In recent weeks, Apple has added to its generous patent portfolio with a variety of interesting patents covering location-based services implemented through the electronic devices produced by the company. The enhancement of location-based services available through mobile devices is at the center of U.S. Patent No. 9066199, which is titled Location-Aware Mobile Device. The method claimed here involves determining a location of a mobile device, controlling a client to display visual indications associated with the device’s location and transmitting information regarding the selection of a visual indication to a network resource. This innovation is designed to increase the opportunities for providing location-based services by enabling the activation of multiple location-based clients directly on a mobile device instead of accessing mapping resources over a network.
Apple is also trying to make it easier for you to locate your car with the technology described in U.S. Patent No. 9041556, titled Method for Locating a Vehicle. The method for locating a vehicle in a parking structure claimed here involves receiving a vehicle signal from a low-power wireless transmitter in the vehicle, determining the vehicle’s location based on the sensor transmitting the vehicle signal, receiving a wireless signal from a device, determining that the device is associated with the vehicle and transmitting information on the vehicle’s location to the device. This invention would leverage the low-energy device communications enabled by Bluetooth, which is becoming an incredibly important technology thanks to the growing Internet of Things sector.
A notification service that helps a mobile device user identify nearby contacts is featured within U.S. Patent No. 9002380, titled Proximity-Based Notifications in a Mobile Device. The patent protects a computer-implemented method of receiving a request to issue a notification when a contact’s mobile device is in proximity to a first mobile device, determining an amount of time for the first mobile device to travel to the contact’s mobile device and determining a travel route of the first mobile device. This system enables a new kind of notification for meeting contacts without requiring users to specify either a place or time as part of the notification.
We also take note of some interesting entertainment and video gaming developments pioneered by Apple and protected through patents recently issued by the USPTO. An invention aiming to provide a more competitive experience for single-player video games is the focus of U.S. Patent No. 9050535, titled Implementing Challenges in Single-Player Games. The method claimed here involves receiving high score and achievement data for a game, sending that data as challenge information to a second device, determining that the user of the second device has eclipsed the high score or achievement level of the first user and sending a new challenge back to the first mobile device. This innovation is designed to create a type of multiplayer competition within single-player games to keep gamers engaged longer.
Instagram and other photo editing programs have introduced the world to the idea of artistic filters for digital 
photos and Apple has its own technology in the field, reflected in U.S. Patent No. 9053568, titled Applying a Realistic Artistic Texture to Images. It discloses a non-transitory program storage device including instructions which are executable by a processor to obtain an object image, generating first and second texturized images based on the input image and a selected texture type, generating a combined texturized image based on the first and second images, generating a colorized image based on the combined texturized image and a selected color and generating an output image. This technology aims to improve upon digital image editors by providing users with more freedom to experiment with the application of artistic filters and other image editing options.
Apple is also trying to establish the more effective management of marketing campaigns implemented across social media networks, which is evidenced within U.S. Patent No. 9059950, titled Delivering and Tracking Viral Invitational Content. This patent claims a method of receiving a forwarding request of invitational content from a first requesting device, generating a unique identifier for the request and a forwarding entry containing the unique identifier, delivering an invitational contact item to a second device as part of a viral campaign with a target spend range and utilizing a throttling method to manage the viral campaign’s spend range. This technology is designed to improve the management of viral marketing campaigns on social networks, which can be highly unpredictable in nature.
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