LOCATION-VARIABLE CONTEXTUAL CONTACTS

• US 20150032542A1
• Filed: 07/23/2013
• Published: 01/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Ibdah, Abdallah, Thakar, Rahul
• Application Number:
  US13/948,351
• Publication Number:
  US 20150032542A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.58
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A method for updating location-dependent contact information entails, at a first location, storing first location-dependent contact information for a first service-providing entity as a contact in an address book in a memory of the mobile device, determining a current location of the mobile device, and in response to determining that the current location has changed from the first location to a second location, automatically updating the address book by replacing the first location-dependent contact information in the address book with second location-dependent contact information for a second entity equivalent to the first entity.

Claims

1. A method for updating location-dependent contact information, ion, the method comprising:

at a first location, storing first location-dependent contact information for a first service-providing entity as a contact in an address book in a memory of the mobile device;

determining a current location of the mobile device; and

in response to determining that the current location has changed from the first location to a second location, automatically updating the address book by replacing the first location-dependent contact information in the address book with second location-dependent contact information for a second entity equivalent to the first entity.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein automatically updating comprises:

causing a search engine to perform a web search for service-providing entities that provide a same service as the first service-providing entity; and

selecting the second entity from search results obtained from the web search.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2 further comprising receiving a sponsored search result from an advertising entity and selecting the sponsored search result as the second entity.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3 wherein the sponsored search result is a targeted sponsored search result determined based on competitive bidding amongst advertising entities and further refined based on mobile subscriber profiles.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein automatically updating comprises searching a service-rating website, using the second location and a service-identifying keyword as search terms, to identify a top-rated service-providing entity for the second location.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising transmitting a search request to a social network website to identify social network contacts in the second location and to identify any replacement entities associated with the social network contacts.

7. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions in code which when loaded into a memory and executed by a processor of a mobile device cause the mobile device to:

at a first location, store first location-dependent contact information for a first service-providing entity as a contact in an address book in a memory of the mobile device;

determine a current location of the mobile device; and

in response to determining that the current location has changed from the first location to a second location, automatically update the address book by replacing the first location-dependent contact information in the address book with second location-dependent contact information for a second entity equivalent to the first entity.

8. The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 7 further comprising code to cause the device to:

cause a search engine to perform a web search for service-providing entities that provide a same service as the first service-providing entity; and

select the second entity from search results obtained from the web search.

9. The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 8 further comprising code to cause the device to receive a sponsored search result from an advertising entity and selecting the sponsored search result as the second entity.

10. The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 9 wherein the sponsored search result is a targeted sponsored search result determined based on competitive bidding amongst advertising entities and further refined based on mobile subscriber profiles.

11. The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 7 further comprising code for causing the device to search a service-rating website, using the second location and a service-identifying keyword as search terms, to identify a top-rated service-providing entity for the second location.

12. The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 7 further comprising code for transmitting a search request to a social network website to identify social network contacts in the second location and to identify any replacement entities associated with the social network contacts.

13. A mobile device comprising:

a memory for storing, at a first location, first location-dependent contact information for a first service-providing entity as a contact in an address book;

a position-determining subsystem for determining a current location of the mobile device; and

a processor operatively coupled to the memory for determining that the current location has changed from the first location to a second location, the processor being configured to automatically update the address book by replacing the first location-dependent contact information in the address book with second location-dependent contact information for a second entity equivalent to the first entity.

14. The mobile device as claimed in claim 13 wherein the processor cooperates with a radiofrequency transceiver to:

cause a search engine to perform a web search for service-providing entities that provide a same service as the first service-providing entity; and

select the second entity from search results obtained from the web search.

15. The mobile device as claimed in claim 14 wherein the radiofrequency transceiver receives a sponsored search result from an advertising entity as the second entity.

16. The mobile device as claimed in claim 15 wherein the sponsored search result is a targeted sponsored search result determined based on competitive bidding amongst advertising entities and further refined based on mobile subscriber profiles.

17. The mobile device as claimed in claim 13 wherein the radiofrequency transceiver transmits the second location and a service-identifying keyword as search terms for searching a service-rating website to identify a top-rated service-providing entity for the second location.

18. The mobile device as claimed in claim 13 wherein the processor cooperates with a radiofrequency transceiver to transmit a search request to a social network website to identify social network contacts in the second location and to identify any replacement entities associated with the social network contacts.