Apple Patents Alternative To NFC 171
another random user sends word that a set of newly-granted Apple patents published by the USPTO includes an alternative to the near field communication (NFC) technology that has begun to pop up in mobile devices. From the article:
"Apple has received a Granted Patent relating to techniques for triggering a process within a portable electronic device that identifies itself for purposes of establishing communications with another device that is in proximity. At the moment, NFC is the technology that's getting all of the attention lately in respect to making it easier for two mobile devices to share information. While Apple is likewise doing research with NFC, they're also working with an alternate methodology for which they've now gained a patent for. In accordance with Apple's newly granted patent, a method for network device discovery monitors a compass output in a portable electronic device. As the portable device and an external device come closer to each other, a magnetic field signature is computed based on the monitored compass output. A determination is then made as to whether the computed signature could be associated with or implies that a previously defined type of electronic device (with which a network device discovery process can be conducted) is in close proximity. In other words, as the two devices come closer to each other, their respective magnetic characteristics cause the compass output to change in a way that implies that a network device discovery process should be initiated between the two devices."
Re:Betamax, here we come... (Score:5, Interesting)
Maybe NFC is the Betamax
Major League Baseball said that 12% of post season tickets have been used digitally via the new passbook app on iOS 6
Ammo for the lawyers (Score:4, Interesting)
I can give the Samsung (or any other party's) lawyers some ammo: prior art [hackaday.com]. A low-cost data interface using the magnetometer to extract data from a variable magnetic field. The granted patent covers this process almost verbatim, more than one and a half years after its first (published) development.
Re:Apple does it again! (Score:5, Interesting)
Actually, this makes them infinitely compatible, since the iPhones rely on the magnetic signature of other devices to recognize them, possibly even without interaction from those devices. Passive recognition, in essence.
TrueType fonts (Score:2, Interesting)
came from Apple
Re:Betamax, here we come... (Score:5, Interesting)
USB3 has charging standards which allow for much more power.
I don't think any manufactures have added support for it yet though.
Profile 1 - 5V @ 2A
Profile 2 - 5V @ 2A or 12V@1.5A
Profile 3 - 5V @ 2A or 12V@3A
Profile 4 - 20V@3A
Profile 5 - 12V or 20V at 5A (100W).
I believe the idea around profile 5 is so laptops can drop the custom power connector and use a USB3 port instead.
It makes things interesting if all laptop USB ports support all power profiles. You could charge one laptop from another and even make a figurative 'energy black hole' by looping the charge back again with another cable.
Re:Betamax, here we come... (Score:4, Interesting)
Well, for one thing it's only 7 inch (1280Ã--800) rather than the 9.7 inch (2048Ã--1536) of an iPad 3.
iPad 3 is a power sucking monstrosity. The only reason Apple quadrupled the resolution was because of the scatterbrained design decision to let applications depend on fixed resolution. Exacerbated by the idiotic lack of hinting in Apple's font engine, so higher resolution is needed just to get equivalently sharp characters that Android gets with proper hinting. Oh, and the fixed resolution idiocy came back to bite Apple again with the iPhone 5 - forcing the funny looking too-long-and-skinny form factor just to keep the 640 dot display width. And letterboxing! Who was asleep at the wheel in the Apple's engineering department anyway? Well I'm not complaining of course. Strategy like this is the best and fastest way to transform Apple from a growth stock to a shrink stock. Which couldn't happen to a nicer company.