“What kinds of new products will be helping Apple pay its bondholders over the next several years?” Quentin Fottrell wonders for MarketWatch. “Though the company has always been secretive about new gadgets in the pipeline, some tantalizing innovations may be on the way.”
“How about an invincible iPhone that survives a dunk in the toilet? Apple acquired an exclusive license for ‘Liquidmetal’ use in electronics in 2010, but hasn’t used it yet. This material can be produced to create new shells for iPhones, iPads and iPods, and ‘the hermetic bonding and sealing process could render an iDevice waterproof,’ says Jeff Haynes, editor at TechBargains.com,” Fottrell writes. “Apple also filed patents for fuel cells that could power devices for days or weeks on a single charge, he says, and liquidmetal would be a way to seal the cells while still providing plenty of power.”
Fottrell writes, “Fingerprint and retina identification and flexible screens could also enhance both the security and durability of Apple devices, analysts say… Apple could also move out of the home office and living room — and into the kitchen. ‘It would be interesting to see Apple develop home appliances,’ says Darren R. Hayes, assistant professor at Pace University’s Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems in Westchester, N.Y.”
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