Nokia gets patent granted for a slide to unlock, Nokia Bubbles Style, before Google?

Do you remember this story?

http://mynokiablog.com/2012/02/17/google-trying-to-patent-nokia-bubble-like-active-lock-screen/

Some of you commented that Nokia should get that slide to unlock feature that shows up apps on a live lock screen patented. It was such a good idea that we’re seeing it on various platforms. Anyway, apparently, Nokia has been granted a patent for that as UnwiredView reports.

In Nokia’s view, you slide an icon across the screen to reveal at least one app icon, while the icon which you have slid across the screen expands and is eventually overlaid onto the app icon. Sliding further to an ‘unlock region’ of the device will result in the screen getting unlocked and the desired app being launched.

http://www.unwiredview.com/2012/03/14/nokia-gets-its-own-slide-to-unlock-patent/

Google apparently filed for a recent patent in October 2011. Nokia Bubbles appeared around early 2011? Nokia applied for this patent…wait for it…in 2007. Wasn’t that before Android even existed and the world knew of iPhone?

Amazing that Nokia had the idea all the way back in 2007. It seemed at least certain aspects of touch screen interfaces, Nokia was already thinking out of the box! Shame we didn’t see it for a while (though if you pay attention to some of Nokia’s Future vids promos you might see that they do have a bunch of good ideas, just requiring practical execution).

Vlad Bobleanta concludes:

“But this patent that Nokia has been granted makes the Mountain View company’s patent filing on the matter seem a lot more like a defensive move against its competitors than a bit of genuine innovation.”

http://www.unwiredview.com/2012/03/14/nokia-gets-its-own-slide-to-unlock-patent/

This is what that actually entails.

Unlocking a touch screen device 

AbstractA method for unlocking a touch screen device includes providing a touch screen device in an idle mode. An area or region displayed on a screen of the device in the idle mode is contacted or activated to reveal at least one application icon associated with an active/unlocked state of the device. The region is moved, expanded or dragged to an edge of the device to change a state of the device to an active/unlocked mode and activate the revealed application.

---

Source: unwiredview

Thanks Prasenjit Singh Bist for the tip!

Category: Nokia