Apple Granted Patent for Tablet Mac (w/Illustrations) [UPDATE]
TMO SCOOP - Apple Granted Patent for Tablet Mac (w/Illustrations) [UPDATE]
by , 5:10 PM EDT, May 10th, 2005
Apple Computer was granted a patent for an enigmatically titled "Electronic device" Tuesday, May 10th, 2005. Illustrations for the device clearly indicate it to be a tablet-style Macintosh, and patent filings specifically compare it to the "HP Compaq Tablet PC" and several other tablet machines.
The patent was filed on March 17th, 2004 (first broken by The Register in August, 2004 as noted in the comments), and granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as US Design Patent No. D504,899 on May 10, 2005.
New in the issued patent is an illustration (see Figure 9 below) that demonstrates and confirms that the device is a handheld device with a touch screen.
 |
 |
|---|---|
 |
 Figure 9 |
Images from Apple's patent application
(Click the thumbnails for larger images)
The patent application noted that, "FIG. 9 is an exemplary diagram of the use of the electronic device thereof; [the] broken lines being shown [are] for illustrative [purposes] only, and form no part of the claimed design"
It's important to note that being granted a design patent does not necessarily mean that Apple has any intention of releasing a particular product, and Apple has filed for many design patents in recent years for products that did not make it to market.
Bryan Chaffin contributed to this article.
Warning: include(/usr/local/etc/httpd/sites/macobserver.com/htdocs/forums/extension.inc) [function.include]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /var/www/bbm/macobserver.com/ee2/www/htdocs/comments/comments.php on line 108
Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening '/usr/local/etc/httpd/sites/macobserver.com/htdocs/forums/extension.inc' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/share/php5:/usr/share/php') in /var/www/bbm/macobserver.com/ee2/www/htdocs/comments/comments.php on line 108
Warning: include(/usr/local/etc/httpd/sites/macobserver.com/htdocs/forums/common.) [function.include]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /var/www/bbm/macobserver.com/ee2/www/htdocs/comments/comments.php on line 110
Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening '/usr/local/etc/httpd/sites/macobserver.com/htdocs/forums/common.' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/share/php5:/usr/share/php') in /var/www/bbm/macobserver.com/ee2/www/htdocs/comments/comments.php on line 110
Warning: include(/usr/local/etc/httpd/sites/macobserver.com/htdocs/forums/includes/bbcode.) [function.include]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /var/www/bbm/macobserver.com/ee2/www/htdocs/comments/comments.php on line 112
Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening '/usr/local/etc/httpd/sites/macobserver.com/htdocs/forums/includes/bbcode.' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/share/php5:/usr/share/php') in /var/www/bbm/macobserver.com/ee2/www/htdocs/comments/comments.php on line 112
Fatal error: Call to a member function sql_query() on a non-object in /var/www/bbm/macobserver.com/ee2/www/htdocs/comments/comments.php on line 532
Recent Headlines - Updated May 18th
- Fri, 8:10 PM
- Free on iTunes - 3 Free iOS Apps We Hope You Never Need
- 7:52 PM
- The Back Page - Apple’s ‘iRadio’ Streaming Excites Labels, Sony Hung on Skipping
- 3:50 PM
- Particle Debris - How the War Between Apple & Google Will be Won
- 3:29 PM
- News - Pentagon Approves iPhone & iPad for Military Use
- 1:10 PM
- TMO Quick Tip - Apple TV: Hiding Unused Icons from the Main Screen
- 10:40 AM
- Sci-Fi Airshow
- 9:17 AM
- News - CW Signs Content Deal for Apple TV
- 8:31 AM
- TMO Quick Tip - iTunes 11.0.3: New MiniPlayer Features
- Thu, 5:25 PM
- Analysis - Apple CEO Tim Cook Will Propose Corporate Tax Overhaul, Report
- 4:07 PM
- myPhoneDesktop Allows You to Send Data from Mac/PC to iPhone
- 3:03 PM
- iLuv Ships ‘Aud 5’ Lightning Speaker Dock for iPhone 5
- 1:40 PM
- Product News - MiniPlayer Gets Album Art View in iTunes Update
The Mac Observer Reader Specials
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Support TMO, Buy from Amazon, MacMall and The Apple Store
