While there has been much debate about whether Apple will refer to the next-generation iPhone as "iPhone 5", "iPhone 6", simply "iPhone", or something else entirely, Fusible notes that Apple has filed a claim with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) seeking to gain control of the iPhone5.com domain. WIPO authorities are currently assessing compliance of Apple's claim with the agency's regulations, and proceedings are likely to be initiated in the near future.
The iPhone5.com domain currently hosts a very small discussion forum dedicated to discussion of the "iPhone 5". The forum was launched in October 2010 following the debut of the iPhone 4 earlier in the year.
Apple's pursuit of the iPhone5.com domain is interesting given how slow the company has been to take action to secure domains related to its previous products. Apple didn't gain control of iPhone4.com until nearly a year after that device launched and Apple didn't seek to gain control of iPhone4S.com until several weeks after that device debuted last October. In the latter case, Apple was likely extremely motivated to take control of the domain because it was being used to forward visitors to pornography sites.
Given that Apple typically doesn't pursue domain names for its products until after they launch, lest their names be revealed ahead of time by the negotiation process, it seems odd that Apple is already seeking to gain control of iPhone5.com. But with "iPhone 5" having been the name informally attached to Apple's next iPhone form factor redesign for nearly two years now and still in popular use, the company apparently believes that it should have some control over the name's usage.
Tuesday November 19, 2024 12:12 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley and his colleagues recently traveled to Asia to meet with various electronics manufacturers and suppliers. In a research note this week, outlining key takeaways from the trip, the analysts said they have "confirmed" that a fourth-generation iPhone SE with an Apple-designed 5G modem is slated to launch towards the end of the first quarter next year. In line with previo...
Sunday November 17, 2024 5:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple released the AirTag in April 2021, so it is now three over and a half years old. While the AirTag has not received any hardware updates since then, a new version of the item tracking accessory is rumored to be in development.
Below, we recap rumors about a second-generation AirTag.
Timing
Apple is aiming to release a new AirTag in mid-2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman....
Sunday November 17, 2024 3:03 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
While the Logitech MX Master 3 is a terrific mouse for the Mac, reports claiming that Apple CEO Tim Cook prefers that mouse over the Magic Mouse are false.
The Wall Street Journal last month published an interview with Cook, in which he said he uses every Apple product every day. Soon after, The Verge's Wes Davis attempted to replicate using every Apple product in a single day. During that...
Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:10 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1, minor updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1 come three weeks after the launch of iOS 18.1.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Apple has also released iOS 17.7.2 for...
Wednesday November 20, 2024 3:42 am PST by Tim Hardwick
AT&T has begun displaying "Turbo" in the iPhone carrier label for customers subscribed to its premium network prioritization service, according to reports on Reddit. The new indicator seems to have started appearing after users updated to iOS 18.1.1, but that could be just coincidence.
Image credit: Reddit user No_Highlight7476
The Turbo feature provides enhanced network performance through ...
Monday November 18, 2024 1:07 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
In a research note with Hong Kong-based investment bank Haitong today, obtained by MacRumors, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said he agrees with a recent rumor claiming that the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" will be around 6mm thick.
"We agreed with the recent chatter of an 6mm thickness ultra-slim design of the iPhone 17 Slim model," he wrote.
If that measurement proves to be accurate, there would be ...
Tuesday November 19, 2024 10:52 am PST by Juli Clover
The iOS 18.1.1, iPadOS 18.1.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 updates that Apple released today address JavaScriptCore and WebKit vulnerabilities that Apple says have been actively exploited on some devices.
With the JavaScriptCore vulnerability, processing maliciously crafted web content could lead to arbitrary code execution. The WebKit vulnerability had the same issue with maliciously crafted...
I don't understand why they feel it's so important to have control of these domains. Clearly, with iPhone4S it was important to control it, but in general...
Trademark law precedent indicates that any mark that is not actively protected can be considered to have been "diluted". This can lead to the loss of control of the trademark by the registered owner.
If a company finds their mark (in this case, "iPhone") is being used without permission, they have two legal alternatives:
- To officially sanction the use of their mark
- To take legal action to stop the unauthorised use of the mark
If they do not do this, and just ignore the trademark violation, they can lose control over their mark.
Apple are just doing what they are legally required to do. The only other alternative is to give permission to the site to use the trademark, but that would be a risky move, as it would limit their scope for action in the future if the site's content becomes a liability.
How come they haven't done this with the iPad domain names?
I went to iPad.com, I get to an empty website saying Coming Soon with a picture of a city. I got to iPad3.com, it doesn't exist.
I go to iPad2.com, it directs me to MacRumors.com lol
My personal feature requests from the new iPhone...and I appreciate some of these are software/OS developments, but bear with me:
1. Bigger screen...I hope at least an inch diagonal larger.
2. Switch to super amoled plus (or some such non-pentile oled) display, so we can actually read outside.
3. More durable (the glass on both sides is just far too fragile).
4. LTE
5. HDMI out, or ability to get a cheap dongle to do this, also standard VGA, DVI, and composite cable capable would be nice.
6. Stereo speakers on the phone.
7. Longer battery life, a couple days without a charge should be here by now!
8. USB 3.0 support for syncing.
9. Printing support that actually supports more than a handful of licensed printers.
10. Incorporation of a stylus for jotting notes.
11. Support for wifi streaming to platforms like xbox, roku, etc.
12. Ability to block calls (you have to jailbreak for this today)
13. Fix buggy wifi syncing.
14. Led to blink for missed calls
15. VOIP calling.
16. Built in IR port for universal remote.
17. Laser pointer.
18. Pico projector.
19. Optical character recognition for snapped docs.
20. Access to the file system.
21. NFC.
Obviously, few of these will be considered...but almost all could be (battery tech simply isn't here yet)
And to the extent other phone makers do incorporate these features will make their products all the more compelling.
What the hell does this have to do with the story you're commenting on?
Well we know there will be another model of the iPhone, and we know Apple likes to gobble up domains to prevent people from profiting from their IP. So is this really news? I don't think it tells us anything about what the next iPhone's name will be -- and who cares anyway.
