Apple Filing Details Universal iPhone and iPod Dock
We all deal with charger issues. There are chargers for your mobile device, chargers for your cameras, chargers for your video cameras, and chargers for your portable video game systems. The biggest issue we all face with charge-o-rama is being tangled up in a million cords.
At some point, this will all change and we will have easier access to power via our outlets as well as other devices, such as the PowerMat, that will help us cut the cord so to speak.
Another power charging concept that's still just a fantasy on paper is the universal dock that is being developed/designed/toyed around with by Apple.
AppleInsider is reporting tonight that "Apple may be developing a universal dock which can conform to the shape of the object being charged, thus eliminating the need for separate chargers and adapters when switching between products."
A universal dock for the iPod/iPhone was revealed in a patent application published Thursday. The dock's main feature is its ability to change forms to accommodate a variety of devices using an elastic, sponge-like substance that conforms to the shape of the device being charged.According the article and the filing, the sponge-like substance would retain its shape between uses or be reset using a button placed on the front of the dock for use with a different device. If this is true, one would assume that this dock could eliminate the current problem of differing generations of iPods/iPhones and, as a result, having to utilize adapters to fit into certain docks and chargers.
The patent for the device, dubbed the "Aesthetically pleasing universal dock", was originally filed in June 2008.
Follow Technorati