Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of Blackberry, has submitted a patent application for a context-aware feature, which would sense if the device is in a pocket, or on a table, or in a hand and adjust its behavior accordingly. For example, if it’s in a pocket, it would shut off the screen to save power and vibrate to announce a call, or if it’s on a table, it would ring loudly, depending on its user settings. It works by measuring the movement of the device during an occasional and very brief vibration, which is too subtle to be mistaken for a message alert.

The full patent application is available here. [thanks, New Scientist]