Microsoft Patents Tech That Would Silence Your Phone For You

tsamsoniw writes "Microsoft has filed a patent for a mobile technology called Inconspicuous Mode, aimed at helping you not be 'that guy' who disrupts movies, meals, or meetings with noisy, bright-screened phone alerts. It's a setting that would effectively put your phone in stealth mode when the device sensed it was in a movie theater (thanks to location information) and that the lights had gone down. The idea is, you could still receive alerts if a call or text came in, but no one around you would be disturbed by phone sounds or screen flashes."

Tasker

[Anonymous Coward]

Doesn't tasker already let you do this?

Re:Already got it.

[iamhassi]

I already have a phone that does this. As someone who is aware of my surroundings and generally conscientious, I simply turn my phone to "vibrate" or even - God forbid - OFF... It works very well indeed. And I even still receive alerts if a call or text came in. Amazing technology.

Yes Apple already patented the technology, silencing the phone based on GPS location. [appleinsider.com] Similar to geofencing that came out in iOS 5

This Already Exists...

[Farmer Pete]

There are several programs that can be set to automate your phone like this. The problem is that location awareness isn't as good inside a movie theater as you might hope. For instance, I live about a half a mile away from the nearest megaplex. I setup a rule on my phone to turn off the ringer and wifi when the phone is at the address of the cinema. However, the rule kept triggering when I was sitting in my living room. Even if I didn't live so close, if I was shopping at the stores next door, my phone would be going to vibrate mode automatically. I've found that doing location based things only works well if your location isn't near anything else. For instance, I work in the middle of nowhere. I set a rule to turn off WiFi & bluetooth from 8am to 4:45pm when I'm at my work location. Works great to save battery. But for the movies, I still set it manually.

Re:Already got it.

[CanHasDIY]

I already have a phone that does this. As someone who is aware of my surroundings and generally conscientious, I simply turn my phone to "vibrate" or even - God forbid - OFF... It works very well indeed. And I even still receive alerts if a call or text came in. Amazing technology.

Yes Apple already patented the technology, silencing the phone based on GPS location. [appleinsider.com] Similar to geofencing that came out in iOS 5

Cute, Apple patents something in 2012 that I've had on my Android phone since 2010 (little app called WhereRing). That sort of thing never happens.

Minor bitch, a script that takes input from existing sensors and uses said input to cause a particular action in existing hardware is not what I would refer to as "technology."

"Bloody obvious" would be a good alternate term.

Re:Already got it.

[Dishevel]

I love Tasker for this kind of thing.
Turning on wifi at home and at work.
Toggling GPS off when battery power gets low.
Guess though would would need some kind of patent on stuff like this to use it on iOS or Windows Phone 8.
On Android though Tasker has been on every one of my phones for a few years now.