Apple also Registers iPhone in UK

[MacRumors]

One user let us know that The UK Patent Office has an application from Apple Computer for iPhone from Oct 21, 2002.

It appears to be an application in the same "Classes" as the Australian trademark.

Based on the descriptions, some are speculating that it may encompass a software solution, such as a .Mac internet phone or iChat voice integration.

 

[mcrain]

I wouldn't read too much into the classes that the Trademark is filed under. A patent application is designed to specifically identify the item which is the subject of the application to a degree of specificity as to protect the intellectual property. On the other hand, a trademark application protects a name or brand (in this case - iPhone). The degree of protection would be defined by the classes under which the trademark is filed.

In other words, they would likely file a trademark application for the name/brand under as many electronic, communication, networking type classes as they could possibly imagine and justify to give that name as broad a protection as possible. That doesn't necessarily mean that the item that will end up being called the iPhone is defined by any of the specific classes.

 

[LimeiBook86]

Well I guess I'm happy that I am subscribed to .Mac

 

[DreaminDirector]

in the states?

Why hasn't Apple trademarked iPhone in the U.S.? Or is there international trademarking? I don't really understand this whole thing yet. All I know is Apple's going to make something, software and/or hardware for people to talk.

 

[robguz]

Yes, i hope it's a .mac only thing. Then 1% of Mac users and .1% of computer users will get the chance to use it!

 

[Tue12]

I think iPhone is just another iApp. I say it's a phone answering and voice mail software for OSX.

You get a phone call, your Mac will answer and record the callers voice message, etc.. It could probably catalog pager messages or SMS messages as well. It could have voices mail 'boxes' for different users. Sync the messages to a PDA for later playback, blah blah. All kinds of crap.

It would be nice to have. I hate answering machines.

 

[DeusOmnis]

I agree with Tue12.

 

[AmbitiousLemon]

i would guess that US trademark process takes a lil' longer than elsewhere, so perhaps its still on someone's desk.

as far as what it is, i find the mention of the name being applied to an aparatus for rental interesting.

 

[Compufix]

If you remember the old software that used the GeoPort modems...there was a good bit of software out there that did the voicemail thing..I would not be surprised if Apple did not re-package that, upgrade it, and release it as an iApp....

 

[cryptochrome]

I think such a program worthy of an iPhone trademark would most likely involve internet telephony, which I expect will gradually take over the non-mobile telephone market once it is completely interoperable with regular phone systems. Why? Because it just makes sense to have only one wired "data" line into your house, and it's much cheaper, flexible, and efficient than a regular phone line.

Of course, such a program could also be designed for regular telephony like Tue12 suggested (voice mail and fax functionality are givens in either case, although voice mail could be most reliably handled at a central location, as is the case with all mobile phones but here perhaps with .mac). I would also expect it to tie into/automatically update the address book, and perhaps work with iChat somehow.

Incidentally, this also ties in nicely with an IP phone iDevice - like a cordless phone, independent of but working with your computer (via iSync in particular) over your 802.11b network. (Of course a microphone equipped computer could do the same job) Perhaps this is the real iPhone.

Of course there is also the issue of the mobile phones, which by all rights should be integrated into this scheme as well and would largely obviate the need for a iPhone device per se. Ideally, you would have one number/IPaddress per person/office/family that would route to where they are and operate in the cheapest most efficient fashion - i.e. you have a mobile that's in range of a high speed wireless connection, and rather than sending/recieving an expensive call over the cell network it transparently sends a very cheap or free one over the internet.

Rendezvous' automatic addressing and naming would almost certainly be necessary to make such a scheme work, and its automatic local resource discovery would offer additional possibilities at the local level - including high-function-intercoms, mms meshes, and matchmaking (including the non-romantic variety).

 

[Cappy]

If this is a software solution, I hope it's something slick. If it's nothing more than a phone answering machine, I think many will be very disappointed. At least it would keep those modem add-on sales up so that they can clear out that inventory.

 

[gotohamish]

Originally posted by Cappy
If this is a software solution, I hope it's something slick. If it's nothing more than a phone answering machine, I think many will be very disappointed. At least it would keep those modem add-on sales up so that they can clear out that inventory.

Are you even suggesting Apple would release an iApp that wasn't slick? Come on!

Also, hate to raise this issue once again, but WHO THE HELL gives this article a negative rating?!?????!?!?!!?

 

[chewbaccapits]

I remember KDX (a peer to peer app.) being brought up, here, in a discussion a while ago ( 2 -3weeks)..The thread implied that Apple was trying to do develop some kind of relation with HAXIAL (KDX fame) and I'm just wondering....Haxial peeps are also developing a cool app called "netfone"...Any thoughts?

http://www.haxial.com/faq/#NETFONE

 

[jorisx]

hmm my first post here

wow, I just *need* one of those thingies, if only they had apple stores here in europ ... :-/

 

[jorisx]

that's why I'm a newbie... duh

oops posted in the wrong tread ... (it needed to be in the http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?threadid=15158 tread about "Apple selling Apple-Branded Accessories")

lol

hmm anyway to give any comment on this tread;
i think it has to do with somekind of iChat enhancement or something similar to what "Tue12" said...
But I would deffinitly love to see a real communication kind o' device for in tha pocket ...

 

[AmbitiousLemon]

Originally posted by gotohamish


Are you even suggesting Apple would release an iApp that wasn't slick? Come on!

i hate to be negative but not everything apple does (or could do) is great (or slick). sure apple products always look good but quite often they are little more than a pretty exterior.

consider for a moment:
sherlock2
iphoto1
ichat1
mac os 10.0

these apple products lookd good but in fact were buggy non functional featureless wastes of ones and zeros. i will give it to apple though that given a few updates they tend to get it right, but sometimes they just let things fade away into obscurity and few even remember they existed (ill leave it to your imagination to complete that list of items.)

 

[jeffrhysjones]

Hi 'yall...

I think iphone is an Apple made app. built using the new SIP (session initiation protocol). We already know that for the new 3G mobile phones, SIP is the VoIP protocol. Also, we know that AOL and Mac are working together with new version of AIM for mac - which will be SIP based. Microsofts new MSN messenger... is also SIP based.

Apple has always had a problem with video / audio communications, with it not supporting the H323 standard that PC users use when they run MS Netmeeting.

Everyones backing SIP as the new way forward. This is because it's a telecommunications protocol that's been written with the internet in mind, and works very much like HTTP... unlike H323.

I've just installed a full SIP VoIP system here at work. We had this nasty old pbx - and now we have Pingtel Softphones on our wireless laptops, a Snom SIP media server to store voice mail messages, run conference rooms and run automated attendents.

I would expect/like iphone to have :

Multiparty call conference
Call transfer
Hold - with Music (10 tracks selectable via DTMF)
Call forward on no answer
Call forward on busy
WMI (Message Waiting Indicator) support
Voice mail to email (attached)
Contact screen popup
Dialing from contacts
Speed dial with user import
Presence (User logged in/ out)
Customisable Logo on 'display'
Customisable ringtones based on CLI
Customisable busy message
Customisable unavaliable message
Call log
Of course a funky Apple headset (wireless?)
Voice dialing
Integrated webserver interface (for remote config)
In-call recording
In call playback
Video support

Oh... the list goes on!!!!!!!

Perhaps it will look something like the pingtel client?

http://www.pingtel.com/images/ix_screenshot_large.gif

- which is superb. If you are developers, you can even write your own apps for it - it runs on pure Java!

It's a real shame there's not a mac version of the Pingtel.

Then... perhaps there will be!!!???

Jeff

EMOJO.com