Patent ID: 8046270

Claim:
A system for providing image capture devices and imaging services using images captured by the image capture devices, the system comprising: a plurality of input stations for establishing imaging service accounts for a plurality of users, each input station being coupled to a communication network and being located at a different retail location, each imaging service account containing selection information concerning an image capture device provided by a particular user, including information for identifying the particular user's selected firmware modules, the firmware modules selected by the user from a database containing a plurality of selectable firmware modules, the selected firmware modules downloaded over the communication network into the user's image capture device, each firmware module for execution by a processor that controls the image capture device to provide a corresponding firmware feature for the image capture device, and an imaging service plan, selected by the particular user from a menu containing a plurality of service plans, that corresponds to the firmware modules selected and downloaded by the particular user and having a payment amount corresponding to the firmware modules selected and downloaded by the particular user, the imaging service plan providing services for a predetermined time period at a predetermined fee with respect to images captured using the image capture device; and a remote computer database unit coupled to the communication network for communicating with the plurality of input stations, for storing the information for each imaging service account, and for automatically updating the information for each imaging service account as imaging services are requested by the particular user associated with the selected imaging service plan.