Two recently published patent applications from Apple caught our attention for their craftiness. One shows how to use the iPhone’s camera as an alternate gesture input method; the other details a system using a uniquely shaped signet to log in to a computer.

The first patent, “Camera as Input Interface,” adds alternate input methods for a touchscreen phone, particularly useful when the touchscreen is pressed against your face during a phone call. The patent describes a method using the built-in camera as a gesture detector, recognizing “swiping” up, down, left, or right using a finger. The gestures could be used to control voicemail, for instance, by swiping “forward” or “back” to skip to the next or previous message. The input could be augmented with accelerometer data to recognize a “tap” as well, according to the patent application.

MacRumors notes that Apple has filed a number of alternate input methods for the iPhone, including a rear surface or an outer bezel that are also touch-sensitive.

The second patent, “Shape Detecting Input Device,” describes a system using a touchscreen to recognize uniquely shaped signets, and to perform actions associated with a specific shape. One application would be to log in a unique user based on the recognized shape. This is similar to the now-defunct practice of stamping a seal from a signet ring into sealing wax to verify a document’s authenticity or source. If such a signet were indeed on a ring, it could also be used to unlock an iPhone.

Apple’s patent suggests that unique signet shapes could be embedded in a ring, a tag, a card, a stamp, or even a key. Other suggested actions initiated by the signet shape recognition include configuring a system to a unique user’s needs, launching certain applications, or encrypting or decrypting messages or other content, making the signet like a modern, high-tech decoder ring.

by arstechnica.com

It seems that soon Apple will release the most anticipated thing after their iPhone – Apple Tablet. Unnamed source says that one of factories in China has recently started the production.

As if June wasn’t packed enough with new smartphone launches, there are rumors that the RIM BlackBerry Storm 2 may just hit Verizon Wireless stores in the same month.

BlackberryOS.com says it received a tip from an “insider” (a senior-level Verizon employee, apparently) who says Verizon has been training its tech support on the Storm 2 all week and that they’ve been told to be ready to support the smartphone by the end of May. Though the tipster could not give a specific release date, she said it would be out by the end of June at the latest.

The next-generation Storm was confirmed by RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie in early May, though he did not provide much information about the device. There’s some speculation that the new Storm will forgo the SurePress touch screen and will have Wi-Fi.

Perhaps Verizon was feeling a little left out of the party with Sprint’s Palm Pre launch and the imminent iPhone announcement. And while hope springs eternal that the BlackBerry Storm 2 will be better than the first, what does this mean for current BlackBerry Storm customers?

Apple’s facing new legal action over data speeds on the iPhone 3G. A man from New Jersey says the company isn’t living up to its promise of superfast surfing — and now, he’s demanding action. His lawsuit makes for more than half a dozen network-related complaints filed against Apple in America’s courts.

iPhone 3G Speed Suit

The new suit, naming both Apple and AT&T, accuses the companies of a slew of scary-sounding charges: negligence, breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty of merchantability, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, negligent misrepresentation, and violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. Whew…still with me?

Here’s what it all means: The guy says he can’t stay connected to the 3G network from his iPhone. The service is unreliable, he claims, and Apple misrepresented its “speed, strength, and performance.”

He doesn’t just want money, though: In addition to “compensatory, statutory, and punitive damages,” his lawsuit calls for both Apple and AT&T to modify their public statements about the iPhone’s capabilities within the 3G network.

Apple Under Fire

Apple should be used to this sort of stuff by now. Last summer, Great Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority forced Jobs and crew to pull an iPhone ad from the airwaves, stating that the spot “gave a misleading impression” of the phone’s actual ability. Since then, the U.S. courts have seen enough iPhone-related claims to make anyone feel a sense of déjà vu. Here’s a rap sheet of what’s happened over the past several months:

• February 2009: Two lawsuits say the “speed and infrastructure” of the 3G network aren’t great enough to support the devices. The suits, originating in Florida and Texas, use phrases like “negligent misrepresentation” and “breach of implied warranties.”

• November 2008: A lawsuit from San Jose says Apple misrepresented the speed of the iPhone 3G, going as far as to suggest the device was “rushed to market in a defective state.”

• November 2008: A separate case from New York accuses Apple of overloading the 3G network with more phones than it can handle. It also complains of “hairline cracks” in the iPhone’s casing.

• November 2008: Yet another case claims Apple engaged in false advertising by touting fast data speeds. This lawsuit, filed in San Diego, asks for changes to Apple and AT&T’s marketing tactics.

• August 2008: A suit in Alabama says dropped calls, connection trouble, and slow speeds make the iPhone far less useful than advertised. The case calls for class-action status, suggesting that “perhaps tens of thousands” of iPhone owners should be included.

by PC World

File this under random musings du jour. All the fuss about Apple's forthcoming iPhone OS 3.0 got me thinking. And in so thinking, I began to extrapolate. What if Apple is trying to beat Android to market with a mobile companion/Internet device/mini-notebook-like gadget?

We've already heard tale of Android migrating out of the smartphone handset and into other mobile internet devices. Asus has talked about having an Android-based version of its Eee PC netbook series, and Archos plans an Android-based Internet tablet; neither product is expected until late 2009. Lately, the rumor mill has been rife with speculation over a netbook-like device coming soon from Apple.

Enter Apple with its highly functional iPhone OS 3.0. Never mind the implied constrictions the name “iPhone OS” has attached to it; the possibilities are endless for a mobile gadget that could run this operating system software. If Apple can replicate its successful marriage of iPhone hardware with its software on other devices, it could easily quickly become a dominant force in portable hardware.

I'm imagining a device with Apple's usual attention to slick, eye-catching industrial design; a device that's easy-to-use; a device that can be equal parts media player extraordinaire, productivity companion (yes, that would require Apple finally adding support for cut-and-paste), Web device, and game machine. The applications for all of the above are there–and more certainly could come. And the interoperability and shared interface with the iPhone and iPod Touch could herald quite the little empire if Apple could get enough traction with its devices.

In my imagination, this device will one-up the Amazon Kindle 2 by becoming the next true, connected device– a device that has seamlessly integrated 3G connectivity. Perhaps a basic level connectivity comes included with the device (for example, Kindle 2 doesn't charge extra for its always-available connectivity; but, you're not downloading huge multimedia files and graphical Web pages on Kindle, either); or, you get a step-up plan that won't break the bank (as existing 3G data plans for notebooks do today).

If Apple were to take the step to bring iPhone OS to devices beyond the iPhone and iPod Touch, it wouldn't be the first time a mobile operating system jumped from handset to device. Ignoring, for a moment the talk of future Android-based devices, Microsoft paved the way for this path with its Windows CE operating system more than a decade ago. The trouble was, the Windows CE OS–a predecessor to what's now called Windows Mobile–just wasn't that easy to use. Nor were the devices. Apple's iPhone OS is already lightyears ahead of Windows CE in the usability department; and the device potential today is lightyears ahead, too.