Microsoft Patent: Whack Your Phone to Shut it Up [VIDEO]

Wish you could just whack your phone to silence it? Microsoft has filed for a patent that could allow users to shut it up in a hurry.

The patent -- filed in March 2011 and approved on Thursday -- details a “whack-based audio control module” that aims to quiet mobile devices when it's smacked with a hand.

“There are a variety of circumstances under which it may be desirable to quickly control a device without having to interact with a traditional user interface,” the filing said. “For example, often mobile device users forget to set their mobile devices in a silent or vibrate mode and the device rings or makes sounds at an inopportune moment.”

This certainly beats rummaging through your bag or fumbling for the volume switch when you want to silence ringing during meetings or at the movie theater.