The a newly revealed patent hints at some of Apple’s plans for better iPhone-Facebook integration at the device level. We’ve heard rumblings about certain Facebook features being built directly into the iPhone OS and this newly-released patent — first uncovered by Patently Apple — illustrates just how this type of integration might work.
Although it wasn’t approved until April 1, 2010, the patent was actually filed in September 2008. The patent is about creating device-to-device workflows, as its name suggests.
Apple has essentially patented the ability to sync actions between two or more devices. This could be something as simple as adding a to-do to my calendar on my Mac and having it automatically sent to my phone. Or I could create a list on my phone and, based on the parameters, have that list shared with my fiancé on his device.
There are even provisions in the patent for device proximity. For instance, if I have my iPhone and iMac set to synchronize my schedule, when I enter my office with my phone, the Bluetooth connections on both devices will automatically initiate a calendar synchronization. Likewise, I could have my iPhone set to automatically transfer all the new photos from my phone to iPhoto on my Mac using either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
The Facebook element of the patent comes into play with contact syncing. For example, say you meet a colleague or friend out somewhere and realize you haven’t friended her or him on Facebook. When you initiate an “add contact” on your phone, it can first pull in all the vCard information from your friend’s phone, send your info back (if you are exchanging information), offer to take a photo of your friend to add to your address book and then, if you so choose, add your friend to Facebook.
Your friend will then get a notification on her device of the pending friend request and can then approve or ignore it.
Basically, the idea is to take a series of separate actions and allow them to unfold autonomously with one command.
There are some third-party solutions available for the iPhone (like Bump) and for Android and BlackBerry devices that can do similar things, but having a scripting workflow engine built into the device itself is pretty unique.
Would you like the ability to perform tasks like grabbing contact information or sharing lists based on category more easily? Let us know!
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