Apple has filed a new and vast range of functionality to its growing iTravel patent, allowing users to manage hotel services and air travel tools from their iPhones.
First revealed in April 2010, iTravel is Apple’s project name for a suite of tools for the iPhone which give users the ability to make flight reservations, manage bookings, airport and hotel check-in and passenger identification tools.
One of the most important aspects of iTravel is that it sits on the iPhone as a pre-installed piece of functionality, alongside other options such as calendar, mail, calculator, rather than a third party-hosted application.
PatentlyApple, the site which first evaluated the iTravel patent, has now discovered a further two patents filed in the past week – the first is a hotel in-room and concierge system, another focuses on trip planning and in-flight services.
The hotel system is split into a number of parts, such as pre-arrival, arrival, in-room services, resort activities and check-out tools.
Each element has a series of options where the user can select products and services, make payments, check itineraries or control other technology in the vicinity, such as room systems (air-con, lighting).
The second patent features functionality primarily for us at an airport, adding to the existing flight check-in tools on the original patent application but covering such elements of a trip as lounge services, in-flight tools and seat booking.
As well as being able to control features of the aircraft seat, such as cabin crew alerts and volume controls, services such as destination content and information about activities are also included.
Couple these most recent patents with the location-based services tools filed in mind-May 2010 and clearly Apple is creating quite a substantial body of work.
And although no single element of the iTravel filing is officially available as a product or in-built service for the iPhone (and, presumably, iPad), the patents show the capability of such software and where Apple’s on-the-move strategy could be heading.
NB: Hat-tip PatentlyApple and Paul Slugocki.
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I’m liking that this default app isn’t standing on the shoulders (or stepping on the toes) of the travel apps from third party developers. Instead, apple seem to be adding some value to the actual in-room/ on the road experience and connecting existing technologies to users. It would take someone as big as apple to do something like this and I commend them for choosing the innovative approach rather than the low hanging fruit – copying someone elses business model.
How about the overused term “game changer” anyone? Maybe not, but with these functionalities, even if not all like cabin light control, pre-installed on each device with millions sold the impact could be quite significant. Apple would certainly raise the bar in the area of travel apps.
Guys, none of these ideas are original. There are entire companies built around these ideas. If Apple is granted any of these patents, the patent system is seriously broken.
@daniele – i would presume that the ideas are original in terms of the functionality for that particular software element of the iPhone operating system, rather than the concept itself.
Yes Apple is raising the bar for others. I guess this is the right time for apple and others (if they can chip-in or would catch-up) to take the utility of hand-helds (iPhone and others) to a level wherein its serves one-device-all-computing need of a consumer (traveler or a banker or any customer). Taking the device beyond book-to-board utility to merchandising, hotel room key, hotel entertainment content service and RFID related functions would mean breaking new grounds.
Yeah, wasn’t trying to say no ones made a PPG on a handset before (IceTV etc.,) what I was saying is that no one developer could make a 3rd party app and ensure it’d be on every device. The fact that apple CAN do this means they can standardize the ux/technology so that the mass market can buy in. This is a much better choice than targeting a business model that’s already and copying it.
*EPG (Type-o)
I don’t think you’ve thought this through.
If apple gets these patents then presumably they not only have a complete lockdown on those listed travel services on the iphone but can also prevent them on android? Or blackberry?
I really can’t imagine that google would be very happy with this? Since they’re moving into travel so forcefully at the moment, would they really want half of their travel related functionality on android clipped?
No if these patents are granted then god help us because it’ll kick off an app patenting war which no one will be any better from.
What I’m secretly hoping is that apple is doing this to prove that apps CAN’T BE PATENTED to avoid just such a scenario. Apple gets hit by patent trolls every month or so and doesn’t like anyone tell it what it can and can’t do on it’s platform.