Systems, devices, methods and computer program products for downloading content to mobile devices in a roaming environment

• US 8,023,966 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2004
• Issued: 09/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Aaltonen, Janne La.
• Primary Examiner(s): Edouard, Patrick
• Assistant Examiner(s): CASCA, FRED A
• Application Number:
  US11/018,027
• Publication Number:
  US 20060135179A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,464 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561-557, 455/41.2, 4554121-4143, 455/414.4, 455/517, 455/404.2, 455/407, 455/425, 342/357.9
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/10 between location register and external networks

Abstract

Systems, devices and methods are presented for downloading content to a mobile terminal, during periods when the mobile terminal is outside of the home network; i.e. when the terminal is roaming. The invention provides for downloading of the content without utilizing the cellular network, thereby, circumventing the additional surcharges that may be associated with providing for downloading outside of the home network environment. In addition, the invention provides for methods and systems that may be implemented automatically, without the user having to interface with the device or system to implement the change in download techniques. Also, the content can be downloaded during normal download schedules so that the user is not adversely affected by their travel schedule and can be assured scheduled program downloads throughout the travel period.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining a travel schedule for a user of a mobile terminal that defines a travel period during which the user will be traveling; and

determining whether content scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal is scheduled to be delivered during the travel period, wherein the content is subscription content that is otherwise delivered to the mobile terminal on a regularly scheduled basis;

wherein when the content is not scheduled to be delivered during the travel period, scheduling the content to be delivered as the content was previously scheduled to be delivered were the user not traveling; and

wherein when the content is scheduled to be delivered during the travel period, scheduling the content to be delivered in a manner different than previously scheduled were the user not traveling by;

determining one or more network access points associated with the travel period, each network access point comprising a short range wireless communication network; and

directing communication of the content to at least one of the one or more network access points prior to the mobile terminal coming into contact with the at least one network access point, wherein directing communication of the content to at least one or more network access points comprises directing communication of the content to the at least one network access point with instructions to download the content to the mobile terminal when the mobile terminal comes in contact with the at least one network access point.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining a travel schedule for a user of a mobile terminal that defines a travel period further comprises receiving a travel schedule for the user of the mobile terminal.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining one or more network access points associated with the travel period further comprises determining one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the scheduled travel period.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the scheduled travel period further comprises executing a client application to determine the one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the travel period.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein determining one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the scheduled travel further comprises comparing the travel schedule to a database of roaming network access points to determine the network access points that the user will likely encounter during the travel period.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein determining one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the travel period further comprises providing the user with a selection of recommended roaming network access points based upon determining the one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the travel period.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein determining one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the travel period further comprises executing a server application to determine the one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the travel period.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein directing communication of content to at least one of the one or more network access points further comprises directing communication, during the travel period, of content to at least one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the travel period.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein directing communication of content to at least one of the one or more network access points further comprises directing communication, prior to the travel period, of content to at least one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the travel period.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein directing communication of content to at least one of the one or more network access points further comprises directing communication, prior to the travel period, of content to at least one or more home network access points that the user will likely encounter prior to the travel period.

11. A method comprising:

Determining, by a processor, a travel schedule for a user of a mobile terminal that defines a travel period during which the user will be traveling, such that it is determinable whether content scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal is scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal during the travel period, wherein the content is subscription content that is otherwise delivered to the mobile terminal on a regularly scheduled basis;

receiving at the mobile terminal, prior to the travel period, the content scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal during the travel period;

causing storage of the content in mobile terminal memory such that the stored content is not accessible to the user until a regularly scheduled delivery time; and

providing the user access to the stored content at the regularly scheduled delivery time, which occurs during the travel period.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein determining a travel schedule for a user of a mobile terminal that defines a travel period further comprises executing a client application on the mobile terminal to determine a travel schedule for the user of the mobile terminal.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising causing the travel schedule to be sent to a content server, wherein receiving, prior to the travel period, content scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal during the travel period comprises receiving the content from the content server based at least in part on the travel schedule sent to the content server.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein determining the travel schedule comprises determining the travel schedule based at least in part on one or more of a planner application, calendar application, an external database, or a travel agent database.

15. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and stored computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least:

receive a user travel schedule sent by a mobile terminal, the travel schedule defining a travel period during which the user will be traveling;

respond to receipt of the user travel schedule by determining whether content scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal is scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal during the travel period, wherein the content is subscription content that is otherwise delivered to the mobile terminal on a regularly scheduled basis; and

cause communication of the content, which is scheduled for delivery during the travel period, to the mobile terminal prior to the travel period, such that the content scheduled for delivery during the travel period is stored on a memory of the mobile terminal and is not accessible to a user of the mobile terminal until a regularly scheduled delivery time, upon occurrence of which during the travel period, the user of the mobile terminal is provided access to the stored content.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the apparatus comprises or is embodied on a content server.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the at least one memory and stored computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to cause communication with a client application executed by the mobile terminal, wherein the received user travel schedule is sent by the client application.

18. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and stored computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least:

execute a client application configured to determine a user'"'"'s travel schedule during which the user will be traveling, which defines a travel period and to determine one or more network access points associated with the travel schedule, each network access point comprising a short range wireless communication network;

direct communication of the user'"'"'s travel schedule and the one or more determined network access points to a content server, the content server configured to determine whether content scheduled to be delivered to the device is scheduled to be delivered during the travel period, wherein the content is subscription content that is otherwise delivered to the apparatus on a regularly scheduled basis, and wherein the content server is configured to access content that is scheduled to be delivered to the apparatus during the travel period; and

provide for downloading of the content scheduled to be delivered to the apparatus during the travel period when the apparatus encounters one of the determined network access points, such that the content scheduled to be delivered during the travel period is delivered to the apparatus in a manner different than previously scheduled were the user not traveling.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the client application is further configured to define the one or more network access points as roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the travel period.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the client application is further configured to define the one or more network access points as home network access points that the user will likely encounter prior to the travel period.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the at least one memory and stored computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to provide for cellular communication of the user'"'"'s travel schedule and one or more network access points to a network server configured to provide content access.

22. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein, the computer-readable program code portions comprising:

a program code portion configured to determine a mobile terminal user'"'"'s travel schedule, which defines a travel period during which the user will be traveling;

a program code portion configured to determine one or more network access points associated with the travel period, each network access point comprising a short range wireless communication network;

a program code portion configured to determine whether content scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal is scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal during the travel period, wherein the content is subscription content that is otherwise delivered to the mobile terminal on a regularly scheduled basis; and

a program code portion configured to cause the content scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal during the travel period to be communicated to at least one of the one or more network access points prior to the mobile terminal coming into contact with the at least one network access point, wherein the program code portion is configured to cause the content to be communicated to at least one or more network access points at least in part by causing the content to be communicated to the at least one network access point with instructions to download the content to the mobile terminal when the mobile terminal comes in contact with the at least one network access point, such that the content scheduled to be delivered during the travel period is delivered to the mobile terminal in a manner different than previously scheduled were the user not traveling.

23. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the program code portion configured to determine a mobile terminal user'"'"'s travel schedule further includes a portion configured to determine a mobile terminal user'"'"'s travel schedule based at least in part on user inputs to the computer program.

24. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the program code portion configured to determine a mobile terminal user'"'"'s travel schedule further includes a portion configured to determine a mobile terminal user'"'"'s travel schedule based at least in part on accessing one or more user planner applications.

25. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the program code portion configured to determine a mobile terminal user'"'"'s travel schedule further includes a portion configured to determine a mobile terminal user'"'"'s travel schedule based at least in part on accessing one or more external databases.

26. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the program code portion configured to determine one or more network access points associated with the travel period is further configured to define the one or more network access points as roaming network access points that user will likely encounter during the travel period.

27. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the program code portion configured to determine one or more network access points associated with the travel period is further configured to define the one or more network access points as home network access points that user will likely encounter prior to the travel period.

28. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the program code portion configured to determine a mobile terminal user'"'"'s travel schedule further includes a portion configured to cause a mobile terminal user'"'"'s travel schedule to be received from the mobile terminal.

29. A system comprising:

a travel schedule determining system configured to determine a travel schedule for a user of a mobile terminal that defines a travel period during which the user will be traveling;

a network access point determining system configured to determine one or more network access points associated with the travel period, each network access point comprising a short range wireless communication network; and

a communication system configured to determine whether content scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal is scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal during the travel period, wherein the content is subscription content that is otherwise delivered to the mobile terminal on a regularly scheduled basis, and to communicate the content scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal during the travel period to at least one of the one or more network access points prior to the mobile terminal coming into contact with the at least one of the one or more network access points, wherein the communication system is further configured to communicate the content to the at least one network access point with instructions to download the content to the mobile terminal when the mobile terminal comes in contact with the at least one of the network access points, such that the content scheduled to be delivered during the travel period is delivered to the mobile terminal in a manner different than previously scheduled were the user not traveling.

30. A method comprising:

determining a travel schedule for a user of a mobile terminal, wherein the travel schedule comprises a travel period during which the user will be traveling, the travel schedule defining a travel route;

determining one or more network access points associated with the travel route of the determined travel schedule, each network access point comprising a short range wireless communication network;

directing communication of information to a server, the communicated information being about the travel schedule and the one or more network access points;

determining from the travel schedule whether content scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal is scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal during the travel period, wherein the content is subscription content that is otherwise delivered to the mobile terminal on a regularly scheduled basis; and

directing download of content comprising content scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal during the travel period from the one or more network access points when the mobile terminal comes in contact with at least one of the one or more network access points, such that the content scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal during the travel period is delivered to the mobile terminal in a manner different than previously scheduled were the user not traveling.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein determining a travel schedule for a user of a mobile terminal further comprises executing a client application on the mobile terminal to determine the travel schedule for the user of the mobile terminal.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein executing a client application on the mobile terminal to determine the travel schedule further comprises inputting the travel schedule into the client application.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein executing a client application on the mobile terminal to determine the travel schedule further comprises accessing a user travel schedule application to determine a travel schedule for the user of the mobile terminal.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein executing a client application on the mobile terminal to determine the travel schedule further comprises accessing an external database to determine the travel schedule for the user of the mobile terminal.

35. The method of claim 30, wherein determining one or more network access points associated with the travel route further comprises determining one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter along the scheduled travel route.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein determining one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter along the scheduled travel route further comprises comparing the travel route to a database of roaming network access points to determine the network access points that the user will likely encounter along the scheduled travel route.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein determining one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter along the scheduled travel route further comprises providing the user with a selection of recommended roaming network access points based upon determining the one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter along the scheduled travel route.

38. The method of claim 30, wherein directing communication to a server comprises directing communication to a server configured to access the content to be downloaded.

39. A mobile terminal comprising:

a travel schedule determining system configured to determine a travel schedule for a user of the mobile terminal, the travel schedule defining a travel route and a travel period during which the user will be traveling;

a network access point determining system configured to determine one or more network access points associated with the travel route of the determined travel schedule, each network access point comprising a short range wireless communication network; and

a communication system configured to communicate to a server information about the travel schedule and the one or more network access points, wherein the server is configured to determine whether content scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal is scheduled to be delivered during the travel period, wherein the content is subscription content that is otherwise delivered to the mobile terminal on a regularly scheduled basis, and wherein the communication system is further configured to download content scheduled to be delivered during the travel period from the one or more network access points when the mobile terminal comes in contact with at least one of the one or more network access points, such that the content scheduled to be delivered during the travel period is delivered to the mobile terminal in a manner different than previously scheduled were the user not traveling.

40. A method comprising:

determining a mobile terminal user'"'"'s travel schedule, which defines a travel period during which the user will be traveling;

determining whether content scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal is scheduled to be delivered during the travel period, wherein the content is subscription content that is otherwise delivered to the mobile terminal on a regularly scheduled basis;

determining one or more network access points associated with the travel schedule using the mobile terminal, each network access point comprising a short range wireless communication network;

directing communication of the user'"'"'s travel schedule and the one or more determined network access points from the mobile terminal to a content server, the content server configured to access content that is scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal during the travel period; and

directing download of content scheduled to be delivered during the travel period when the mobile terminal encounters one of the determined network access points, such that the content scheduled to be delivered during the travel period is delivered to the mobile terminal in a manner different than previously scheduled were the user not traveling.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein determining one or more network access points associated with the travel period comprises determining one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the scheduled travel period.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein determining one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the scheduled travel further comprises comparing the travel schedule to a database of roaming network access points to determine the network access points that the user will likely encounter during the travel period.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein determining one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the travel period further comprises causing the user to be provided with a selection of recommended roaming network access points selected based at least in part upon the determined one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the travel period.

44. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and stored computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least:

determine a travel schedule of a user of the apparatus, the travel schedule defining a travel period during which the user will be traveling;

determine whether content scheduled to be delivered to the apparatus is scheduled to be delivered during the travel period, wherein the content is subscription content that is otherwise delivered to the mobile terminal on a regularly scheduled basis;

determine one or more network access points associated with the travel schedule, each network access point comprising a short range wireless communication network;

cause communication of the travel schedule and the one or more determined network access points to a content server, the content server configured to access content that is scheduled to be delivered to the apparatus during the travel period; and

cause download of content scheduled to be delivered during the travel period in response to the apparatus encountering one of the determined network access points, such that the content scheduled to be delivered during the travel period is delivered to the apparatus in a manner different than previously scheduled were the user not traveling.

45. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the at least one memory and stored computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to determine one or more network access points associated with the travel period at least in part by determining one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the scheduled travel period.

46. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the at least one memory and stored computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to determine one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the scheduled travel at least in part by comparing the travel schedule to a database of roaming network access points to determine the network access points that the user will likely encounter during the travel period.

47. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the at least one memory and stored computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, to further cause the apparatus to cause the user to be provided with a selection of recommended roaming network access points selected based at least in part upon the determined one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the travel period.

48. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the apparatus comprises or is embodied on a mobile phone.

49. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and stored computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least:

determine a travel schedule for a user of a mobile terminal that defines a travel period during which the user will be traveling; and

determine whether content scheduled to be delivered to the mobile terminal is scheduled to be delivered during the travel period, wherein the content is subscription content that is otherwise delivered to the apparatus on a regularly scheduled basis;

wherein when the content is not scheduled to be delivered during the travel period, scheduling the content to be delivered as the content was previously scheduled to be delivered were the user not traveling; and

wherein when the content is scheduled to be delivered during the travel period, scheduling the content to be delivered in a manner different than previously scheduled were the user not traveling by;

determining one or more network access points associated with the travel period, each network access point comprising a short range wireless communication network; and

causing communication of the content to at least one of the one or more network access points prior to the mobile terminal coming into contact with the at least one network access point, wherein causing communication of the content to at least one or more network access points comprises causing communication of the content to the at least one network access point with instructions to download the content to the mobile terminal in response to the mobile terminal coming in contact with the at least one network access point.

50. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein determining one or more network access points associated with the travel period further comprises determining one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the scheduled travel period.

51. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein determining one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the scheduled travel further comprises comparing the travel schedule to a database of roaming network access points to determine the network access points that the user will likely encounter during the travel period.

52. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein determining one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the travel period further comprises providing the user with a selection of recommended roaming network access points based upon determining the one or more roaming network access points that the user will likely encounter during the travel period.