SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SWITCHING BETWEEN MESSAGING CLIENTS
First Claim
1. A method for switching between messaging clients, said method comprising:
- providing on a first communication device, a plurality of messaging clients for exchanging messages with one or more other communication devices;
enabling at said first communication device an exchange of messages with a second communication device using one of said plurality of messaging clients; and
upon said first communication device detecting that said first and second communication devices are no longer connected by said one of said plurality of messaging clients, displaying on said first communication device a list of standby messaging clients to enable selection of another of said plurality of messaging clients to continue said exchange of messages.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for managing multiple instant messaging (IM) clients associated with a single contact in an IM application for a mobile device is provided. A unified IM contact list associates multiple available IM clients with each contact listing. In one aspect, the current default IM client may be conveniently switched to another default IM client by receiving a first input to display a toggle list listing the available IM clients associated with the particular contact, and then receiving a second input indicating the selection of the desired default IM client. In another aspect, the current conversation IM client may be conveniently switched to a standby IM client when a contact in the conversation logs off. In yet another aspect, the current default IM client may be switched to another default IM client upon the occurrence of one or more external events.
95 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for switching between messaging clients, said method comprising:
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providing on a first communication device, a plurality of messaging clients for exchanging messages with one or more other communication devices; enabling at said first communication device an exchange of messages with a second communication device using one of said plurality of messaging clients; and upon said first communication device detecting that said first and second communication devices are no longer connected by said one of said plurality of messaging clients, displaying on said first communication device a list of standby messaging clients to enable selection of another of said plurality of messaging clients to continue said exchange of messages. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A computer readable medium comprising computer executable instructions for switching between messaging clients, said computer readable medium comprising instructions for:
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providing on a first communication device, a plurality of messaging clients for exchanging messages with one or more other communication devices; enabling at said first communication device an exchange of messages with a second communication device using one of said plurality of messaging clients; and upon said first communication device detecting that said first and second communication devices are no longer connected by said one of said plurality of messaging clients, said first communication device displaying a list of standby messaging clients to enable selection of another of said plurality of messaging clients to continue said exchange of messages. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for switching between messaging clients, said method comprising:
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providing on a first communication device, a plurality of messaging clients for exchanging messages with one or more other communication devices; enabling an exchange of messages between said first communication device and a second communication device using one of said plurality of messaging clients; maintaining a set of rules pertaining to when to use certain ones of said plurality of messaging clients; and upon detecting one or more external events, examining said set of rules and automatically switching from said one of said plurality of messaging clients to another of said plurality of messaging clients according to said one or more external events. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. A method for switching an active designation for messaging clients comprising:
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providing in a graphical user interface (GUI) on a communication device, at least one contact listing for a corresponding contact associated with another communication device; associating with said contact listing, a plurality of messaging clients for exchanging messages with said contact; upon detecting a first input, enabling selection of one of said plurality of messaging clients from a list of all available messaging clients for said contact; and upon detecting a second input selecting said one messaging client, designating said one messaging client as an active messaging client for exchanging messages with said contact. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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Specification