Patently Mobile

Microsoft Wins a Design Patent for the Xbox One Console

Xbox One is Microsoft's latest video game console, successor to the Xbox 360. Microsoft and various publications have classified the new Xbox as an "all-in-one entertainment system," making it a competitor to other home media devices such as Apple and Google TV platforms. Today, the US Patent and Trademark Office granted Microsoft a design patent for the Xbox One.

Microsoft Invents New Magnetic locks for Smartphones & Beyond

Earlier this month the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Microsoft relating to switchable magnetic locks. The techniques and apparatuses associated with this invention could enable locking and unlocking of parts and peripherals with low or no power consumption and a seamless design. The design would accommodate attaching a stylus into a groove set into the side of a smartphone or tablet so as to keep the pen in place until needed. The magnet system could eventually work itself through to future PC notebooks, the Xbox and beyond.

Samsung Launches Two Smartwatches Running Tizen OS

Samsung officially introduced the next generation Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona as expected. One of the first notables is that the camera is now equipped to the main body of the smartwatch instead of it being attached to the strap making the design of the Samsung Gear 2 much sleeker. Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo will be available around the world starting from April.

Samsung Files for Trademarks Covering New Galaxy Branding Themes and a Wireless Beacon Feature Called Flybell

On February 21, 2014, the US Patent & Trademark Office published several new trademark filings from Samsung prior to the Mobile World Congress Trade Show in Barcelona where Samsung is to reveal a new round of products. Samsung has a history of filing for last minute trademarks just before a big event in an effort to keep new features a secret until the very last moment while hyping possible products in the process. The new trademark filings that were made public today cover new Galaxy branding themes and a wireless beacon feature called Flybell which is likely to counter Apple's iBeacon. Report Updated Feb 22, 6:55 MST

Samsung to Privately Demo the World's First Bendable Tablet at the Mobile World Congress Trade Show Next Week

It's being reported today in Korea that Samsung Electronics has developed the world's first tablet PC that can be bent at a right angle. This product has a bendable display, more advanced than the curved display. The bendable tablet PC can be used with the screen in the upright position like a notebook, greatly enhancing user convenience. Samsung privately showed the design in secret meetings at CES this year and during an analyst meeting in January, Kwon Oh-hyeon, vice-chairman and CEO, Samsung Electronics, stated that they "would lead innovation by introducing the 'foldable' display in 2015." According to the report, Samsung will unveil a tablet PC that can be bent at a right angle to VIPs in private at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2014 trade show that begins on Monday.

Samsung May Launch a New Streaming Music Service Next Week

According to a December 2013 CNET report, more than half of Samsung's 62,000 engineers are now working on software. Samsung's co-CEO Boo-keun Yoon stated that "Software is something that we're working on continuously. These days, hardware is important, but that is not enough." That's because Samsung's future will rest upon how well its products work together, which is all about the software. With the World Mobile Congress trade show kicking off on Monday, Samsung's timing of three trademark applications in the US tells us about one of the software services that they're likely to introduce: Milkmusic.com.

Samsung Invents a Foldable Display that Integrates Ultrasonic and Infrared Sensors to Better Guide a Possible Next Generation Pen

Yesterday we posted a Samsung patent report outlining two new digital pen inventions. Today, we're following up with a brief overview of yet another new Samsung patent filing that reveals their ongoing work on foldable displays. Samsung's patent application, which was published by the US Patent & Trademark Office earlier this month, illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an electronic pen and a terminal. The electronic pen is designed to generate an ultrasonic signal and an infrared signal. The terminal includes a foldable display unit and is configured to detect the ultrasonic signal and the infrared signal. The terminal is configured to determine coordinate information of the electronic pen based on the ultrasonic signal, the infrared signal and a folding angle of the foldable display unit.

New Samsung Digital Pen Patents Reveal Built-In Communication Features for Phone Calls and a Superior Grip Mechanism

Earlier this month the US Patent & Trademark Office published two digital pen applications from Samsung. The first invention reveals new built-in communication features relating to phone calls, as a future Samsung pen may function as a substitute for a wireless headset. The second invention reveals a brand new superior grip mechanism, as current digital pens are usually too narrow to hold comfortably.

Samsung introduces us to the Adjustable Transparent Display

Earlier this month the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Samsung that revealed another invention relating to future smartphones built with a transparent display. The twist to this invention is that Samsung has designed the "adjustable" transparent display. The display will basically remain transparent until a user's finger or body is at a certain distance when it will begin to display a graphical user interface be it for a smartphone, a store window a fridge door, a vehicle windshield, a plane's or household window and far beyond.

Samsung Working with Hyundai and Tata Motors for Telematics and Infotainment Systems

News broke earlier today that Samsung plans to provide telematics and infotainment technology to both South Korea's Hyundai and India's Tata. Coincidentally, a new patent application published by the US Patent Office last week illustrated that Samsung was working on a simple smartphone app to work with car controls.

Google Invents Adaptive Keyboard Lighting for Future Chromebooks

On February 6, 2014, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Google titled "Adaptive Keyboard Lighting." The invention is primarily aimed at their battery powered Chromebook. The new system will use the Chromebook's camera to figure out if a user is watching content like a movie or actually typing. If the user isn't using their keyboard, then the device will turn off the keyboard's lighting until needed so as to save battery life.

Google Invents eBook Reader with Dual E-Ink Displays & Camera

Today, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Google that reveals their invention relating to an eBook Reader with Dual E-Ink Displays & Camera. Google designed their ebook to ensure superior refresh rates. The device will also allow users to connect a keyboard and/or mouse to run other types of applications. 

South Korean University Develops Foldable OLED Technology

It's just a fact that Korean companies like Samsung and LG are leaders in display technology. These companies are now beginning to release smartphones with curved displays. The latest ambitious goal set by Samsung's Kwon Oh-hyeon, vice-chairman and CEO of Samsung Electronics, is to deliver a product with foldable display by late 2015. While the technology behind foldable displays is relatively new, a Korean University is now on record as being the first to invent an ITO-based OLED display technology that is highly flexible and foldable. The discovery could lead to breakthroughs in foldable touch based displays as well as other related products such as solar cells.

LG Invents an Advanced Flexible Display and Smartphone Body that uses a new Shape Memory Alloy

A few weeks ago the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from LG Electronics that reveals an advanced smartphone designed to work with not only a flexible display but a flexible body. Unlike the current LG G Flex smartphone, the body of this futuristic model is able to morph into varying shapes depending on the function required. One example, as noted in our cover graphic, illustrates how the phone knows that it's in freefall and automatically curves its bottom edge so as to provide maximum shock prevention to the phone. LG's invention discusses the use of a new shape memory alloy, shock and drop prevention operations and even describes a rather unique twist to locking your smartphone's screen. In the end, aspects of LG's invention are rather interesting while others require you to stretch your imagination over the edge.

90% of Vehicles by 2019 will Interface with Wearable Computers

In-vehicle wearable integration is the latest trend in automotive with announcements following each other in quick succession: Harman's ADAS Google Glass integration, Hyundai's Blue Link Glassware application, Mercedes' Pebble smart watch Digital DriveStyle application, BMW's i3 EV Samsung Galaxy Gear smart watch integration, Nissan's Nismo concept smart watch displaying biometric and vehicle diagnostics and performance data, and INRIX's real-time traffic Google Glass demo app. Logically following in the wake of in-vehicle smartphone integration, wearable form-factors will interface – directly or via phones – with more than 90% of vehicles shipping globally in 2019.

Samsung Hopes to Rock the Enterprise Boat & Maybe with Tizen

A new report by ABI Research estimates that at the end of 2013 Samsung had 166 million mobile business customers defined as employed individuals using their smartphone for business and personal reasons. However, most of these customers are the more fickle BYOD users. Samsung wants to capture more share of the corporate liable smartphone market, and wants more enterprise apps developed for its platform.

Samsung Invents Galaxy-Like Phone with a Scrollable Display

There have been so many flexible display patent applications over the past few months from Samsung that we recently opened a dedicated flexible display Archive to make it easier for fans to search. Within that group there have been at least two flexible display patents that have specifically discussed scrollable display configurations. The first was published back in October and the second in December. Last week Samsung published yet another flexible display patent covering another scrollable design. The difference this time around is that they connect the scrollable functionality to a modern Galaxy smartphone-like form factor. In addition, Samsung introduces us to the chameleonic form factor concept.

Motorola Invents a Spacebar with an Integrated Mini Trackpad

In 1987 IBM's Ted Selker, a former Xerox Park researcher, introduced the pointing stick for the notebook. In 1996 the idea was patented and right up until today the pointing stick is still integrated into Lenovo ThinkPad keyboards. Last week, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Motorola revealing a new notebook or Chromebook keyboard concept incorporating a mini trackpad right into the center of the spacebar. Whether Lenovo, who acquired Motorola last week, will want to modernize their keyboard line-up with this updated feature remains to be seen. For now, it's a simple idea that makes sense at first glance.

Samsung's Galaxy SmartPause Feature Targeted in new Patent Lawsuit

Canadian Queen's University at Kingston and PARTEQ Research and Development Innovations, have filed a joint patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung. According to the Plaintiff's filing, Samsung's SmartPause feature that is now incorporated into the Galaxy S4 and Note 3 infringe upon their technology. The case that the plaintiff's make is an interesting one worth noting.