Dumb Phone Patents 2: Electric Boogaloo

from the yeah-you-really-need-this dept

They couldn't patent phones that look like cheese, so Motorola engineers went after the next, um, best thing: phones that dance. The company's gotten a patent for handsets that sit on four feet that move around when it gets a call, and can move different to react to different callers or events. Apparently the phone can also detect the beat of music being played and dance along -- although there's plenty of prior art on that one, like those dancing Coke cans that were popular in the 80s.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Happy user, 19 Oct 2005 @ 1:53pm

    tech·nol·o·gy

    Gone...are the days that phones just rang like phones -- just sating there ringing until someone picked it up and answered it or the caller gave up.

    I feel as though I'm getting too old for "TECHNOLOGY", yet I'm only 22.

    tech·nol·o·gy (n):
    The practical application of science to commerce or industry

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      0n1l1nk, 19 Oct 2005 @ 5:33pm

      Re: tech·nol·o·gy

      God.. i am only 17 and aready cannot stand phones anymore. Why does it need to play 7 seconds of an mp3 befre yu pick it up? who does it need to take pictures? why does it need to dance!?

      The best inovation with telephones was the "cordless recievers". Who could ask for more then being able to take 1 phone around your house? Who needs more then that? Who the hell is willing to pay a large sum for a phone that dances while it rings.. why not just... PICK UP THE GOD DAMN PHONE WHEN IT RINGS!? I miss those old ear piercing annoying-as-hell ringers on phones that pissed oyu off so much yu just HAD to pick it up to hut it up. Now you willhave people callign yu to get you to call them so they can watch their phone for 15 seconds before the answering machine comes on... About 50 times.

      Enough of my ranting, I am angry :P

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        0n1l1nk, 19 Oct 2005 @ 5:34pm

        Re: tech·nol·o·gy

        Excuse my typos ^^;;

        link to this | view in chronology ]

        • identicon
          Happy user, 19 Oct 2005 @ 6:34pm

          Re: tech·nol·o·gy

          Wow 0n1l1nk, that was enough rant for both of us

          I just wish more people who feel this same way, would speak up and actually voice their rants too.

          People being amused by "fascinating" ring-tones and phones that dance, rank right up there with deers, possums and other animals who stand in the middle of the road just starring at the oncoming headlights..... you know what happens next :) along comes an SUV driver who is watching their phone dance instead of the road.

          --Happy user

          link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous, 19 Oct 2005 @ 2:01pm

    Yes but ...

    Yes but ... can it react like this one does via bluetooth?

    http://www.thetoy.co.uk/

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.