Failing to Plan Is Planning to Use Your Cell Phone

As I perused yesterday's newly published patent applications for novel TV-related products, I came across one from Sanyo (Patent Application 20070127890). I always like seeing new telly apps for mobile phones; so I was pretty stoked.

As soon as I read the abstract, my excitement vanished. Technology already advanced and left this idea behind. Remember. The application was just published yesterday. But the paperwork was first filed way back on October 21, 2004. In less than 30 months the product went from being a great idea to something having much less value.

In a nutshell, this is what Sanyo proposed.

A user photographs an area including a desired portion of a television program schedule (with G-code numbers) in a newspaper, and the like, with a digital camera functional portion of a mobile telephone device. [text removed] The CPU performs a character recognition process on an image photographed with the digital camera functional portion and on an image received by electronic mail by the mobile telephone functional portion, and executes a video recording reservation process based on the G-code number obtained by the recognition process. (Text is from the abstract of the patent application.)

Two months ago AT&T launched U-verse TV.

AT&T U-verse TV and Internet customers can use any compatible AT&T wireless phone or handset to search U-verse TV program listings, schedule program or series recordings, and manage or delete stored DVR content. (Text is from AT&T's press release.)