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RIM files patent that “automatically adjust settings” by GPS

By on January 9, 2010 at 6:48pm in Asides, Mobile News, Various News

From reading a patent filed by RIM it seems they are looking to eventually have a feature that would change your security features based on your location. So let’s say you’re at work your security settings will be possibly higher then when your at home. The patent is titled “Computing Device with Environment Aware Features” and states:

“A method and mobile electronic device are provided which automatically adjust settings based on the environment of the mobile electronic device. The settings of the mobile electronic device which are adjusted may be security settings, filter settings, or status for instant messaging in dependence on the determined location of the mobile electronic device.”

As smartphones become more important in our everyday use this patent – if ever seen the light of day – will only make things better. What are your thoughts?

Via: IntoMobile

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Discussion

3 comments for “RIM files patent that “automatically adjust settings” by GPS”

  1. I’ve been using this on my Android since months. The free app Locale on the Market does exactly that.

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    Posted by Mathieu | January 9, 2010, 7:30 pm
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  2. While my deep respect for RIM’s innovations (I believe is one of top notch tech companies) I find the patent to wide covering and difficult enforcing. I am not expert on mobile protocols and the mobile security feature setting it may be “novel”. I believe there are phones today in the market that change for example carrier setting and implicitly security setting by geo-zones. But I find even difficult the “filter settings, or status for instant messaging” would neither as you can find similar features in existing phones. My bet is that RIM would use the patent to protect it’s assets from small patent driven litigating companies or either we would see in the future personal-business blended blackberries. Some sort of first virtualization of the mobile world.

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    Posted by Alex | January 10, 2010, 12:04 pm
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  3. Without reading the patent application, I would say that changing settings based on GPS acquired location info shouldn’t qualify as being non-obvious. If this is indeed what the patent is about and if it gets approved, then it is just one more example of an extremely broken patent system.

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    Posted by Jim R | January 10, 2010, 1:28 pm
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