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Polite Cell Phones

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the don't-be-THAT-guy-at-the-movie-theater dept.

yEvb0 writes "Researchers at Motorola and Carnegie Mellon University are developing more polite cell phones. Strategies include programming the ringer to turn on and off according to the time of day, monitoring sound light levels to determine if the owner is a movie theater or talking to his boss, and even letting callers decide whether they'd like to interrupt based on this information."

8 of 292 comments (clear)

  1. good sales strategy by rd4tech · · Score: 2, Funny

    monitoring sound light levels to determine if the owner is a movie theater

    Ok, I'm confused enough, now, where can I buy this cellphone from?

    1. Re:good sales strategy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Ok, so your boss calls and the phone tells him you're at his house in a darkened room with a moderate noise level... hmmm, time to look for a new job! eh?

  2. Re:They should research by thanuk · · Score: 2, Funny

    Are we so daft these days that our phones have to be polite for us? Yes. Next question please.

  3. Re:But... by precize · · Score: 2, Funny

    That's where the artificial butter detector comes in... which should work, unless you keep a lot of that in your pocket, in which case you're probably not the kind of person who minds what other people think of you.

    --
    www.code-fix.com
  4. Re:It's Called 'Vibrate' by voice_of_all_reason · · Score: 4, Funny

    At church, during a quiet time, a hip-worn cell vibrating against a Wooden Pew makes a lot of noise...

    Well, I mean... they already have the crosses and nails there, right? Seems like a no-brainer to me.

  5. Re:Inside my pocket by meringuoid · · Score: 5, Funny
    It's dark and there is the sound of rattling change.

    What? Grues use currency these days, do they?

    --
    Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
  6. Re:In Communist China by Y-Crate · · Score: 2, Funny
    How is that like the american phones. When the vibrate goes off people go and pick up the phone and start talking loudly to it. Many times it is far more interupting then the phone itself.

    A lot of people put their phones on vibrate when they go into the movies.

    Only to sit there and have a conversation the moment it rings.

    Needless to say, movie theaters need to have flamthrowers available to the audience.
  7. My definition of a polite cell phone: by noidentity · · Score: 2, Funny

    One with a dead battery.