An IM Patent for the iPhone?

Ian Lamont writes "Apple has filed a patent for IM on portable devices, which could mean that it's getting ready to launch an IM client for the iPhone. The filing is titled 'Portable Electronic Device for Instant Messaging', and covers methods for sending, receiving, and viewing ongoing conversations. The proposed GUI is similar to Apple's current interface for SMS. As for why iChat wasn't enabled for the iPhone earlier, there's some interesting background and analysis here, which also includes a discussion of AIM for the iPhone. IM also came up in the discussions last year about the most-wanted features in iPhone 2.0."

You know it's Apple

You can tell that Apple is still the same company they have always been when they are patenting functionality that is already on most modern cell phones and is noticably absent from the iPhone.

So not only is Apple late bringing this feature to market, but they are trying to patent something which has prior art in products which are already competing against their own.

Bravo Steve Jobs!

*slow hand clap*

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holy fsck! I read that and thought there must be a catch, Apple folks can't be that slow? TFA doesn't seem to indicate anything different.

Does anyone have ready-to-hand details on the patent application. There is obvious prior art, and locking out develope

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Diagrams [appleinsider.com]

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I found the patent [uspto.gov] via a Mac rumour site.

The main point of difference appears to be the touch screen, but I admit I'm not great at reading patents.

Note that this is also just a patent application; it hasn't been granted yet.

Yet more patent abuse...

Hate to break it to ya Apple, but there have been cell phones with the ability to use services such as AIM for quite a few years now.

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You know, there is some chance that Apple patented a specific method, rather than a general concept. We've been talking about the pitfalls of IM on the iPhone for months (network "chattyness", leaving a daemon running on the time in a memory-limited system

ASK SLASHDOT

Forgive me, maybe it's my geezerhood speaking, but I don't understand why anybody would want IM on a phone in the first place. Text messages yes, for if (say) the girl you're calling is in a movie or at the OBGYN or somewhere where she can't take a call right now, but IM? That's INSTANT message.

Why would you IM when you could more easily and cheaply just talk? English class maybe?

*wanders off muttering about foolish young people...*

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WiFi hotspots make IM cheaper than text messaging.

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So do ridiculous usage plans with unlimited data transfer... except for text messages. Don't get me wrong, I love my iPhone, but some of this bullshit is, well, bullshit.

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Screw the Wi-Fi hotspots, "unlimited data plan" for the iPhone makes IM cheaper than SMS.

SMS makes AT&T money, IM does not. This is also why iPhone SDK bans voice-over-ip apps like Skype. This would circumvent using up your cell phone minutes to call

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IM is the #1 most used data feature on my phone...

My wife and I are in communication all the time, and it is seamless no matter if one or the other of us is at home, work, at the beach, at the mall, whatever. Same protocol, different device means when s

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Two word answer: Night club.

Longer answer: Each of the combinations of synchronous and asynchronous, and visual and aural communication have their place. Need to send a street address, but the recipient doesn't really need it until tomorrow? Send an emai

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My girlfriend is currently living in another country. If I connect via an IM program, then I can talk to her for the cost of my unlimited data plan. If I call her up or send an SMS then I have to pay.

Of course, when I'm at home we use Skype. But usually

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because when you IM people, you get to use all the chat abbreviations that show how cool you are. 2moro, idk my bff jill, etc.

The funny thing is, even though it's stupid and more work to do, most young (30) people use SMS exactly as a chat feature, to dra

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But then, I'm the guy who thinks people should go back to having face to face conversations with IRL friends instead of myspace, facebook, phones, and SMS.

Yep, especially when those IRL friends can live hundreds or thousands of miles away. Clearly the most economical way is to travel those long distances rather than calling or IMing them.

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There is a big different. SMS uses the control channel of the cell tower, where as IM uses the normal data channels. The control channel is limited in bandwidth, where the data channel can accomodate much, much more data.

iIM?

Just imagine the fun when people start trying to say that.

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Aye, I iIM'd you, ai-yi-yi!

Anyone see this one...

...ending well? This seems to be the type of patent a patent troll would try to get through. Can someone please explain to me how this won't end with Apple eventually suing someone for violating the patent, and then rinsing and repeating ad nauseum?

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This seems to be the type of patent a patent troll would try to get through.

Which, given the constant abuse of the patent system by said trolls, getting the patent yourself is the only way to be sure you aren't going to end up on the wrong side of a lawsuit.

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Since it's a methods patent and not a design patent, it could be (not saying it is) for a particularly novel way of sending IM over phone that hasn't been previously done. Multitouch commands to send IMs and change windows, or an IM client that can flawle

Hmmmm ....

So, the usual question about such patents arises.

How the heck can you patent "a method of doing a well-known operation in a slightly new context"?

The issues are the same -- communications protocols, keeping track of sent and received messages, message sequencing, etc. Big deal, they're now doing it on an iPhone. All of the other stuff is just more of the same on top of a different platform that still needs to do the exact same things as other platforms.

Unless I'm missing something, this patent will likely be describing something well known, and enumerating a few points where it's slightly different and therefore is revolutionary rather than an obvious outgrowth of previous things.

Much silliness here.

Cheers

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The Patent office Granted MSFT the right to patent a graphical version of sudo. This really isn't any different.

i have yet to see a valid software, or business method patent.

How?

Back in the day, you used to have to do something innovative to get a patent...

What the patent application actually says

Feel free to pontificate without knowing what the application says. This post is for those few people who want to know of what they speak. The claim 1 says:

A computer-implemented method, comprising: at a portable electronic device with a touch screen dis