, a biomedical engineer at the American Red Cross in Washington who also handles some IT planning, said he expects "pressure from users" to support the iPhone. "It's too early in the game to say if we'd support it. We'd need a proven track record before moving forward." He said he is personally curious about iPhone's features and potential benefits for a large organization and will eventually test it out thoroughly. For one thing, the iPhone will have a full-screen Web browser, an apparent advantage over what Reseach in Motion's BlackBerry offers the Red Cross. Meanwhile, he added, "We have a contract with BlackBerry for a long time." Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates, said he doesn't consider the iPhone as currently envisioned suitable for business users unless they limit their use to functions like the phone. "IPhone doesn't have push e-mail," he noted. Early reviews from February that the iPhone's voice quality was not good have raised questions as well, he said. "Everybody assumes that because Apple makes it, the iPhone will be great, but it's hard to make a good phone, let alone pass data," Gold said. "Still, executives are going to come back from the store and tell IT to make it work."
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Apple is interested in a technology that could make the iPod more likely to survive a fall. The company has applied for a patent on technology that would allow a portable media player to detect when it is
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Blog: Apple details rules for iPhone purchasers.
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Forty-seven Apple patents have been published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office showing off upcoming product changes.
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Apple Computer Inc. is eyeing a technology that could make the iPod more likely to survive a fall. The Cupertino company has applied for a patent on technology that would allow a portable media player to detect