Method and apparatus for enhancing discoverability and usability of data network capability of a mobile device

• US 8,046,433 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2010
• Issued: 10/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Unwired Planet LLC (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Original Assignee: Openwave Systems Incorporated (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Inventors: Vandermeijden, Tom R., La Fleur, James P.
• Primary Examiner(s): SALAD, ABDULLAHI ELMI
• Application Number:
  US12/702,105
• Publication Number:
  US 20100167698A1
• Time in Patent Office: 624 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/206, 455/466, 455/412.2
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9566 URL specific, e.g. using aliases, detecting broken or misspelled links
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4557 Directories for hybrid networks, e.g. including telephone numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/56 Arrangements for indicating or recording the called number at the calling subscriber's set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Abstract

In a technique for enhancing discoverability and increasing usage of a web browser in a mobile device on a wireless network, a server system coupled to the wireless network receives a signal representing initiation of a voice call from the mobile device. In response, the server system performs a lookup to determine whether a website is associated with the telephone number being called. If a website is associated with the telephone number being called and the mobile device has the capability to access and display the website, the server system sends an Alert to the mobile device, causing the mobile device to notify its user about the website. The user may then input a selection to either access the website instead of completing the call or to proceed with the voice call.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a server system coupled to serve a plurality of mobile devices operating on a wireless network, a signal representing initiation of a voice call from a mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices, the voice call being directed to a telephone number of a destination other than the server system;

after receiving the signal representing initiation of the voice call and either before the voice call is connected to the destination or while the voice call is being connected to the destination;

determining, in the server system, whether content is associated with the destination telephone number based on the destination telephone number; and

determining, in the server system, whether the mobile device has a particular messaging capability; and

in response to determining that content is associated with the destination telephone number, sending a signal to cause the mobile device to alert a user of the mobile device about the availability of content associated with the destination number, only if the mobile device has the particular messaging capability.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the content comprises hyperlinked content.

3. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein the content comprises a web page.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the content comprises MMS based content.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said sending a signal to cause the mobile device to alert a user of the mobile device about the availability of content is done before the voice call is connected to the destination, the method further comprising:

providing the mobile device with access to the content, instead of the voice call being connected to the destination, in response to a predetermined user input being applied at the mobile device, wherein the predetermined user input is in response to the user being alerted about the availability of content.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said sending a signal to cause the mobile device to alert a user of the mobile device about the availability of content is done while the voice call is connected to the destination, the method further comprising:

after the voice call has been connected to the destination, providing the mobile device with access to the content, in response to a predetermined user input being applied at the mobile device, wherein the predetermined user input is in response to the user being alerted about the availability of content.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein, in response to determining whether content is associated with the destination telephone number, the voice call is connected to the destination only if a predetermined user input from a user of the mobile device is detected after the signal has been sent, the predetermined user input confirming that the voice call should be connected to the destination in response to the user being alerted about the content.

8. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said sending a signal to cause the mobile device to alert the user of the mobile device comprises automatically sending a telephony signal embodying a voice message about the content to the mobile device, the voice message for output by the mobile device in audible form to the user of the mobile device.

9. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said sending a signal to cause the mobile device to alert the user of the mobile device about the availability of content comprises sending a WAP Alert to the mobile device to cause the mobile device to alert the user about the availability of content.

10. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said determining whether content is associated with the destination telephone number comprises performing a lookup of the destination telephone number in the server system to determine whether the destination telephone number is associated with content.

11. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein said performing a lookup comprises looking up a domain name associated with the destination telephone number.

12. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said sending a signal to cause the mobile device to alert the user of the mobile device about the availability of content comprises causing a user interface of the mobile device to present the user with a plurality of selectable options including:

a) connecting the voice call to the destination, and

b) accessing the content.

13. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

in response to receiving the signal representing initiation of a voice call, determining in the server system whether the mobile device has a particular messaging capability, before sending the signal to cause the mobile device to alert a user of the mobile device about the content, such that said causing the mobile device to alert the user of the mobile device about the content is done only if the mobile device has the particular messaging capability.

14. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said determining whether the mobile device has the particular messaging capability comprises determining whether the mobile device has the particular messaging capability based on a telephone number of the mobile device.

15. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein the content is accessible to the mobile device by using the particular messaging capability.

16. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein the particular messaging capability is MMS capability.

17. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the destination comprises a call center located remote from the server system, and wherein said sending a signal to cause the mobile device to alert a user of the mobile device about the content is done in response to a signal received by the server system from the call center.

18. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the destination comprises a call center located remote from the server system, the call center being in data communication with the server system, wherein the call center dynamically configures the server system to send the signal to cause the mobile device to alert a user of the mobile device about the content.

19. A method comprising:

receiving, at a server system, a signal representing initiation of a voice call from a mobile device operating on a wireless network to a predetermined telephone number of a destination, other than the server system, the mobile device having a telephone number;

after receiving the signal representing initiation of the voice call and either before the voice call is connected to the destination or while the voice call is being connected to the destination;

determining whether content is associated with the destination based on the destination telephone number; and

determining whether the mobile device has a particular messaging capability; and

if the mobile device is determined to have the particular messaging capability, causing a user of the mobile device to be alerted about content associated with the destination, the content accessible to the mobile device by use of the particular messaging capability.

20. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein said determining whether the mobile device has a particular messaging capability comprises using data in the signal to perform a lookup to determine whether the mobile device has the particular messaging capability.

21. A method as recited in claim 20, wherein the data comprises the telephone number of the mobile device.

22. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein the particular messaging capability is an SMS based capability.

23. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein the particular messaging capability is MMS capability.

24. A method as recited in claim 19, further comprising delivering the content to the mobile device using the particular messaging capability of the mobile device.

25. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein:

said causing the user of the mobile device to be alerted about content is done before the voice call is connected to the destination; and

if the mobile device is determined to have the particular messaging capability, the voice call is not thereafter connected to the destination without a subsequent user input confirming that the voice call should be connected to the destination.

26. A method as recited in claim 25, further comprising:

in response to determining that the mobile device does not have the particular messaging capability, allowing the voice call to be connected to the destination without further input from the user of the mobile device.

27. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein:

said causing the user of the mobile device to be alerted about content is done while the voice call is connected to the destination;

the method further comprising;

if the mobile device is determined to have the particular messaging capability and if a predetermined user input is received from the mobile device in response to the mobile device alerting the user about the content, then terminating the voice call and providing the mobile device with access to the content.

28. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein said causing the user of the mobile device to be alerted about the content comprises causing a user interface of the mobile device to present the user with a plurality of selectable options, the options including:

a) connecting the voice call to the destination and

b) accessing the content.

29. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein said causing the user of the mobile device to be alerted about the content comprises sending a WAP Alert to the mobile device to cause the mobile device to alert a user of the mobile device about the content.

30. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein said causing the user of the mobile device to be alerted about the content comprises automatically sending a telephony signal embodying a voice message about the content to the mobile device, to cause the mobile device to output the voice message to the user of the mobile device.

31. A method comprising:

in a mobile device operable on a wireless network as both a telephone end user device and a web access device, receiving, from a user of the mobile device, input specifying a plurality of characters, the plurality of characters including a sequence of characters in telephone number format;

determining in the mobile device whether the input from the user of the mobile device includes a predetermined character, the predetermined character indicating that the sequence of characters represents a network locator of hyperlinked content; and

if it is determined that the input from the user of the mobile device includes the predetermined character, then;

identifying in the mobile device the network locator, and

sending a request for the hyperlinked content from the mobile device over the wireless network, using the network locator;

if it is determined that the input from the user of the mobile device does not include the predetermined character, then initiating a voice call from the mobile device to a destination indicated by the sequence of characters, via the wireless network.

32. A method as recited in claim 31, wherein the predetermined character is appended to the sequence of characters.

33. A method as recited in claim 31, wherein the predetermined character indicates activation of a predetermined control input of a mobile device.

34. A method comprising:

in response to a signal being received from a mobile device operating on a wireless network, determining whether the signal includes a predetermined character input by a user of the mobile device, the signal including a sequence of characters in telephone number format, the predetermined character indicating that the sequence of characters represents a network locator of hyperlinked content; and

if it is determined that the signal includes the predetermined character, then;

identifying the network, using the network locator to access the hyperlinked content, and

providing the hyperlinked content to the mobile device over the wireless network instead of allowing connection of a voice call from the mobile device to a destination indicated by the sequence of characters;

if it is determined that the signal does not include the predetermined character, then allowing connection of a voice call from the mobile device to a destination indicated by the sequence of characters.

35. A method as recited in claim 34, wherein the predetermined character is appended to the sequence of characters.

36. A method as recited in claim 34, wherein the predetermined character includes an indication of a predetermined control input having been activated on the mobile device.