Within the application for the patent Apple provided three illustrations that depict "revolutionary" technology – on the first one you see page flipped a bit, on a second it's flipped a bit more, and guess what on the third one page is almost completely flipped. Also, the description states that turning the pages is activated by moving your finger on the screen, while the vertical strokes reveal a part of the next page. Title patent is pretty generic as usual: Display or its part with animated graphical user interface. Patent application was filed in December of last year, and it was approved earlier this week.
Also, the Patent Office has awarded Apple the rights for Smart Case for iPad. The patent describes a device almost identical to Smart Cover, with the difference that Smart Case offers protection for the tablet around the entire unit, not just for the screen. Besides these two, Apple has been granted a further 36 patents, including the "color enhancement on the camera depending on the skin tone", "Location-based services in the categories" and "consistent backup information."
[Ed – We have covered the almost incompetent workings of the US Patent and Trademark office for more years that we care to count. These last few patents are pretty much proof that they are not doing any research into prior art at all, but are handing out patents to Apple just because they submitted them. In truth we wish we knew why they give Apple such a free ride as the majority of the “innovations” that they push through should be tossed out with a simple Google search. Until someone does something about this Apple will continue to try and cheat the system to stifle competition. They have already shown they cannot compete head to head with other companies using technology. Then again, Apple had to turn to patents for their stolen ideas after they found out they could not copyright them back when they sued Microsoft. Still you would think that the US Patent Office would have figured things out by now…]
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