The patent does seem to mention Wireless LAN and the IEEE 802.11 standard (which is WiFi)quite a bit, and so there’s no doubt that the patent includes the potential for a device that can handle WiFi.

However, many patents are written to be as broad as possible, to lay claim to as much intellectual property as possible. So this patent may be able to be interpreted to include operation on multiple cellular systems.

Of course, just because a patent is filed does not mean a company will ever use that patent. It’s standard practice for many companies to file patents for any and every idea they come up with, just in case.

As an aside, I find it interesting that there’s this enthusiasm for discovering new RIM patents. This reminds me of the way that Apple fans scour the patent office for new patents filed by that company.

The patent does seem to mention Wireless LAN and the IEEE 802.11 standard (which is WiFi)quite a bit, and so there’s no doubt that the patent includes the potential for a device that can handle WiFi.

However, many patents are written to be as broad as possible, to lay claim to as much intellectual property as possible. So this patent may be able to be interpreted to include operation on multiple cellular systems.

Of course, just because a patent is filed does not mean a company will ever use that patent. It’s standard practice for many companies to file patents for any and every idea they come up with, just in case.

As an aside, I find it interesting that there’s this enthusiasm for discovering new RIM patents. This reminds me of the way that Apple fans scour the patent office for new patents filed by that company.