Breaking: Likely New Mobile Products From Motorola, HTC and LG
Another round of "Who's Filed Trademarks?" has turned up a number of indications of new mobile products from Motorola (MOT), HTC, and LG.
All of the U.S. trademark applications were filed since late September and none appear to be in use already, which is a good indication of new products or services on the horizon. Note that trademark applications happen on a country-by-country basis, so a product that appears under one name in one country could have a different label in another.
Motorola has three new trademark applications. The first, filed on Sept. 23, is Hilt, which is in the category of "cellular telephones and mobile hand-held computing devices." The other names -- Photon (filing date of Sept. 28) and Catapult (Oct. 12 date) -- have far more extensive descriptions:
Cellular phones; cellular phones with electronic messaging capabilities; cellular phones with digital camera and video camera capabilities; cellular phones with MP3, audio, and video player capabilities; cellular phones with electronic game capabilities; cellular phones with two-way radio capabilities; cellular phones with navigation and global positioning (GPS) capabilities; wireless communication devices featuring voice, data and image transmission; cellular phone batteries, battery chargers and power adaptorsBecause this is a description of the goods and services, and because a company can get badly penalized by including products or services that a company won't actually make or provide, chances seem good that this is a list of some of the capabilities. This gets a bit confusing because of the proposed split of Motorola into two companies. The one that handles two-way radio, popular in certain business uses, will not be the one that produces handsets. However, most of the specs, especially the gaming capabilities, suggest a smartphone. Will the two eventually share trademarks? It's hard to say.
One thing that is probably safe to say: the new Catapult probably has nothing to do with this video of someone shooting a Motorola handset from a catapult:
HTC applied for a trademark on "HTC EVO 4G SHIFT," indicating that it would cover mobile phones, smartphones, and cellular phones. Clearly it's something separate from, but probably related to, the EVO 4G. There was some to-do when it seemed that the game Need for Speed Shift would work on the EVO 4G. However, the game didn't come pre-loaded on the handset. Could the new trademark indicate a version of the product that was focused on the gaming market? A combination smartphone and gearshift for your natty roadster? If you know, drop an email.
Finally, LG has been actively filing a number of new trademark applications. In the mobile space, there's a new Axis mobile phone and something called a Side Wing that sounds like it could be some sort of smart peripheral for other equipment:
Wired telephone sets; wireless telephones sets; portable communication apparatus; mobile phones; MP3 players; television receivers TV sets; television remote controllers; semiconductor-chips for improvement of television image quality; universal serial bus drives; digital media broadcasting players; headsets for mobile phones; portable chargers for batteries; electronic albums; digital picture frames; monitors for computer; lap top computers; computers; DVD players; portable hard disk drives; apparatus for recording, transmission and/or reproduction of sound and images for telecommunication; apparatus for recording, transmission and/or reproduction of sound and images; electric audio and visual apparatus and instruments; stereo receivers; computer software for mobile phone; computer software for television receiver; computer software for personal computer monitor; DVD players for home theaters; speakers for home theaters; audio-video receivers for home theaters; projectors for home theaters; integrated circuits; audio receivers; electronic toll collection systems comprised of on board units; terminals for electronic transactions equipped in vehicle; closed-circuit television cameras; network monitoring cameras; digital signage; thermal printers; digital colour printers; laser printers; ink jet printers; colour printers; printers for computers; solar batteries; pre-recorded computer programs; downloadable computer program software; cameras for personal computer; digital voice recorder; video cassette recorders; network monitor; educational software; electronic note pad; tablet computer; interactive white boards; set-top boxes for television receiver; image data file capable of receiving and downloading via internet; electronic publications; video conference system; monitors for video conference system; cameras for video conference system; speakers for video conference systemLG also filed a trademark application on a variation called the XPION Side Wing, which sounds like it could be a companion smartphone or even tablet computer for the company's line of PCs. It might be that HP's integration of a tablet with a printer was just the first of a wave of combinations we'll see, with media display devices essentially becoming a giveaway to move other equipment.
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