Dare to dream, iPhone nation! On September 5, Apple submitted a patent that covers every aspect of the iPhone. What makes this patent unique is that it rolls all previous patents into a single 371-page document and credits Apple CEO Steve Jobs as first in the list of inventors.
The patent application gives iPhone watchers a tantalizing glimpse of possible future software and hardware additions to the device. The document describes instant messaging, as well as Safari playing QuickTime and Flash content without leaving the browser environment.
Potential future features include a dedicated blogging client, Java software downloads, MMS picture and video messaging, and support for voice-activated commands and audio capture.
The patent includes an optical sensor at the top-center of the iPhone for videoconferencing, a promising addition. In face, the 3G iPhone expected to be released this month has been rumored to have this feature. Another possible future feature detailed in the patent application is a physical clickwheel.
The patent also contains another feature that’s rumored to be in the 3G iPhone -- geotagging. This is a way to add metadata to your photos about the locations where they were shot, allowing you to mark them on a map.
But if iPhone buyers waiting for the rumored 3G iPhone decide to keep straddling the fence and wait for the next iPhone with the goodies listed in the patent, they may be in for a long wait. Just because Apple filed this iPhone technology patent doesn’t mean they’ll be realizing everything in it.
And of course, it’s interesting that Apple’s patent is made public a week before the Worldwide Developer Conference – watch MacLife.com for more details during and after Steve Jobs’s keynote on June 9.
Andrew
June 04, 2008 at 7:06am
Great to see some confirmation of sorts on Flash support! This is really important - I say this not just because I create Flash content, but it really does lend it self to easily coding AND designing - not so easy with web content.
Frank
June 04, 2008 at 9:32am
Flash = fail
I think one of the best things about the iPhone is that it might wean people away from using Flash.
Andrew
June 04, 2008 at 1:22pm
And is on par with major languages now - while retaining backwards compatibility! Have you ever created anything imaginative for the web? Not to mention that its the best way to present video.
Frank
June 04, 2008 at 7:09pm
What do you mean when you say it is on par with major languages? Do you mean programming languages? Please give me some specifics. I don't like Flash because it tries to make the web something it is not and ruins the user experience because of it. Also, it uses resources just for the sake of making something look nice. Credible designers can make pages look quite nice, while maintaining their usefulness, using html, css, and javascript.
A lot of Flash built sites use Flash because it "looks cool" and is easy to build. That isn't the best argument from a user perspective.
Andrew
June 05, 2008 at 11:33am
Here is an introduction to ActionScript 3:
"ActionScript 3.0 is based on ECMAScript, the international standardized programming language for scripting. ActionScript 3.0 is compliant with the ECMAScript Language Specification, Third Edition (ECMA-262). It also contains functionality based on ongoing work on ECMAScript Edition 4, occurring within the ECMA standards body."
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/actionscript/articles/actionscript3_overview.htmlThere is more to the web and Flash than just "pages that look nice".
Flash allows for extremely powerful interactive experiences and now 3D with Papervision3D http://blog.papervision3d.org/category/demos/It is really great for courseware and simply lends itself to designers of interactive content. I build websites using PHP primarily, but usually include some Flash to jazz it up where appropriate and for special functionality. Flash is wonderful for education related content and other interactive material that can be ported to a desktop application with AIR (Adobe Interactive Runtime) ;~)
Check it out - it's fun!
Anonymous
June 03, 2008 at 2:13pm
Dont forget the solar cells under the touch screen patent.
