Automatic Cameraphone Zoom Shows Up In Sony Ericsson Patent App

John Herrman — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 05:30:00 EDT

I guess the complicated combination of accelerometers and proximity sensors isn't trivial technology, but this one really should have been done by now: automatic zoom based on camera movement. In a new patent application, Sony Ericsson has detailed technology that judges your intention to zoom by measuring the camera's distance from your body, zooming in as it moves further away. The patent is just for cameraphones at the moment, but there's no reason that it couldn't (or shouldn't) crop up in the next generation of point and shoots as well. [UnwiredView via Engadget]

Apple Applies for Patent for Simplified Cellphone with Click Wheel

Charlie White — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 08:30:52 EDT

You might be looking at plans for the iPhone nano. Here's a patent application by Apple, dated today, that shows a simplified input pad with numbers on it, and it could conceivably be a simple follow-on to the iPhone. The touchpad "displays graphical elements to indicate input areas of the touchpad," and as you can see, it displays those symbols in a circular arrangement.

Not only is this evidence of a possible next generation of simplified Apple cellphones, it also indicates that Apple is probably not going to abandon the click wheel just yet. It all makes sense: Apple has a highly capable smart phone, but what about a basic cellphone, lower-priced and simplified, for the rest of us who just want to talk and don't necessarily need to carry a $600 computer around with them 24/7?

Apple's Patent Application [US Patent and Trademark Office, via Unwired View]

Gizmodo: patent application

Automatic Cameraphone Zoom Shows Up In Sony Ericsson Patent App

Apple Applies for Patent for Simplified Cellphone with Click Wheel