Patent ID: RE44416

Claim:
A method for switching access state of a mobile device from a first state to a second state, the method comprising: determining first color attributes corresponding to a first image captured by a user using a camera connected to the mobile device; determining second color attributes corresponding to a lock code comprising a second image stored in a memory of the mobile device, wherein an alphanumeric character and the first image are input in sequence as part of a single lock code; comparing the first and second color attributes to arrive at a first value; and switching from the first access state to the second access state, in response to determining that the first value is within a first range, indicating that the first and second images are relatively similar in color, without regard to how sharply focused the first and second images are, and wherein the lock code is not associated with the mobile device's unique identifier or other data that has been uniquely assigned to the mobile device by a party other than the user and wherein the lock code authentication is performed independent from any communication of the lock code to a base station or entity other than the mobile device.