Android Notification Bar

Have you heard? Google Android's notification bar patent, if approved, might give Apple a headache.(well, maybe just a minor one)


As we Android user have come to use and love our multi functional notification bar, you could not only view the time but also turn on functions like wifi, 3g connectivity, Bluetooth and even adjust the brightness of the screen on the go! 


With such awesome possibilities, its no wonder other OS would want to use the idea. All these lawsuits going around in the mobile market. Is it a good idea at all? I'm not blaming any party now, I know you want to protect your idea which you spent countless hours and dollars to R&D. But in the end, this is really a stumbling block more than helping, from the consumer's view at least. Without ideas to use, companies would have come up with an "entire" new idea if they want to implement some features or function, in a way it would be good if they could come up with it.


But think about it, these things take time and money. Would you rather spend time and money to R&D a completely new idea, or just continue using that same old design on your phone and hope that your popular brand name would still capture the hearts of the "fans"?