• Bungie: The Makers of Halo are Working on iOS MMO Called Crimson?


    Bungie, the previously Mac-exclusive game developer who defected to the arms of Microsoft to release the best-selling Halo series, is making a new game… and it’s probably coming to iOS.

    First, some background. Around a year ago, Bungie was tipped to have started a new project, called Bungie Aerospace. Not much was known about it at the time, but it now appears to be a spin-off label of Bungie Studios proper, as the Halo-maker has just incorporated Bungie Aerospace in both Delaware and Washington.

    Even more interesting? Bungie Aerospace has just filed to secure a trademark for mobile devices, filing an application to own “Crimson” as a title of “computer game software for use on mobile and cellular phones.”

    What Crimson actually is anyone’s guess, but rumor has it that it’s a shooter MMO. Whether it’ll take place in the Halo-verse or not is anyone’s guess, but it would seem absolutely nuts for Bungie to make a mobile game and not release it on the most lucrative mobile platform out there.

    My gut says Bungie Aerospace and “Crimson” are connected to the studio’s next project, an original IP set to be published by Activision. Word on the street is that this game is a shooter MMO — an MMO that might just offer increased connectivity via mobile apps.

    In short, here’s what we know. Bungie Aerospace is likely Bungie Studios’ mobile studio. They’re working on a game called Crimson. And it’ll probably be available on the App Store. Let’s just hope this is the triumphant return — if not to Mac, then to Apple — that gamers have been waiting almost a decade for.

    [via cultofmac]

  • Apple Sues Samsung Over Galaxy Look & Feel


    The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple has filed a lawsuit against Samsung over the “look and feel” of Samsung’s Galaxy series. The Galaxy series includes the popular Galaxy S smartphone line – Nexus S, Galaxy S 4G, Epic 4G – in addition to the Samsung Galaxy Tab tablet device.

    Rather than innovate and develop its own technology and a unique Samsung style for its smart phone products and computer tablets, Samsung chose to copy Apple’s technology, user interface and innovative style in these infringing products, the lawsuit said.

    Samsung supplies many flash components and the basis of Apple’s A4 and A5 processors, Samsung also manufactures RAM modules and display technology for Apple.

    Mobilized has this comment from Apple:

    “It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging,” an Apple representative told Mobilized. “This kind of blatant copying is wrong, and we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companies steal our ideas.”

  • Apple Blows us Away with Smart Illuminated Bezel Details!


    Smart bezel patents from Apple are old news, but Patently Apple has discovered some blow-away details. Put simply, Apple is proposing a bezel that doubles as a secondary display built around a printed segmented electroluminescence technology:

    Apple intends to use the secondary display to introduce a set of new illuminated indicators that are able morph into various controls for work and play. Illuminated gaming and productivity controls could be built into the face-side of the bezel and/or selected back-side areas of iOS devices like the iPad.

    This opens up a whole new world of creative possibilities…

    The bezel running around iOS gadgets could be made touch sensitive, allowing users to tap the illuminated control to access common features such as media playback and game controls.

    The new smart bezel may not have a traditional home button. Well, below is an example of how that could look like using Apple’s display. Apple could create a very simple yet very cool illuminated home button that only appears when your hand approaches the home button area as shown below in a generic example that shows off this technology.

    If this patent ends up used in future iOS gadgets, expect easier, more convenient handling of everyday tasks. It’s sexy, there’s a substantial wow factor involved and it enhances the user experience in a Star Trek manner.

  • Apple Did Not Infringe Five Nokia Patents


    Nokia sued Apple in May 2010, claiming the company infringed five of Nokia’s patents. The patents cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption and are infringed by all Apple iPhone models shipped since the iPhone was introduced in 2007, Nokia alleged. Nokia’s statement in May 2010 about the lawsuit:

    Nokia has been the leading developer of many key technologies in mobile devices” said Paul Melin, General Manager, Patent Licensing at Nokia. “We have taken this step to protect the results of our pioneering development and to put an end to continued unlawful use of Nokia’s innovation.

    Now, Reuters reports that the International Trade Commision has ruled that Apple in fact did not violate any of Nokia’s patents.

    A judge at the International Trade Commission, which hears many patent cases, said that Apple did not violate the Nokia patents.