We don't expect this to be indicative of any near-term projects for the now financially hindered phone maker, but one of Sony Ericsson's recently unearthed patents paves the way for some interesting uses. From what we gather, while listening to music on your device, a picture of your face would be taken. That image would then be run through software that interprets your mood, and an appropriate next song based on those emotions would be picked -- so much for the art of mixtapes. Presumably, it'd also require a phone or device with a camera mounted on the same side as the screen, so unless mobile video conferencing takes off in a huge way, we can't see people paying extra for a phone or device with this configuration. And if you just got dumped over SMS, we hope it doesn't intepret those tears as a good time to play that Damien Rice song you two fell in love with. Hit up the read link for the full patent details.

[Via Slash Gear]

We're all for closing the gap between our desktop and mobile WPMs, but this might be a step in the wrong... direction (keep reading to understand why that was a miserable, unforgivable pun). HTC has filed for a patent that would have your phone determine which character you meant to type by analyzing its current tilt at the time you press a key, the idea being that a single key could be responsible for entering as many as five different letters and numbers. It seems like that'd make entering a text more like a game of Labarynth than an actually enjoyable (or efficient) process, but hey, we guess some people are really good with their wrists.

[Via pocketnow.com and wmpoweruser.com]

Modern phones deeply rely on the ability to efficiently switch between two, three, or even more bands, a sad reality of the patchwork map of available spectrum the nations of the world have imposed on themselves. That kind of multiband tech requires really awesome miniaturized antenna tech, and a Spanish company, Fractus, says that a whole bunch of the world's top-tier manufacturers are blatantly violating its IP in the field. It's suing Samsung, LG, RIM, Pantech, Kyocera, Palm, HTC, Sharp, UTStarcom, and Sanyo for allegedly infringing on a total of nine patents it holds; the company doesn't specify what kinds of damages it's seeking, but something tells us it's a huge-ish number. Considering that we're pretty big fans of reception, this is a suit we can kinda get behind -- assuming Fractus' claims are legit, of course.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Truthfully, we're having a hard time coming to grips with this. For as long as we wished that these two would stop bickering, it's actually tough to swallow the fact that we'll never again be able to write about "yet another lawsuit" between Qualcomm and Broadcom (in theory, anyway). After nearly three full years of fighting with pencils, papers and soulless words, the courtroom throwdowns are finally ceasing. In a shocking development, the two rivals have entered into a settlement and multi-year patent agreement that will "result in the dismissal with prejudice of all litigation between the companies, including all patent infringement claims in the International Trade Commission and US District Court in Santa Ana, as well as the withdrawal by Broadcom of its complaints to the European Commission and the Korea Fair Trade Commission." The exact terms of the deal are posted after the break, though you should know that Qualcomm will have to shell out $891 million in cash (ouch!) over the next four years. The lawyers may be out of work, but you can rest assured that there's no shortage of abhorrence between these frenemies.

It may not be the oddest application of pleasant emanations from a handset, but Samsung's recent patent app is still up there in the "technologies the mobile world doesn't really need" category. The idea is pretty simple: a fragrant strip is embedded either in the slide mechanism for sliders or in the hinge on clamshells; every time the phone is opened, friction against the strip releases the fresh scent of springtime daisies (or pine, or Beef Wellington, or whatever you're into). It's not clear from the application whether the strips would be user-replaceable, but they're emphatic that it'll last a long time -- so this isn't like gum that tastes good for all of five seconds, apparently. We think we still prefer our phones smelling like... well, nothing, but that's just us.

[Via Cellpassion]

We wouldn't recommend speculating too much here, but a patent Apple filed back in October 2007 has surfaced, describing a "movement-based interfaces for personal media device." If that's not enough of an explanation, in a nutshell it's for interacting with a device by tilting and shaking. Chances are this is just for accelerometer-based commands like switching to landscape, steering virtual go-carts, and undo -- but hey, if the gang at Cupertino devise a way to control an iPhone entirely by waggle, we'll be more than happy to witness a demonstration.

[Via Unwired View]

Uh oh Apple -- it looks like even your attorneys are dirty, thieving jailbreakers. Tipster a|e§ was poring through that iPhone biometric security patent application we posted earlier and noticed that the images show a jailbroken phone, complete with Installer.app, SMBPrefs, and the iWood Realize theme from the iSpazio repository. We're guessing the fine folks at Kramer, Levin Naftalis & Frankel are going to have some 'splainin to do on Monday morning -- but at least they get to run apps in the background.

Update: To those of you saying that this is in reference to one of the claims of the patent, we're not so sure -- there's no reason for Apple to use images of a jailbroken phone to make that specific point. Remember, somebody drew this picture, they didn't have to use these specific icons or this theme to illustrate Springboard variations.

[Thanks, a|e§]

This one's pretty light on specifics at the moment, but it looks like manufacturing giant ITT Corp is none too happy with Verizon and a whole host of cellphone manufacturers including the likes of Motorola, Nokia, LG, and Kyocera, and it's now gone so far as to sue the whole lot over alleged patent infringement. Apparently, ITT thinks that the group of companies all violated one of its GPS patents that relates to position information being transmitted in urban areas with line-of-sight obstructions. As a result of that alleged wrong doing, ITT says it has been "irreparably harmed," and that it "has suffered, and will continue to suffer substantial damages." To remedy that situation, ITT is asking for a jury trial, unspecified royalties, and a permanent injunction against all of the defendants, although it is being kind enough to allow for an exemption for any activities necessary to support 911 emergency functions.

[Thanks, Joel]

As expected, Google and LG have joined Apple, AT&T, and Verizon in settling their visual voicemail patent lawsuits with Klausner Technologies. The LG agreement is the more straightforward of the two, since it covers LG devices like the Versa directly, but things get more complicated with Google since it doesn't actually make its own phones -- Klausner wouldn't say if the agreement shielded Android licensees from patent claims. We're hoping Google's attorneys got it all sorted out, but we'll see who else is next on Klausner's naughty list.

Read - Google
Read - LG

While most folks welcome gaming devices that do more than simply play games, Texas-based Wall Wireless LLC seems to think that's a bit over the line, at least when it's not getting a piece of the action. More specifically, the little known company says that Sony, Nintendo, and Nokia are infringing on its patent for a "Method and Apparatus for Creating and Distributing Real-Time Interactive Media Content Through Wireless Communication Networks and the Internet," which apparently relates to someone distributing "messages having aural or visual content that is generated by the operator using handheld apparatuses such as mobile telephones." According to Wall Wireless, that patent not only covers the DS and PSP, but specific games like Mario Kart and Wipeout Pulse, and a whole host of Nokia's game-playing phones, including the N95, N93, and N82. As a result, it's seeking a permanent injunction against the allegedly infringing companies lest it be "irreparably harmed," as well as the usual damages, expenses, and attorney's fees, not to mention "pre-judgment and post-judgment interest."

[Via Register Hardware]

So we've been watching this sketchily-sourced piece from VentureBeat's MG Siegler that claims Google was specifically asked to avoid implementing multitouch by Apple over patent concerns bounce its way around the web today, and while we didn't want to contribute to the echo chamber effect without being able to lend any authority to the story, it's starting to get stupid: John Gruber is chiming in that he'd additionally heard that Apple warned Google against including a 3.5mm headphone jack on the G1 after Cupertino was shown a prototype, which is ridiculous. Fine, we're somewhat willing to accept the complete lack of multitouch on the G1 is a result of Apple's influence, especially considering the huffy language Apple's been using lately over its intellectual property, but the absence of a straight 3.5mm headphone jack can't be chalked up to any patent issues, since Gruber's source is probably pointing to an Apple patent that covers controlling music via a headphone jack, which in no way prevented HTC from slapping a regular 3.5mm jack on there -- and hell, HTC makes breakout boxes for ExtUSB that expose both a jack and control capability anyway. Furthermore, it's not even remotely clear why Google would be cruising around Infinite Loop with the G1 way ahead of release; as Gruber himself points out, Schmidt recuses himself from board meetings involving iPhone conversations, and we'd expect the courtesy to go both ways.

iTunes, iPod, music, your ears... we get it, Apple owns everything with a melody nowadays, but c'mon, now: at the time the G1 was designed -- many moons ago -- attitude toward the importance of 3.5mm jacks on phones was significantly different than it is today, and we can understand why HTC and Google could've reasonably thought that ExtUSB was good enough. Today, that attitude wouldn't fly -- indeed, HTC's own Touch HD does a real jack, and going forward, we'd expect most Android hardware to have them, too. Talented engineers can usually design their way around patent issues, and we're certain Google and HTC have both the legal and technical muscle to deal with Apple -- so can we please all stop playing lawyer and get back to mocking up the Dream G2?

[Via Daring Fireball]

Ever walk through a crowd with your headphones on, only to find your music drowned out by the uproar? A recent Apple patent proposes dynamic volume adjustment based on your local surroundings. According to the filing, a sound sensor would be used to detect ambient noise and adapt accordingly. It says user volume controls are accounted for, so passing by a construction site likely won't cause your jams to be pumped up to an ear-shattering 11. Although it sounds more likely than some of the company's other patents, don't get your hopes up for seeing this any time soon. Hit up the read link for more details.

[Via Electronista]

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]

An Apple patent unearthed by Mac Rumors named Swipe Gestures for Touch Screen Keyboards suggests a future direction the company might be taking which would substantially change interaction with devices like the iPhone. According to the document, the new system would allow for simple finger gestures like swipes to the left or right to control basic functions of text editing. Some movements outlined in the application include a left swipe for deletion of characters, right swipes for a space, and a swipe down in place of the return key. Of course, these types of gestures are nothing new (and frankly, nothing patentable we suspect), as applications on the company's own devices -- namely the jailbreak-only MobileTerminal -- feature almost this exact implementation of gesture control, and Microsoft has had a similar (albeit stylus-based) concept in WinMo for years. Still, adding in this functionality to the software's existing tools would likely improve navigation and input, and opens the door for solutions to the lingering (and annoying) copy / paste problems Apple seems to have.

[Via Mac Rumors]

Someone in RIM (probably someone high up) apparently said, "Hey, you know what'd be great? A candybar Pearl that's narrower for no apparent reason," which caused a team of engineers with advanced degrees to spring into action and craft this doozy of a patent app. The concept is that you start off with a numeric keypad slapped onto a handset that's too narrow to handle even an abbreviated SureType configuration, and when the time comes to type, you swing out ridiculous wings that house the extra keys you need. Obviously, we have no good excuse for giving RIM a hard time about this until it appears on an actual product -- a doomed-for-failure product, may we add -- but you think they could've just saved the application fees on this one, you know?

[Via Cellpassion]