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Augmented reality game console from Disney confirmed through patent application

| January 8, 2013

augmented reality DisneyThough there have been only unconfirmed rumors until now, the filing has provided confirmation.

It has just been observed that Disney has made a filing for a patent for a form of augmented reality technology that is meant for a 3D game console, which has now provided the confirmation that has been awaited by many following the initial rumor of its development.

The initial announcement of the game console’s creation had been a slip that was released accidentally.

The company has not made any move to deny the mobile video game console project, but if it had any intention to start, its opportunity has now been quashed with the application for an augmented reality technology patent. The documentation discusses precisely that form of device, including initial sketches and descriptions. The machine that is discussed in the patent application indicates a device that can be compared to the already released Nintendo 3DS.

There are certain differences between the devices, however, such as the application of augmented reality.

This will allow the portable console to be aimed at a certain real scene, capture it, and then apply augmented reality elements to it to provide enhancements and animations. What is therefore suggested, is that it would allow a real image to be taken by the player, who would then be able to watch it come to life through animation, for example.

There was a sketch provided within the patent application that suggested that the appearance of the augmented reality mobile game console would be strikingly similar to the Nintendo 3DS. It showed the dual screens as well as the flip open design for which the existing console is already recognized. At the time of this release, Nintendo had yet to make any comments regarding their opinion of the similarities between the two devices.

That said, the company may abstain from commenting simply because Disney may not have any intention of having their augmented reality game device appear in any way similar to that of Nintendo. The documentation included only a preliminary sketch, and it is more than likely that its final appearance will be considerably different from these first drawings.

M-commerce doubts have not yet been overcome among tech savvy E.U. shoppers

| January 8, 2013

m-commerce unpopular among european consumersThe results of a recent poll have shown that those who use mobile most aren’t shopping with their devices.

Over the last few weeks, m-commerce security has been seeing a great deal of attention, but despite the tremendous changes that have been made in order to ensure that data remains protected when shoppers are making their purchases, consumers in Europe are still not considering their smartphones and tablets to be the ideal methods to use when they shop.

This recent survey was conducted in order to better understand European consumers and their mobile behaviors.

The company behind the poll was TechWeekEurope. It reached out to its readership in order to obtain their feedback in a number of different areas of m-commerce and to describe their opinions and behaviors over the most recent holiday shopping season. It aimed at understanding not only mobile behaviors, but those in the overall e-commerce sphere.

The m-commerce survey was performed following the very end of the Christmas shopping hype.

What it discovered was that a mere 10 percent of the respondents had used a smartphone or tablet for making the majority of their holiday purchases. In fact, m-commerce was ranked in fifth place when compared with the popularity of other channels where purchases can be made.

The most popular channel was the online shopping category, in which 43.8 percent of the respondents made the majority of their holiday purchases over their laptops or desktop PCs. On the other hand 25.6 percent of the participants in the survey said that they went to brick and mortar retail shops in order to make their Christmas shopping purchases. These were many times greater than the participation in m-commerce as a primary shopping method.

The m-commerce poll went on to discover that although the participants were from a highly tech-savvy demographic that was likely to use its smartphones and tablets comfortably and for a number of different purchases, they were not enchanted with shopping directly through their devices. This was unexpected, as it had been anticipated that those who use the devices most would be those most likely to shop with them.