New cellphones that can talk to each other can tell when there are other phones within range. Have a threshold so that if your phone sees that there are number of phones within "talking range", it automatically turns to vibrate.

Next time you're at the theater, in a play, at a meeting, in class, everyone's phone automatically is silent.
-- jamuraa, Oct 13 2004

put paid to this activity at a stroke. http://www.cnn.com/...tain.toothing.reut/
[po, Oct 13 2004]

So the idea is that while there are a certain number of phones nearby, the phone wont ring? So while walking down the street, standing on a train, or in a pub, a party, an office, or almost anywhere where there might be more than x number of people in range (somewhere perhaps like the Highlands of Scotland), your phone will decide not to ring?
-- zen_tom, Oct 13 2004


In those places, you wouldn't be able to hear the other person anyway.
-- phundug, Oct 13 2004


You could change it so that if there are x number of static people in range at any given time (the people around you aren't moving in and out of range, as would happen when you're walking) then it triggers - this would eliminate situations where you're on a busy street or something.

The idea is for it to vibrate, not completely not ring, therefore you could remove yourself from party/pub/office and answer it if needed.
-- jamuraa, Oct 13 2004


I don't understand why one would want one's phone to switch to quiet mode just because there are a lot of other phones around. Yes, there are examples of when that is true, but there are just as many, if not more (and more frequently occurring) when it is not true. So no.
-- waugsqueke, Oct 13 2004


Empower yourself. Turn the bugger off when you go to the theatre, play etc. That's why God invented buttons on mobile phones.
-- gnomethang, Oct 13 2004


Maybe it would work better if your phone could sense that there are other phones in vibrate mode, which would indicate that it's appropriate to switch.

But then, if all phones had this "quiet y'all" feature nobody would turn their phones to vibrate and then there would be no mobile devices in "vibrate" mode to be tracked by people's phones. This could be hell in the movies.
-- Pericles, Oct 13 2004


But then cinema owners could hide a cheap phone on 'shut the hell up you antisocial swine' mode in each screen to ensure that no-one rang during the film. Of course, this doesn't stop some bumhole from answering loudly when their phone vibrates.

Say... today's chronicle featured a story about exploding mobile phone batteries, I wonder if that could be triggered remotely?
-- stilgar, Nov 25 2004



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