A New Year a New Innovation!

As we ease ourselves into 2011 wondering what this year will bring in interconnection and innovation there is news that Apple’s iPad &iPhone may soon sprout magnetic connectors for fast disengage.

Patently Apple is reporting that a recent – and apparently rather hastily published – continuation patent application seems to reveal the company’s intention to integrate its MagSafe power connector into future versions of portables such as the iPhone and iPad.

The MagSafe connector is held in place magnetically so that if tugged on, it disengages from the socket easily and safely, without damaging it or the computer. Thus alleviating the dreaded laptop-hits-floor scenario when someone accidentally pulls or trips on the power cord!

Wikipedia notes that the MagSafe is similar to the magnetic power connectors that many deep fryers and Japanese countertop cooking appliances have in order to avoid spilling their dangerously hot contents.

I like what Darius Chang, commenting at CNET Asia, has to say on all this:
“The MagSafe connector is one of those features which makes so much          sense that one wonders why it has not become a universal standard…Still,      not all patents actually take on physical form, take this with a pinch of salt      for now”.

Having had personal experience with having my laptop being pulled off the table by my daughter pulling on the power lead (busted laptop daughter unharmed), I can’t wait to see this type of connector system more widely adopted. It is something many insurance companies would be keen to see introduced too!

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