Hasta La Gadget!

The S-Wallet has opened and absorbed $310 million-worth of connectivity and location patents from British chip company CSR, which already supplies SiRF GPS chips to Galaxy devices. In addition to boosting its patent portfolio, Samsung also invested $34 million to buy a five percent stake in the firm itself, giving it access to a large development team working on audio, automotive, indoor location and other functions. The deal won’t let Samsung use CSR’s camera technology, but it will — the Korean manufacturer says — “solidify its position as a leading semiconductor solutions provider.” Given how Sammy is already intent going it alone with its Exynos processors, we have no reason to doubt it.

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Tablet PCs

Samsung swallows up CSR mobile and location patents for $310 million originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 06:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The idea of a console that could be upgrade over time isn’t new, but Microsoft has filed a patent for that very concept. The company applied for the patent back in December 2010, which details a console that could “satisfy quality of service guarantees for multimedia applications such as game applications while allowing platform resources, hardware resources in particular, to scale up or down over time.”

Microsoft details a console that would have its own core set of components and a base configuration that could be upgraded in the future. The patent filing also confirms some details from previous Xbox 720 leaks, such as multiple CPUs and GPUs. One CPU and GPU combo would be a low-power solution that would handle core system management, while the other combo would render games.

Interestingly, one patent image shows a console with a third CPU and GPU combo that would share loads with the first two in the system. The patent could relate to several different products, but the scalability of the console “over time” suggests that Microsoft may target partners or users to perform their own additional upgrades. It would be a strange break in tradition and make the console a little bit more like a PC, although it might not be too far-fetched considering rumors have indicated Microsoft may use AMD chips in the Xbox 720.

[via Eurogamer]

Microsoft patent hints at scalable console is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

More and more people understand that texting while driving is a bad idea, but RIM has just been granted a patent that would have smartphones step in before things get out of hand. Going beyond just filtering inbound messages like some motion-based lockdown apps, the BlackBerry maker’s invention also turns off the creation of any outbound messages as long as the phone is moving within a given speed range. The override for the lock is the dictionary definition of ironic, however: the technique makes owners type out the answer to a CAPTCHA challenge onscreen, encouraging the very problem it’s meant to stop. As much as we could still see the hassle being enough to deter some messaging-addicted drivers, we have a hunch that the miniscule hurdle is a primary reason why the 2009-era patent hasn’t found its way into a shipping BlackBerry. Maybe RIM should have chronic texters solve a Rubik’s Cube instead.

Filed under: Cellphones

RIM patent uses motion, CAPTCHAs to stop texting while driving, shows a fine appreciation of irony originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 12:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Despite the added risk brought on by Apple’s Find My iPhone feature, the iOS handset remains a frequent target for smartphone thieves, thanks to the device’s resale value and compatibility with networks around the world. There’s not much you can do to deter sticky fingers short of keeping your iPhone or MacBook in view at all times, but the issue does appear to have crossed the desks of Apple’s design team, which was just granted patent number 8,217,792 for a sophisticated anti-theft scheme. The acceleration-based system would detect a “known theft condition” based on acceleration characteristics, sounding an alarm and disabling the device. The smartphone or laptop would ignore vibrations from passing cars or those caused by items being dropped onto a nearby surface, instead focusing on undisclosed scenarios that likely involve direct movement. The device owner would use a GUI to configure and disable the system, at which point the handset or computer would return to its pre-disturbed mode. Overall, it sounds like a fairly straightforward hardware/software solution, with the added benefit of a technique to filter out regular motion in an attempt to reduce the number of false alarms. You’ll find the full patent at the source link below.

Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops

Apple granted patent for accelerometer-aided theft-detection system originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 15:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple has been chasing NFC patents for years, but it’s just now been granted a US patent for its own approach to a transportation check-in — one of the most common uses of the technology in the real world. The filing describes a theoretical iTravel app that would store reservation and ticket information for just about any vehicle and stop along the way: planes, trains and (rented) automobiles would just have the traveler tap an NFC-equipped device to hop onboard, and the hotel at the end of the line would also take credentials through a gentle bump. Besides the obvious paper-saving measures, iTravel could help skip key parts of the airport security line by providing passport information, a fingerprint or anything else screeners might want to see while we’d otherwise be juggling our suitcases.

It all sounds ideal, but before you start booking that trip to the South Pacific with ambitions of testing an NFC-equipped 2012 iPhone, remember this: the patent was originally filed in 2008. We clearly haven’t seen iTravel manifest itself as-is, and recent murmurs from the Wall Street Journal have suggested that Apple isn’t enthusiastic about the whole NFC-in-commerce idea even today. Still, with Passbook waiting in the wings, the patent can’t help but fuel speculation that Apple is getting more serious about an iPhone with near-field wireless in the future.

Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation

Apple nabs patent for NFC-based travel check-in, doesn’t quell NFC iPhone rumors just yet originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 11:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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