Patent suggests Apple had a plan for mobile phone
The smoldering rumor that Apple could someday unveil a mobile phone has been re-ignited. On Thursday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office made public a December 2004 patent application by Apple describing a hypothetical wireless mobile device, as well as how a person could use such a device to mark media items — video, ring tones, graphics or video — for later download.
The filing offers few insights into exactly what Apple plans to do, but Doherty said the company has been meeting with phone manufacturers around the world and could put out a phone “within the next few quarters.” The company’s first attempt, last September’s iTunes-enabled Motorola ROKR, has been widely criticized for its limited, 100-song capacity and ordinary design. Doherty said one complaint about the ROKR was that Apple’s iTunes service seemed to be an afterthought, or an add-on to what was otherwise an unremarkable phone.
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