Apple Expands Company Trademarks to Cover Vehicles, but Similar Filings Date Back to 2003
Following several weeks of rumors about Apple’s car-related projects, a recent move by the company to expand trademark coverage of the “Apple” name and iconic Apple logo in Switzerland to include vehicles is gaining attention, as noticed by ApfelBlog.ch [Google Translate] (via Cult of Mac).
While the expansion, which also occurred in Mexico on the same date last month, is unsurprisingly sparking discussion about Apple’s efforts in the automotive industry, it is not exactly a new development. Various other Apple trademark applications over the years have included protection under International Class 12, which covers vehicles and their accessories. A European Union filing from October 2003 describes a similar vehicle-related corporate trademark, and others such as a United Kingdom filing from last year have been filed since that time.
Each trademark filing goes through the same basic motions in mentioning various types of vehicles and vehicle-related devices to be covered.
Vehicles; Apparatus for locomotion by land, air or water; electronic hardware components for motor vehicles, rail cars and locomotives, ships and aircraft; Anti-theft devices; Theft alarms for vehicles; Bicycles; Golf carts; Wheelchairs; Air pumps; Motorcycles; Aftermarket parts (after-market parts) and accessories for the aforesaid goods.
One issue with interpreting trademark applications is the common strategy of trying to cover as broad a base as possible in order to maximize protection, and thus it is difficult to tell whether Apple’s new vehicle-related applications are related to the rumored projects or something simpler such as CarPlay. Apple also currently holds “iPhone,” “Mac,” and “iPod” trademark protection under Class 12 in several countries.
The Swiss and Mexican filings come on the heels of a recent deluge in Apple car-related news that began when a mysterious van leased to the company was seen on Bay Area streets. Further news on the company hiring employees from Tesla, Ford and GM, and reports stating the so-called “Project Titan” is aiming to launch in 2020 have led some to believe the vans are related to Apple’s vehicle project, but they appear more likely to be an attempt to beef up Apple’s Maps offerings with imagery similar to Google’s Street View.
Alcatel OneTouch announces the 6-inch, Cyanogen OS-powered Hero 2+
It’s a big week for the folks at Cyanogen Inc. as it enters into a partnership with another Android phone manufacturer.
Hot on the heels of a new partnership with Qualcomm, the Cyanogen team have announced a device with Alcatel OneTouch. The Hero 2+ is a North American remix on the original Hero 2, which we took a look at back in September. This new version swaps out the MT8392 found in its predecessor for the MT6592 octa-core processor clocked at 2.0GHz, and that’s just about where the hardware changes end. All the changes that earn this device that extra “+” lie in software, as Alcatel OneTouch will be shipping this new version of the Hero 2 with Cyanogen OS.
Oculus and Samsung launching paid apps and games, free short films on Gear VR today
Samsung and Oculus VR will be launching paid apps and games, as well as new free content offerings, on the Gear VR today. Well-timed after the announcement of an updated Gear VR that works with the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge, the new content offerings are a welcomed addition to the current content available on the headset.
Intel’s upcoming Atom x3 processor could be used inside Windows 10-based phones
Intel has announced a new mobile family, the Atom x3, that could be used inside smartphones running on Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system.
BRAVEN announces the BRV-HD, the new 28 hour ultra-rugged HD wireless speaker
BRAVEN has added another speaker to their ever growing collection of sound boxes. The latest in the line-up is the BRAVEN BRV-HD. The BRV-HD follows up on the award winning BRV-1 and BRV-X. The BRV line brings great sound to the wireless seen with the added perks of IPX-3 weather proofing. “The BRV-HD is a […]
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IKEA offering new furniture with built in Qi Wireless charging
Fresh off Samsung’s announcement that the S6 and S6 Edge will have built-in wireless charging, IKEA announced yesterday that it will start offering bedside tables, lamps and desks with Qi wireless charging capabilities built in. Those products will be available starting next month in Europe and in North America then globally afterward.
While chances are you’ll still have to build these furniture pieces from scratch from instructions you can’t comprehend, it’s nice knowing that the wireless charging standard is making its way into these products.
source: IKEA Presser
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BBM update brings Android Wear support, ad-free option and more
While Blackberry’s hardware division is still struggling to turn the company’s ship around, Blackberry Messenger has at least found a modicum of success on outside platforms including Android. Now at MWC 2015, Blackberry announced it is preparing to take the experience up a notch by introducing a few new features and a few new paid options in the latest update to its app.
When it comes to features, there’s really two new things on offer: photos in group chat, and support for the Android Wear platform. It is the latter of these features that is most interesting, letting you read and reply to messages right from your wrist.
As for the paid aspects? For those that wish their PINs were nothing more than then a random string of characters, you can now pay $1.99 per month to have a custom PIN. While certain restrictions apply, custom PINs let you use both numbers and letters, though the PIN must be at least 6-8 characters long. The other paid option is the ability to remove ads for $.99. No, not one time — reoccuring every month.
While some folks might be willing to pay monthly for an add free experience or to get a PIN that’s easier to remember for sharing with friends, you think a one time low cost fee or a once a year fee would be a much easier sell than the current monthly payment scheme. For Blackberry fans interested in Android Wear support, group chat photos and/or new montly ‘premium’ options, you can now grab the updated app on Google Play.
Inateck BP2001 Bluetooth Speaker review
The great people over at Inateck have sent us another awesome product, the BP2001 Bluetooth speaker. While finding a Bluetooth speaker nowadays is by no means a hard task, finding one at an affordable price while still retaining quality is where you begin to have a difficult time. The BP2001 delivers on both fronts and demonstrates that you do not need to spend a small fortune to still get a decent product.
Design
The BP2001 can be best described as a pill shaped Bluetooth speaker. Starting with the front you get a lovely silver ring in the center that showcases the only button on the BP2001. The button acts as the play, pause and pairing button. On the sides you are greeted with a great silver ring that goes from side to side, minus on top. This really gives the BP2001 a great look, as the silver is a great contrast to the black color scheme of the rest of the speaker. One of the things I really liked about the design of the BP2001 is the cradle that is built on top of the device. This allows you to be able to place your smartphone or tablet right on top and be able to create a fun music area anywhere you go. The cradle is built in such a way that it does not take away from the device but if anything augments the modern look.
On the back you get another neat feature, an adjustable stand. The BP2001 is capable of standing upright on its own but the stand is there for when you place larger devices on the cradle to add that second layer of support. Right beneath the adjustable stand you have the power switch, an audio jack and the charger port. Nice and clean, as to not take away from the design of the BP2001.
Overall, the design of the BP2001 is modern, sleek and to be honest, luxurious. Just by looking at the device you would forget that it costs way less than other comparable
Functionality
The BP2001 is for all intents and purposes a speaker. A portable Bluetooth speaker. It does not profess to be anything else and it does what is was built to do. To get started, you turn on the device using the power switch on the back which then allows you to start paring your devices. From there its as simple pressing the silver button on front. The silver button also acts as a play and pause button and will switch functions once a device has been paired. Otherwise pressing the button activated the paring feature on the BP2001 to make it available for paring for your Bluetooth capable device.
Once you get is ready to go, playing music is as simple as pressing play on your preferred music app. The sound was nice and clear and I had no issue enjoying my favorite artists while jamming out in the shower. With that said though, do not expect to hear audiophile quality sound as that is not what the BP2001 was intended for. The BP2001 was intended to provide you a nice easy way to listen to your songs on the go while not having to sacrifice too much music quality but there will be some small degradation, compared to using your headphones or earbuds.
Final Thoughts
The BP2001 is a fantastic little speaker with great looks and good sound. While it will not blow away anyone with its music quality, you will be able to enjoy listening to that new Katy Perry album while trying to dance like Left Shark next time you are home alone. You can purchase the BP2001 speaker by heading over to Amazon or by going directly to Inateck’s webpage, where you can also browse their other tech goodies. Also, if you head over today you can save an extra five dollars by using promo code: W5TEVQMD during checkout. Now there really is no reason to purchase one!
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Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 820 chipset
Just as Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 chipset is on the verge of becoming mainstream, the chip maker has freshly announced the Snapdragon 820 SoC based on the new custom ARMv8 CPU developed by the company.
It is being said that the chipset will be built using the FinFET process, perhaps using Samsung’s new 14nm technology. It is suggested that the Snapdragon 820 might not use the ARM big.LITTLE CPU architecture.
Not a lot of information is available on this at the moment, but it is said that Qualcomm will start sampling the SoC in the second half of 2015, which means we might have devices running on the new chipset by the end of the year.
With Samsung relying on their own Exynos 7420 chipset for the Galaxy S6, Qualcomm’s only major clients will be HTC, LG, Xiaomi and the likes.
Via: Anand Tech
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Google’s Sundar Pichai confirms MVNO carrier plans
Earlier last month, it was revealed that Google was readying their own MVNO carrier plan. In other words, a seller of other carrier networks, namely Sprint and T-Mobile. Today Sundar Pichai as confirmed that Google will indeed offer some sort of plan. That’s the good news. The bad news is that he didn’t reveal anything else other than it will be “in the coming months.” Reading between the lines, you have to think that they will make an announcement at Google I/O.
Pichai did ensure that they are working with all carriers, including AT&T and Verizon to make sure they don’t disrupt existing relationships.
The rumored plan includes some sort of combination of Sprint and T-Mobile service that would automatically switch to the best signal and Wi-Fi. It’s also been reported that it could be more geared towards the tablet crowd.
What do you guys think? Can Google offer something compelling here?
Be sure to check out our complete coverage of Mobile World Congress 2015.
source: Android Authority
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