Apple’s Patents Reveal Google Latitudes Envy?

Friday, January 1, 2010

Patently Apple is reporting that Apple has applied for two patents to upgrade Maps and Compass in the iPhone which would allow location sharing and a position fix indicator. “In Apple’s implementation, it looks like the location data can be carried in an SMS or Instant Message (interesting news in its own right), which can then be opened in the Maps application to show the other person’s location relative to the iPhone users.” Speculation is that Apple is preparing to launch a service similar to Google’s Latitudes which was rejected by Apple as an app and was instead released in July 2009 as a web app. Many roundly criticized Apple for this decision since Latitudes was crippled as a web app, unable to in the background.

Tons of Apple rejected apps by gizmodo.com

Google claims that “after we developed a Latitude application for the iPhone, Apple requested we release Latitude as a web application in order to avoid confusion with Maps on the iPhone, which uses Google to serve maps tiles.” Some alleged that Apple simply did not want an app that so closely competed with a core app such as Maps. After all the grumbling that ensued, perhaps Apple has taken this to heart and is going to upgrade Maps to look/work more like Latitudes. Others say patent applications are like popcorn and we should not be paying so much attention to them.

But just to keep the rumor mill churning we have yet another patent application from Apple showing an iPhone diagram complete with a front facing camera, see that little traced circle in the middle at the top in the diagram below? That is supposedly a front facing camera.

patentlyapple

Could this be the holy grail for wannabe video callers? Apple just keeps torturing us apparently since previous patent applications have shown this minor little detail that would be a huge detail if it were true. 9t05mac has noted this and is predicting that the “iPhone 4G (and tablet + maybe iPod touch) get front facing cameras. Who is with us?” Sure we will jump on that bandwagon! But seriously do we want to see who we are talking to and vice versa? Especially if we are sitting in the bathroom or have not combed our hair! Increasing use of Skype has given me some insight into this inherent problem. Oh well maybe we will all pay more attention to our grooming habits in the not too distant video calling future. Which would be a good thing!

This is a post by The Apps Machine