patent

Google patent could spark network bidding war

Crave Google has filed a patent for mobile phones that could make various network operators bid against one another for each call or data session initiated by the user. The patent, which was filed in March 2007 but was only published by the US Patent...

Tags: published, session, locked, portable

30 September 2008, 9:14

The 50 most significant moments of Internet history

Crave After reading in a 1984 magazine article about an efficient lossless compression algorithm called LMZ, CompuServe developers released the GIF image, not knowing the algorithm had a patent pending. This ancient patent marked its public arrival.

25 September 2008, 15:02

Fenda Wii Speaker AM2101C: 2.1 speakers look like a Wii

Crave Patent lawyers, start your engines! Here's a fun gimmick for anyone that managed to get hold of a Nintendo Wii this Christmas. It's a 2.1 speaker system designed to look as much like the Wii as possible.

Tags: speaker, wii, christmas, engines

9 January 2008, 5:14

Wacky tripods: If ninjas took photos, they'd use these

Crave Instead it sticks to surfaces via a patent-pending 'viscoelastic morphing polymer'. How to rectify the situation? Get a tripod. Lug that chunky thing to the pub, the beach, take that bad boy everywhere.

13 November 2007, 8:00

Blu-ray profile 1.1 player round-up

Crave As much as intellectual property owners would like a format war every week to keep those patent royalty cheques rolling in, it's hardly good for the consumer. This doesn't mean that all the players on the market now are compliant -- far from it...

6 November 2007, 11:45

Apple Tablet PC is real, says Asus

Crave It will come from a completely new blueprint, possibly based on the patent Apple filed back in May 2005. Crave hangs with people in high places -- that's how we get exclusives and free food. A few weeks ago we were having a civilised dinner with...

Tags: asus, tablet, tablet pc, intel core

6 November 2007, 10:56

Photos: The history of the digital camera

Crave Unfortunately, as with Texas Instrument employee Willis Adcock's filmless camera (US patent 4,057,830) in 1972, the technology had yet to catch up with the concept. The camera generally recognised as the first digital still snapper was a prototype...

2 November 2007, 8:00

Crave Podcast 55: Cursing is good for you

Crave Between curse words, we discuss Microsoft's attempt to patent a new mind-reading technique, and how the company's co-founder Paul Allen is searching for alien life forms. The weekend's just around the corner and that means another episode of the...

Tags: words, episode, crave podcast, forms

19 October 2007, 11:57

Say hello to CH-DVD and a 51GB HD DVD

Crave CH-DVD is similar in structure to HD DVD, but relies on Chinese technology to reduce the number of patent payments that need to be paid to owners. It's all go in the HD DVD camp at the moment. Still on a high from the Paramount/Dreamworks deal, we...

Tags: disc, chinese, hd, problems

12 September 2007, 9:10

LG's iPod washing machine: Convergence gone mad

Crave Thankfully, this design is just the concept art that accompanies a patent filed by electronics maker LG. We're sincerely hoping that this is just a case of patent squatting -- the act of registering a potential invention on the off-chance that...

Tags: lg electronics, machine, patent, washing

29 May 2007, 10:08

'Zune phone' patent application surfaces in series of tubes

Crave Now here's another one to add to the pile; Engadget recently pointed us to a 'Zune phone' interface patent application unearthed by Mad4MobilePhones. Crave US: There have been plenty of Zune 2.0 rumors recently -- flash memory, a 'watermelon...

Tags: zune, pointed, rumors, setup

19 April 2007, 8:45

The Smell-o-phone comes to the U.S.

Crave Motorola has received a patent for a handset that releases scents by heating a gel packet, similar to the way plug-in air fresheners works. Crave US: Is there a big outcry for scented gadgets? The folks at Crave have commented on the uselessness of...

Tags: phones, gadgets, motorola, san francisco

16 April 2007, 8:15

MP3 players at CES: Predictions for 2007

Crave Apple's patent on the Click Wheel and its licensing agreement with Creative over the iPod's hierarchical menu system make for a tough challenge. In the aftermath of the underwhelming Zune, there's still everything to play for in the MP3 player market.

Tags: market, players, samsung, ces

3 January 2007, 12:25

Top ten girl geeks

Crave She discovered the elements radium and polonium, but so that others could share in her discovery, she did not patent the process she used to isolate the radium element. Photographed numerous times clutching her PSP, and famous for having her...

21 November 2006, 15:54

Crave Talk: Creative vs Apple -- why sue now?

Crave MP3 player manufacturer Creative has filed two legal actions against Apple, claiming that the iPod infringes on a patent for hierarchical menus Creative applied for in 2001 and was awarded in August 2005.

Tags: creative, case, art, summer

16 May 2006, 11:00