JAN. 3, 2009 • Apple Inc. has applied for a patent for a high tactility electronic glove system that would let consumers keep their hands warm and still use devices like the iPhone. Regular gloves are not usable since the iPhone screen requires an electrically conductive contact with a finger tip. Apple had no comment on the patent, which one day could be called the iGlove.
Impact: Apple has generally encouraged third-party accessories for its products, and in the case of the iPod, sought to profit from the business by starting to require royalties from accessory makers to have their products approved. With the wild success of the iPhone, Apple could directly capitalize with more of its own accessory products, or force third-parties to license its patents, in addition to royalties. While this is not unexpected, Apple would do well to take note of the animosity that high royalties generated with Nintendo third-parties back in the SNES heyday, and how those angry publishers helped Sony introduce the PlayStation.
