I have recently published patent applications “System and Method for the Distribution of Advertising and Associated Coupons via Mobile Platforms”
USPTO - US Applications: US 20050239495, US 20050239448
WIPO - International Application: PCT/US2005/012481.
The invention includes a mobile phone that uses its screen(s) to present advertising to persons standing nearby a mobile phone user while he/she is speaking in a non-handsfree mode. Additionally, digital coupons related to the advertising are transmitted via bluetooth to persons within range.
The moble phone user would receive free talk time, content, etc. The service provider would have a new revenue stream and present to multiple persons vs. the user only.
My initial thought is that carriers don’t make money off of advertising, they make it from subscriptions and airtime. Your concept changes that model.
My second thought is that carriers will want that space for themselves. I’ve already seen Cingular start to use the secondary caller-id display for their logo. Would they sell that space with your permission?
Third, people hate uninvited spam, and there is a real fear around “bluejacking.”
I’ve always appreciated the idea of taking wasted screen space and using it for messaging. Once those secondary displays become large enough, I think they’ll make really compelling billboards, so hold out!
i think right now internet connection with handsets is not fast enough but once that happens users will just connect to the net on their wireless if they want ads so the whole ad thing is just extra inconvinience, unless you can set your pref for ads like filter/sort them out by pref which again i think internet will have the upper hand with search engines and such.
let’s say you’re an avid concert goer. would you rather see concert ads for your area on your hand set or just use a search engine on the net.
this is why phone companies provide internet services in the first place.
check this site, its an indian company. they are making a product called ‘Fusion’ which will enhance the idle screen of the mobile device. their product already adress the system you are talking about
Heretofore the existing state use of the primary screen is to promote to the mobile phone user - my invention uses this screen to present advertising to persons OTHER THAN the mobile phone user, by allowing it to be manipulated into a secondary configuration - namely, outward facing.
Additionally, the user gets “something for nothing” for placing the screen into this second position. The existing state of the art - the user gets no immediate benefit for the display of advertising.
Further still - the terminal will transmit associated digital coupons that, if and when redeemed -will give a measurement of the success of a mobile advertising program.
is this with or without the phone owner;s consent? do they have to yes before the content appears or do they have to opt out of it after the fact?
So what is a legally private property (on owners outboard screen) will be hijacked for public use (public seeeing a logo/commercial)?
who is the user here? the advertiser the broadcaster, the service provider or the phone owner?
Its a pushed technology with no pull, a new spam delivery system, a newer breed of indirect marketing like those cupon packs you receive in the mail advertising carpet cleaning, personalized checks and ultra low interest visa cards.
you could make a killing at it. Like any new technology its implementaion and intent could be virtous, but in reality its bound to exploited for the bottom line. Which is ok if you are getting a cut of every single transmission or cupon redeemed.
Again the planets align to allow our chance agreements.
This proves that there is no real regulation in the PTO office, as long as they get their fees. Case in point the 1972 patent I came across that was literally issued for “Multiple electronic computing devices where by calculations and data could be transmitted and received via radio frequency.” Patent drawing showed two boxes sitting on two tables with 3 wavy lines between. It was 2 pages long one with description, and the single above claim, and the drawing page.
Anyway all this is is a new way of getting around the no call list, and I commend the inventor on this future pollution of our environment (world) with useless visual clutter from advertisements. Personally how many people really pay that much attention to the phone of the people on the train, bus, street or in the car next to you. Did a quick pole of the designers, ergo, and researchers here…23 people with a unanimous NO.
The screens are small, VGA quality backlit LCDs, with +/- 20-30 deg angle of visability. Meaning for the advertisement to be ergonomical or even practical for anyone other than the phones user to benifit (in the loosest sense of the word) the viewer would need to be 18"-24" away from direct center of the screen, and the person talking would need do remain still…not looking around or body jesturing in anyway during the conversation.
The other issue that the phones owner might have is the more data the screen displays and the phone processes/recieves/sends and the longer the secondary screen is on the shorter the battery life of the phone.
Further still - the terminal will transmit associated digital coupons that, if and when redeemed -will give a measurement of the success of a mobile advertising program.
A.J.
There have been various companies throughout the last ten years who have had various ways of encoding information in the TV picture were certain devices would interact and viewers could receive proprietary coupons for the service members. However these have proved to be extremely unsuccessful.
Secondarily, who will receive the coupons? The phones owner or the secondary (other than user) person? If the advertisement is intended for the secondary viewer, and the phones user receives the coupon there is no viable data gained for the advertisement agency to track. Ideally it is the secondary user that would need to receive the coupon for the marketing tracking to obtain the data needed to successfully track a marketing campaign. So are you proposing that they copy a code off the screen of the phone, call a number that will display on screen, or say “excuse me but I need to get that coupon from your phone”?
Ideally the mobile phone user will choose to “opt in” for notification of an opportunity to present advertising on his/her phone. Otherwise, phone will just be just “as is”, with the capability to put in such service. The invention in its most useful embodiment calls for use of a LBS factor to determine what advertising might be relevant - so I believe that in most countries it would require a permission based notification.
As it relates to 'who will notice,etc.?" - think New York, Tokyo, Seoul - other locales where the situation is more crowded and public transportation is the norm. Likewise, think of pico-nets inside a mall during Christmas. If the mobile phone user is a “prepaid” mobile phone user - the more likely she may be willing to display the ads if she gets to talk for free, etc.
-A.J.
I was, this is precisely the environment we were picturing and reflecting on. The “Crowds” are more interested in their own affairs. When was the last time you even noticed the face of the person next to you on the train.
I See a benefit to the phones user, as free minutes…however more and more cell companies are also offering unlimited minutes in smaller markets hoping to gain more customers by making the cell their primary phone…no land line. Parents just started with Verizon…$39.99 + $50(pissed me off too…no rebate that was what they charged with a 1 yr contract) for the Razor. Unlimited text messages and anytime minutes, and no roaming in the US and Canada. Cingular, Sprint, and US Cellular all offer similar plans in that locale. It is just a matter of time before the larger markets start demanding such contract details. I have heard rummors from friends in the industry that Chicagoland area is already starting to move that way.
ML -
I often notice the faces and mannnerisms of people around me. If I was on a train for an hour or longer - I might notice even more things. Assume for $1.00 a mobile phone user could speak for an unlimited time - using the invention, the user could earn credits toward content (games, ringtones, etc.) and/or money for coupons redeemed.
-A.J.
The size and view angle of these screens is illegible from further than 2 feet away as ML stated. At best, a logo could be recognized. The user may get free talk time, phone, etc. But the contract also means that the beneficiary will have to put up with people staring at them, I guess if you like attention it’s a fair deal, and if you don’t mind selling out. I personally would feel uncomfortable staring at some stranger’s cell phone, doubly so if done in tandem with other strangers.
Don’t forget the fact also that nobody holds the cell phone with the screen perpendicular to the ground, you usually tilt the phone back at an angle, many times covering that little screen with your hand.
You’d probably make more money as a musical composer putting together short “audio logos” that can be coined by various companies in their marketing campaigns, including dicounted cell phone rates for people that use them as their ringers, base technology already exists to track the use of them. Say you had a shudder McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It” ringer, you could choose from 5$ off your bill per month, or a free sundae with every value meal when you play the ringer at participating locations. Of course this isn’t something that you can patent, but if you work at a company that would like to use this idea then go for it, just tell them you got the idea from me .
Thank you Greenman for your input. You would have to see the actual patent application (viewable at the USPTO website, published applications) to see that the screen is able to be manipulated in numerous outward facing positions, so that it would be viewable to others.
As it relates to people looking at the user, I don’t think users who choose to display the ads will care whether people are looking in their direction or not.
I am not a professional designer/inventor. I am an attorney by profession. I am not a patent attorney, but have picked up a smattering of patent law knowledege to help keep my legal fees lower.
I have one patent issued, and two other patents pending.
I am seeking a licensee/optionee for any patent that my eventually issue. If I licensed it to a large enough company, I would like to negotiate as part of the deal, to be a consultant to that company, as I like this field.
google is gonna install linux on your mobile next. just watch for it.
As the paper notes, analysts from investment house Bear Stearns last month claimed Google was preparing a box capable of shuffling digital Internet-sourced media content around the home across local wireless or wired networks.…
…All this just to get a few more ads in front of a few more eyeballs, which is the motivation Google is perceived to have behind launching its own PC
.