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- Elan Sues to Ban Apple Multitouch Products in U.S. — Even the iPad
Elan Microelectronics filed suit against Apple with the U.S. International Trade Commission today, alleging that certain Apple products violate a multitouch patent previously awarded to the Taiwanese company. Elan in April of last year filed a related suit with the U.S. District Court in Northern California over the same patent — No. 7,274,353 — which it calls “a fundamental patent to the detection of multi-fingers that allows for any subsequent multi-finger applications to be implemented.”
By going to the ITC in addition to filing a patent infringement suit, Elan seeks to block Apple from importing its products into the U.S. that use multitouch, including the iPhone, iPod touch, MacBook, Magic Mouse and the iPad, which is due for release on April 3. Since Apple products are designed in Cupertino but assembled outside of the U.S., Elan is courting the appropriate trade commission that has authority to stop such products from reaching America’s shores. Notably, any ITC findings will be binding regardless of the patent lawsuit outcome, thanks to a loophole in U.S. patent law. Ironically, Apple is using this same strategy to try and block HTC from importing phones that Cupertino alleges violate its patents.
Elan is no stranger when it comes to protecting its intellectual property — in 2008, the California district courts deemed that some Synaptics touchpads violated this very same patent. The result of that suit was a licensing agreement between Elan and Synaptics. Although possible, I doubt that Elan v Apple will result in a similar deal. I wonder how many of those iPad pre-order customers like myself are hoping the slow delivery boat from China speeds up, just in case of some unlikely quick legal action?
Image courtesy of Apple
Related research on GigaOM Pro (sub req'd):
Переслать - iTunes 9.1: iPad Support and Genius Updates
Just days before the iPad lands in our hands, Apple has updated iTunes to version 9.1 so that we can sync content onto the new device just as soon as we post our unboxing photos to Twitter. iTunes 9.1 provides the ability to sync books from the iBooks app and adds some improvements for managing Genius Mixes. The update is available in Software Update, but details have not been posted online at this time.
Genius Mixes can now be rearranged, renamed or removed. You can rearrange Mixes with click-and-drag.
And Mixes can be removed by right-clicking and choosing “Remove Mix” or using the “delete” key. If you accidentally remove a Mix, you can “Restore All Mixes” by right-clicking on Genius Mixes in the lefthand source list or on the background.
To rename a Genius Mix, click directly on the title. As seen below, use the Esc key to cancel editing and revert to the original title.
The iBookstore is not yet available in the iTunes Store, but Audiobooks are now found under “Books” in your library and we have to assume that this is where you will manage iBooks content as well. It might be of interest to some that the iBooks app appears to be the first app in the App Store (as opposed to the apps that are built-in to the firmware releases) that will sync content with iTunes directly. I know a number of developers that would love to have USB-syncing of content for their own apps, but I suspect that this feature is restricted to Apple’s iBooks at the moment.
It is possible, but pure speculation on my part, that the filesharing settings that have been spied in the iPad might open up a standard method of syncing content between computer and iPad. If so, we can only hope that this feature will be brought to the iPhone in a 4.0 release.
Some cosmetic changes were made to the Advanced tab of the iTunes Preferences window to include iPad among its more diminutive counterparts. Of course, seeing “iPad Remote” immediately makes me dream of a new Universal App release that utilizes the bigger display for an even better iTunes/Apple TV remote.
Переслать - How-To: Fake a Unified Email Inbox on the iPhone
Many people have been asking for a unified email inbox on their iPhone, rather than having to switch between accounts. While there isn’t an official Apple way to do this, you can fake it yourself using Gmail and its ability to check email from other accounts.
The Setup
- First off, you’re going to need a Gmail account. You can either use an existing one or set up a new one. If you want an existing Gmail account to be part of your new universal inbox, I’d suggest using that one instead of setting up new one and having to fetch mail from there as well. If you need to set up a new account, you can do it by going to the Gmail homepage and clicking ‘Create an account’.
- Once you’ve logged into your account, locate the Settings page, the link to which can be found in the top right corner, next to your email address. When it has loaded, open up the Accounts and Import tab.
- Set up your first email account for Gmail to check for you by clicking ‘Add POP3 email account’, which is the third white button from the top. This opens a new window for you to input the details of the email account you want to be checked.
Getting Gmail to Check Other Accounts
- The first thing you need to enter is the email address for the account you want to be checked. Then click ‘Next Step’.
- Another screen will appear asking for specific details such as username, password and server settings. If you are unsure about any of these options, your service provider will most likely have a help page. It will most likely be a page explaining how to access your emails from a desktop client, however you can use this information as well. Once you have added your information, click ‘Add account’.
- You’ll be taken to another screen asking if you want to send mail from the account you’ve just set up. Whether you want to or not is up to you (you can always change this later). If you decide not to do this, any emails you send from your iPhone will have a From line as your Gmail account.
- If you do decide to do it, you’ll be prompted to enter a few more details about your email account. This is not crucial to this technique, however, so I won’t be going through this.
Your Gmail account will now check your email account and pull in any emails that come through. You can add up to five accounts for Gmail to check, so this will accommodate almost everyone’s needs.
Access on Your iPhone
Now that you’ve got Gmail putting emails from other accounts in its inbox, you’re mostly there. All you need to do now is set up Gmail on your iPhone so that you can check it from there.
- Go to Mail, Contacts, Calendars under the Settings app.
- Tap ‘Add account’ to add the Gmail account.
- Tap the Gmail logo to have your iPhone automatically set up the server settings that always stay the same for Gmail accounts.
- Enter your details and tap Save.
Your Gmail account is now all ready to go on your iPhone and you can access it through the Mail app. If you check your emails then Gmail should have imported some of your recent emails from the other accounts, and any new emails you receive will be in the same inbox.
Conclusion
Obviously this isn’t the same as a proper unified inbox — Gmail only checks other email accounts for new mail every hour. This is the next best thing though, and it’ll get you by until Apple announces the official feature in the next iPhone OS. The upside is it doesn’t cost anything and you can get it now.
Переслать - First off, you’re going to need a Gmail account. You can either use an existing one or set up a new one. If you want an existing Gmail account to be part of your new universal inbox, I’d suggest using that one instead of setting up new one and having to fetch mail from there as well. If you need to set up a new account, you can do it by going to the Gmail homepage and clicking ‘Create an account’.
- OS X 10.6.3 Update Brings Record Number of Fixes
As predicted, an update to Apple’s Snow Leopard and Leopard operating systems, which fixes a record number of vulnerabilities, is now available.
The sizable patch, which weighs in at over 700MB, tends to a number of known security problems within the latest client and server versions of OS X, and is the largest update Apple has ever put out. This new update, known officially as ‘Security Update 2010-002′, fixes 92 problems in total, bringing Snow Leopard up to version number 10.6.3.
For those still running Leopard, and and plenty of you are, this update offers 18 specific fixes for Apple’s older OS. Snow Leopard sees 29 distinct fixes, with the remaining 45 improvements being applicable to both operating systems.
Fixes found within the update include improving the reliability of Airport connections, minor adjustments to OS X’s Mail application, refinements to Time Machine’s backup process and more. One of the most noticeable inclusions within this update were the nine critical updates targeting QuickTime. However, the numerous updates to Apple’s media player, as pointed out by Computerworld, come as little surprise due to the impending launch of the iPad. It’s increasingly common for Apple to update both QuickTime and its iTunes software ahead of the launch of a new device.
More information regarding the update, including a full run down of improvements, can be found within Apple’s official support pages. The update can be downloaded now either online or via OS X’s integrated system updater.
Let us know if you run into any issues with this upgrade.
Переслать - iPod Creator Ditches Apple for Greentech
Green technology will soon be getting a player with a pedigree born out of one of the most successful gadgets of all time. Tony Fadell, one of the original developers of the iPod at Apple tells the New York Times that he will be leaving the company to pursue advising and investing in consumer-focused green technology companies.
Welcome! The world of greentech sorely needs top-notch consumer-focused design, and more innovation to draw disinterested consumers into the fray. As Joel Makower put it in a blog post this week looking back on the 20-year anniversary of his book The Green Consumer, one thing that hasn’t changed over the last two decades has been the green consumer itself: “[T]here don’t seem to be that many more than today in 1990, in terms of people making significant changes to their shopping and consuming habits in ways that move markets toward greener products and services, never mind actually ’saving the earth.’”
Perhaps Fadell can help shake up the world of consumer greentech, the way he did so successfully with the digital music player almost a decade ago at Apple — he joined Apple as its director of the iPod in 2001. Fadell has been working on his move to leave Apple for awhile, and back in 2008 said he would be leaving the company for personal reasons.
It’s also not the first time that Fadell would be going out on his own (we’re looking into whether or not Fadell will be joining a firm and also more details of what he will be focusing on). Before joining Apple, he tried to start his own Silicon Valley consumer electronics company called Fuse which reportedly failed to get financing. It’s tough being an entrepreneur but it’ll probably be a little easier to pave your own path with the name recognition the second time around.
Despite the relatively small market for consumers that care about how green their electronics are, making gadgets more sustainable seems to have generated more attention from the manufacturers themselves. Dell, Nokia, and heck, even Apple (with its greenest laptop claims) have been investigating how to offer greener products (my Green Guide to CES this year).
For more related content read GigaOM Pro (subscription required):
Interview: Tim Brown, CEO and President of IDEO
Report: Monetizing Digital Content
Image courtesy of Brianfit’s photostream
Переслать - Apple Posts iPad Guided Tours
Apple’s marketing push for the iPad is going into full swing now that the launch date of the device is only days away. There’s the TV ad, for instance, but what caught my attention today was the series of “Guided Tour” videos Apple posted on its website yesterday.
Each video features a narrator telling you about the iPad’s various feature, while an anonymous pair of hand (and crossed legs to support the device, which seems to be the only way to hold it comfortably) demonstrates exactly how to use the feature being described, including how various gesture controls work within that app.
Needless to say, the narrator is quite enthusiastic about how easy, simple, and innovative everything is, though I suppose if they were strictly relaying information this would be a third-party walkthrough, not an Apple marketing tool. In most cases, iPhone owners will already be familiar with many of the gesture controls and interface elements, but the iPad does have quite a few unique features owing to its greater screen size.
Not all of the claims made in the videos are completely defensible. Saying that a keyboard that’s “nearly the same size” as a standard one makes for “effortless typing,” for instance, doesn’t really convince me, especially when the guy doing the demo is hunt-and-peck typing fairly slowly while you’re saying it.
Seeing all the features detailed and laid out in this way definitely does make me want an iPad even more than I did before, though. A lot of the elements seem, upon reflection, to fill gaps present on the iPhone’s OS. Meaning that things I wish I could do on my iPhone, but can’t for lack of space or other reasons, are implemented on the iPad.My favorite elements are the iPhoto integration in the Photos application, which should help make iPhoto much more interesting, the iPad camera connection kit, which finally means I can shelve my 30GB iPod Video with its camera connector on trips, and the much-improved YouTube app, since using the iPhone version is one of my favorite time-killers.
If you’re still not sure what all the fuss is about, or if you’re just getting anxious waiting for the delivery guy to show up at your door Saturday morning and want the next best thing to a hands-on experience, check out Apple’s Guided Tour series of videos. There’s 11 in total, covering topics from Safari to the iWork suite, and they’re much more rewarding than either the iPad announcement event or the iPad video that features Apple execs waxing poetic about how awesome the thing is sitting in front of a white background.
Переслать - 3 Reasons Why the Verizon iPhone Rumor Is True
The Wall Street Journal is just barely reporting that a CDMA iPhone will be introduced this fall, possibly September, and that Apple’s exclusive relationship with AT&T “appears set to end.” According to “people briefed by the company” (presumably Apple), the CDMA iPhone will be one of two released, with the GSM model “likely to be thinner and have a faster processor.”
While the rumor itself appears thin, looking at it in a larger context gives good reason to believe your next iPhone might not be chained to AT&T.
Chris Foresman at Ars Technica distills the biggest of those reasons into its graphical essence.
According to AdMob, Android is on the verge of passing the iPhone OS, at least on smartphones. Adding in traffic to Mobile Internet Devices like the iPod touch, which Apple dominates, probably puts Apple up by double digits. Still, Android is the biggest threat to the iPhone right now. Apple needs new markets, and what market is bigger than Big Red?
Verizon had 87 million subscribers at the end of 2009, compared to some 85 million for AT&T. Nielsen estimated the number of U.S. iPhone users as of 6.4 million last April, up from 2.1 million in 2008, meaning the current number of AT&T iPhones easily exceeds 10 million. Add Verizon as a iPhone carrier, and it’s a zero-sum game in the millions with the iPhone taking from Android.
Finally, the source of the rumor lends credence to it: not the “people briefed,” but the Wall Street Journal. As John Martellaro, former Senior Marketing Manager at Apple, writing for the Mac Observer notes, sometimes “Apple has a need to let information out, unofficially.” In his essay on controlled leaks, Martellaro cites the iPad leak in early January, which turned out to be true. That rumor was published in the Wall Street Journal and one of the authors was Yukari Iwatani, the author of the Verizon iPhone rumor today.
A Verizon iPhone makes sense for Verizon, Apple, long-suffering AT&T iPhone users, and even AT&T. Nothing reduces network strain like millions of customers taking their business elsewhere.
Related GigaOM Pro Research: Why Apple Should Choose Sprint Before Verizon Wireless
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