macnn/electronista

08/05/2008, 2:45pm, EDT

Tuesday, August 5th

Apple mulling new iPhone/iPod touch dock?

Apple has considered making a new dock for the iPhone and iPod touch that would let the device work for video without compromising its ability to be charged, according to a just-published US patent application. Though cosmetically similar to the translucent stand included with the iPod touch, the purely visual patent also shows a Dock Connector cable plugged into the stand, suggesting that it could be used to power and sync a given device while watching movies, rather than just holding the player on its side.

The patent was filed approximately at the same time as the iPod touch made its original debut and appears to show that particular device in the stand. It's uncertain whether the filing was made solely to patent the existing stand design or whether it points to a future iteration that would serve as a dock of its own. Apple isn't required to produce devices that match its patent descriptions.


Filed under: iPod, iPhone
Other story tags: iPod touch, patents

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Ummm

2
08/05, 3:06pm, EDT

I'm pretty sure that IS just the stand that already comes with it.

Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined Aug 2001
User is offline

And...

1
08/05, 6:32pm, EDT

How would it actually "dock"? Induction? Looks like a stand that can hold the cable in place so it does not fall behind the desk, etc.

Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined Sep 2005
User is offline

Not a dock...

1
08/05, 8:11pm, EDT

This doesn't look like a dock so much as just a simple stand. The part that "plugs in" to the cable looks no different than those little plastic caps that ship with brand new Apple-branded sync and/or USB cables that we all end up losing or throwing away.

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