Google trying to patent ‘Nokia Bubble’ like active lock screen?

When Nokia brought Nokia Bubbles on the scene, there was a lot of buzz regarding that odd UI. Many loved its innovation of an active lock screen, some hated that it was overly busy, some joked saying they wanted other companies to go steal it from Nokia.

Well, I can’t say I know the entire history of phone UIs so I’m not sure who did something like this first. Just from my somewhat biased Nokia based experience, the answer for me is a Nokia.  I do remember HTC Sense’s UI suddenly having this feature of having suddenly an active homescreen and dragging stuff to a circle to active and quick launch it. We got an email from Amey on a story at Engadget that Google has put forward a patent for such an action. Yes they’re not moving bubbles but the basic idea is there.

By reading this article about Nokia Bubbles on Engadget, it appears that it’s new to them too. So is it a case of Nokia, the land where ideas get stolen and made popular by someone else?

So, where was such an active lock screen seen first?

Source:  Engadget

Cheers Amey for the tip.

Category: Applications, Nokia