Apple Working On Solar Powered iPhone/iPod?

We could be moving towards a scenario where power-guzzling iPhone applications could be run without the fear of your iPhone battery draining out. In a new patent filed by Apple recently with the US Patent and TrademarkOffice (USPTO), the company has revealed information about their research on electronic devices like iPhone being powered by solar energy.

The filing titled "POWERMANAGEMENTCIRCUITRY AND SOLAR CELLS" describes a circuitry that will operate multiple solar cells placed along the exterior casing of an iPod or iPhone. Theinventorsexplain that the circuitry is configured in such a way that even if a portion of the casing is blocked from sunlight, the system should still generate power from the rest of the casing that is still exposed to light. The inventors write:

"In response to determining that one or more of the solar cells is generating a reduce voltage output (e.g., due to a partial obstruction of one or more of the solar cells), the connections among the solar cells can be configured to generate a constant preset voltage, as long as a subset of the solar cells is operating. The voltage generated by the solar cells can then be boosted to a value suitable for powering the portable electronic device and/or any of its individual components."

The invention is focused at producing a hybrid iPhone/iPod that will be powered by both solar energy and battery. However, this invention needs to be taken with a grain of salt. As MacRumorspoints out, Apple has a tendency to file a lot of interesting patentsmany of which never see the light of the day.

Nevertheless, this is an exciting invention that could go a long way in solving iPhone's prevailing battery woes. With an amazing number of applications available to perform a wide variety of tasks, battery power is becoming a very critical differentiator among smartphones. This is also apparently one of the main reasons why Apple has not introduced multi-tasking on iPhones yet. A solar powered iPhone could then be the future of smartphone power management.

What do you think?

[USPTO via MacRumors]

Apple to Subsidize Tablet With Verizon Contract?

The partnership between Apple and Verizon appears to be on more than one front. After we reported yesterday that Cupertino could be announcing their plans to sell iPhone 4G through Verizon, we are now hearing that Verizon could also be partnering Apple in the sale of Tablets.

According to Northeast Securities analyst Ashok Kumar, an indication for this comes from the fact that Apple has chosen Qualcomm as one of their chip manufacturers for the Tablet. Qualcomm is best known for their CDMA chipsets and with this partership, Apple might have also inadvertently revealed who the wireless partner is going to be.
So what will such a partnership mean to the user? For starters, with such a partnership in place, Apple could be looking at subsidizing the cost and making the Tablet more affordable top the users. You might recall that the original price of the Tablet was rumored to be around $1000. Analysts however claim that a more realistic price without the subsidy could be around $800 and with a Verizon contract, users could expect to lay hands on the Tablet for as less as $600 - in return for a two year data service contract amounting close to $60 monthly.
With less than a week to go for the official unveiling, this news on subsidized Tablets is sure to spark a lot more interest among customers. However Kaufman analyst Shaw Wu claims that the prevailing component supply shortages would mean the Tablet will not be out before June of this year. That would also imply that Apple would be launching the iPhone 4G and Tablet at around the same time.
How do you view this news? Does a $600 price make the Tablet all the more affordable? Please tell us in the comments.
[via The Street]

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

iPhone OS 4.0 Features Leaked?

Folks at Boy Genius Report are claiming that they have got details about Apple's next generation iPhone OS - iPhone 4.0 from one of their trusted sources.

According to their source, iPhone OS 4.0 will allow third-party iPhone apps to run in the background and include a revamped user interface for easier navigation. But will be limited only to iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and more recent iPod Touch models.

According to BGR's source, iPhone OS 4.0 will include the following features:

• There will be multi-touch gestures OS-wide. (Would make sense for that as the rumored OS for the iTablet is close if not the same as the iPhone)
• “A few new ways” to run applications in the background — multitasking.
• Many graphical and UI changes to make navigating through the OS easier and more efficient. We haven’t had this broken down, but we can only hope for improved notifications, a refreshed homescreen, etc.
• The update will supposedly be available for only the iPhone 3G and 3GS, but will “put them ahead in the smartphone market because it will make them more like full-fledged computers” more than any other phone to date. Everyone is “really excited.”
• The last piece of information is the most vague, but apparently there will be some brand new syncing ability for the contacts and calendar applications.

We have heard many rumors that Apple is working on allowing third-party iPhone apps to run in the background so it will be great to see it included in iPhone OS 4.0. It also looks like another strategy to push iPhone 2G users to upgrade.

What do you think about these features? What else is there on your iPhone OS 4.0 wishlist?

[via BGR]

Apple's Invite Reveals Its "Latest Creation" to be Unveiled On January 27; Demo iPhone OS 4.0

The official word is finally out. In an invitation sent to select media outlets, Apple has revealed that its "latest creation" would be unveiled at the Yerba Buena Center for Arts at 10 AM on January 27. While the launch of the Apple Tablet looks certain, it is still not clear if Apple would also use the stage to unveil a few other things.

According to a report on Fox News, Apple is also expected to demo iPhone OS 4.0 and a new version of iLife 2010 software. While rumors about iPhone OS 4.0 has been doing the rounds lately, this is the first time that we are hearing about the launch of iLife as well.

As the D-Day draws closer, we have also been hearing about a few partnerships that Apple is possibly working on. The Wall Street Journal writes that HarperCollins Publishers could be working with Apple to bring their e-books to the Tablet. Though it is not clear if there would be a dedicated ebook platform to sell their ebooks or if HarperCollins would sell their content via iTunes, the Apple Tablet appears to fit their scheme of things better than other rivals including Amazon Kindle would. According to Brian Murray, the CEO of HarperCollins, the company is looking to launch ebooks enhanced with videos, author interviews and social networking applications. As WSJ reports, enhanced ebooks, which can fetch a better market price would only work on a platform like Tablet and not Kindle.

This is not all. It is also reported that The New York Times shall be announcing a partnership with Apple to offer their newspaper content on the Tablet. The NY Times has been rumored to be moving to a paid model for the distribution of digital content and well knowing the relationship that the company has had with Apple over the years, an agreement of this kind appears likely.Though details regarding this are sketchy at the moment, this is another company Apple could possibly be working with.

The Apple Tablet is expected to be a multi-purpose device and it is possible that Apple is banking on such exclusive partnerships to bring added value to their customers. What do you think? Will these partnerships work? Please tell us in the comments.

[via Fox News, WSJ, PC World]