It’s as if Microsoft is filing for trademarks that are more interesting than their patents (I’ll get back to finding the fun ones soon). In the meantime, after finding Microsoft & GE’s upcoming healthcare product, I have stumbled on an exciting trademark.
The title and description of the patent are both intriguing. Called, Smartglass, Microsoft describes it as:
computer hardware and software for phones, mobile devices, televisions, video game consoles, media players and audiovisual devices
A search for Microsoft +Smartglass yielded nothing. But, Smartglass is apparently a self-tinting glass (PDF link). It uses electrical signals and depending on the lighting. So how does this apply to mobile devices? My guess is, rather than using the Power button to put the phone to “sleep,” the screen could be tinted. Or maybe I’m just thinking too far ahead.
If Microsoft does come up with a sw+hw implementation that did something so futuristic with their Windows Phone devices, it’d be pretty cool. The only thing is, Saint Gobain and a bunch of other companies already do such glasses. In fact, there is a SmartGlass Inc. too.