The US Patent and Trademark Office recently released two new patent applications filed by Apple that promise to make life considerably easier for us iPhone users. The patents would allow a user to pair a wireless device to an iPhone simply by bring it in close contact with each other, while the other would allow users to fill out missing address book information through email.

The first patent, titled , describes a system for pairing short-range wireless devices simply by getting them close together. The patent involves giving both device the ability to measure the distance between the devices. When they are moved within one foot (around 0.3048m) of one another, they would automatically pair each other, possibly exchanging data in the process like a PIN number.

The second patent, “System and method for opportunistic image sharing”, would allow a user to fill out contact information without having all the data already in place over email. Currently Mac OS X Leopard’s Mail app can implement triggers known as data receptors, which recognize contact information in an email and automatically make a new Address Book contact entry from them. However, such information is often not included. Apple’s patent would allow the user to send the contact a reply email asking them to send back the missing information. Then when the recipient receives the email request, they only have to accept the request and the information would automatically be sent back.

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