The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published documentation on 22 recently granted patents for Apple on Tuesday. As reported by Patently Apple, it includes clothing technology – namely running shoes. This is a very intriguing patent as it relates to Apple’s Nike + iPod product.

Unlike the Nike + sensors, Apple is referring to runners with sensors built-in. These sensors may be used to send information such as garment usage and detection of wear patterns to an external database. In short, your next iPhone may be able to tell you when you need to buy new runners. This goes beyond what the current sensors are limited to with usability in other sports like skiing, in-line skating and even swimming. A user’s performance can be measured in common metrics like speed, distance, slope and elevation.

Source: Patently Apple

Related posts:

1. Apple releases iOS 5.1 to developers, Siri finds Tim Hortons
2. Seas0nPass untethered jailbreak for Apple TV released
3. Shatter-proof iPhone, that’s what this patent says
4. Apple 64GB iPad 2 $659.99 at Best Buy
5. Apple seeds iOS 5.0.1 beta 2 to developers