Concept

Not so sure about this one, but Unwired reports that one of Apple’s recent filings seems to indicate that it has considered the possibility of an iPhone flip phone, among other dual-screen possibilities.

The patent is described as a “dual sided trackpad,” which would be translucent and boast touch sensitive panels on each side, allowing it to be used both when it’s opened or when it’s covering the main display.

The patent does not stop there. Click the link above to find out more.

I don’t know about you all, but I prefer the “candybar” style rather than a flip…

One of the main gripes of the iPhone when first introduced was the lack of a physical keyboard which allowed for tactile feedback. This was very difficult to implement considering the iPhone utilized a touch screen which manipulated the keyboard, any sort of feedback was eliminated altogether. Malcolm Hall and Eve Hoggan, students at the University of Glasgow overcame this limitation and implemented a Haptic keyboard system.

Although the concept exists, the prototype is less than ideal due to the few bugs found that killed the demo experience. However, it is a big first step in the right direction despite this being a prototype. The concept is demonstrated in a text editor but cannot be enabled for other Apps such as Mail, Notes or even Safari.

For the daring, the Haptic demo can be downloaded here.

Via: TUAW

The mobile version of iCal hasn’t had the greatest start from a non working App at Macworld to a watered down version on the iPod Touch, it lacked many things that made the desktop version of iCal rock. A recent dissection by Erica Sadun shows that Apple may be prepping Task syncing to the iPhone.

A piece of code found in the latest Firmware update points toward possible Task support on the iPhone.

ATE TABLE Task (ROWID INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT, summary TEXT, priority INTEGER, due_date INTEGER, completion_date INTEGER, calendar_id INTEGER);.

Its inconclusive whether or not this will be actually implemented and as we’ve reported before, possible features or Apps aren’t implemented right away just because code on the iPhone says different.

Via: TUAW

Macbook Air. We all saw Steve introduce it, but what relevance does it have to the iPhone? Steve mentioned that the ultra portable laptop was meant for the wireless world. He backs the wireless properties of the notebook so much, he eliminated the disc drive. This notebook substitutes the CD drive with a feature called remote disc, which allows for the installation of software through another computers shared drive. Complementing the “Wireless” Macbook Air is another device, Time Capsule. Working with Time Machine, this device synchronizes automatically with the mobile version of Leopard, without wires. Apple is pushing the idea of a world without wires.

Apple tests new feature and then incorporates them into more than one product. The iPhone was the first product with true multi-touch, and now the Macbook air includes the same chip in the iPhone. Just as the iPhone has given multi-touch to the Air, the Air could soon bring true wireless to the iPhone.

The iPhone could soon be able to sync wirelessly like we have always wanted. Also new firmware could be downloaded over 802.11.  When will we see true wireless on the iPhone?… more...

A patent recently made available (filed in 2006) shows plans by Apple to implement a mobile ordering system. To what this could be applied is endless and could foster a widespread adoption of wireless payments. To go with this, Phil Lu had created a concept of what such a system would look like.

What’s amazing is that Phil designed this concept long before the patent was publicized. This does not detract from it but is very accurate of what an Apple/Starbucks partnership would entail. The concept created by Phil uses a Semacode to authenticate orders which works as a digital receipt.

As of now, Starbucks is rolling out free Wi-Fi for iPhone and iPod Touch owners to use the iTunes store. it’s possible Apple could expand on this.

Via: Gizmodo

Wired Magazine has a particularly revealing article which details some of the history of the iPhone project within Apple and its effect on the wireless industry.

Wired magazine manages to get some previously unknown details about the origins of the iPhone project. It began back in 2002, soon after the iPod, when Jobs realized that the convergence of mobile phones and music players would force Apple to get into the mobile phone business.

The ROKR from Motorola was a joke and did not make the sales he wanted it to make.

“Jobs likely knew he had a dud on his hands; consumers, for their part, hated it. The ROKR—which couldn’t download music directly and held only 100 songs—quickly came to represent everything that was wrong with the US wireless industry, the spawn of a mess of conflicting interests for whom the consumer was an afterthought.”

It was then, in Februrary where Steve Jobs had a secret meeting with Cingular (now AT&T) to discuss an exclusive phone we now know as the iPhone. I recall rumors swirling around for a while on the device… more...

iPhone Copy and Paste from lonelysandwich on Vimeo.
Seriously! When will we get Copy/Paste? If there is any feature I miss from my sidekick, and I don’t miss many, this is it. Yet again, another firmware update is rumored to include it. 1.1.3, along with many other exciting features, is said to have copy/paste. Here is how it might work. The way this video demonstrates the function would be nice, but frankly I just want the basics. I do not know how Apple has kept us waiting this long; they have almost made me forget that the feature ever existed on a phone. That being said, I have learned to live without it. But, I am eagerly awaiting the possible copy/paste feature, as well as the other exciting ones. Papa Steve, Copy/Paste please!

When Installer first arrived on the scene, one of the most praised projects was a working version of Doom for the iPhone. The Application was far from done but such a monumental undertaking motivated developers to create games along with working emulators. The good news is Doom for the iPhone won’t be going the way of Duke Nukem Forever.

Stephen T recently took over development from Stepwhite and sent TUAW a video demonstrating the new control system implemented. While the games runs much smoother than previous builds and in Widescreen mode, using a finger to navigate may prove to be a hassle in a first person shooter, you might block out your aim and decrease response time.

Here’s hoping to a steady development because if it can’t run Doom, it ain’t worth buying…

Via: TUAW

Gizmodo covered this last week, but I just couldn’t resist publishing these amazing photos here as well.

Pictures of the Land Rover LRX concept car shows heavy integration with the iPhone. So much so that the iPhone docks into the car and even becomes the push button start of the vehicle.

I will believe it when I see it but this is got to be the sexiest iPhone integration concept I have ever seen.

Since the TomTom rumor was fake, I thought we were done with 3rd party GPS. To put this plainly, I was dead wrong. Apparently, the GPS idea seemed so perfect and obvious to a company, they decided to make an app with accompanying hardware. Partfoundry is the name of the company, and locoGPS is the product. It will allow jailbroken iPhones to finally have the needed GPS capability.  The module is currently confirmed to be in development, and will be shipping in February. The software is also open source; so many cool apps will be developed as well. It will be small enough to put on a keychain, and will be wrapped in a stylish plastic case. They are taking orders now, and it will run for $89.

Could this be the reason that I jailbreak my iPhone again? If Apple does not make their own GPS unit, Yes. Sorry Mr. Jobs, I really want GPS. The iPhone has such a beautiful screen, frankly, it was meant to have GPS.

[via Gizmodo and Partfoundry]