Apple’s patents only rarely give us the first look at new products in Cupertino’s pipeline, but they can still be wholesome brain fodder to chew over, as they at least give us a glimpse at the current problems the company is trying to solve. Let’s mull over, then, Apple’s two latest patents, each as different from each other as it can be.
The first patent Apple has applied for is a “technology” that would allow their Geniuses to know when a device has been “compromised” by being opened. It’s not much of a technology: it’s just a little sticker affixed between an electronics component and the chassis’ removable lid. Think of it like Apple’s own iteration of that venerable classic of anatomic technology, the hymen: Open your laptop or iPhone and the sticker will tear in half, thus letting any future delvers know that your device has been sullied.
Clearly, the aim here is to give Apple an excuse to void warranties on modified machines, which is understandable if not entirely welcome.
The second patent that Apple has applied for is more interesting to the end user: it’s a scheme to broaden the role of the accelerometer in its iPod line of devices. You can, of course, already shake the Nano to trigger Shuffle mode, but the new patent suggests that an iPod could also be shaken to play or pause a song, or flicked to scroll through songs or scrobble.
It makes sense that Apple would be exploring this. My guess is we’ll see the death of the iPod Classic soon enough, with Apple trying to push people towards the Touch if they have larger music collections. Could the Nano also become more Touch-like? Apple wouldn’t want to fit them with expensive touchscreens, necessarily, but they might want to ditch the click wheel in favor of a display that makes up the entire front of the device… in which case, accelerometer controls are a no-brainer.
