Loading ...This goes out to anyone still doubting the forthcoming iPhone; the and media player combination was filed on August 7th of this year, and the US Patent & Trademark Office now discloses the details. I can’t make out of this is just a disclosure of info or if the patent was actually granted. All the mumbo jumbo really gives me a headache – why can’t things just be simple?
It sketches look like a cross between the iPod mini and the current second-generation Nano. Apple also references that it could have more controls than just its click wheel, meaning a trackball or keyboard. The sketch sure looks a lot like the iPhone mock up below.
The patent that was filed basically protects the use of zirconia as a casing material for a number of wireless handhelds. Using zirconia is brilliant because it’s a pretty good material for smaller devices that needs to transmit radio frequency signals – like the iPhones, yet strong and durable enough to protect the goods inside. How about a really blinged out iPhone?
And if it is, I won’t be salivating over the design. I’ll be buying it for functionality alone. That’s a huge change for me, an Apple customer since 1986, as design has almost always driven my specific Mac selections. But I’m tired of the rectangle course they’ve taken.
Anyway, let’s play and SPOT THE HIDDEN MICKEY on the pic!
But, the SUBSTANCE of the patent covers something new. It is not a patent on the iPod mini. It is a patent on the use of zirconia as a case material, to make a case that is transparent to radio waves.
This could be something as simple as building in Nike+iPod functionality (i.e. no separate receiver needed,) or putting in Bluetooth, WiFi, Wireless USB, or, yes, even cell phone functionality. But the pictures don’t make it clear which is intended, and neither does the text of the patent.
Now, when we see an FCC filing (as all cell phone manufacturers are required to do, which include actual photos of actual hardware,) THEN we’ll have rock-solid proof. But I have a feeling Apple will ‘pre-announce’ the iPhone specifically so that they can have it be a surprise, and only file with the FCC AFTER the iPhone has been announced to the public.