Earlier in 2009 Microsoft had enflamed the minds of consumers with Courier a foldable phone/tablet concept that was eventually cancelled due to some reasons. After some yera a sort of new patent implies Microspft hasn't totally given up on the idea and they have still some work going on with the idea.

According to Pcworld, the new patent which was approved on Tuesday, Microsoft envisions a mobile device with a continuous viewing area that extends across the foldable region similar in spirit to the dual-screen Courier concept.

As per Yahoo, it was first spotted by MSPoweruser, the device is described as having a flexible hinge which would give it 2 in 1 capabilities, some of the sketches also shows that the device is in tent mode, kind of like it was noted with the Lenovo's popular Yoga 2 in 1 offerings

This is an exciting idea but there is one major caveat, this is a patent from 2014 that the US Patent Office finally approved, not one that Microsoft had applied for more recently As such it shows that Microsoft was eyeing very much ambitious for foldable mobile device that why they didn't wait for the approval of previous patent and applied for another one.

Remember how Microsoft intended to lure Android phone makers with Windows Phone derivatives like the HTC One M8? Today, Microsoft's mobile market share sits at well under 1 percent, while Android and iOS continue to dominate the mobile landscape.

Surface Phone won't necessarily be a phone. Right now, this patent approval suggests that there's still a flicker of life in Microsoft's mobile aspirations, and perhaps the Surface Phone. But the cynical viewpoint is that this represents the aspirations of a time gone by, rather than a promise of things to come.

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