Patentseed

Sony apparently doesn’t think so. Rather than having just static images, Sony aims to bring “moving images” (i.e., video). It’s not clear exactly how they plan on presenting this data to end-users, but Sony’s patent application 11/935,098 reveals how they plan on capturing the “moving images” and associated meta-data. The idea of comparing an area throughout time (day vs. night, different seasons, different years, etc.) is discussed. The patent application states: “In this fashion, a user of the geographical map service may also see a video recording made on a certain location or a number of locations during different seasons.” Not sure how video is an advantage here though. The application goes on to state: “Moreover, if the recording is made from a vehicle in motion, the user of the service interested in getting driving instructions from the interactive map service may also get a much better idea about how to drive…” We’re not completely sold.  Good luck Sony.

Imagine a candy bar cellphone that you unfold to become a palmtop.  This idea, brought to you by Palm, Inc. (patent application 12/266,041) allows you to have a decent sized palmtop computer and cellular telephone in one device.  Palm states that by “utilizing flexible display technology, both a PDA and a cellular telephone are incorporated into one device.”  The key here is undoubtedly the flexible display technology. 

The parent patent application of this was filed way back in 2004.  So it seems Palm has been working on this concept for quite sometime now.  Anyone seen a prototype?  With the Palm Pre currently in the limelight, it may be a while before we see this product (if ever).

You enter a meeting.  Your ex-girlfriend tries to call, and your phone automatically filters the call.  Your roommate tries to call, and again,  your phone automatically filters the call.  Then your boss calls, and immediately your phone begins to ring.  That’s Palm’s patent application 11/863,174 in action.  By allowing you to set a priority for each person in your contact list, and setting the priority threshold for each appointment in your calendar, Palm will allow you to filter out non-priority calls.  Or you can set it up by time, so that you can filter out middle of the night calls from your drunk friends.  Sounds like a great idea, unless you’re Mary.

Earlier this year, we saw Mimi Switch announce a remote control that relies on facial expressions.  Hopefully they are aware of Sony’s patent application 11/933,611, titled “Generating Music Playlist Based on Facial Expression.”  That, along with happy “David,” just about describes the patent application.  Alas Sony, what happened to the glory days of the cassette Walkman?

“Are the odd numbers on the right or left?”  “Are the numbers going up or down?”  Sound familiar?  If you’ve ever sat in the passenger seat of a car, chances are you’ve heard these exact questions.  Well, along comes Research In Motion with a navigation related patent application (11/936,455) to destress the front passenger.  The patent application can be utilized by your mobile phone to display the street number of the buildings to your left and right.  Pretty nifty huh?  Cheers to RIM for doing their part in combating unnecessary U-turns.

Simple idea huh?  Then how come no one has done it?  That’s exactly what the folks at Research In Motion were probably thinking when they filed patent 11/934,129.  Expect to see this feature on Blackberry devices soon, if not already.  (Sorry, although I own several Windows Mobile phones and an iPhone, I don’t own a Blackberry.)  The patent application describes a method for essentially storing a photo at the highest resolution after you’ve snapped a photo with your camera phone, and adjusting the photo to a different resolution which you are prompted for.  This does sound convenient, as I always forget to lower the resolution for photos that I want to email.

Aluminum unibody is so April 2009.  It’s time to move on to carbon fiber, but not the rice rocket carbon fiber of old, which according to Apple gives a “tired, unexciting look.”  Apple’s patent application 11/932,244 teaches how to make a carbon fiber structure with an “improved cosmetic surface.”  Let’s see if this construction finds its way to the MacBook or the iPhone first.  For those of you who get a kick out of “scrim”, “resin”, and “sheets of prepreg”, you’ve got some fine patent reading ahead of you.

Full bars?  Wait, is that full bars for voice or data?  Yea, apparently it’s different.  Palm aims on resolving this issue (if you want to call it that).  In patent application 11/932,577, filed on Oct 31, 2007, Palm reveals a new signal strength indicator, that will tell you both the voice and data signal strength, without taking up much more screen real estate.  Simple enough.  Above is one of three examples given.  Let’s see if this features makes it onto the Palm Pre.

In an ironic twist, 21st century inventors may pay homage to the mouse rather than the mousetrap.  Microsoft’s inventors certainly will.  They’ve developed BlueTrack technology, and it isn’t just for looks.  Microsoft claims the technology allows mice to work on virtually any surface.  So if you’re tired of your cursor jumping left while you move your archaic oblique-LED optical mouse right, then blue is your color.  And if you’re interested in understanding the details of how Microsoft was able to achieve this, look no further than Microsoft’s patent application 11/876,092 filed on Oct 22, 2007.

Rather than following Apple’s philosophy of only allowing one application to be run on the iPhone at any given time, Google is working to make multi-tasking more reliable on a PDA/phone. As Google’s 11/932,613 discusses, although you can expect a desktop user to close applications, the same cannot be expected of a PDA/phone user. And as applications stay open, memory fills up. Next stop - application crash. Google’s invention aims at solving this problem by automatically terminating applications. Their trick is to save the applications state before terminating, and making it appear to the user that the application is still running. Presumably, it would know if the application is performing something in the background, and avoid its termination.

Anyone know if Android does this today?