Mobile telephone device with idle screen

• US 20040077340A1
• Filed: 11/28/2003
• Published: 04/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Conversant Wireless Licensing S.à.r.l. (f/k/a Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l.) (MOSAID Technologies Inc. (f/k/a Conversant Intellectual Property Management))
• Original Assignee: 2011 Intellectual Property Asset Trust (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Forsyth, John Matthew
• Granted Patent: US 8,498,671 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/12 Application layer protocols, e.g. WAP [Wireless Application Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

The idle screen of a mobile telephone device is used to show updated information of a kind or from a source selected by a user (e.g. financial information, news, traffic etc.). Previously, the idle screen has been used to display the name of the network operator and alerting messages, such as “2 missed calls”. Placing information of interest to the user in the idle screen makes that information instantly accessible without the user having to navigate to the required function (e.g. a micro-browser) and select it.

Claims

1. A mobile telephone device, the device being adapted to display, as part or all of an idle screen, updated information which is (a) defined by a user of the device to be of a kind which is of interest to him or her and is (b) supplied to the device from a remote information resource.

2. The mobile telephone device of claim 1 in which the information is from a source selected by a user.

3. The mobile telephone device of claim 1 or 2 in which advertising and/or sponsor messages are also displayed on the idle screen.

4. The mobile telephone device of any preceding claim in which the remote information resource providing the content is an internet site.

5. The mobile telephone device of claim 4 in which there are hyperlinks in the updated information shown in the idle screen which can be navigated to and selected by the user.

6. The mobile telephone device of any preceding claim in which the remote information resource provides the information of interest via smart message type objects.

7. The mobile telephone device of any preceding claim in which alerting messages are displayed in addition to the updated information or alternating with that updated information.

8. The mobile telephone device of any preceding claim in which the user is able to select the frequency or schedule of updated information.

9. The mobile telephone device of any preceding claim in which multiple information resources are used with different priority settings.

10. The mobile telephone device of any preceding claim in which the updated information relates to one or more of the following:

(a) financial information;

(b) sports information;

(c) news information;

(d) traffic information;

(e) weather information;

(e) status and/or moves of a multi-player game;

(f) music information; and

(g) a music track downloaded or received by the device.

12. The method of claim 11 in which the device is a device as claimed in any preceding claim 1-10.

15. The computer software of claim 14 in which the device is a device as claimed in any preceding claim 1-10.

11. A method of supplying information for display on a mobile telephone device, comprising the step of sending from a remote information resource updated information defined by a user of the device to be of a kind which is of interest to him or her, in which the information is subsequently displayed on an idle screen of the device.

13. A remote information resource adapted to be suitable for supplying information as defined in the method of any preceding claim 11-12.

14. Computer software suitable for enabling a mobile telephone device to:

(i) retrieve or receive, from a remote information resource, information defined by a user of the device to be of a kind which is of interest to him or her;

(ii) display that information on an idle screen of the device.