Apple Files New Patent for iPhone; Combination Lock

Apple has just filed for a new patent would appear to turn the phone into a combination lock. This new patent appears to add a “Motion Based Input Selection” technology that would turn the iPhone into a virtual combination lock. What’s the point you may ask? Well, there are a number of functions you may want to secure with a simple password or security PIN. As it stands, the iPhone can currently lock the homescreen with a four-number passcode comprised of a combination of single-digit numbers 0 thru 9.

The purpose of this app could be useful if you wanted to secure your iPhone’s RFID-based NFC (near field communication) eWallet feature – which has been rumored as a possible new bit of functionality for the next-generation iPhone 4G. Adding a more complex and more secure passcode system may be of use for your more secure data.

From looking at this patent application, the user interface for this combination lock feature would allow the user to create a three-number passcode using numbers ranging from “0″ to “45.” Because of this different set up the combination’s could be much higher and would offer 91,125 possible different codes.

[tuaw]

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