Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, has filed a patent for a "remote display" devices that would take cloud computing to a whole new level. GeekWire reports that the display would get data and power from a centrally located primary station. The tablets or simple screens would not then need to include a large internal battery or significant local processing power, since both those concerns would be taken care of in the primary base station.
The patent views processors and large internal batteries as the next major roadblocks in the pursuit of thinner and lighter devices in the mobile industry. The patent claims, "The
ability to continue to reduce the form factor of many of today's devices
is somewhat limited, however, as the devices typically include
components such as processors and batteries that limit the minimum size
and weight of the device. While the size of a battery is continuously
getting smaller, the operational or functional time of these smaller
batteries is often insufficient for many users."
The patent also provides other use cases for these "remote displays" that wouldn't need to wait on this theorhetical wireless tablet to be developed. For example, a camera or sensor can detect when a hand is passed over a reader display and can respond by turning the page. Transferring power and data wirelessly to displays as described in the patent is currently not feasible with existing technologies, but it does present an interesting idea for the future of tablets and e-readers.
It's interesting to consider that companies can file patents with non existing technology. They are literally monopolizing an idea because they simply filed it first. I think this provides an interesting point about the patent system. Perhaps someone out there has the technology to create and facilitate such an idea but are discouraged from doing so because Jeff Bezos owns the patent to the idea itself. On the other hand, perhaps this notion of filing patents before the technology is built will actually encourage innovation and force the company to incentive the R&D of that product.
It all depends on that intention of the person/company filing the patent. If the filer is looking to maximize profits by claiming non-existing technologies and then charging licensing fees to those that do, or if it is to discourage others to innovate so certain technologies can stay relevant on the market for longer, or if they are creating incentives for their company to be the first to develop the product.
All these are valid, but only few reasons actually promote innovation while the other reasons inhibit it.
Wow. I'm surprised no one has commented on this or has written on this topic. I think Jeff Bezos is one of the most innovative CEO's in the world, and with his vision he is continuing to turn Amazon into much much more than the basic e-commerce site it was just a short 5-6 years ago. This patent is something which I strongly believe will come back to benefit Amazon significantly in the near future. I am looking forward to their next generation of tablet e-readers.
ReplyDelete@Shayan, your comment indicates that you think Amazon is employing this patent for the sake of their own innovation. I wonder what the turnaround time will be for the company to create a prototype and bring the product to market. Thus far, Amazon has done an incredible job with their Kindle products in terms of making the battery last longer than competing tablets.
ReplyDelete@Shayan, your comment indicates that you think Amazon is employing this patent for the sake of their own innovation. I wonder what the turnaround time will be for the company to create a prototype and bring the product to market. Thus far, Amazon has done an incredible job with their Kindle products in terms of making the battery last longer than competing tablets.
ReplyDeleteVery cool that Jeff Bezos is listed as an inventor on the patent; it's pretty rare for tech leadership to go down to such depths in product development; the late Steve Jobs is another exception to this common phenomenon.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is an excellent example of the ways that large companies can diversify their patent monetization strategy. In addition to filing complainant suits and defending their IP, by filing patents such as the one that you discussed large companies can curtail their competitors' future R & D efforts, while simultaneously signalling to the market what they think the future will entail.
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