TAMPERING customers and accessory makers alike are testing the patience of iPod and iPhone maker Apple 鈥� so it is inventing its way around the problem.
In a patent filed on 6 August, Apple reveals that it aims to thwart iPod and iPhone users who cause damage to their gadgets and then claim new ones under warranty (). 鈥淐onsumer abuse includes exposing devices to liquids, extreme temperatures, excessive shock, and may also include tampering,鈥� the firm says.
The patent describes an in-gadget sensor and circuit combination designed to record these 鈥渃onsumer abuse events鈥� so shop staff can assess them when presented with a dead machine.
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The third-party hardware people buy for their devices can also damage them 鈥� resulting in returned machines that cost Apple money. So in another patent the firm reveals a 鈥渟niffer鈥� that sits between one of its gadgets and, say, an amplifier dock (). This senses every voltage on every socket pin and ensures that external hardware is not causing power changes that may interfere with future software upgrades.
The idea? Anyone wanting to produce Apple-compatible kit will have to buy one of its sniffers.
