Gizmodo
-
apple
iPhone Patents Promise to Automate Our Relationships at Last
Unwired View uncovered three new iPhone patents that promise to turn everything from calling grandma on her birthday to turning off your phone in a movie theater into gloriously mindless activities. More »
-
displays
Sharp LCD TVs, Monitors May Be Banned From Import Into The US
The US International Trade Commission has ruled that some Sharp LCD displays violate a patent owned by Samsung and should be banned from being imported into the US. Although, it is probably nothing to get overly excited about. More » -
beer
Bill Gates Applies for Patent on High Tech Keg
The cerveza mogul himself Señor Bill Gates is listed on a new patent for a "thermally sealed container." And yes, one of its potential functions is to hold beer. More »
0
By Mark WilsonComment by BloggyMcBlogBlog: What kind of beer does Billy G drink? I'm thinking a nice IPA from the northwest. 13 Responses | Other threads
-
patents
Sony Ericsson Bracelet Phone Calls the Fashion Police
It's just a patent app (so the phone may never see the light of day), but this Sony Ericsson Bracelet Phone should be put into production, if only for the novelty factor. More »
0
By Mark WilsonComment by admoseremic: I would hate to type a text message on that thing... 3 Responses | Other threads
-
microsoft
It's the New Microsoft: Company Files 'Hot Or Not' Software Patent
My, how things have changed since Bill Gates left Microsoft. Case in point: The company filed a patent for a "Hot or Not" interface that allows viewers to rate "fashion and other personal appearance decisions." More »
0
By Jack LoftusComment by tok3ninja; is strapped to a rocket for the 4th: Yet another social network is about to be flooded with underage girls wanting to be rated on how much they... 4 Responses | Other threads
-
apple
Apple Patent Describes Mid-Call Music, Video, Picture Sharing for iPhone
Apple Insider has scrounged up an Apple patent, filed in late 2007, that just, you know, immediately clicks. It's for instant media sharing during iPhone calls, and it makes plain old video calling look downright boring. More »
0
By John HerrmanComment by closhedbb: I've shared music during a phone call before, it's called hold the phone up to a speaker. It works pretty... 4 Responses | Other threads
-
patents
Sony Ericsson Patent Chooses Music Based On Your Facial Expression, Which Will Mostly Be Annoyed
Sony Ericsson has just patented a system that allows a phone or PMP to choose music for you to listen to based on your facial expression. My, how unnecessarily complicated and impractical! More » -
windows
Microsoft Wins Patent for Crippling Your Computer Until You Pay Up
Oh ho ho. Microsoft just got a patent for crippling your computer until you pay them dammit. More »
0
Comment by SJRNWT: Meh, I see nothing wrong with this. If you're illegitimately using Windows, you shouldn't be able to use it-- simple... 13 Responses | Other threads
-
-
patents
Apple Patent Hints at iTunes Kiosks
A recent Apple patent application hints at the creation of iTunes kiosks for local and remote media downloading in public areas, such as airports, malls, hotels and even public transportation. More »
0
By Andi WangComment by xblindx: how would this work? considering your music is tied to your computer and not so much your ipod? 4 Responses | Other threads
-
patents
Amazon Scores That Kindle 1 Patent They've Been Waiting For
Right in time, Amazon has been awarded a patent for the Kindle 1. I think we can all expel a deep sigh of relief now that this loose end has been tied on the eve of the third Kindle's announcement. [Patent via All Things Digital]
0
By Mark WilsonComment by alsheron: And, um, what, specifically, is it that they have patented? In other news - NASA have made a great discovery. more » | Other threads
-
patents
Dyson Applies For Patent On Kitchen Squareness
James Dyson wants everything in your kitchen to be square because it saves space. In fact, this eureka moment was so profound that he wants to patent the idea of kitchen squareness. More »
0
By Sean FallonComment by Kaiser-Machead: So, Dyson is the one that starts it all... 4 Responses | Other threads
-
gaming
Early Wiimote Schematics Reveal More Wiimotes
There are no huge revelations to make when inspecting these early Wiimote schematics dug up in patent apps, but they do offer an interesting look at the future (err...present) that could have been. More »
0
By Mark WilsonComment by turwaith: Hummm...I'm kind of wondering what they were planning on using some of those extra buttons for. 2 Responses | Other threads
-
patents
If Sony Makes This PSP-Controller Car, I Will Buy It
A Sony patent application reveals a very neat implementation of the PSP. Imagine a camera-enabled car you can drive around...through an augmented reality race course. More »
0
By Mark WilsonComment by Xeno: The camera should be able to tilt up for the pervert view. 4 Responses | Other threads
-
patents
Apple Patent Implies iPod to Get a Unibody
Last October, Apple started using unibody designs in their MacBook and MacBook Pro. A newly uncovered patent suggests that the next product to incorporate this aluminum case may be the iPod. More »
0
By Andi WangComment by Logan DeBorde: Maybe they'll apply this to the iPhone also.... 8 Responses | Other threads
-
engines
Gates, Myhrvold To Patent Crazy Electromagnetic Combustion Engine
Bill Gates may love his Ford Focus, but he's got plans to improve on age-old combustion, applying—along with Nathan Myhrvold and others from the Intellectual Ventures gang—to patent a smart engine with electromagnetic pistons. More »
0
Comment by William_III_Earl_of_Dastardshire: Do I simple not get the idea, or is this really as stupid as it sounds. They want to use... 10 Responses | Other threads
-
lawsuits
Microsoft Ordered To Pay $388M For Pirating Windows Activation Technology
A jury has ordered Microsoft to pay $388M to security software firm Uniloc, who alleged back in 2003 that Microsoft infringed on the firm's patents for Windows Activation, one of the most horrible features ever. More »
0
By John HerrmanComment by Samifumi: Irony. Windows 7 probably just got $50+ more expensive. 5 Responses | Other threads
-
multitouch
Apple's Legal Showdown Over Multitouch Begins, With Palm Nowhere To Be Seen
You know the patent Cold War that's been brewing over Apple's claimed exclusivity over multitouch tech? It just got hotter, but the heat comes not from the Palm Pre, but lil' Elan Microelectronics. More »
0
By John MahoneyComment by BigRocket: I hope Apple loses, they deserve it after what they did to Xerox. 8 Responses | Other threads
-
patents
Jaromatic Automatic Jar and Bottle Opener Patent For Sale: Only $250K
Jerry Russell has spent 10 years and $80,000 of his own money developing the Jaromatic—a device that can open just about any bottle or can. Jerry is 68 now, and wants to retire. More »
0
By Sean FallonComment by bosskev: If it works as described and is easy to use, especially by those with limited physical abilities, I applaud Jerry... 3 Responses | Other threads
-
patents
Apple Patents Movement Gestures for the iPhone
Apple recently applied for a patent for "movement-based interfaces for personal media devices," which means a more advanced accelerometer and movement gestures for the iPhone. More »
0
By Andi WangComment by Sean Murray: lol, I bet Michael J Fox is selling his iPhone on ebay now. Too soon? 6 Responses | Other threads
-
patents
Apple Considers Having Stolen iPhones Call Police
According to a recent patent filing, Apple has considered implementing security that allows an iPhone to automatically contact authorities when stolen. -
patents
Apple Patent Outlines Smarter and Safer...In-Car Navigation Interface?
Here's one from left field: you know how your car's navigation console locks itself when in motion, whether or not there's a passenger to safely operate it? Apple, of all people, wants to fix that. -
apple
Apple's Ideas for Seamless Biometric Security on iPhone and MacBook
To me, the biometric readers you see on most laptops are obnoxious blemishes—they really can't make them more discrete? Apple feels the same way, so I like their ideas for seamless biometric security.
0
Comment by urbanturban666: what about voice detection? id use it if it existed... 8 Responses | Other threads
-
apple tv
Apple Patent Specs Wii-Like Controller For Apple TV
Of all the things wrong with the Apple TV, its awkward control scheme via the Apple Remote is pretty niggling, but a recently published patent shows a new motion-sensing controller potentially in the works.
0
By John MahoneyComment by Kaiser-Machead: I'd like to see a proper Front Row remote app on the iPhone/iPod touch. As nice as the current remote... 5 Responses | Other threads
-
microsoft
Microsoft Crosses 10,000 Patent Mark
Microsoft recently rolled past the 10,000 patent mark, reports Ina Fried at CNet, saying that the lucky #10K covered natural interfaces, linking "a real-world object with a set of data or images." Is 10,000 patents—well, 10,541 at last count—that good? Well, according to our snappy research, it's way better than Apple, with 2,541 to date, but it's a far cry from IBM, with 53,413. Fried reports that the US Patent Office issued IBM 4,000 of those little licenses to print money just last year. Go Big Blue! [CNet, IBM Patents at USPTO, Apple Patents at USPTO, Microsoft Patents at USPTO]
0
Comment by Brian Sexton: That is a tremendous amount of evil regardless of the particular amount of evil represented by any particular patent. 3 Responses | Other threads
-
iPhone 3G 2.0
Next Generation iPhone May Have Videoconferencing, At Last
Given Apple's focus on videoconferencing with iChat AV, I always found strange that there wasn't a front camera in the iPhone. Looking at their gigantic iPhone patent, it may be coming in the next generation: More »
0
By Jesus DiazComment by AKAuser: "late, as almost every other 3G phone in the market has this feature already" The iPhone has consistently done everything better.... 6 Responses | Other threads
-
Patent Wars
Dissecting Apple's "Multitouch" Patent: Can It Stop Palm?
The iPhone’s multitouch patents are the equivalent of a cold war nuclear arsenal—dormant for now, but Palm’s Pre is looking for a fight. Here’s why we think Apple’s multitouch monopoly won’t last. More »
0
By John Mahoney
Comment by transzoo: Honestly it's situations like this that demonstrate why software patents, and perhaps patents in general, must die. Patents, the... 15 Responses | Other threads
-
patents
Microsoft Patents Shows Smartphone Cradle for Media Streaming, Peripherals
The Register stumbled across a patent for the "Smart Interface System for Mobile Communication Devices", a smartphone extension dock that lets you easily plop your phone onto your home network and connect peripherals. More » -
patents
Sony Patents Surface-Like Touchscreen Printer
A new patent app from Sony reveals a pretty interesting inkjet printer that takes design cues from the Microsoft Surface. More » -
patents
IBM First Company to Win 4,000 Patents in a Year, More Than Microsoft and Intel Combined
IBM has always hoarded patents like a dwarf and his gold. But this year, they're the first company to ever win more than 4,000 in a single year, more than Microsoft and Intel combined. More »
0
Comment by Monty: I assume this is the nuclear missile philosophy thrown into the patent world. We need thousands of them because... 5 Responses | Other threads
-
apple
Apple Patents iSight Cam Behind Laptop Screen, Will Hear From Errol Morris's Lawyers
A recent Apple patent for an iSight camera located behind the screen instead of above it sounds like a cool idea—too bad a system just like it has already been invented. More »
0
By John MahoneyComment by Kaiser-Machead: Well unless someone can explain it to me, I don't see how you can get a camera to properly capture... 8 Responses | Other threads
-
patents
Nokia's Four-Way Folding Communicator Patent is Hinge-Tastic
Nokia applied for a patent on Christmas for an innovative communicator-type device that folds out into four attached pieces, presumably two for a keyboard and two for the screen. More »
0
By Dan NosowitzComment by 1 DVS BSTD-Its off the Hizzle fo $hizzle My Dizzle: I doesn't look very stable.I could break it if I sat on it still being in my back-pocket 6 Responses | Other threads
-
patents
RIM's Foldout Keyboard Patent Sorta Misses the Point
It's likely to be one of those defensive patents, but RIM's patent application for a fold-out smartphone keyboard forgets why you might want a fold-out keyboard. -
iphone
Apple Patent Shows Nifty Keyboard Gestures for the iPhone
While many non-imminent Apple patents can edge into the realm of wishful thinking, this one is pretty doable: useful little gestures for the iPhone, which are received over the phone's onscreen keyboard. More » -
nanotech
Nano-Sized Semiconductor Dots Could Fix Your Terrible Vision
New Scientist reports that researchers at the University of Colorado came up with this crazy idea that if they inject semiconductor nanoparticles in your retinas, photons will make them glow, thus improving your vision. More »
0
Comment by TheSonOfKrypton: Does anyone else wonder just HOW they determine this shit??? "The patent says early tests on rats have been... 4 Responses | Other threads
-
apple
The History of Apple, As Seen Through the Glazed Eyes of the Patent Office
Technologizer has meticulously reconstructed Apple's history in the form of sweet, formerly tantalizing patent filings. More »
0
By John HerrmanComment by davinp: Everything is always Apple, but what about the Creative Zen? Creative pioneered the mp3 player and invented the iPod interface,... 5 Responses | Other threads
-
patents
New Nokia Smartphone Patent Features Swiveling Widescreen and QWERTY
A new patent from Nokia shows a pretty interesting new design: a full widescreen that can swivel behind a QWERTY keyboard so only half the screen is visible. More »
0
By Dan NosowitzComment by darkstar: Remind me again why this is better than a slider? I personally don't see a use for a wide screen... 6 Responses | Other threads
-
apple
Apple Working on Physics-Based 3D User Interface
Your Mac OS X desktop may become exactly as messy as your real-world one if Apple finally develops this newly-released patent, which describes a 3D desktop that obeys the laws of physics.
0
By Jesus DiazComment by OMG! Ponies!: 3D user-interface? Pshaw. Unix has had that for years: A pretty pony to whomever can name the movie. Clue: ... 13 Responses | Other threads
-
apple
Apple Patents For Liquid-Cooled Portables Surface
While us normal folk were gorging on turkey and fixings, the tireless US Patent Office was busy filing an interesting Apple patent detailing a mobile liquid cooling system—something that looks like it could be used in a future portable device. -
lawsuits
Apple Hit With Bizarre, Poorly Scanned iPhone Browsing Patent Suit
Granted, there aren't that many original ways to sue Apple anymore, but this one is just peculiar. Elliot Gottfurcht, a successful commercial real estate developer, is suing the company because he claims to hold a patent for "the way the iPhone navigates the Internet." He was indeed granted an internet-ish patent in late October, but it's hard to see how exactly it relates to Apple, or how this isn't just another example of Hail Mary patent extortion plot. UPDATE:It looks like the crux of Gottfurcht's claim against Apple is buried in the middle of the patent, and regards a number of methods for navigating web content. More »
0
By John HerrmanComment by Herman: Can people like this just be shot? They are costing a lot of money and annoying the living shit out... 7 Responses | Other threads
-
nokia
Patent For Gesture-Controlled Phones Could Be Nokia's Answer to Touch
Nokia has always held the line that the reason their top-end N-series has yet to see any sign of a touch-based interface was because they were simply waiting to "do it the right way." (The company's first all-touch device, the 5800, was made official only a few months ago).All's fair there, but when I asked Nokia's Chief Designer Alastair Curtis this week in New York what exactly the "right way" entails for Nokia's more internationally focused phones, the answer was, of course, "wait and see!" What did come up indirectly, though, was mention of gesture control for mobile phones—something a recent Nokia patent seems to indicate as well. More »
0
By John MahoneyComment by Crickett: So Nokia's future touch-done-right device is... a Palm V from 1999?? Color me !psyched. 8 Responses | Other threads
patents
Gizmodo Team
Tip your editors:
tips@gizmodo.com
Editorial Director:
Brian Lam | Email | Twitter
Editor:
Jason Chen
Email | AIM | Twitter
Features Editor:
Wilson Rothman
Email | Twitter
Senior Associate Editor:
Jesus Diaz
Email | AIM | Twitter
Associate Editors:
Mark Wilson
Email | AIM | Twitter
Matt Buchanan
Email | AIM | Twitter
Adam Frucci
Email | Twitter
Contributing Editors:
Sean Fallon
Email | Twitter
Jack Loftus
Email | Twitter
John Herrman
Email | Twitter
Dan Nosowitz
Email
Editorial Assistant:
Chris Mascari
Email
Andrea Wang
Email | Twitter
Columnist:
Brendan I. Koerner
Comment Intern::
Nick Ellenoff | Email
Comment Account Questions:
Comments@gizmodo.com
-
Transformers blows up this weekend. Need to know more? io9 gets down and dirty with the superbots.
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
