Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Geofencing to Unlock Vehicle Functions Detailed in New Apple Patent Application
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
They wouldn't have to copy Apple, since someone did an oval before that.
Apple's patent picture looks a bit like the Linux Open Source phone project that predated the iPhone:
Please find an actual reputable article from 2006 to back up your fictitious 2006 device.
"The Openmoko Neo 1973 was released in 2007 as a developer handset. The first consumer device, the FreeRunner, didn’t come out in mid-2008."
http://www.extremetech.com/mobile/1...s-the-checkered-history-of-open-source-phones
Wiki page has zero mention of multi-touch. It seems that they never released any capacitive touchscreen device to public.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Openmoko
Um. This time Apple seems to be really late to the game...
The app is already in the app store!!!
Volvo on call does all that already, on the iPhone...
https://itunes.apple.com/se/app/volvo-on-call/id439635293?mt=8
Prior art? You bet. Patent? Invalid.
The app is already in the app store!!!
Volvo on call does all that already, on the iPhone...
https://itunes.apple.com/se/app/volvo-on-call/id439635293?mt=8
Prior art? You bet. Patent? Invalid.
So then you'd have to carry your keys anyway. I was assuming the point would be to not carry your keys.
----------
Does that unlock the car, though? Looks like it just checks its status. Either way, nothing innovative about "Apple's" idea.
----------
Sure, if Apple does it. I'd love to have my Maps and phone calls work with my car, but Apple has to do that. I'm just saying that Honda's set of apps running within Apple's garden is not going to be very convenient. Except that ability to start the car with the heat on ahead of time could be useful (wouldn't think of it since I live where heating is never needed or wanted).
This is thinking out of the box, but it would need to provide fingerprint scanning for decent security. It seems like an easy way to steal stuff out of the trunk. I really love all this iBeacon news within the last 4 days or so, with Shopkick, Qualcomm, Appay, and Apple really stepping it up with truly innovative uses for this type of technology. And really quickly too! This is rolling out much faster than NFC and I really believe that Apple is now winning the battle (apple iBeacon vs android NFC). This is an exciting time for mobile!
A few months ago, Apple filed another patent that included NFC, working in tandem with Touch ID... I thought this would work perfectly for access control on vehicles.
You could use the patent listed today for contextual information on your vehicle, via BLE and then as you approach the car, use your finger print to access it. The NFC chip would provide that extra layer of security.
Either way, NFC is reduced to playing a minor role in the entire experience and BLE, or beacons are the main technology! In the wider consideration, NFC is certainly loosing ground to the possibilies and flexibility of iBeacons.
It's exciting times for mobile!
Oh god, I forgot about all the hype that thing had... Definitely a product of the times what with it's faux 3D icons and UI reminiscent of a bad Stardock theme...
They might have done better by trying to release an open source GPS.
There's a story, probably apocryphal, where Bill Gates told an audience about his vision for a connected future, where a single device would take on the roles of all the junk in our wallets and pockets, allowing us to make payments in shops, communicate via the internet, unlock our car, unlock our front door, turn on all the lights etc. etc. According to the story, he was floored by the first question: 'What happens when you lose it?'
Where are the times when patents were used for protecting novel ideas and inventors from being taken over by huge companies ?
What's next ? Apple files a patent on TV remotes using a smartphone ? Or will we get a Samsung patent on water toilets (with an app to trigger the flush) ?
What's next ? Apple files a patent on TV remotes using a smartphone ? Or will we get a Samsung patent on water toilets (with an app to trigger the flush) ?
Even though every single function already exists? My brother-in-law who lives in Kalamazoo has had remote control defrost, engine start for years.
Automatic theft detection has been around in the UK for at least 10 years.
If they are granted the patent foe this then the system is really in need of a rethink.
Some things Apple goes for a great and do have real potential but this should be dead in the water.
yikes...
Whats next .. an iFridge ?
Actually these already exist, not Apple, but you can browse the net on these smart fridges.....
Technology based world, even with connecting/expanding uses more and more of everyday things....
This is just one huge honey pot for hackers. And all that's required is an iPhone.
(That would shake anyone up.) The Rise of Machines is upon us.
Apple is trying to replace simple and cheap items with an iphone 
this is truly useless, my car comes with a key and a button on it
the key unlocks the car and i need my key anyway to start the car in order to drive
Apple is definitely running out of innovation
this is truly useless, my car comes with a key and a button on it
the key unlocks the car and i need my key anyway to start the car in order to drive
Apple is definitely running out of innovation
Apple is trying to replace simple and cheap items with an iphone
this is truly useless, my car comes with a key and a button on it
the key unlocks the car and i need my key anyway to start the car in order to drive
Apple is definitely running out of innovation
Actually most medium and high budget cars have dispensed with keys. I have keyless entry (RFID) and keyless start... I recently took a rental for a trip overseas and had to reeducate myself to insert a key, to start the vehicle!
So from my perspective Apple is innovating, from a strong starting point.
True, but not everyone had key-less entry (and probably never will)
Its like every house hasn't got an alarm system...
While I do have a key-less front door, (using those convenient gadget) on my keyring, i have old bomb.
Even if i had the money, my next car wouldn't be an iOS integrated.
Its no only Apple.... Thermostats, even those Hue lightbulbs can be controlled with an iOS device...
Again... all of these "convenience" that you no longer must get up, since everyone has their iPhone on them, why not ?? As as more and more things get automatically controlled, security goes sky high...
And if its in a good looking car... god help there is no hack for any phone smart-phone, not just Apple's
I think this will be next.....
Its like every house hasn't got an alarm system...
While I do have a key-less front door, (using those convenient gadget) on my keyring, i have old bomb.
Even if i had the money, my next car wouldn't be an iOS integrated.
Its no only Apple.... Thermostats, even those Hue lightbulbs can be controlled with an iOS device...
Again... all of these "convenience" that you no longer must get up, since everyone has their iPhone on them, why not ?? As as more and more things get automatically controlled, security goes sky high...
And if its in a good looking car... god help there is no hack for any phone smart-phone, not just Apple's
I think this will be next.....
Nothing can go wrong here!
Can we change the MacRumors software so that all posts making useless NSA references start at -10?
----------
I heard of someone who borrowed a car from a friend, they both didn't realise that the car opened and the engine started because the friend with the key was nearby, and 100 miles later at a petrol station the guy was in trouble - because he didn't actually have the keys!
Weather
What I need is a system that will tell me if it starts raining when I park my convertible with the top down. Or better yet - a system that will alert me when a storm is heading in my direction or when I am driving towards a storm.
Sure I can check the weather report myself and plan accordingly but it is not always possible to get it exactly right all the time.
What I need is a system that will tell me if it starts raining when I park my convertible with the top down. Or better yet - a system that will alert me when a storm is heading in my direction or when I am driving towards a storm.
Sure I can check the weather report myself and plan accordingly but it is not always possible to get it exactly right all the time.
As has been posted here many times, the Open Moko multi-touch design predates the iPhone announcement, even if the final device couldn't afford all that was promised.
There were articles about it on Engadget, Infoworld, LinuxDevices, etc. Gizmodo first had an article about it Nov 7, 2006... two months before the iPhone was shown off by Jobs.
The designers originally had hoped to provide a 285ppi display and multi-touch screen: "The phone itself has a 2.8-inch VGA display, USB mesh file sharing, multi-touch sensor recognition, GSM, GPS, 128MB RAM, a Samsung ARM9-based processor and MP3 playback capabilities. - Gizmodo "
The pictures are often missing from these old web articles, but I saved them:
Of course, few people outside of the industry paid much attention to this, or other multi-touch phone development, until Apple showed theirs. Then reporters remembered, such as in this Jan 2007 Gizmodo follow up article:
The point is, of course, that oval cases, multi-touch, pinch zoom, icon grid, icon dock, etc were all known design ideas. The Open Moko designers even foretold that "apps would become the new ringtones", referring to that almost billion dollar a year business at the time.
This is an awesome idea with wide ranging applications. On a diet? Imagine your refrigerator and snack cabinet locked shut until mealtimes.
