Apple has filed a patent application to add always-on status indicators to the iPhone. The innovation would address a common task for cell phones but a headache for owners of the touch-screen handset.
In most flip-phones and even other touch-screen devices, users can instantly know when they’ve missed a call or received a voice-mail message. However, for iPhone users, it requires turning on the phone and going into settings to retrieve the information.
Lack of such a basic ability puts the iPhone behind rivals, such as RIM’s Blackberry.
“The Blackberry has a little red light” that appears when a call was missed, Current Analysis handset analyst Avi Greengart told Cult of Mac.
The company, in its 24-page application to the U.S. Patent Office, outlined creating a second backlight that would display alerts and other message icons when the primary LCD touch-screen is inactive. Alert icons would appear in small transparent regions of the screen.
Along with creating a transparent region for messages, Apple proposes manipulating the size, shape and color of the status icons allowing multiple alerts to be displayed.
14 responses to “Apple Patents Always-on iPhone Alerts”
This could be rather cool looking, knowing Apple it would likely take the same route as the Jonathan Ive-designed “Eve” in WALL•E — imagine the pulsing plant icon on her chest as an example. A slowly pulsing icon on the iPhone screen would be fantastic and useful, and I can’t understand why they didn’t do it from the start.
“However, for iPhone users, it requires turning on the phone and going into settings to retrieve the information.”
Uh… no it doesn’t.
Ed, have you ever seen an iPhone?
At least on mine, I push the home button and any missed calls and received voicemail messages are noted in a box superimposed on the screen. It’s not even necessary to unlock the screen, let alone go into settings.
This is better for me than any “little red light” I’ve had on other cell phones, since I don’t need to unlock the phone to see whose calls I missed and whose messages are waiting.
phil and Tom
you guys are idiots.
he obviously got mixed up with what hes saying but he means that you have to activate the phones screen/backlight to see anything
whereas in this patent that specific section of notifications would be on and backlit at all time. without requiring that the user push any buttons.
think and try to understand before you post.
ozz, is that what you got out of this post? See, many feel the best way to say that you have to activate the backlight is to actually write “activate the backlight.” Ed didn’t say anything remotely like that.
If you want to imagine what you think he was trying to say, more power to you. But what he wrote was “it requires turning on the phone and going into settings to retrieve the information.” Sounds pretty clear to me. And clearly wrong.
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why the hell was this not thought of… such a basic feature that predecessor have… not even ‘smartphones’!!