Samsung has just filed for a patent that will change the course of the PDF format forever. Write on PDF is new functionality that will allow a user to write, edit and save a PDF file. Well, its not really new, companies have been doing it for years, such as the Sony Digital Paper or a myriad of apps. Samsung though, wants the patent so it can likely sue all of their competition and try to cornerstone the market with their new Galaxy Note 5.
The Samsung patent filing states that it is for a “Computer application software for mobile phones, smart phones, tablet computers, portable media players and handheld computers enabling users to annotate and save PDF documents, images and files; computer application software for mobile phones, smart phones, tablet computers, portable media players and handheld computers enabling users to and annotate and save electronic documents, images and files in electronic, computer readable file format.”
It really sounds to me that Samsung wants to control the PDF market for anyone that wants to edit a file, save it and access it later. This will affect competing hardware vendors, app developers, students and the technical workforce.
Samsung has filed this patent to include in their upcoming Galaxy Note 5 smartphone and they are seeking to make the entire writing experience far easier. Right now its fairly convoluted process with users having to firstly activate the Screen Write feature using their S-Pen. Then, they will have to take a picture of the PDF they want to take notes on before they can finally write on the PDF. The new patent will make it so they can just write on any PDF file and save it.
Samsung has also filed for another patent that features the S-Pen that can be ejected automatically. Currenly, you’d have to manually push the pen out of the smartphone in order to use it, which can sometimes be a hassle especially for those in situations where one hand is all that’s temporarily free. With this future product, if approved, the user only has to make a gesture or to you voice control and the S-Pen will then be ejected so you can use to your heart’s content.
Don’t get me wrong, I think that this Note 5 will be a super viable option for anyone that wants a mobile phone that is a PDF editing machine. I just think that the company will start filing litigation against Sony for their Digital Paper or popular apps such as ezPDF Reader or Repligo.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.