Apple’s design history by industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger

Apple Likely to Unveil iWatch Soon 

There is a possibility that Apple may unveil an iWatch somewhere later this year though it would not be the first time that the company has considered a wrist worn communicator as per a recent published Apple’s design history by industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger. According to an image from Esslinger’s book entitled `Keep it Simple:The Early Design Years of Apple’, portrays a keypad which is designed to be worn on a user’s wrist which pairs with a wireless headset and the image is one of those excerpted from the book which was published by German weekly Die Zeit. Apple is said to be coming with the wearable segment with the rumoured iWatch and while the company has managed to keep thing under wraps, Esslinger’s disclosure has given food for thought that it is not the first time that the company has developed a smart wrist watch.

Monolithic, Foldable Workstation in Box Concept

The keypad has around twelve key in all, one each for the number 0 to 9 and which appears to be one key each for star and pound. The headset on the other hand is a single earpiece design which has in integrated microphone that could curve around to the wearer’s mouth. Besides this, it has a monolithic, foldable workstation in a box concept, based on the Lisa and large looking prototype has a full Lisa computer, a monitor together with a telephone and printer all in a single package. Both these pieces follow the `Snow White’ design language which Esslinger had created at the request of late Apple CEO Steve Jobs in 1984. At first the designs appeared in production with the Apple IIc and the company started phasing Esslinger’s work out after the release of the Macintosh IIfx in the year 1990. While Esslinger joined Apple in 1982, on an exclusive contract, he left the company after Job’s exit. He followed Jobs to NeXT though he did not join Apple again on Jobs’ return in the year 1997.

Keep it Simple - Authentic Incident between Hartmut Esslinger & Steve Jobs 

`Keep it Simple’, is the authentic incident between Hartmut Esslinger and Steve Jobs that originated in 1982 leading them in the partnership between the designer and the entrepreneur which became revolutionary with regards to historic dimension. Steve Jobs took the first step to make strategic design the core of Apple’s Business Strategy.

Thereafter Apple expanded from a technology focused company into one of the world’s most renowned and successful global brands which was achieved by creating and delivering innovative as well as intelligent products.

Though there are many books about Apple and Steve Jobs, many professionals all over would want to be in his shoes, or would even want their company to be as successful as Apple and hence they absorb account of his work with the intention of getting the magic recipe from these books.

This book relates the account of Apple’s evolution from the inside with its initial conception when Steve was driven by his power of design and developed the strategic core of Apple’s business model. Besides, the book is for all Apple users, fans as well as critics who can get to know about the origin of the products together with the brand they favour so much portraying the story of the most amazing creative journey overcoming various obstacles both within and across the wider technology industry.

Apple helps to Prevent Misdirected Messages/Emails

A recent report published reveals an Apple invention which illustrates an effective and simple way to remind users of who is on the other end of a text message of a group chat, a problem faced by people who seem to be juggling over multiple conversations at the same time. As reported by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the patent application of Apple for Generation of a user interface based on contacts will now enable users of apps like iMessage to be more conscious of who they are talking to at any point of time thus preventing any embarrassing and misdirected messages.

Background Image during Messaging Session 

Several IM clients including Apple’s iMessage app displays just the first name or the phone number of the chat friend and at first, one may not even know who is at the other end and if engaged in a group chat with multiple individuals, one could easily lose track of who one is trying to text the message. This new invention has a contact’s image or photo which would be corresponding to the contact as a background image during a messaging session. In the case of group chats, the text is overlaid on one or more images corresponding to the contacts that are involved during the conversation.

System capable of recognizing contacts

Generally the system tends to recognize that a user has received or is probably about to send an iMessage email, MMS chat or any similar correspondence and then identifies contacts which are associated with that particular message. The background image which relates to the contact or contacts is then used to create a background on which the whole conversation tends to take place and when a contact does not have any assigned photo, a female or a male avatar could be used since the system then selects gender based on stored contact information. When the appropriate image is selected, the background can then be generated by enlarging or stretching, cropping, tiling or even adjusting the image to fit into the messaging screen’s space.
Alpha Blending and Desaturation
Additional modification such as alpha blending and desaturation can blend the image in the background enabling the user to concentrate on the active conversation text that may include the time stamps, usual names along with other familiar UI assets.The capabilities to dynamically modify imagery background is useful and helpful in group chats for instance a slot can highlight the image which may be associated with the user who has sent the most recent response. Alternative, a colour image selected could be displayed while the other participants could be displayed in grey scale thus differentiating the last sent message. The idea behind a updated published Apple patent filing would be appreciated by anyone who has ever sent text messages to the wrong person
Animated Transition
Severalvariations on group messaging comprises of image thumbnails which are arranged in a Cover Flow style with rotating carousel or contact cards that have animated transitions. The remainder of Apple’s filing goes deep in the system implementation which includes discussions of API which would open the door for third party apps in order to access the technology. The UI patent application of Apple’s image based messaging was first filed in 2012 with credits to Enrique E. Rodriguez as its inventor.

Apple to Unveil the Next Incarnation of iPhone series in August

Apple traditionally unveils its new phone each September but now the tech giant would be unveiling its new smartphone earlier than expected and Apple fans awaiting the two new iPhone in September will now get the same a month earlier, sooner than expected, according to a new report.

Apple it is reported will be unveiling the next incarnation of its popular iPhone series in Augustthis year a month earlier than industry watcher were expecting according to Taiwanese media report, citing unidentified supply chain sources.

The company will now be showing off its new iPhone 6 at an event to be held in August and release the device then along with larger iPhone with a 5.5 or 5.6 inch display to be launched in September. People involved in the supply chain had also confirmed to Reuter that they would be having a 4.7 inch version of the iPhone 6 as well as 5.5 inch version.

Taller/Wider/Slimmer with Fast Processor & Improved Camera

According to Economic Daily News reports which revealed without specifying which market would be receiving the phone first, a 4.7 inch screen version of the iPhone 6 would be reaching the stores in August while the 5.5 inch or 5.6 inch screen version would be released in September as the previous iPhone 5 series.

The Economic Daily News reported that together, around eighty million iPhone 6 handsets would be producedduring this year and the next generation iPhone would be taller, wider and thinner than the existing iPhone 5 models. Besides a larger screen, the next generation iPhone is expected to include a thinner profile with a faster processor and an improved camera and according to Peter Misek, Jefferies analyst, he claims that Apple had been negotiating last month with carriers to increase the price of iPhone 6 by $100.

Regain Market Share 

The iPhone’s screen size from 4 inches would also enable Apple to regain market share from competitors like Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd according to industry watchers who have stated that they have responded to consumer’s need for more screen space though Apple could not be reached for any comments with regards to this issue.

Besides, Apple, no comments were also available from representative for Taiwanese iPhone contract manufacturer, Hon Hai Precision Industry Company Ltd; as well as smartphone camera lens maker Largan Precision Company Ltd; who had been mentioned in the Economic Daily News report.

Attempts to Branch to Overseas Markets 

Images of the iPhone 6 were also posted on Chinese network Wei Feng probably from the iPhone component factories at Foxconn in China which portrays a thinner smartphone that has a wider screen. The company had sold over 500 million units of the iPhone all over the world since the product was launched in 2007 though the company is under tremendous pressure from investors as well as competitors to unveil updated types of products.

The company had also made several attempts in branching to overseas markets with its iPhone 5C, a more affordable than the iPhone 5S and without a wireless contract the cost of iPhone 5S would be $649 while the 5C was priced at $549 though it failed in the emerging markets from customers who would have been interested instead in the updated versions of phone.

Apple’s Split Screen Multitasking Feature

It is reported that Apple is likely to advance the functionality of the iPad by adding an updated split screen multitasking feature to the iOS 8 tabletsaccording to 9to5Mac and Apple’s latest mobile operating system would probably give iPad users the capabilities to use two applications simultaneously on a single screen in landscape mode with the new multi app split screen support.The new feature is believed to be in the works for iOS 8 with Apple anticipating the next major release of its mobile platform wherein the features have been designed with its full sized 9.7 inch iPad model in mind as well as the iPad Air though speculations are on, regarding the availability of its multi-application support on the 7.9 iPad mini.

Divide iPad Home Screen in Half

For a long time now, iOS had only one app which was displayed on the screen at a time and in early days of iOS, multitasking support was limited to only basic background functions for Apple built apps and multitasking support was not added till iOS 4 which was then iPhone OS 4.0 enabling developers to run specific processes in the background. This new feature would enable users to divide the iPad home screen in half using different app on each side of the partition screen. The feature according to reports will be making it easier for using the two apps together and also making it easier to interact and though this feature is not something which people are looking out for, the split screen multitasking would probably be a shot at Apple’s competition which is similar to Microsoft’s snap multitasking on the Surface as well as resembles multitasking features which have been added to larger Samsung Galaxy devices.

Multiple Application Simultaneously 

The capabilities in viewing multiple application at the same time and snapping them into place on a limited screen space is presently offered by Microsoft’s Surface tablet platform where AppleInsider had the privilege to test the Surface 2 and found that the ability to run two application on the screen simultaneously was the main advantage over Apple’s iPad with regards to productivity. Apple has favoured simplicity over flexibility that has been offered in running two apps at a time and it is difficult to blame the company for this strategy since the iPad remains the most sought after and popular consumer tablet in the market. With ease of use, the iOS has been in demand and Apple is making the utmost efforts to avoid making any more complexes with its latest features.

Unveiling iOS 8 at WWDC

Tablets are excellent and many manufacturers are striving to put their creative minds at work in making them more useful and demanding. It was also reported through 9to5Mac that iOS 8 would also allow apps on screen for interaction with one another where the user would be able to drag and drop content between them. It is said that Apple would be unveiling iOS 8 at its WWDC event early this June. Its focus in multitasking is reportedly centred on iPad Air according to reports, though it is still not clear if the smaller sized iPad mini would be offering support for the feature.

Apple’s Doxie Go Battery Operated Scanner

Apple, it was reported has recently joined hands with Doxie battery powered `Doxie Go’, portable scanner which is considered to make the task of scanning much simpler. Doxie has been selling a series of portable scanners which are battery operated with a sheet feeder that could feed one sheet of paper or one photo at a time.

The scanners are pretty good for immediate and short task which promises to lighten up the function of scanning while on the go. The Doxie Go could be something useful sinceit is a small battery powered scanner which can be used in a variety of options to scan photos, sketches, book etc.

Doxie Go priced at $199 which is designed to be used on its own can occasionally be connected to a computer when its memory is full. Its unique design fits into this purpose accurately and while the scanner is made of matte, soft touch black plastic with Apple style white cover over the top, it is slightly taller and wider than the ultraportable Fujitsu ScanSnapS1100 which was used as a benchmark.

Scanner with Adequate Built-in Memory 

Inspite of its packing of a built in battery which according to the company is fairly good for scanning around hundred pages per charge, the Doxie seems to be marginally heavier than its Japanese counterpart and those dealing with adequate paper needed along with scanner around are unlikely to feel burdened by the Doxie presence.

It sports a single powered button at the upper right side which includes a built in multicolour LED that acts as the scanner’s status indicator, where a green light indicates the scanner is in its default 300 DPI mode while the orange glow indicates a higher resolution 600 DPI setting.

The scanner comprises of enough built in memory to contain around 450 pages of documents or 1800 photos in 300 DPI mode though heavy user could plug a USB thumb drive or SD card in its chassis for any additional storage. Moreover it works with Wi-Fi enabled DS cards, enabling users to eschew wires while downloading documents.

Power Brick and Interchangeable Plugs

The unit is packed with apower brick and interchangeable plugs which are used for different outlet layouts together with a USB cable for charging and sync, quick start documentation, along with a photo sleeve, a cleaning and calibration tool.

On connecting to the power, the unit takes around an hour to charge out of the box and then scanning is a very simple process with turning on the Doxie and sliding a piece of paper into the slot. The scanner can scan anything from a business card of 8.5 inch by 15 inch sheet though large documents which can be scanned was 8.5 inch by 14 inch as per U.S. legal size paper.

The process of scanning is swift, with sheets sliding in within a span of six seconds each though it seems to be nearly one second per page slower than the ScanSnap; Doxie is much preferred due to its paper handling design which does not angle the paper as in the case of the ScanSnap.

Doxie’s Software Smart Caching & Triaging App

Doxie is essentially on par with ScanSnap with regards to image quality. Colours seems to be fading slightly with some black and white documents showing odd colour in finely textured areas though none of these affect the readability of the documents.

Images can also be pulled out from the Doxie memory as from a digital camera and is more useful when combined with a software organiser. Doxie’s software offer is a smart caching and triaging app which is only available for download through the company’s site and is not included in the package. On importing, each scan shows a separate document leaving the option to the user to collate, save and export them.

It is to be noted that the Doxie gets automatically mounted in OS X once the same is plugged in and with the combination of the scanner’s power saving auto off feature, it can be a random `disk not ejected properly warning from OS X which does not seem to harm the data.

Capabilities to Export Documents as PNG/PDF/JPG

The software also enables uses to rename or even rotate their scans before deciding what needs to be done besides the individual pages of multi-page document which can be stapled back together. While Doxie could be relied as a sort of digital junk drawer, people would tend to take advantage of its various integrations.

Moreover, documents could also be exported directly as PNG, PDF or JPG files with provision of options of sharing through email, iMessage or AirDrop and send them to cloud service like Dropbox, OneNote or even pushing them to post processing application like Photoshop of iPhoto.

Before the entry of the Doxie Go, Fujitsu ScanSnap S1100 was used due to its portability but with Doxie Go, many prefer it, due to its paper handing, ease of use as well as the ability to run through its pile of documents without the interruption of administrative details.