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Light and sound sensitive phones that automatically adjust users’
settings, depending on the environment, could be the next innovation
from Microsoft.
The Washington-based computer software company has submitted an
‘Inconspicuous mode for mobile devices’ patent to the US Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO), detailing the new idea.
The concept involves sensors within a mobile phone that can detect a
wide variety of occasions and events and can subsequently react to these
by changing the phones display, lighting and volume, to fit in with
surroundings.
Examples of such environmental conditions are places with ambient
sound and light levels, such as in a movie theatre or when in bed. The
surroundings are then picked up by the phone’s light sensor and
microphone.
The inconspicuous mode could also present a less obtrusive or
conspicuous reduced set of information on the home screen, in comparison
to details shown in the normal mode of operation.
The device could be configured by default or user specification, depending on the situation.
Although the patent was filed back in July 2011, the application has only just been published by the USPTO.
The patent application argued: “One problem with the ubiquity of
mobile devices in so many different environments is that their use is
not appropriate in all settings. As one common example, in a theatre the
sound from a mobile communication device and the light from its display
can be distracting to other theatre patrons.”
Customized Displays
If given the go-ahead, the new inconspicuous mode may allow the user
to control other aspects of the feature, such as the precise brightness
level of the display when in the inconspicuous mode.
The user interface could also provide a list or menu from which the
user can select or unselect specific items that are to be displayed
while in the mode.
For example, the user may specify that only the time or day should be
displayed in inconspicuous mode and that the brightness should be
reduced by 60 per cent.
In Sync
The phone’s calendar or scheduling application may also be embodied into the mode.
“If the user enters into the device’s calendar that he or she will be
attending the theatre on Tuesday at 7pm or will be attending a dinner
on Thursday at 8pm, the inconspicuous mode component may access this
data and perform a keyword search to determine those days and times when
it should enter the inconspicuous mode,” the application stated.
The user could swipe part of the screen or shake the phone in order
to return to normal mode, or the device could return to the original
mode when the environmental condition which caused it to enter the
inconspicuous mode is no longer present.
Is this feature deemed superfluous or something that would appeals to most users?
