The guys at Apple Insider have spotted another camera-related Apple patent at the US Patent Office. A few months ago Apple patented a magnetic lens mount. This time the iPhone maker from Cupertino is looking at interchangeable lenses for mobile devices that will attach via a bayonet mount, just like on a DSLR or mirrorless system camera. Learn more
A patent for a wireless accessory that allows users to remotely control the camera of an iPhone – including image preview, capture and review – has been granted to Apple by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Of course we don’t know at this point if the patent will ever result in an actual product but there is no doubt that, at the right price, it could be a useful accessory. Learn more
A patent filed by Nikon in Japan appears to revive the long-held dream of adding a digital sensor to an existing film SLR. The Japanese Engineering Accomplishment blog found the recently published patent that shows a mechanism for mounting and adjusting the position of a digital sensor on a rear door that could be used to replace the conventional film door. However, the patent only covers the mounting of the sensor relative to the film guides – it doesn’t address any of the hurdles that have stood in the way of anyone realizing this long-discussed idea. (via PetaPixel)
Financial news service Bloomberg is reporting Apple and Google are working together to purchase some of Kodak’s imaging patents. The companies are said to be working together – lending more weight to reports in the Wall Street Journal from back in August. The story suggests the two companies, along with the groups of smaller companies with whom they’d been preparing bids, will offer more than $ 500m for the patents. Such a figure would give Kodak access to $ 830m of external funding that is dependent on the value of the patent deal.
Financial news service Bloomberg is reporting Apple and Google are working together to purchase some of Kodak’s imaging patents. The companies are said to be working together – lends more weight to reports in the Wall Street Journal from back in August. The story suggests the two companies, along with the groups of smaller companies with whom they’d been preparing bids, will offer more than $ 500m for the patents. Such a figure would give Kodak access to $ 830m of external funding that is dependent on the value of the patent deal.
Kodak has announced it will sell two of its business divisions, ending its role as a consumer-facing photographic company. The Personalized Imaging business includes print kiosks and consumer film, while the Document Imaging business includes scanners and commercial document management. Both businesses will be sold as going concerns. Meanwhile the Wall Street Journal has reported that many of the world’s biggest technology companies, including Samsung, Apple and Google, have formed a consortium to bid for Kodak’s digital imaging patents, significantly lowering the price the amount the sale is likely to raise.
Fujifilm’s innovative organic-hybrid sensor technology is interesting but may not offer a compelling advantage over existing designs, says sensor technologist Professor Eric Fossum. The company has recently been granted a patent for its work on a sensor that uses an organic (carbon-chemistry-based) material on top of silicon circuitry. Speculation about Fujifilm’s forthcoming mirrorless camera has latched onto a technical paper the company published in late 2009, but both Fossum and the company say the work shows more promise for small-scale sensors.