Abstract: A touch screen arrangement fitted to a mobile telephone apparatus and built-on or resting on a substrate. The touch screen includes a display unit and a number of light pulse emitting units and a number of light pulse receiving units, said units being edge-related to said display unit. The light pulse emitting units and the light pulse receiving units are orientated adjacent said display unit, with the directions of said emitted and received light pulses being at right angles, or at least generally at right angles, to a planar surface on the display unit. The touch screen also includes four light pulse deflecting devices positioned close to the display surface.

Abstract: A system for bi-directional battery charging, including a first electronic device, including a first rechargeable battery, for providing power to the first electronic device, and a first battery charger, and a second electronic device, including a second rechargeable battery, for providing power to the second electronic device, a second battery charger, a voltage boost that receives an input voltage from the first rechargeable battery and is selectively enabled to either up-convert the input voltage as input to the second battery charger, or else to passively pass the input voltage to the second battery charger; and a controller for programmatically controlling the first and the second battery chargers and the voltage boost, wherein the second electronic device attaches to the first electronic device to operate in combination therewith, and wherein the controller is programmed to decide, based on the voltages of the first and the second rechargeable batteries: (i) whether to supply power to the second electro

Abstract: A system for peer-to-web media broadcasting, including a plurality of publisher computers, for broadcasting media over the Internet, each publisher computer including a video transcoder, and an image processor, a plurality of HTTP web client computers for viewing broadcasted media, an application server for transmitting web page content to HTTP web client computers, including a database management system for storing and retrieving publisher authentication information, at least one switchboard server, for managing TCP/IP connections between online publisher computers and HTTP web client computers, a load balancer for distributing incoming client requests among the at least one switchboard server, and a storage volume that is mounted on each of the at least one switchboard servers, for caching portions of media received from publishing computers. A method and computer-readable storage media are also described and claimed.

Abstract: A video processor for recognizing gestures, including a video camera for capturing photographs of a region within the camera's field of view, in real-time, an image processor coupled with the video camera for detecting a plurality of hand gestures from the photographs captured by the video camera, and a controller coupled with the image processor, wherein the controller can be in a dormant mode or an active mode, and wherein the controller transitions from dormant mode to active mode when the image processor detects a progression of two states within the captured photographs, the two states being (i) a closed fist and (ii) an open hand, and wherein the controller performs a programmed responsive action to an electronic device based on the hand gestures detected by the image processor when the controller is in active mode. A method and a computer-readable storage medium are also described and claimed.

Abstract: A circuit with bi-directional signal transmission, including a first signal source, for generating a first signal comprising one bit per clock cycle during a first plurality of clock cycles, a second signal source, for generating a second signal including one bit per clock cycle during a second plurality of clock cycles, a first buffer, coupled with the first signal source, that outputs the first signal when the first buffer is enabled, a second buffer, coupled with the second signal source, that outputs the second signal when the second buffer is enabled, and a plurality of logical gates, coupled with the first signal source, the second signal source, the first buffer and the second buffer, that control enablement of the first buffer and the second buffer, such that (i) at any given clock cycle at least one of the first buffer and the second buffer is disabled, and (ii) when the first buffer and said the buffer are both disabled, subsequent generation of a ‘0’ bit in the first signal or the second signal cau

Abstract: A power management system for a mobile electronic device, including a microprocessor for continually monitoring a voltage of a battery within a mobile electronic device, wherein the device can operate in either a standalone mode powered by the battery, or in an externally powered mode, and wherein the battery is charged when the device is in external power mode, and a power manager coupled with said voltage meter, for controlling operation of the device according to the following logic: if the monitored voltage falls below an upper turn-on threshold, UTOT, during operation of the device in standalone mode, but is above a lower turn-on threshold, LTOT, then automatically turning the device off, and enabling the device to be turned on in an emergency mode, wherein at least one emergency action is enabled, and if the monitored voltage falls below LTOT during operation of the device in standalone mode, then automatically turning the device off, and preventing the device from being turned on.

Abstract: A method for multi-selection gifting, including maintaining a merchandise database comprising records for merchandise for a plurality of merchants, each record including a stock keeping unit (SKU) for an item of merchandise, a description of the item, a price of the item, and the merchant for the item, maintaining a gift database comprising records for multi-selection gifts, each record including at least one gift recipient, a plurality of SKU's for items of merchandise, and at least one selection rule for selecting at least one of the items of merchandise, interactively enabling a gift giver to generate a multi-selection gift for a gift recipient, interactively guiding the gift recipient to select at least one of the items of merchandise in the multi-selection gift in accordance with the gift's at least one selection rule, aggregating the at least one item selected by the gift recipient according to merchant, issuing purchase orders to each merchant in accordance with the aggregated selected items correspond

Abstract: A mobile telephone device, comprising, an enclosure; a plurality of hardware components that provide the functionality of a cellular telephone or a satellite telephone, at least some of said components being inside or on said enclosure; a solid state non-volatile storage system inside of said enclosure; and a directly accessible connection for said storage system, adapted to connect to an external host system.

Abstract: A system and method for postponing and managing outgoing calling tasks for on or off-site retrieval are presented. More precisely a system and method are presented to compile a list of pending calling tasks, transfer a task to a calling device and prompt a user to make a call. Optionally the list may contain synchronized sublists, one sublist on a personal computer and a second sublist an a mobile calling device. At the completion of a calling task or other event, the list is automatically updated.

Abstract: A biometric authentication system, including a database of digital images of biometrics of known people, a camera for capturing a digital image of a biometric of an unknown person, a two-dimensional gradient filter coupled with said database and said camera for deriving a spatial gradient of a digital image, and a match processor coupled with the two-dimensional gradient filter for processing two spatial gradients and determining the extent to which the unknown biometric corresponds with a known biometric. A method and a computer-readable storage medium are also described and claimed.

Abstract: Methods, devices and systems for wireless communication. A device user defines a list of contacts and receives a collective indication of which contacts are located within a neighborhood of the device. The neighborhood is defined at the device, for example by the device itself or by the user. A plurality of device users define respective user profiles including user attributes. One of the users defines a target attribute, and receives an indication of which other users that have that attribute have devices in the first user's neighborhood. The devices communicate among themselves either indirectly, for example via cellular base stations, or directly.

Abstract: A method for determining direction of signal transmission in a bi-directional signal line, including sampling data signals at two terminals, A and B, enabling data flow from A to B when data flow from B to A is not enabled, and a logical 0 bit is sampled at A, enabling data flow from B to A when data flow from A to B is not enabled, and a logical 0 bit is sampled at B, disabling data flow from A to B when data flow from A to B is enabled and two successive logical 1 bits are sampled at A, and disabling data flow from B to A when data flow from B to A is enabled and two successive logical 1 bits are sampled at B. An electrical circuit is also described and claimed.

Abstract: A communication card with three operational states, including a controller, a battery, a flash storage unit, a wireless modem, and a connector for connecting the communication card to a shell host and to an electronic device host, wherein the communication card (i) operates in a standalone mode when the connector is not connected to a device, (ii) functions as a master when the connector is connected to the shell host, and (iii) functions as a slave when the connector is connected to the electronic device host. A method and a computer-readable storage medium are also described and claimed.

Abstract: A wireless telecommunication device including a foreground unit, and a background unit that is physically separated from the foreground unit and in local communication with the foreground unit. The foreground unit is provided to support incoming calls independently of the background unit. Furthermore, the foreground unit and the background unit cooperate to support outgoing calls. The scope of the invention also includes a method for doing business by offering the foreground unit for sale in a packaging having a form factor selected from the group consisting of: a pen, a pen cap, a wristwatch, and a necklace.

Abstract: A mobile telephone device, comprising, an enclosure; a plurality of hardware components that provide the functionality of a cellular telephone or a satellite telephone, at least some of said components being inside or on said enclosure; a solid state non-volatile storage system inside of said enclosure; and a directly accessible connection for said storage system, adapted to connect to an external host system.