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Nintendo Patent Could Bring Game Boy Emulator to Smartphones
Android and iOS devices already are major productivity killers, but that didn’t stop Nintendo from filing a patent for a smartphone Game Boy emulator.
Smartphones evolve with each passing day, and games that match their capabilities are launched on a regular basis. Despite all that, some of us enjoy going back to the classic titles from 20 or 25 years ago. When people are struck by gaming nostalgia, nothing can stop them from playing their Game Boy favorites on their handheld console. Things can only get better when running such games on a modern-day smartphone, in order to take advantage of all the processing power that’s hidden under the case. An official Nintendo emulator for Game Boy titles may be on its way to our smartphones, or at least that’s what a recent patent application of the Japanese company suggests.
SNES, NES and Game Boy classics have already found a new home on the Wii, Wii U and 3DS, so emulation isn’t a new thing for Nintendo. However, this piece of intellectual property would increase the number of devices capable of running Game Boy apps, and smartphones will surely be among them. A lot of people have been pushing the Japanese behemoth to create emulators for smartphones, especially since its hardware sales are not going that well, with Sony’s PS4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One taking the first spots. Spin-off games from the Pokémon series have made an appearence on iPhone and iPad, but full ports are still a long way.
There’s a good reason why emulators on iOS generally get shut down right after the Apple review team becomes aware of their existence, but it should be noted that none of these is made by Nintendo. An official emulator would probably change how things work, but even this patent application doesn’t guarantee that. Nintendo has been securing patents for similar purposes in the past, so this might be nothing more than a strategy to make sure that no one else is thinking of emulating classic games on smartphones. It remains to be seen whether Game Boy titles will make an appearance on our mobile devices any time soon. How would you fancy to play Super Mario Land, Tetris or Tennis on a Samsung Note 4?
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Microsoft Offers Motorola Solutions Access to Its IP Portfolio
The agreement signed today by Microsoft and Motorola Solutions affects Motorola devices running Android or Chrome OS that could be in any way affected by the Redmond giant’s patent portfolio.
By doing so, Motorola Solutions protects itself against any lawsuits that could be initiated by other tech companies.
Nick Psyhogeos, general manager, associate general counsel, IP licensing of the Innovation and Intellectual Property Group at Microsoft, wanted to emphasize that “Microsoft and Motorola Solutions share a respect for intellectual property and a commitment to fair and reasonable patent licensing programs. Microsoft prefers licensing to litigation, since licensing is a more effective way to share technology and accelerate the pace of innovation.”
Obviously, Psyhogeos recognizes the power of having a strong patent portfolio, as this can be a great advantage in many types of negotiations. On top of that, the fact that two such great companies decided to share some of their common patents protects both of them of lawsuits in the future.
On the other hand, Joe White, vice president of Enterprise Mobile Computing, Motorola Solutions, pointed out that “Our Motorola Solutions communications technology works best for everyone when it is backed with robust intellectual property and patents. We are pleased to have agreed upon a solution that allows our customers to purchase Android products from Motorola Solutions with confidence.”
In today’s world, sharing patent portfolios is a great sign of trust. Intellectual property became more and more important, and now it is an essential element for maintaing healthy tech ecosystems. Since December 2003, Microsoft has provided coverage in about 1,100 licensing agreements. This way, many of this tech giant’s customers, partners and competitors gained access to its intellectual property portfolio.
Mind you, Motorola Solutions is by no means the first Android manufacturer to gain access to Microsoft’s patent and IP portfolio. In time, such companies as Samsung, ZTE, LG, HTC, Acer and Barnes & Noble have had the same benefits.
Hopefully, more companies will realize in time that technology progresses a lot faster when there are less disputes regarding intellectual property and patents. It’s not wrong to be proud of your own inventions, and protecting them is actually encouraged. Still, a lot more could be achieved if tech companies joined forces and started solving problems together.
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How Lenovo’s Purchase of Motorola Changes the Android Scene
After two years, 17,000 patents, and $12.5 billion, Google is calling it a day with its experiment in Motorola Mobility after announcing its sale to Lenovo.
Many people assumed from the beginning that all Google wanted from Motorola Mobility was their treasure trove of 17,000 patents and are first in line to say “I told you so,” but that is only partially true.
Google’s deal to sell off Motorola to Lenovo for $2.9 billion actually provides many benefits for both companies as Google is maintaining ownership of “the vast majority” of patents acquired in the previous deal as well as the advanced research division of Motorola.
This deal could have far reaching implications, not just for Google and Lenovo, but for all players in the Android landscape.
Lenovo may be the biggest beneficiary. Many people in the United States have no idea that Lenovo even makes Android phones, but they are in fact the 4th largest smartphone manufacturer in the world—behind Apple, Samsung, and Huawei—they just have a basically non-existent footprint in the US. Through this deal they acquired not just licensing for the rights to use Motorola’s patents (which will remain in Google’s portfolio), but the rights to use Motorola’s branding for their products.
This gives Lenovo a major foothold to previously untapped markets besides access to one of the richest patent portfolios and ownership of the Moto-X, which has become one of the best reviewed phones ever.
Whether or not Lenovo decides to stick with Motorola’s current lineup and strategy remain to be seen, but it would be a smart move to continue what Google started. Lenovo doesn’t claim any initial intentions to make any drastic cuts in employees or programs. Lenovo Group Ltd. Chairman and Chief Executive Yang Yuanqing said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that they intend to grow the Motorola brand “not just in the U.S. and Latin America, where [the brand] is strong today. We will also introduce the Motorola brand in other markets so we can have decent growth.” If this is handled anywhere similar to the way they handled their acquisition of IBMs “Think” brand, then we can expect Motorola to see a prominence it hasn’t had for quite some time.
Many people are calling Google the loser in the deal, since they are re-selling the company just 2 years later for $9.6 billion less than they purchased it for originally, but this is not a clean cut parting of ways. First of all—as I already mentioned—Google is keeping most of the patents they acquired in the original deal as well as Motorola’s advanced research division, which is where many of Google’s crazy ideas have come from, such as the modular modifiable smartphone—project Ara—and a plethora of fancy security devices such as passwords that are ingestible or tattooed. This section will feel right at home under the mysterious and bizarre Google X program.
We also can’t discount the impact of the Moto-X and Moto-G. Google was able to use Motorola to prove that low cost, bloat free, Android phones could be a big sensation. We can’t ignore the impact of the statement made by these devices when we look at the insane 10 year patent sharing agreement Google recently arranged with Samsung. Google effectively proved that their way was best for Android, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see more OEMs following suit.
The biggest loser in this whole situation may be HTC. The Taiwanese company has been fighting to establish branding and gain market share for the past few years, but now that the Motorola brand is buffeted by the well-oiled assembly lines of Lenovo, that uphill battle may have gotten a lot more vertical. Not to take all the wind out of their sales, though. The HTC One was widely considered the Best smartphone of 2013 in a close battle with the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the Moto-X. 2014 will be their last chance to gain what competitive advantage they can, because the market is about to get a lot less forgiving.
As always, we will wait and see how things develop, but it’s undeniable that this could be considered an earthquake in the ever shifting terrain in the world of Android manufacturers.
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