Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve had a glimpse at Apple’s conception of a sensor-based keyless layout, and the latest patent application from Cupertino shows the company looking to further refine the input experience — this time using a camera and other sensors to detect hand position and overlay that hand position on a device’s screen. The filing details three methods to this end. The first shows a user’s hands on a traditional hardware keyboard projected in an on-screen representation (as background, Apple mentions the ergonomic strain of looking down to check your hand placement, so perhaps that’s the thinking behind this one). A second scenario involves a laptop with unlabeled keys, where the marked keyboard is displayed on the screen, and the final, most intriguing, setup shows backside controls on a tablet a la the PS Vita, with a user’s fingers projected as if the device was transparent. Of course, this is just a patent application at this point, so don’t expect to see this tech make its debut September 12th.

Filed under: Displays, Peripherals

Apple patent application details method for detecting and displaying hand position on screen originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 10:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are few places left in this world safe from advertising. Your apps have em, your train is plastered with them (inside and out), even your premium video subscription service pelts you with sales pitches. So, why should getting from one place to another be any different? Motorola (and, we suppose by extension, Google) doesn’t see any reason it shouldn’t feed you ads while you’re navigating about, using your phone’s turn-by-turn directions app. Of course, all these ads would be tailored specifically to your tastes and locale. Obviously, there might be something to the idea of popping up small and unobtrusive alerts for nearby businesses — maybe even ones you didn’t known existed. But, when you’re trying to navigate a busy roundabout or a confusing set of on-ramps (we’re looking at you, New Jersey), perhaps it’s best not to crowd your vision with popups for Mabel’s MuumuuMart.

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Software, Mobile

Motorola trying to patent smart ads in navigation apps originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 19:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We all know adverts are a necessary evil, which is why different companies are trying to make them more personalized, more engaging or just plain get rid of them. In a recently granted patent, Sony outlines its ideas for next-gen advertising on network-connected devices — essentially to make it more interactive. Many of the instructional diagrams involve PS3 accessories in the home setting, but the focus isn’t just on adverts as mini-games, which itself is nothing new. Other suggestions for keeping your interest include in-ad purchasing, casting votes or selecting the genre of commercials. To speed up, or get ads off your screen, Sony would have you performing small tasks or — more sinisterly — shouting brand names when prompted. Whether such immersive advertising will ever be employed is anyone’s guess, but we’re sure you’re smart enough to know they’re just tricks. So who’s up for a McDonald’s then?

Filed under: Internet

Sony patent wants to make advertising more interactive originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Aug 2012 13:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Imagine a reality TV show that’s starring you, recorded by you and directed by Microsoft? That’s the principle behind its most recently disclosed patent application, dreaming up a method to transmit data from a “life recorder” to a target device for safe keeping. The company pictures you using your smartphone (or other device — just a shame the ideal one is Google’s) to document your life, before it automatically catalogs, tags and uploads it to elsewhere for friends and family to enjoy. We’re not sure if we want our friends from the Hockey Club seeing us freak out at Kelly Clarkson gigs, but hopefully there’s an off switch.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables, Wireless

Microsoft wants to patent ‘life streaming,’ turn your whole life into Jersey Shore originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 13:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Anyone who often relies on taxi service to get around, as good as it can be, has likely had a driver who was less than courteous — and in the worst cases, outright scary. Samsung wants to keep passengers safe, and drivers honest, through a just-published patent application for an end-to-end taxi service. On a basic level, it’s a taxi finder with a rating system: the mobile app in the patent can hail a nearby cab based on the driver’s “kindness” rating and verify that it’s the right vehicle with a short-range wireless link, not unlike an even more genteel version of Uber. It’s when passengers hop inside that Samsung’s implementation takes on a more distinct shape. If the driver puts customers or the whole cab in danger, a passenger-activated SOS mode flags the car’s location to get the police on the scene before it’s too late. We don’t know how likely Samsung is to implement such a system, although it has been actively developing more advanced backseat technology and filed the US patent in February, a year after its Korean equivalent. We do know this is one of the few patents we’d rather not completely experience first-hand — the only crazy taxis we’re comfortable with sit inside game consoles.

Filed under: Transportation

Samsung files for patent on safe taxi service, we hope we never fully test it originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 13:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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