Mobile Device and Method of Operating Same to Interface Content Provider Website

• US 20110060793A1
• Filed: 09/09/2010
• Published: 03/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Putterman, Scott I., Wei, Kai, Mamitsuka, Lien T., Mitra, Christopher A., Camp, William N. II, Wheeler, Maxon R.
• Granted Patent: US 9,026,581 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services

Abstract

In a mobile device, a method of interacting with a first social networking website by way of a network includes communicating indirectly with the first social networking website by interacting with an intermediate web server by way of the network, the intermediate web server in turn being in communication with the first social networking website. The method further includes determining, based at least in part upon a user input received at the mobile device, that the mobile device should communicate directly with the first social networking website in a manner not involving the intermediate web server. The method also includes communicating with the first social networking website directly in the manner not involving the intermediate web server. In another embodiment, the method relates to interacting with a plurality of social networking sites including a first social networking website and a second social networking site.

Claims

1. In a mobile device, a method of interacting with a first social networking website by way of a network, the method comprising:

(a) communicating indirectly with the first social networking website by interacting with an intermediate web server by way of the network, the intermediate web server in turn being in communication with the first social networking website;

(b) receiving from the intermediate web server, notifications and first information, wherein the mobile device receives at least some of the notifications in an asynchronous manner off of the network via a push channel from the web server at times determined by the intermediate web server, and wherein the mobile device receives the first information following a pull request;

(c) determining, based at least in part upon a user input received at the mobile device, that the mobile device should communicate directly with the first social networking website in a manner not involving the intermediate web server; and

(d) communicating with the first social networking website directly in the manner not involving the intermediate web server.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the network is an internet-type communication network that includes at least one wireless communication link.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

(e) further determining that the mobile device should again communicate indirectly with the first social networking website by interacting with the intermediate web server; and

(f) further communicating indirectly with the first social networking website by interacting with the intermediate web server by way of the network, the intermediate web server in turn being in communication with the first social networking site.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the communicating in step (d) is conducted simultaneously with additional communicating of the mobile device indirectly with the first social networking website by interacting with the intermediate web server.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the push channel is further established by the intermediate web server, and wherein the push channel employs one of more of a transmission control protocol (TCP), an extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP), and an asynchronous communications technique.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein at least some additional communications of the mobile device in relation to the web server involve web services calls, and the at least some additional communications allow for data transfer between the mobile device and the web server.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device receives information from the first social networking site by way of the intermediate web server, wherein the information lacks at least some formatting information that would be present if the fourth information had been received by the mobile device directly from the first social networking site.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

communicating indirectly with a second social networking website also by interacting with the intermediate web server by way of the network, the intermediate web server in turn being in communication with the second social networking website.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the mobile device receives the first information from the first social networking site by way of the intermediate web server and receives second information from the second social networking site by way of the intermediate web server, and further comprising:

displaying on the mobile device each of the first and second information in a format that is standardized and excludes at least some formatting information that would be present if the mobile device had received the information based upon communications with the websites directly in a manner not involving the intermediate web server.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the mobile device receives from the intermediate web server a common changelist with updates from a plurality of content providers and updates the information provided to the user from the common changelist.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information includes difference information indicative of one or more changes that have occurred in content available from the first social networking site at two different times.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information at least one of (a) is in a compressed format, (b) is in a binary format, and (c) includes an aggregated contact list.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first information includes at least one message information, friend identification information, status update information, happenings information, and news.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device receives the first information in response to polling signals transmitted from the mobile device onto the network for receipt by the intermediate web server.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the communicating in (a) includes transmitting a picture file for receipt by the intermediate web server, receiving an identifier back from the intermediate web server for identifying the picture to the server and the device.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein, as part of the communicating in step (a) or the receiving in step (b), the mobile device receives both content information and an identifier indicative of which of a plurality of social networking sites including the first social networking site supplied the content information.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein as part of the communicating in (a), the mobile device transmits content information for receipt by the web server and additionally transmits an instruction for receipt by the web server that instructs the web server to additionally share at least some of the content information with a second social networking site.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying on a screen of the mobile device at least one input entry feature, wherein the at least one input entry feature includes at least one of an input button, a text field into which text can be entered, and a selectable icon, and wherein the communicating in (a) includes transmitting information received at the mobile device as entered by a user by way of interaction with the at least one input entry feature.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the user input is indicative of a request for additional information from the first social networking site that cannot be provided to the mobile device by way of the intermediate web server, and wherein the mobile device automatically proceeds to step (d) upon completing the determining in step (c).

20. In a mobile device, a method of communicating with a first social networking site by way of a network and an intermediate web server, the method comprising:

establishing a push channel over the network by which the mobile device is capable of receiving communications from the intermediate web server;

receiving first information off of the network arriving from the intermediate web server, the first information being communicated over the network over the push channel at a first time determined by the intermediate web server; and

receiving second information off of the network arriving from the intermediate web server, the second information being communicated at a second time, wherein at least some of each of the first information and the second information has originated from the first social networking site; and

establishing an additional communication link over the network by which the mobile device is capable of directly communicating with the first social networking site without communicating with the intermediate web server.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the second information is received in response to a polling signal provided by the mobile device onto the network.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

displaying at least some of the first and second information on an output device of the mobile device, wherein the displayed information one or both of (a) lacks characteristic formatting information associated with the social networking site, and (b) includes information representative of one or more changes that have occurred between original information provided from the social networking site at an initial time and subsequent information provided from the social networking site at a subsequent time.

23. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

transmitting a message onto the network including content for receipt by the web server, wherein the content includes at least one of a text document, an image file, an application file, a sound file, and a data file,

the message further including a command for receipt by the web server, where the command is configured to cause the web server to upload the content to the social networking site.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein the mobile device additionally receives information originating from a second social networking site, and wherein the mobile device is further capable of conducting communications directly via the network or via another network with the social networking sites.