Patent suggests Microsoft to bring email flags to phone calls

An application filed at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office seems to suggest that Microsoft plans on introducing ‘flags’ to phone calls, similarly to those used with emails. While the system with emails isn’t great due to the number of erroneous flags made, it may translate to phones well.

The patent is one Microsoft filed back in February 2012, though it has only been visible recently. The concept should prove interesting on a mobile phone, for the number of erroneous flags in most email inboxes has more or less stripped the feature of any utility: how many times have you seen something inconsequential marked as ‘Important’, after all?

Some internal expansion on the Windows Phone platform appears quite reasonable. Nokia's Extras + Info app introduced call blocking recently, and the number of WP units shipped is still increasing. If flags were to come to Windows Phone, Microsoft could have an exclusive feature on their hands: to our knowledge no other phone has attempted this, and it could be ideal for the corporate market in particular.

Source: Engadget | Patent & Trademark Office