Apple patent application details instant product research via iPhone, more NFC possibilities

Past Apple patent applications have already offered some evidence that the company is at least thinking about NFC-enhanced apps on the iPhone, and a recently published application has now tossed out one more possible application: instant product research. That would apparently be done using either NFC (or near field communication) or a simple barcode scan, which would let you easily access product reviews, user manuals and other information about products before you purchase them -- the application even includes the example of an NFC-enabled restaurant menu that would let you check nutritional information before you order. Somewhat interestingly, both this and Apple's previous NFC-related patent application use "+" in the app's names (Products+ and Concert Tickets+), although that could simply be the work of one patent attorney, and not evidence of an overarching Apple strategy.

[DaHarder Posted Jul 9th 2010 1:59PM]

Meh...

[tortuga07 Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:35PM]

So like goggles?

[tikigawd Posted Jul 9th 2010 3:01PM]

@DaHarder

"Meh"

More like "HAHAHAHHAHHAHAA, Apple is so cute"
Sorry, fruities, every smartphone out there that can run Apps has been capable of doing this for quite a while.

Prior art trumps your lame patent.

[vqro Posted Jul 9th 2010 3:30PM]

@DaHarder That reply is getting so old. You people are so fucking annoying.

[jellotime91 Posted Jul 9th 2010 3:49PM]

@DaHarder
Meh to the max.. Can Apple patent something that's already available in many Android and iPhone applications?? >_>

[a dumb cat Posted Jul 9th 2010 3:57PM]

@DaHarder

What's that little box near the left side of the earpiece? Could it be the LCD mini display we saw leaked earlier today?

[newone Posted Jul 9th 2010 3:58PM]

@vqro
It's Meh. With big M.

This has been available for years with barcodes, it just hasn't cought on. Only thing new is that that they have replaces barcodes with NFC.

If even that is new. I bet there are some prior arts out there.

The product reviews is a twist that wont happen. Shops have less than half of stock praised, and rest is crap. Anybody think shops are going to start give independent reviews in shops. They wouldnt be able to sell the crappy ones, even if they don't provide reviews for them the lack of reviews shouts out to consumer hes going to buy a crappy one. No way is a shopowner going to take a loss on those items for selling good ones.

[DaHarder Posted Jul 9th 2010 4:52PM]

@vqro
Right back at cha... ;-)

[SolidSnake Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:02PM]

Could be pretty cool.
Then again, its just a way to spend more money...

[Gutsy Gibbons Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:22PM]

@SolidSnake i smell a KFC app patent coming up.

[BMills Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:30PM]

@SolidSnake

I do a lot of product reviews, especially for other people.

I think this would be nice.

[corylulu Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:34PM]

@SolidSnake
wait wait wait.
Don't both the iPhone and Android already have apps like this?
I have a barcode scanner on my phone that looks up reviews and pricing online.
Also Google is already in the action of making Google maps extend to inside places and bing is designed for reviews based on location.
I'm not sure I'm seeing something new here. I thought both Apple and Google were doing this.

[MattsZ Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:51PM]

Scanning Barcodes and NFC are two different worlds my friend...

[peacecrafts Posted Jul 9th 2010 3:05PM]

@MattsZ
"That would apparently be done using either NFC (or near field communication) OR a simple barcode scan"

no one is saying they are the same thing, I think corylulu is just pointing out there are already barcode apps.

[wraith404 Posted Jul 9th 2010 3:23PM]

@MattsZ

Not exactly different worlds in my opinion. Different interfaces, yes, but both are essentially performing a search for the same ID/code, only the way they obtain the code is different and that method of data exchange in itself is already a patented technology. If Apple thinks this is enough of a distinction, they might as well just pay up on the NTP patent suit, because wireless email transmission is still email transmission, the message data is the same, its only transferred via a different medium. I could see patenting an automatic triggering mechanism that defines the distances and other semantics that make the experience unique, and maybe thats what this is in the details, but click a button and hold it near seems much to similar to click a button and point it at...

[tech4computer Posted Jul 10th 2010 1:40AM]

@corylulu my craigslist car research extension does similar thing.... gets all info about car on one page under the car sale ad. There are other extensions;sites;scripts that does similar stuff.

= not patent worthy =

[banshee287 Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:02PM]

i second that

[AlienSix Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:04PM]

Another day, another Apple Patent

[kerrchdavis Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:06PM]

meh.

[Jordus Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:06PM]

Yet again apple pretends to invent something google has had forever

[bjsguess Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:14PM]

@Jordus

Yeah ... hasn't this been around for a few years with Android?

Maybe I didn't get it but the iPhone is going to act like a barcode scanner and access data stored in a database. How can you get a patent on that? That's WHAT a barcode scanner does.

[HAL2000 Posted Jul 9th 2010 8:50PM]

No. Wrong. False. Dumb.

[rmbrown09 Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:12PM]

Man all these patents are exciting.
Apple is going nuts.

Soon they will rule the whole tech market.
I mean the tablet market...wait
the mp3 player market.....wait
Premier online digital media distribution service......wait
phone market.......not complete dominance, but damn
Computer market.... guess not (yet)

[peacecrafts Posted Jul 9th 2010 3:06PM]

@rmbrown09
computer market...nvm

[Johnny Rockets Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:13PM]

What does this have to do with football?

Ba-da-chhh

[mjkxxl Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:14PM]

Are there not apps already out there that allow you to snap a pic of the barcode of an item and then retrieve information about that product? Could have sworn there were some that do this very same thing.

[Blaque14K Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:46PM]

@mjkxxl It doesn't seem to matter. Just put in a patent request even if the idea is obvious and had already been done and all of a sudden you become the sole entity that can do these things. Its quite ridiculous. Then they'll toss this patent out there in a couple of years and iFools will be screaming at the top of their lungs that everybody else has stolen Apples IP even though they had it well before Apple.

[jsl4980 Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:15PM]

Note 40 on the diagram is a reminder not to touch the phone there.

[WUSS Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:18PM]

You know, one thing I've learned about patents from Apple is that you can get patents for some pretty ridiculous things.

That being said, I wonder if it's possible to patent the patent submission process, so noone can ever file a patent again except me.

[Blaque14K Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:47PM]

@WUSS You probably can. As I understand it IBM has filed a patent for patent trolling.

[ToniCipriani Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:31PM]

I thought Nokia has some patents around NFC and phones?

[ajwoodhouse Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:36PM]

I may be wrong here but this kind of tech has been used in Japan to buy coke etc for YEARS.

[roccoz Posted Jul 9th 2010 2:58PM]

Interesting but kind of scary...

[JmHal Posted Jul 9th 2010 3:33PM]

sounds like a good way to trigger advertisements

[3dpenguin Posted Jul 9th 2010 3:40PM]

I vote the US Patent Office goes through and researches all Apple patents against their product technologies and any other devices on the market that are not licensing the technology through Apple and start stripping them of patent squats.

[mjkxxl Posted Jul 9th 2010 4:10PM]

@3dpenguin

Yeah...........and then they could do the same to Apple......in which case Apple would be hosed.

[Deloren Posted Jul 9th 2010 4:12PM]

NFC belongs the future .... is like in Minority Report Movie ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBaiKsYUdvg

it knows who u are ....it shows personalized services, information, ads etc. ... but more subtle and not scary like in the movie of course ;)

[rav97 Posted Jul 9th 2010 4:23PM]

I don't know who's more stupid here, Apple filing for a patent on something that has tons of prior art (both scanning QR codes and NFC have been used in Japan for several years), or the USPTO granting it.

[junktrunk Posted Jul 9th 2010 5:14PM]

@rav97
USPTO has not granted it (nor will they). Apple just filed it Jan 2009 so it's 100% clear that gobs of prior art exist.

[appsman Posted Jul 9th 2010 4:28PM]

There is NO WAY this should be patentable. The entire patent in obvious once NFC technology is applied. The kind of crap is killing productivity and innovation. It really needs to be stopped.

[grundy923 Posted Jul 9th 2010 4:51PM]

How could they possibly get a patent for this? Doesn't Google Shopper application already do this? And it's very similar to the bar code scanner application and Google Goggles. Apple makes me sick.

[Deloren Posted Jul 9th 2010 4:55PM]

@grundy923

still in the application process

[Killing Time Posted Jul 9th 2010 6:27PM]

@grundy923

"apple makes me sick"
how can people here be so stupid?
this is how all businesses are forced to work. complain about the patent office.

[2FR35H Posted Jul 9th 2010 5:21PM]

You can't patent that wth if this receives patent I vote that we reform the USPTO.

[spaz1 Posted Jul 9th 2010 5:23PM]

Is this is so Apple can track and sell your data to advertisers, and not to actually be useful to users like NFC for subway/bus passes.

[Franktank Posted Jul 9th 2010 5:32PM]

According to the diagram above, iPhone 4 with the Retina Display can now open envelopes?!? What will they think of next?

[MicroNix Posted Jul 9th 2010 9:15PM]

I really wish that Apple would finally come up with an idea of their own to patent...

[JohnC Posted Jul 10th 2010 3:48AM]

@MicroNix Apple doesn't roll that way. Their business model is to profit from putting magic dust on old stuff. It's good money but poor innovation.

[Axekick Posted Jul 10th 2010 5:35AM]

How long until Apple then sues Google for Google Goggles?