Apple patent points to MobileMe playback sync

A newly published Apple patent suggests the company is developing a feature for its MobileMe subscription service that would sync playback state across devices. The feature would allow users to begin watching or listening to a file on one device, such as a computer, and then switch to a separate device, like an iPhone, with their current position within the media file synced automatically. Curiously, the patent covers both locally and remotely stored media, and mentions a system of automatic content retrieval based on anticipated future content access. As with all Apple patents, this filing does not necessarily represent any future product release from Apple, but offers evidence of the company’s research in this area. [via Engadget]