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Apple file another interesting patent
James Oakwood
0 comments 12 March 2007
Released by the US Patent and Trademark Office in the US on March 8, this patent from Apple drops a heavy hint at what the company are planning for their future products…
Going into greater detail, the patent deals specifically with added functionality to lanyards (a headphone adaptor cable connecting your headphones to your iPod or iPhone) and Apple obviously see this as a great area for development that’s currently relatively unused.
Here’s what the patent says…
Wireless broadcasting
The lanyard (referred to in the patent as the connector unit) could include ports to allow additional devices to be connected to the iPod/iPhone. There’s also the possibility of a wireless interface, so that music or other files could be transmitted to other devices (in a similar fashion to Microsoft’s Zune).
Telephone functions
Fancy using your iPod to answer the phone? The patent goes on to outline an addition that would allow the user to take calls through their device’s speakers from a mobile phone – similar to Gear4’s BluEye. It even goes on to suggest that you’d also be able to make calls via a keypad attachment.
More memory and power
Cleverly, Apple also suggest that a lanyard could add extra Flash memory or battery back-up, too. The advantages of the battery are obvious, but imagine how useful extra Flash memory would be? With that, it would technically be possible to add exclusive playlists to the lanyard’s memory that could be played through any iPod.
Illumination
This has many uses, but Apple suggest that the lanyard could be linked to an in-built heart monitor to provide visual feedback, meaning that the colour of the lanyard would change as the wearer’s heart rate increased or decreased – perfect for those that wear their iPod while out running.
Personally, we think that this is a very interesting development for Apple. With additional lanyards and a system upgrade, it’s potentially possible to increase the iPod or iPhones functionality without having to resort to a costly upgrade. Watch this space…
Story via MacNN. For the original story, go here.
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