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Apple patents “Device-to-Device Location Awareness”

By on February 5, 2010 at 1:49pm in Asides, Mobile News, Various News

Another day reveals another Apple patent. This time it’s called “Device-to-Device Location Awareness” and basically gives iPhone users the ability to share their location with other iPhone users via GPS with the touch of a button. The opposite can also happen too… a friend could request your location. I’m sure there are a number of security issues around this patent but the description goes into detail of how the location can be sent via text message and most likely pop open a map with your exact positioning.

The official description states: “During an ongoing wireless telephone call communication session between a pair of mobile devices, a local device responds to its user’s activation of a virtual or actual button or key, or its user’s verbal command, by automatically sending an over the air message (e.g., a SMS or text message or other network communication message) to the remote device. The message requests location information of the remote device. Upon obtaining location information from the remote device, a location of the remote device is automatically displayed on the local device. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.”

Check it our here at US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

Via: PatentlyApple

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Discussion

4 comments for “Apple patents “Device-to-Device Location Awareness””

  1. How the frack is this worthy of a patent? Where’s the non-obviousness? Where’s the innovation?

    Any reasonably technical person who considers the “problem” for more than a few minutes would come up with something similar.

    Another example of how the USPTO is broken.

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    Posted by Jim R | February 5, 2010, 2:27 pm
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  2. so.. it’s basically latitude that you can use during calls? this is just like multi-touch… how is that significantly different than single touch? it’s just the natural evolution…

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    Posted by Clement | February 5, 2010, 4:32 pm
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  3. How does this affect free WinMo apps ie. ReliRescue that does this? Will they all of a sudden be subject to patent infringement?

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    Posted by cass_m | February 6, 2010, 5:49 pm
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  4. There _HAS_ to be prior art here… There are several apps on the Android Market, not the least of which is the mentioned Latitude…
    I have installed a couple that SMS/Email exact GPS coordinates that if someone opens, they open GoogleMaps, and away you go.

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    Posted by Glenn | February 8, 2010, 1:03 pm
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