Patently Mobile

Microsoft Rumored to be Preparing an Xbox VR Headset for 2015

A supply chain rumor site in Taiwan claimed late yesterday that Microsoft is planning to mass produce a head-worn virtual gaming device in 2015 and is expected to showcase the product as early as the E3 gaming show in June next year. The rumor supports a number of game centric patent pending inventions that Microsoft has on record. Our report provides you with more details on this new rumor and Microsoft's gaming patents.

Digital Artist Phil Galloway Loves to Work on his Surface Pro 3

 

Continuing with the Make It Happen campaign, Microsoft showcases an artist who uses Microsoft tech to modernize his process. Using a Surface Pro 3, artist Phil Galloway is able to shed some weight from his load over the holidays. Paired with a Lumia Windows Phone device, sharing pictures of artwork with clients and friends is easy and fast. These two gadgets from Microsoft enable Phil to get what he needs done while not compromising on style.

Google Wins Three More Design Patents for Google Glass

A few weeks back the Wall Street Journal reported that Google was likely to drop Texas Instruments for Intel to power their next generation Google Glass wearable device in 2015. While Google Glass received a lot of bad press this past year, they've persevered. We covered a recent patent of Google's regarding Google Glass and the use of biometrics. Yesterday Google was granted three new design patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office relating to Google Glass. One covers a relatively new slick design while the other two covered a more traditional look that could be used with prescription glasses as noted in our cover graphic.

Samsung Wins 3 Design Patents for the Foldable Smartphone

Samsung privately demoed smartphones with truly bendable displays at CES earlier this year. In late December 2013 we had reported that Kwon Oh-hyeon, vice-chairman and CEO, Samsung Electronics, had told analysts at a meeting that they "would lead innovation by introducing the 'foldable' display in 2015." Flash forwarding to November 17 of this year we heard Samsung announce its mid-to-long term strategies for smartphones at the Samsung Investor Forum 2014 in New York where 200 analysts were invited. Samsung announced that they would be introducing a foldable smartphone by 2016. Today Samsung was granted multiple design patents covering one and two-fold smartphones.

Google Invents a Smartphone that Could Transfer Data to a large Smart Wall or Display using a built-in Laser Beam

 Last week the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Google that revealed a future smart device such as a smartphone or tablet that could transfer data to a smart wall or a large flat display using a built-in laser beam.

A Google Patent Surfaces Covering an Iris Scanning System

Biometrics is a class of user verification with the focus of identification of humans using characteristics unique to a particular human. Google thinks that conventional biometric systems and techniques of today are relatively inconvenient to use. The inconvenience is exacerbated as the number of secure devices continues to grow. As such, new approaches for user verification are need and desired. This is Google's second patent on bringing Iris scanning technology to the forefront based on a unique contact lens system. However the original patent laying the foundation out for this invention was filed before Apple's Touch ID was publicly introduced. Apple's Touch ID is convenient and has been recently extended to their mobile wallet application called Apple Pay. In that light, it is the Google Contact Lenses biometric system that now appears to be the inconvenient biometric methodology in the big picture. Yet with that said, Google's invention has its strengths and our report points them out.