Hasta La Gadget!

As the Tesla Model S has amply demonstrated, while in-car touchscreens can certainly turn a few heads, they aren’t always the safest, or most practical solution. Apple seems to have a few ideas about how to change that, however, and one of its recently revealed patent applications details a new and improved touchscreen system that it says could cut down significantly on driver distractions. Apparently, Apple envisions a whole host of measures that would prevent the driver from operating the system while driving, or let only the passenger use the touchscreen while the vehicle is moving. To do that, the system would make use of a range of sensors tied to various parts of the vehicle, and apparently even take into account the angle at which the person’s finger is approaching the screen. What’s more, the application also suggests that the system could be applied to both vehicles with built-in touchscreens or cars that accommodate a detachable, presumably Apple-made handheld device. Or all of this could wind up in the same bin as Apple’s world-changing RF network. Take your pick.

[Via Autoblog]

Filed under: Transportation

Apple patent filing suggests a safer in-car touchscreen originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Mar 2009 10:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Canon’s Live View implementation may not be a deal-breaker for most DSLR users, but there’s certainly plenty of room for improvement, and a recent Canon patent application suggests that the company could possibly be aiming to do just that. The short of it is that the company seems to have found a way to overcome the inherent problems of employing so-called phase-difference autofocus in Live View, which is caused in part by the physical limitations of the mirror and the AF sensor (hit up the read link for some more background). Canon’s solution, it seems, is to place the phase-difference AF sensor below the image sensor instead of above it, and make use of a semi-transparent mirror that’d allow for simultaneous transfer of light to the image sensor and the AF sensor. The average user would see the changes in the form of three new shooting modes, including a Standard Viewfinder Mode, a Fast AF Live View Mode, and a Full Live View mode, which each shift the position of the mirrors for the task at hand. What’s more, while the patent application doesn’t address it specifically, it would seem that this same method could also bring autofocus to DSLR video or, at the very least, video recorded via Live View.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Canon patent application offers solution for Live View autofocus issues originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now that the netbook sector is good and saturated, Acer is carving out a spot for itself in the entirely less crowded MID market. Or, at least that’s the impression we get from its most recent patent application. The image you see above is about it for details, though it’s fairly safe to assume that an Atom (or similar low-power CPU) will be housed within. Who knows, maybe we’ll get a peek of this critter for real at CeBIT — you can bet we’ll be looking.

[Thanks, Chris]

Filed under: Handhelds

Acer patent application reveals a MID-filled future originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not that Nokia’s current Communicator is in need of a major refacing or anything, but we’re always up for some innovation. A recent patent application from the outfit showcases a completely bizarre four-way folding Communicator, chock full of hinges, keys and pixels. In fact, the verbiage spells out a future device consisting of “at least four device parts,” leaving open the option for a handset that miraculously unfolds to completely envelope you in a glass case of emotion. Hit the read link for the full dream spilled out in entirely too much detail.

[Via Cellpassion]

Filed under: Cellphones

Nokia dreams up four-way folding Communicator originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Dec 2008 17:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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