Apple patent involves media players that can determine if they support accessories
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Aug 19, 2008 at 2:02pm
Your iPhone and iPod may get smarter. An Apple patent (number 7415563) for a method and apparatus for allowing a media player to determine if it supports the capabilities of an accessory has appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. The invention relates generally to electrical devices and more particularly to electrical devices such as media players that communicate with accessory devices.
A method and system for allowing a media player to determine if it supports the capabilities of an accessory are disclosed. The method and system comprise requesting information about the capabilities of the accessory by the media player and providing information about the capabilities of the accessory by the accessory to the media player. The method and system further include utilizing the information to determine if the capabilities of the accessory are supported by the media player. Accordingly, a method and system in accordance with the present invention provides a system that allows a media player to obtain information from an accessory about the accessory’s capability. A media player can then utilize this information to allow for the maximum functionality of the accessory when connected to the media player.
Here’s Apple’s summary of the invention: “A method and system for allowing a media player to determine if it supports the capabilities an accessory are disclosed. The method and system comprise requesting information about the capabilities of the accessory by the media player and providing information about the capabilities of the accessory by the accessory to the media player. The method and system further include utilizing the information to determine if the capabilities of the accessory are supported by the media player.
“Accordingly, a method and system in accordance with the present invention allow a media player to obtain information from an accessory about the accessory’s capability. A media player can then utilize this information to allow for the maximum functionality of the accessory when connected to the media player.”
The inventors are Paul Holden, Greg Marriott, Donald J. Novotney, John B. Filson and David Tupman. The graphic below illustrates a docking connector in accordance with the present invention.
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Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
dave Says:
Unfortunately, this patent is more about extracting money from consumers and less about usability/compatibility.
For example, Apple’s ‘requirement’ that anyone making a video out plug for your ipod [you know, the one you bought, that was advertised with video-out capabilities], has to buy and include a chip whose sole purpose is to tell the iPod that, yes, the consumer as paid an additional tax to Apple to actually enable the use of video out.
Now, there would be a huge uproar and class action suit if there was a separate line item for this tax on the consumer’s receipt, but because Apple has buried this extra fee for enabling video out into the manufacturing cost, people don’t know they are paying this extra tax.
Posted on August 19, 2008