Type of Article: MacTech Blog

An Apple patent (number 8232672) for power adapters for powering and/or charging peripheral devices has appeared at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Ti covers the powering mechanisms of a variety of devices.

A power adapter for a peripheral device such as portable electronics device is disclosed. The power adapter includes a housing that contains electrical components associated with the power adapter. The power adapter also includes a data port provided at a surface of the housing. The data port is configured to provide external power to the peripheral device.

The recent influx of smartphones to the UK has prompted a slump in the popularity of desktop computers, according to a new study, though I don’t buy it.

Apple has been granted patents for a predictive text input user interface and digital camera features.

Patent number 8232973 is for a method, device and graphical user interface providing word recommendations for text input. Per the invention, a portable electronic device having a touch screen display performs a set of operations, including displaying a plurality of key icons, each having an adjustable size hit region, and receiving a sequence of individual touch points input by a user on the touch screen display.

Tablet computers such as the iPad are quickly emerging as a preferred online shopping device. Shopatron (http://www.shopatron.com), an eCommerce and order management solution for over 1,000 brands, found that, across all client stores, purchase rates are equivalent between tablet and desktop users.

Many folks disagree with me, but I maintain that the iPad is a supplement to a Mac and not a replacement. And new data from the Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) — as reported by “eWeek” (http://macte.ch/Wmixv) — mostly backs up my premise.

CIRP says that the new iPad (the one with the Retina display) has attracted more business users than earlier models. However, users are mostly using the tablet for surfing the Internet, playing games and enjoying entertainment.