Found via Digg is this article detailing how a Microsoft patent proposes an interface almost identical to the iPhone.
The patent, entitled “Extensible filtered lists for mobile device user interface” shows images of the interface operating in pretty much exactly the same way as the iPhone visual voicemail and photo gallery applications.
This could be an embarrassing PR disaster for Microsoft who will be looking for a successor to the Windows Mobile software.
Briefly described, the provided subject matter concerns an improved user interface for mobile devices such as smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and the like. Selected data and
services provided by multiple software applications can be accessed through a group or list of items.
Each group or list can include multiple items that provide access to data or tasks from multiple applications. For example, a list centered around a user’s current day can include items corresponding to meetings scheduled for that day using a calendar application, email received on that day through an email application, and a weather forecast for the day provided by a weather service application.
