Systems and methods for discovering features in a communication device

• US 20060259613A1
• Filed: 05/13/2005
• Published: 11/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Smith Micro Software Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Core Mobility (Smith Micro Software Incorporated)
• Inventors: Othmer, Konstantin
• Granted Patent: US 7,580,702 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

Systems and methods for discovering features of a communication device. The features of a communications device are tracked or monitored. Features that are unused or undiscovered are identified. The undiscovered features are then included as ticker items in an interactive ticker. When a ticker item that corresponds to an undiscovered feature is selected, the user is presented with information or a tutorial that instructs the user about the feature or how to use the feature. The undiscovered features included in the ticker can change based on how the usage of the device'"'"'s features changes.

Claims

1. A method for discovering features on a communications device, the method comprising:

monitoring features on a communication device to identify a feature that is not used by a user;

including the identified feature as a ticker item in a ticker displayed on the communication device; and

presenting information relating to the identified feature on the communication device when the identified feature is selected from the ticker by the user.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein monitoring features on a communication device to identify a feature that is not used by a user further comprises monitoring features on the communication device to identify a feature that is used incorrectly or used infrequently.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein including the identified feature as a ticker item further comprises scheduling the identified feature for display in the ticker.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein presenting information relating to the identified feature further comprises:

presenting a tutorial regarding the identified feature; and

accessing the tutorial from at least one of the communication device and a remote server.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein presenting information relating to the identified feature further comprises presenting one or more of a brief description of the identified feature and an advertisement for using the identified feature.

6. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising receiving input from a user through one or more navigational mechanisms of the communication device to select the ticker item that corresponds to the identified feature.

7. A method as defined in claim 4, further comprising:

monitoring the identified feature to determine whether the identified feature is used after presenting the tutorial; and

a including the identified feature as a ticker item if the feature is not used after a specified period of time.

8. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the feature is associated with a particular network, further comprising including the identified feature in the ticker only when the particular network is detected.

9. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein monitoring features on a communication device further comprises monitoring aspects of the features to identify unused aspects of features that are used by the user.

10. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the identified feature is at least one of:

broadband access, picture messaging, text messaging, text to speech, voice dialing, speakerphone, abbreviated dialing, active dialing, calendaring, security, voice memo, quick dial, data synchronization, PC connectivity, and data transfer.

11. A method for enabling a user to discover features of a communication device, the method comprising:

identifying features of a communication device;

tracking usage of the features by a user of the communication device;

identifying at least one feature that is not used by the user;

storing content related to the at least one feature in a data storage;

scheduling the content for display as ticker items in an interactive ticker of the communication device; and

displaying the content related to the at least one feature in the interactive ticker.

12. A method as defined in claim 11, further comprising scheduling a particular feature for display in the interactive ticker based on features of the communication device that are used by the user.

13. A method as defined in claim 11, wherein identifying at least one feature that is not used by the user further comprises identifying each feature that is used incorrectly by the user.

14. A method as defined in claim 11, wherein identifying at least one feature that is not used by the user further comprises identifying one or more unused aspects of the features that are used by the user.

15. A method as defined in claim 11, wherein scheduling the content for display as ticker items in an interactive ticker of the communication device further comprises scheduling specific content associated with a particular feature based on whether a network associated with the particular feature is available to the communication device.

16. A method as defined in claim 11, further comprising:

receiving input from the user through one or more navigational mechanisms of the communication device to select a particular ticker item that corresponds to a particular feature of the communication device;

presenting instructions through at least a display of the device that teaches the user to use the particular feature.

17. A method as defined in claim 16, wherein presenting instructions through at least a display further comprises presenting a tutorial on how to use the particular feature.

18. A method as defined in claim 16, wherein presenting instructions through at least a display further comprises accessing the tutorial from at least one of the communication device and a remote server.

19. A method as defined in claim 11, further comprising updating the at least one feature in the data storage to remove features that the user has subsequently used.

20. A method as defined in claim 11, further comprising scheduling the at least one feature for inclusion in the interactive ticker based on features used by the user.

21. A method as defined in claim 11, wherein the at least one feature is one or more of:

broadband access, picture messaging, text messaging, text to speech, voice dialing, speakerphone, abbreviated dialing, active dialing, calendaring, security voice memo, quick dial, data synchronization, and data transfer.

22. A method for discovering features of a device, the method comprising:

monitoring feature usage of a communication device to identify features that are undiscovered by a user;

scheduling the undiscovered features for inclusion in an interactive ticker displayed on the communication device;

displaying one or more ticker items in the interactive ticker that correspond to one or more of the undiscovered features; and

in response to a user selecting a particular ticker item from the one or more ticker items, displaying information to the user on the display that instructs the user regarding a particular feature associated with the particular ticker item.

23. A method as defined in claim 22, wherein monitoring feature usage of a communication device further comprises at least one of:

tracking features that are used infrequently;

tracking features that are used incorrectly; and

tracking undiscovered aspects of frequently used features.

24. A method as defined in claim 22, further comprising including a single feature in the ticker at a time.

25. A method as defined in claim 24, further comprising including the undiscovered features in the ticker an a predetermined frequency.

26. A method as defined in claim 22, further comprising scheduling the undiscovered features for inclusion in the interactive ticker based on context of the undiscovered features.

27. A method as defined in claim 26, further comprising including a particular feature in the interactive ticker based on usage of another feature of the communication device.

28. A method as defined in claim 22, wherein displaying information to the user on the display that instructs the user regarding a particular feature associated with the particular ticker item further comprises at least one of:

displaying a brief description of the particular feature on the display;

displaying an advertisement related to the particular feature; and

presenting a tutorial teaching the user to use the particular feature.