I'm not sure if closed source matters - does Garmin use an open OS to run their computers? Of course, data transmission might be an issue (i.e. choosing not to use ANT+), but that's actually not in line with what Apple tends to do - they seem to like their platforms closed, and their technology open. After all, their wireless base stations don't use a proprietary technology, they use 802.11a-n, just like everyone else, they're on the HTML5 committee, things like that. And I think that, to the extent that battery life was an issue (the battery life on my iPhone is perfectly acceptable, though certainly not amazing), they seem to have addressed that with the newest generations of their products.

But I agree with everyone who thinks a product is unlikely to come out of this. I like Apple's products, and I can't really blame them, as a for-profit corporation, for using all the tools available to them, but the patent system is pretty broken, and the patent-filing strategies used by Apple and hundreds of other companies are abusive and harmful to competition and progress. Apple has actual products, so it's not a patent troll company, but they're still really aggressive with their patent strategy, and that sucks. So don't expect an iPower anytime soon.