According to an Apple patent (number 2010094730) at the US Patent & Trademark Office, Apple wants to enhance the shopping atmosphere of its online store by adding social networking features.

Representing activity in an online store is disclosed. Information associated with the activities of a second visitor to the store is received. An indication of the presence of a first visitor at the store is also received. The activities of the second visitor are displayed to the first visitor. The inventor is David A. Koski.

Here's Apple's background and summary of the invention: "The goals of both online shops and physical stores are generally the same--facilitating the purchase of goods and services by customers. In some cases, online shopping offers advantages over shopping in a physical store. For example, online shops are often open continuously, whereas most physical stores have set hours. Online shoppers are also able to leverage features such as search functionality...

My forecast for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad: games, games and more games.

comScore (http://www.comscore.com), a research group that "measures the digital world," has released the results of a study on mobile gaming highlighting the potential for growth in the mobile gaming market despite a 13% decline in the number of U.S. mobile gamers during the past year. This overall decline was driven by a 35% decline in mobile gaming among feature phone (i.e. non-smartphone) subscribers, who represent approximately 80% of the market, which contrasted with the 60% increase in the number of gamers via smartphone.

"Although the number of mobile gamers has declined in the past year, there is reason for significant optimism about the future of this market," says Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president, Mobile, and senior analyst. "As the market transitions from feature phones to smartphones, the dynamics...

If Apple really wants to sell an additional boatload (or a thousand boatloads) of iPhones, it should be eyeing China -- and TD-SCDMA.

According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, China’s 3G TD-SCDMA handset shipments will grow 600% during 2010. Yep, 600%. With the backing of the world’s largest mobile operator, China Mobile, TD-SCDMA will be one of the fastest growing mobile technologies in the world, making China an important 3G market.

Neil Mawston, director at Strategy Analytics, says the surging volumes of TD-SCDMA handsets will mean no major phone maker can afford to ignore China. "If Apple eventually chooses to launch a TD-SCDMA version of its iPhone, then we believe this would ignite the market and provide considerable upside for Apple in China," he adds.

Of course, this would take some work on Apple's part in conjunction with a wireless carrier in China (I'd bet on China Mobile). TD_SCDMA (Time Division Synchronous...

Apple wants to make it easier to disconnect devices from your Mac, according to a new patent (number 7,698,472) at the US Patent & Trademark Office.

It's for a hot unpluggable media storage device. Improved techniques for rendering a peripheral device removable (e.g., unpluggable) are disclosed. According to one aspect of the invention, the peripheral device is rendered removable from a host computer without preparatory user actions. In effect, the peripheral device can be automatically prepared for removal in the event that its user removes (unplugs) it from its host computer. According to another aspect of the invention, the peripheral device includes a data storage device that is mounted to a file system of the other computer when the other computer desires access to the data storage device. Otherwise, the data storage device is normally unmounted so that if the peripheral device were to be removed (e.g., unplugged) no harm or damage to data stored therein would occur...

Apple has won a patent (number 7,698,101) for a smart garment. It's a sensor authenticated to a garment that transfers information, either wirelessly or wired, to an external data processing device.

Such information includes location information, physiometric data of the individual wearing the garment, garment performance and wear data (when the garment is an athletic shoe, for example). The external data processing device can be portable digital media players that are, in turn, in wireless communication with a server computer or other wireless devices. The inventors are Brett G. Alten and Robert Edward Borchers.

The invention relates generally to performance monitoring. More particularly, methods and apparatus electronically pairing an authorized garment and a sensor that receives data from the garment are disclosed.

Here's Apple's background and summary of the invention:
"The use of devices to obtain exercise performance information is known. For...

No doubt the worldwide online market for digital goods will grow amid a state of continuous disruption across all forms of content markets -- and Apple looks like the best company to capitalize on this.

According to a new report from GigaOM Pro (http://www.gigaom.com), fueled by an ever-growing user base, migration from physical formats to digital distribution, and a proliferation of new connected devices, the overall market for digital goods will grow to US$36 billion by 2014, up from $16.7 billion in 2009.

While underlying demand for digital goods is fueled by the transition toward a connected-device (the iPad, anyone?), broadband-enabled society, the underlying business dynamics across many markets are forcing intellectual property owners to experiment with new payment and business models to survive, says the analysis firm. Advertising-supported media continues to suffer, as news and information...

In the addition to the ones we've already covered, four other Apple patents have appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. Here's a summary of each.

Patent number 20010085290 is for the use of an on-chip frame buffer to improve LCD response drive by overdriving. The patent is for a method and system is disclosed for improving the response time of displays, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs). The method includes receiving a target picture frame and comparing it to a current picture frame. If the comparison shows that a display may be unable to transition from a current pixel intensity level to a target pixel intensity level within a specified time period, then the pixels that correspond to those current pixel intensities that may not be reach target pixel intensities may be overdriven. This overdriving of one or more pixels may allow the pixel to reach the target pixel intensity within the specified time period. The inventors are Michael Culbert...

An Apple patent (number 2010087098) has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office for a reduced size multi-pin female receptacle container. It hints at a combined USB 3.0 and DisplayPort connector.

Per the patents, receptacle connectors and male plug connectors having a reduced size in at least one direction can be provided. One example reduces height by not including a center contact tab or tongue, but instead places contacts on an insulator that is adjacent to a bottom portion of the receptacle. Another example may reduce width by reducing contact pitch, and may use a particular shape of contact to achieve god signal quality.

Receptacle connectors and male plug connectors can also provide support for one or more new high-speed communication standards, such as USB 3.0 and DisplayPort. Methods can provide one or more standardized connector components to speed connector design and manufacture of new electronic devices such as media players, thus reducing their...

Earlier this month, Mac guru Ted Landau blogged (http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/who_needs_an_optical_drive_anymor...) that he doesn't need an optical drive anymore. That's an interesting premise, but, unlike Ted, I don't think I'm ready to take that plunge.

Ted says that broadband Internet connections, the iTunes Store, the Apple TV, the iPad and such technologies have made it possible for him to do all the things he once needed an optical disk for (installing new software, playing movie and music disks, burning backup data, etc.) without the physical media.

"I estimate that I now use optical drives an average of once a month," he writes. "Even in these instances, my use is primarily for one-time transfers of data from the disc to my Mac. I expect this average to continue to...

There are rumors that Apple has acquired a chip company called Intrinsity. And the company's web site (http://www.intrinsity.com/) is currently down for “scheduled maintenance.”

Intrinsity specializes in ARM processors. In fact, according to "engadget" (http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/03/is-intrinsity-apples-latest-chipmaker...), there's "speculation that Intrinsity may have actually contributed as much or more to the A4 processor in the iPad than P.A. Semi has."

Intrinsity is a privately-held Austin, Texas based fabless semiconductor company. It was founded in 1997 as EVSX and changed its name to Intrinsity in 2000. It has around 100 employees and supplies tools and services.

Tomorrow I'll start a multi-part review of the iPad. For now, here are some of my first impressions on the new device. My main thought: the iPad is a game changer, but it won't replace the Mac.

Why not? While the iPad is great for consumption, the Mac is better at creation. Music, movies, homemade video, ebooks, digital magazines, TV shows, surfing the web, checking email -- all look and work great on the iPad. However, it's not built for using iLife apps or doing heavy duty work despite the availability of iWork and Bento apps (which I'll also get around to critiquing).

For this reason, the Mac is in little danger from the iPad, though there will be some slight cannibalization of laptop sales. A handful of folks who only use their MacBooks for basic word processing may dump their laptop for a Pages-equipped iPad. However, road warriors who have serious work to do will stick with their MacBooks and MacBook Pros.

Where the cannibalization may take place is...

Well, I've already ordered mine, but if you're on the fence about buying an iPad, the folks at TechStartUps.com have put together a list of five reasons not to buy an iPad. They are, in TechStartUps' own words:
 
"No Multitasking -- no searching the web as you chat on AIM, no listening to Pandora as you read an eBook.  Sure, the iPad is faster than your smartphone, but what good is added speed when you will have to be constantly going in and out of apps instead of being efficiently able to do them all at once? 
 
"No Flash -- an understandable limitation in the world of cell phones, but this is unacceptable in a product trying to position itself in the world of notebooks.  Not only do many websites require flash to view certain content, some require it to access the website.
 
"Limited software -- like the iPhone, only runs apps from the Apple’s App Store.  Although there are tons of apps at Apple’s store, it still bans certain apps, such as...