Microsoft patent shows how a modular smartphone could be realized. Image: RegHardware

We know Microsoft for its software chops, but the company is tinkering with some innovative hardware design concepts on the side.

A recent Microsoft patent describes a smartphone with a slide-out section that can house one of several modules, including a QWERTY keyboard, a gaming pad, a second display or a battery pack. Even better: The modules work wirelessly when they aren’t docked in the smartphone’s slider. Another useful way the modular smartphone concept could be used: The keyboard can be used as a controller while the smartphone acts as a TV-connected media hub.

Such a modular design combines capabilities normally found in different phones or accessories. For a gaming pad, your phone of choice right now would be something like the Xperia Arc. Want a slide-out QWERTY keyboard? You’re probably looking at one of several Android smartphones. If you’re looking for extra juice, you’ll need a special case or a phone with a removable battery.

How would something like this work if it came out within the next year or so?

With continued Xbox Live integration with Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango), gaming would definitely be fun with the d-pad module.

If you’re writing long emails or sending text after text, a QWERTY keyboard can be more comfortable to use but not something you necessarily need all the time. Windows Phone has tight social media integration, which would make it easy to stay connected with friends and family and keep chatting via email, Facebook or other methods.

Windows’ Live Tile-based UI looks fantastic on a single display. I can only imagine that spreading to dual screens — the ability to check status updates, weather notifications and more on one, and watch video, check email or browse the web on the other. However, dual-screened devices have largely disappointed in practice. Perhaps the slide-out, rather than the folding-style double screen, could be an improvement though.

A battery-pack module would be ideal for a long day (or weekend) traveling when you may not have access to an outlet for charging, like on a camping trip. Your phone would be alive — but would you have access to 3G or 4G? At least you’d be able to take photos and perhaps access some sort of offline map app. Along the same lines, a battery pack could keep the phone juiced up while you use the gaming pad wirelessly.

Would such a design be practical? Smartphones wear many hats these days, especially if it is being shared among members of a household (web-surfing mom or dad, text-happy kids who also suck batteries dry playing games … you get the picture). The biggest problem might be misplacing modules and the risk of dirt or debris damaging the slider.

Microsoft’s patent isn’t the first of its kind. Other modular cellphones include the Modu Phone, which featured interchangeable cases and a prototype from NTT Docomo. More recently, we’ve seen the smartphone itself work with larger accessories, like with the Motorola Atrix and its laptop dock.

RegHardware via Geek

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This week on the Gadget Lab Podcast: The gang talks about Netflix’s big split, Arduino’s newest products and the latest iPhone rumors, and takes a look at a business-minded Lenovo Tablet and the My Keepon robot.

Reviews editor Michael Calore and staff writer Mike Isaac open the show discussing Netflix’s odd e-mail apology and sudden move to split into two separate units: Netflix, for streaming, and the newly created Qwikster for Netflix’s former DVD-by-mail service. Not to mention the goldmine that is the Qwikster Twitter feed.

The two then switch gears to talk about the latest in Android tablets, the Lenovo ThinkPad tablet. It’s basically what RIM should have done with the BlackBerry Playbook, but we’ll get a more in-depth look at the tablet next week.

Next, staff writer Christina Bonnington gives us a hands-on with the My Keepon robot, a toy designed from a research robot used in autism therapy.

Mike and Christina conclude the show chatting about the latest word on the iPhone 5 (and the iPhone 4S), and get geeky talking about Arduino’s newest products.

Like the show? You can also get the Gadget Lab video podcast via iTunes, or if you don’t want to be distracted by our unholy on-camera talent, check out the Gadget Lab audio podcast. Prefer RSS? You can subscribe to the Gadget Lab video or audio podcast feeds.

Or listen to the audio below:

Gadget Lab audio podcast #125

http://downloads.wired.com/podcasts/assets/gadgetlabaudio/GadgetLabAudio0125.mp3

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A key security feature of Apple’s in-app billing feature for iOS apps has been down since Thursday night, making it difficult for app developers to verify legitimate sales and leaving some of them worried they’re losing money.

Several developers have told Wired.com the verifyReceipt function, which ensures in-app purchases are valid, is showing an error whenever customers attempt to buy something through an app. Without verifyReceipt, faked purchase attempts could be made on iOS apps.

The problem started around 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time Thursday, according to several Tweets describing the problem, and had not been resolved by the time this story was posted. Apple has not responded to our requests for comment.

The Sandbox version of the site, used for testing, is up, but the URL used for real transactions shows a 404 error. With the page down, developers cannot verify that receipts are valid, and therefore can’t honor purchases because of the possibility the receipt has been forged.

The timing is especially problematic for developers because Friday is typically a busy day, said iOS developer Martin Nilsson. He estimates the problem has cost him between $900 and $1,500 in revenue. Nilsson’s app, a magazine aggregator called Paperton, is relatively new, and he feels the issue is particularly harmful because it could damage users’ trust of the app.

The iOS in-app purchasing feature is one of the best ways for iPhone and iPad developers to make money from their apps because it provides for continued revenue long past the initial app download. The function has been a cornerstone of Apple’s success in attracting developers to make apps for the platform. Apple’s App Store now boasts over half a million apps.

The in-app purchasing issue has recently come under fire for both iOS and Android developers with the aggressive actions of patent trolls like Lodsys. This summer, Apple also revamped its in-app purchasing policy regarding subscriptions.

With the verifyReceipt page out, Nilsson says he has had to develop a workaround to allow purchases to now go through. But Andrew Johnson, who develops an offline topographical maps iOS app, said the issue isn’t as critical.

“If this continued for an extended period, this would be problematic for anyone who’s using in-app purchases,” Johnson said. He said his revenue loss has been negligible because in-app purchasing isn’t a primary component of his product.

Nilsson noted that several applications that use in-app purchasing have not been affected. The inclusion of verifyReceipt is part of Apple’s In App Purchase Programming Guide, so this could mean that developers aren’t appropriately safeguarding against the possibility of forged receipts.

If you’re an iOS developer and the issue is affecting you, shoot us an email or sound off in the comments.

Image: m thierry/Flickr

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Bone. Horn. Ride. The jokes write themselves

This is the Horn Bike iPhone case from Bone, and you can probably guess from the name exactly what it does. Your iPhone 4 slides into the silicone sleeve and a Velcro strap secures it to the handlebars of your bike. So far, so ordinary.

The neatness comes from the ‘horn’ part, which is in fact a horn speaker that channels the sound from the iPhone’s speaker forwards and at the same time stretches it out, making it up to 13dB louder. Not only can you now use all manner of cycle-computer or GPS apps, you can also listen to music, or hear turn-by-turn directions.

The Horn Bike will cost $30, which is pretty standard even for a non-bike-mounted, non-horn-sporting case, which leads me to conclude that it is a bargain. Now all I need is an iPhone. Unless anyone knows of an iPad bike mount, that is?

Horn Bike [Fruit Shop]

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Epson’s projector hooks up directly to your iDevice

When held at movie-watching distance from my face, my iPad’s screen appears bigger than any of my friends’ TVs, all of which are on the other side of the room. But with more than two people watching a film, things can get a little crowded. Enter Epson’s Megaplex MG-850HD, an LCD projector with a pop-out dock.

The Megaplex takes the audio and video from your iDevice and kicks it out through a pair of ten-watt speakers and a 2,800-lumen lamp at 720p resolution. It’s portable, too, with a carrying handle, and will juice your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch when plugged in.

You can also hook up other gear via component cables, HDMI, USB or VGA and there are even headphone and mic jacks, for solo listening or (presumably) karaoke.

As someone who doesn’t want or own a TV, and does all (and I mean all) of his TV and movie-watching on an iPad, I’m actually pretty interested in this thing. What I’m not interested in is the $800 price-tag. I guess I’ll just have to stick to pico projectors and darkened rooms when friends come to visit.

Epson Megaplex product page [Epson via UberGizmo]

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• Power-Free iPhone Projector: It's All Done With Mirrors
• Tiny, Portable iPhone Dock Projector

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Welcome to Australia, where men are men and only women like shopping. According to Ikea that is. The Swedish retail giant opened up MÄNLAND at its Sydney store over the first weekend of September. MÄNLAND, modeled on the kid-friendly SMALAND, is a place for women to park their partners while they shop.

MÄNLAND consists of pinball machines, table football and comfy Ikea sofas stocked with GQ and other men’s magazines. Thus ensconced, the men can while away the time as their other halves buy far more household wares than they planned to, just like any regular Ikea shopping trip.

And lest the women forget their charges when it’s time to leave, they’re given a buzzer which will activate after a half hour, reminding them to pick up their men from the playpen.

The male creche was little more than a Father’s day weekend gimmick, but I’d totally love to see it rolled out to all stores. Especially if they also serve Ikea’s awesome — and cheap — hot dogs.

IKEA introduces MANLAND, the creche for retail-weary men [News via the Giz]

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• Ikea
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Pure gimmickry, but undoubtedly beautiful. And despite its name, the Levitatr ships with all vowels intact

James Stumpf dreamed of an iPad with physical keys which would rise, magically, from the glass itself. Of course, this is a ridiculous dream, but that didn’t stop James from striving to make it real. The result is the Levitatr, a sleek slab of aluminum and polycarbonate from which — you guessed it — the keys magically rise.

The $80 keyboard (currently seeking funding on Kickstarter) is activated by pressing down a knobbly button on one side. This pops up the keys which were previously flush with the surface. Two more buttons — one for power and one to connect via Bluetooth — are hidden around back, and there’s a fold-out kickstand to hold the iPad at the appropriate angle.

The only problem I see is that it’s thick, at 9.8mm (0.4 inches). That only makes it a little bit smaller than Apple’s own aluminum keyboard inside a case.

Still, it’s neat-looking, and James has hopes for this to be incorporated into the screen of an actual tablet in the future. Although that sounds pretty difficult, if he can crack it, then he might genuinely be onto something that would differentiate a tablet from the iPad.

Levitatr: A keyboard with elevating keys for iPad, Tablets [Kickstarter]

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A pair of non-electric Bromptons, packed for a flight. Photo Todd Fahrner/Flickr

Oh, man. First Bob Dylan went electric, and now Brompton. The London-based folding bike maker has at last revealed the truth behind its long (and somewhat tedious) “Project X” teaser campaign: An eBrompton.

The information is still just dribbling from the company, though. Little more has been revealed than that the bike will have a small electric motor, and that this motor won’t interfere with the legendary “fold,” which makes the Brompton one of the smallest bikes around when packed down. The new e-bike will go on sale in the UK and Germany next year, and the rest of the world will follow in 2013.

One thing is pretty certain, though: a motor will add weight. When riding a Brompton, it’s 9-12.5kg (20-28 pound) weight is light enough, but when you have to carry the folded package up five flights of stairs (as I do most days) it starts to feel a little heavy. Then again, I guess anyone frail enough to be buying an electric bike probably lives in a building with an elevator.

Weight issues aside, I’m excited to find out how the eBrompton will work. The now classic status of the original often hides the innovation of its design. I hope the electric version is similarly clever.

eBrompton announced by West London biker maker [Road.cc]

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• Brompton
• Review: Brompton M6L Folding Bicycle

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