Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Future iPads to Implement Vicinity Sensors for Enterprise Use
Patent Background
Network-enabled electronic devices commonly communicate instantly over great distances. A network connection allows these devices to be in communicative proximity. That is, the devices communicate generally without reference to any distance between the devices. However, communicative proximity is not necessarily equal to physical proximity. For example, a computer in an office may be able to interact with a number of printers via a network, even if these printers are not physically near the computer. Indeed, the printers may be located on another side of, or on a different floor of, an office building, making use of the printers inconvenient. In some cases, a user of the computer may be aware of a local printer but unable to find the local printer via the network.
More information at Patently Apple