Apple envisions smarter iPad cover to display alerts

Apple/USPTO

Imagine a cover for your iPad that would notify you of incoming emails, text messages, and other items. That's just what Apple is thinking about, according to a freshly-published patent filing.

Published on Thursday by the US Patent and Trademark Office, a patent filing called "Integrated visual notification system in an accessory device" points to a cover or protector for your screen that would either display information or allow information from the tablet to shine through.

The goal of the current crop of tablet covers from Apple and other vendors is to protect your device's screen. But fiddling with Apple's Smart Cover and similar products to constantly open and close them can prove annoying. Apple's envisioned cover would still provide the necessary screen protection but also serve up alerts and notifications, reducing the need to constantly open and close it. And there is precedent here since certain smartphone cases on the market can already display visual information.

In one scenario, the tablet cover would display visual notifications alerting you to incoming emails, text messages, and other information. Light emitting diodes or other illumination elements would be embedded into the flexible flap of the cover to display the information. You could also control the level of illumination through your tablet.

"In some cases the illumination states can be human readable," according to Apple. "For example, the illumination elements can form recognizable words or symbols. In other cases a series of lights can be understood by a user to signify a specific operating state."

In another scenario, parts of the cover's flexible flap would be translucent, allowing light to shine through from the tablet. In this case, your tablet itself would display the alerts or other information, which would be visible to you through the translucent portions.

As always, a patent filing doesn't mean the invention will reach us in the real world. But if certain smartphone case makers can make a case that displays information, then Apple may not be too far behind.

(Via AppleInsider)

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Apple envisions smarter iPad cover to display alerts

A newly-published Apple patent filing describes a tablet cover or screen protector that would alert you to new information without having to open it up.

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Shipments of larger Apple tablet overtake iPad Mini

Displays for the 9.7-inch iPad (L) are out-shipping the Mini. Apple

The large iPad is back in vogue.

Totals for iPad Mini (7.9-inch) display shipments in the first quarter came to just more than 6 million, according to a report from ZDNet Korea (Korean language), via an English-language BrightWire News report.

That's less than 8.4 million logged for the 9.7-inch iPad models in the same period, according to an earlier ZDNet Asia report.

The 9.7-inch size includes both iPad Air and the iPad with Retina Display, aka iPad 4.

This follows a similar trend in the previous quarter. Shipments of the 9.7-inch iPad "really pulled away from the mini in [the fourth quarter of 2013], after running very close to each other during 2013," NPD's Paul Semenza, who manages NPD's DisplaySearch and Solarbuzz businesses, told CNET in an email.

Shipments of the larger iPad (not just the display) were 16.8 million in the fourth quarter, compared to 9.2 million for the iPad Mini, according to Semenza.

"I would say it is a fair conclusion to say that iPad out-shipped the iPad mini in Q1 [2014]," he said.

And that reverses a trend seen at the beginning of last year when the Mini was out-shipping its larger cousin.

The popularity of the larger iPad means that Samsung has become Apple's largest display supplier of the 9.7-inch model. For both sizes combined, LG Display is the biggest supplier.

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Apple aims to prevent misdirected text messages

Apple/USPTO

Anyone who has ever sent a text message to the wrong person can appreciate the idea behind a newly published Apple patent filing.

Published Thursday by the US Patent and Trademark Office, a patent application dubbed "Generation of a user interface based on contacts" describes a way to display the image of your receipient in a chat screen as a visual clue that your text is going to the right person.

Many IM clients, including Apple's own iMessage app, display just the first name or phone number of your chat buddy. As such, you may not even know who's on the other end at first. Launch a group chat with multiple people, and you could easily lose track of who you're trying to text.

In Apple's vision, a photo of your chat partner would appear unobtrusively in the background of the chat window. That photo can be taken directly from your Contacts list. If no photo exists, then a different image or icon could be associated with each specific person.

But what happens if you're juggling a group chat? In that case, the screen would display images of each individual involved in the chat and simply highlight the image of the person you're currently trying to message. For example, the image of the active person might appear in color, while the other images would display in gray scale.

The images themselves would blend into the background so that you could still clearly see and read the text in the foreground.

As always, a patent application doesn't mean Apple will necessarily bring this idea to the real world. But any technology that eases the embarrassment of misdirected text messages would be welcomed by many.

(Via AppleInsider)

View the original article here

Read more

Shipments of larger Apple tablet overtake iPad Mini

Displays for the 9.7-inch iPad (L) are out-shipping the Mini. Apple

The large iPad is back in vogue.

Totals for iPad Mini (7.9-inch) display shipments in the first quarter came to just more than 6 million, according to a report from ZDNet Korea (Korean language), via an English-language BrightWire News report.

That's less than 8.4 million logged for the 9.7-inch iPad models in the same period, according to an earlier ZDNet Asia report.

The 9.7-inch size includes both iPad Air and the iPad with Retina Display, aka iPad 4.

This follows a similar trend in the previous quarter. Shipments of the 9.7-inch iPad "really pulled away from the mini in [the fourth quarter of 2013], after running very close to each other during 2013," NPD's Paul Semenza, who manages NPD's DisplaySearch and Solarbuzz businesses, told CNET in an email.

Shipments of the larger iPad (not just the display) were 16.8 million in the fourth quarter, compared to 9.2 million for the iPad Mini, according to Semenza.

"I would say it is a fair conclusion to say that iPad out-shipped the iPad mini in Q1 [2014]," he said.

And that reverses a trend seen at the beginning of last year when the Mini was out-shipping its larger cousin.

The popularity of the larger iPad means that Samsung has become Apple's largest display supplier of the 9.7-inch model. For both sizes combined, LG Display is the biggest supplier.

View the original article here

Read more

Apple aims to prevent misdirected text messages

Apple/USPTO

Those of us who've ever sent a text message to the wrong person should appreciate the idea behind a newly-published Apple patent filing.

Published Thursday by the US Patent and Trademark Office, a patent application dubbed "Generation of a user interface based on contacts" describes a way to display the image of your receipient in a chat screen as a visual clue that your text is going to the right person.

Many IM clients, including Apple's own iMessage app, simply display the first name or phone number of your chat buddy. As such, you may not even know who's on the other end at first. Launch a group chat with multiple people, and you could easily lose track of who you're trying to text.

In Apple's invention, a photo of your chat partner would appear unobtrusively in the background of the chat window. That photo can be taken directly from your Contacts list. If no photo exists, then a different image or icon could be associated with each specific person.

Okay, but what happens if you're juggling a group chat? In that case, the screen would display images of each individual involved in the chat and simply highlight the image of the person you're currently trying to message. For example, the image of the active person might appear in color, while the other images would display in grayscale.

The images themselves would blend into the background so that you could still clearly see and read the text in the foreground.

As always, a patent application doesn't mean Apple will necessarily bring this idea to the real world. But any technology that eases the embarrassment of misdirected text messages would certainly be welcome.

(Via AppleInsider)

View the original article here

Read more