Apple eyes new-age iPhone answering machine An Apple patent application published Thursday by the US Patent and Trademark Office describes adding video answering-machine capability to the company's iChat messaging application, including extending remote video messaging to the iPhone. The idea isn't new in the minds of the Cupertinians. As long-time Apple-watchers will …
Implementing a "mailbox" for video calls is hardly novel or "non-obvious". It may not have been implemented before for technical reasons (multi-gigabyte rambling messages from drunken idiots calling a wrong number, for example) but it's still an obvious extension of existing messaging "modalities".
This sounds exactly like a feature present in SightSpeed for the last few years, its a free video/audio messenger like iChat.
If a contact isn't online you can record a video message and send it to them to view next time they are online.
Wake me up when "journalists" manage to do a small amount of research for their stories.
There is nothing new under the sun.
Where would I start to show prior art ... Probably with the pulp mag "Astounding Science Fiction" in the late nineteen thirties.
Patents on this kind of thing should be put on hold until the patent office revises itself. It is very clear that the system isn't based on anything resembling reality.
Haven't 3 offered a video mail service on their network for a fair few years now? Its been a few years since I had a 3 contract but I distinctly remember pointless rambling videomail messages from my dad from when he'd videocalled me by mistake.
Is this just another example of Apple trying to patent something that already exists.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
