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style="clear:both;"></div></div><br/>A veritable treasure trove of documents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office show some of the different ways that Apple is looking to integrate location, travel and commerce into future versions of <a
href="http://mashable.com/category/ios">iOS</a>.<a
href="http://www.patentlyapple.com" >Patently Apple</a> has uncovered some of the latest developments, which include additions to the <a
href="http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2010/04/itravel-apples-future-travel-centric-app-for-the-iphone.html" >iTravel app</a> that surfaced back in April, as well as social shopping and fashion applications. <span
id="more-343328"></span> We've covered some of Apple's other iOS-related patents in the past, including <a
href="http://mashable.com/2010/04/16/apple-itickets/">iTickets</a> and <a
href="http://mashable.com/2010/03/18/apple-igroups/">iGroups</a>, as well as some system-wide <a
href="http://mashable.com/2010/05/17/apple-patent-facebook-iphone/">integrations with Facebook</a>, but the newest patents revolve around two areas that really make sense for a mobile device.<hr
/><h2>Travel Simplicity?</h2><hr
/>The initial iTravel patent detailed an application that could connect to various airlines or transportation services, and book or retrieve reservations for flights, hotels, car rentals, etc., all from the device. Check-in/Baggage Claim data and identity information could also be accessed in the app to make boarding and retrieving or checking luggage that much easier.The most recent <a
href="http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2010/07/apple-expanding-services-for-their-future-itravel-application.html" >iTravel patent</a>reveals that in addition to making and retrieving reservations, the iTravel app could actually communicate with equipment on airplanes and add a layer of personalization to travel.<center><img
src="http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/itravel-airplane-640.jpg" alt="" title="itravel-airplane-640" width="640" height="568" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-343344" /></center>For instance, using the app, you could not only book your flight, but also specify what type of in-flight entertainment you want, your food and beverage choices, makes adjustments to your seat, the air and the lighting, and so forth. You could also use the app to find restaurants and other services in the airport.As cool as having the ability to specify, book and control your flight preferences is, that only takes care of the transportation aspect of travel. What about lodging? Well, it turns out that Apple has <a
href="http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2010/07/apples-itravel-app-to-plug-into-hotel-servers-for-in-room-services.html" >some ideas</a> for that too. Yet another iTravel patent application surfaced yesterday, this one detailing how the iTravel app could connect with a hotel before you check in, after you arrive and when you are ready to leave.<center><img
src="http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/itravel-whereto-640.jpg" alt="" title="itravel-whereto-640" width="640" height="551" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-343348" /></center>In addition to making room reservations, travelers could also make requests about temperature, lighting, the types of food or beverages to have available, etc. Then, the iPhone could act as a room key and as a remote control for things like A/V devices.The iTravel app could also connect directly to hotel services like dry cleaning, room service and the hotel spa, and make it easy to reserve tables at nearby restaurants, book cabs or get suggestions for local entertainment. Finally, the app could be used to pay your bill, request transportation, use reward programs and also keep track of receipts.Now, many of these features would be dependent on compatible hotel systems, but wouldn't being able to do all that from one device making frequent (or even infrequent) traveling less stressful?<hr
/><h2>The Virtual Closet</h2><hr
/>In addition to the iTravel patent applications, Patently Apple also uncovered some details about something called <a
href="http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2010/07/ok-girls-apple-is-introducing-the-social-networking-virtual-closet.html" >Virtual Closet</a>. Looking at the patent application, it seems obvious that a large clothing retailer is in talks with Apple to have some sort of deeper device-level integration to make the shopping experience more, well, modern.If you've ever seen the movie <em>Clueless</em> (one of my all-time favorites, I might add), you'll recall that at the beginning, Cher (Alicia Silverstone) uses her computer to pick out her outfit for school. She's able to scan through all of her items, pair them together and is alerted when something is mismatched.<center><img
src="http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/virtual-closet-640.jpg" alt="" title="virtual-closet-640" width="640" height="725" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-343350" /></center>This is Virtual Closet in a nutshell. It only took 15 years, but the future has arrived. Virtual Closet can be used to catalog real clothing and to help put together outfits; get suggestions on what looks good; mark items as dirty, clean, "needs dry cleaning," or leant to a friend; and so forth. From a pure organizational standpoint, this is brilliant.I created a database in <a
href="http://mashable.com/2010/05/10/bento-ipad/">Bento</a> that has <em>most</em> of my clothing cataloged and organized. I did this because the last time I moved I needed four wardrobe boxes (each box was supposed to be good for an average person's entire wardrobe, according to our moving box company), three suitcases and still a few loads in the car to get everything moved. My database has tags for season, date purchased, cut, brand, color and condition, but building in a rating and flag system for when things have been worn too many times, or for grouping items that should be worn together, was something that was too complicated.The app also has a social component so that you can coordinate with friends, get their input, and also exchange clothes back and forth.In addition to cataloging and keeping track of clothing, Apple is working to improve clothes buying. The <a
href="http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2010/07/apple-reveals-fashion-app-to-drive-consumers-to-online-retailers.html" >patent documents</a> show graphics for Ralph Lauren -- very likely one of the brands that is working with Apple on this endeavor.The idea behind this patent is to drive consumers to high-end apparel stores by offering coupons, exclusive deals and notifications when new items are available in stores.This has potential. Although Virtual Closet is a great idea, it probably isn't a big revenue driver. However, if you take the current <a
href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ralph-lauren-collection-fall/id294067384" >Ralph Lauren Collection iPhone app</a> and you add geo-aware notifications to alert him or her of special discounts, stock counts or when new items are coming into the store, that's a real way to drive traffic.<center><img
src="http://cdn.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/RL-shopping-640.jpg" alt="" title="RL-shopping-640" width="640" height="442" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-343352" /></center>How great would it be, for instance, if you could be alerted when you favorite store got in some pants or tops in your size? As hard as it is to believe, many retailers still handle online merchandise and retail store merchandise in completely different divisions. Even if the styles available are the same at both places, you can't place an online order in the store, or request a store transfer or direct shipment online.Inside the store itself, the applications could offer recommendations, gift guides, access to your social networks for advice, etc.In essence, this could be a virtual clothing catalog with geo-aware enhancements.<hr
/><h2>What Do These Patents Mean for App Developers?</h2><hr
/><a
href="http://www.unwiredview.com/2010/07/30/apple-starts-patenting-mobile-app-ideas/" >Unwired</a> opined that Apple is "stealing" or trying to patent application ideas. Although some of the theoretical usage cases are very specific (and could find their way into official or third-party apps), the actual crux of the patents in these cases isn't about the concept, but execution.In other words, just because Apple has a patent that includes a hotel-specific application designed to let users pay their bills, order room service and order a movie from their iPhone doesn't preclude any other application from doing something very similar. Instead, what's being patented is the way that the different systems communicate together and the bridging of multiple services in one stream.In fact, many of the elements in these patents (which were filed in Q4 2009) have a lot in common with <a
href="http://mashable.com/2010/02/05/siri-assistant/">Siri</a>, the personal assistant app that <a
href="http://mashable.com/2010/04/28/apple-acquires-iphone-app-siri/">Apple acquired</a> at the end of April.The Supreme Court's recent <a
href="http://mashable.com/2010/06/28/bilski-ruling/">Bilski decision</a> didn't really clarify anything about the future validity of software patents, but as it stands, these most recent filings have a lot more to do with infrastructure and wireless communication gateways than anything that is application-specific.What do you think of iTravel, Virtual Closet and the enhanced shopping patents?[<em>img credit: <a
href="http://www.patentlyapple.com" >Patently Apple</a></em>]<p
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