Recently while I was doing research for my Social Media Marketing paper, analyzing Apple and Microsoft from a social aspect, I came across a wonderful site that I thought I should share.
Patently Apple is a Apple-centric blog focused on dissecting Apple's latest Intellectual Property including filed patents, granted patents, trademarks, and any hot news going on with the company, in order to celebrate 'Apple's spirit of invention'. It is a site that I personally have bookmarked and now consult regularly to get me excited and thinking about the new technologies waiting to grace the world. I wanted to highlight a few great ideas the company may have in the process as well as some recent stories on what Apple is up to.
1. This is the product that I am most excited about and most anxiously waiting for-- Apple's very own television. We all knew it was only a matter of time before Apple got into the television market, and not much longer until they have totally dominated it just as they have with the mobile phone market and tablet market. According to a new report, Apple is supposedly continuing to develop a TV rumored to be called the iTV, which is likely to support Ultra HD (3840 by 2160) along with voice and motion control functions and Internet connectivity, according to industry supply chain sources. As always with Apple, their TV would more than likely be the central hub for your Apple products at the house. By using iCloud, everything could easily be synced through the TV, such as messages, contacts, etc. We can only guess that the TV would come fully equipped with FaceTime capability, multi-touch screen, Siri, PhotoBooth, and the power of every app in the App Store. Time will only tell if this is what everyone will be running to the stores to get for an upcoming Christmas in our short future...
2. This patent application totally blew me away. A future iPhone with wraparound display... GENIUS! Thus far, most of the iPhones have had the same physical design, only with minor improvements upon the last. This new design could totally revolutionize the phone market... again. The idea behind the wraparound display is so that both sides of the iPhone will be able to display content either individually or as one continuous display. The invention focuses on the flexible wraparound display that could be fashioned in aluminum, aluminum and glass, or a fully transparent design (mostly seen in futuristic movies). The future iPhone design won't have any physical buttons so controlling the audio will simply require you to hover your hand over the side of the display to temporarily illustrate the controls. The new design could also produce 3D visuals through its unique dual display design. The amount of advanced technology to make this happen seems to be a current challenge to getting the product to the actual market. Regardless, I think we can expect to see something like this somewhere down the road with Apple.
4. Another interesting design I found on Patently Apple, as well as a hot topic among the press, is for the rumored iWatch, or some sort of 'wearable technology'. The patent application from Apple reveals an advanced wearable computer in the form of a bracelet that could double as a watch. Apple states that with a multitouch display, the user 'can accomplish a number of different tasks including adjusting the order of current playlists, or reviewing a list of recent phone calls. A response to a current text message can even be managed given a simple virtual keyboard configuration across the face of the flexible display.' Apple also contemplates utilizing a solar panel beneath the display as well as take advantage of kinetic energy. In yet another use, an iWatch owner riding a bike could mount it on an arm or leg with some kind of bright pattern running along the screen for increased visibility. They've actually already started the beginnings of a possible iWatch phenomenon with the recent iPod mini. It has a strap accessory to allow the user to wear it around the wrist while running or exercising. So, could the idea of 'wearable technology' already be catching on or is it too far-fetched? For me, it may be unavoidable, especially with competitors already in the game with such products as Google Glasses rumored to be releasing soon.
5. Besides super-future products, Apple is also trying to do its part in being environmentally friendly. According to Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's Chief Financial Officer, Apple now runs its largest U.S. data center entirely on renewable energy, with a majority of the power generated on-site from solar panels and fuel cells. That's creating energy equivalent to powering 17,600 homes a year! The data center in Maiden, North Carolina, which support Internet storage and Apple's service-hosting iCloud product, produces 167 million kilowatts from a 100-acre solar farm and fuel cell installations provided by Silicon Valley startup Bloom Energy. Overall, Apple said it has increased the proportion of renewable energy used throughout the company to 75%. Eventually, the company aims to use only renewable energy at all its facilities around the world. As the world becomes more environmentally conscious, I believe more companies will follow suit and will begin to make more thoughtful business decisions in the manufacturing of electronic products.
These are just a few among the millions of ideas from Apple that we could be expecting to see in our near future. For me personally, I am most excited about the iTV and most confident in its arrival. With social media on our side, soon these Apple-focused rumors could turn into legitimate product reviews. Time will only tell which of these designs make it and which ones are a flop!
Check out the Patently Apple websites for even more Apple patents and ideas:
http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2013/03/index.html
