Thursday 3 January 2013

RIM to prevent sneaky camera shots


RIM has applied for a new patent to prevent inconspicuous use of the camera in BlackBerry smartphones.

Research In Motion has applied for a new patent for a feature that would prevent sneaky photo clicks with BlackBerry smartphones. Engadget spotted an interesting patent filing by RIM that covers a feature to prevent the BlackBerry smartphone from being used as a spying tool. The next generation BlackBerry 10 OS or later devices will carry this feature once the company has successfully tested it.

RIM is working on an interesting feature that aims to prevent those sneaky blurry cam images we see from time to time of upcoming products and intellectual property secrets. RIM's new patent filing points to "Camera-steady focus requirements for preventing inconspicuous use of cameras on handheld mobile communication devices." Users will have to focus on the subject within a predetermined time (in seconds) or else the camera will not capture an image.

This feature is mostly aimed at corporate users who wish to keep their company secrets and products secure. Basically, the IT administrator can configure a camera focus policy for the BlackBerry device. In this policy, the camera is set to mandatorily focus for any time between five to ten seconds for a successful capture. If the user fails then the smartphone will not capture the image. Alternatively, the phone's camera can be disabled wirelessly. The core objective of this feature is unauthorized photography in restricted areas.

RIM will unveil the BlackBerry 10 OS on January 31 and will demonstrate all the new features of its next generation operating system.

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