Unified and best messaging systems for communication devices

• US 8,942,358 B2
• Filed: 12/23/2013
• Issued: 01/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovation Company Limited Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Group Ltd.
• Inventors: Rukman, Jason, Heitzeberg, Joseph Edward, Hoover, Thomas Jay, Lowry, Ethan, Franklin, Patrick Greer
• Primary Examiner(s): Islam, Mohammad
• Application Number:
  US14/139,778
• Publication Number:
  US 20140120963A1
• Time in Patent Office: 400 Days
• Field of Search: 379/67.1, 379 8813- 8818, 379/355, 379/88.11, 704/270, 455/466
• US Class Current: 379/88.13
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]

Abstract

A unified messaging system which can provide messaging services for a plurality of different “message types” is disclosed. The unified messaging system can serve as a single interface to a number of messaging services provided by various messaging components which use different message types (e.g., mail server). A unified message type is implemented and presented to a user as an abstract message. In addition, the unified messaging system can automatically determine, based on a first selected feature, if one or more message types should be used. A particular message type can also be automatically selected as a “best message type” based on one or more selected options.

Claims

1. A handheld communication device for transmission of messages to recipient devices, the handheld communication device comprising:

a display; and

a processor configured, in at least one mode of message composition, to;

present a unified messaging interface to a user via the display for composition of messages which can be transmitted from the handheld communication device in at least two different transmittal message types, including a Short Message Service (SMS) transmittal message type and a first non-SMS transmittal message type;

determine, based at least in part on a recipient address associated with a message, whether the first non-SMS transmittal message type can be used to transmit the message to the recipient address;

automatically select the first non-SMS transmittal message type to be used for the transmission of the message to the recipient address when it is determined that the first non-SMS transmittal message type can be used; and

automatically select the SMS transmittal message type to be used for the transmission of the message to the recipient address when it is determined that the first non-SMS transmittal message type cannot be used.

2. The handheld communication device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured, in the at least one mode of message composition, to transmit the message to the recipient address using the selected transmittal message type.

3. The handheld communication device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured, in the at least one mode of message composition, to use a server to determine whether the first non-SMS transmittal message type can be used to transmit the message.

4. The handheld communication device of claim 1, wherein the first non-SMS transmittal message type is transmitted by a communication network path including a wireless local area network.

5. The handheld communication device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured, in the at least one mode of message composition, to determine whether the first non-SMS transmittal message type can be used based at least in part upon a user preference.

6. The handheld communication device of claim 1, wherein the at least two different transmittal message types further include a second non-SMS transmittal message type and wherein the processor is configured, in the at least one mode of message composition, to:

determine, based at least in part on the recipient address, whether the SMS transmittal message type can be used to transmit the message to the recipient address; and

automatically select the second non-SMS transmittal message type to be used for the transmission of the message to the recipient address when it is determined that the first non-SMS transmittal message type cannot be used and that the SMS transmittal message type cannot be used;

wherein the automatically selecting the SMS transmittal message type to be used for the transmission of the message occurs when it is determined that the first non-SMS transmittal message type cannot be used and that the SMS transmittal message type can be used.

7. The handheld communication device of claim 1, wherein the second non-SMS transmittal message type is a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) transmittal message type.

8. A method of operating a handheld communication device for transmission of messages to recipient devices, the handheld communication device comprising a display, the method comprising:

presenting a unified messaging interface to a user via the display for composition of messages which can be transmitted from the handheld communication device in at least two different transmittal message types, including a Short Message Service (SMS) transmittal message type and a first non-SMS transmittal message type;

determining, based at least in part on a recipient address associated with a message, whether the first non-SMS transmittal message type can be used to transmit the message to the recipient address;

automatically selecting the first non-SMS transmittal message type to be used for the transmission of the message to the recipient address when it is determined that the first non-SMS transmittal message type can be used; and

automatically selecting the SMS transmittal message type to be used for the transmission of the message to the recipient address when it is determined that the first non-SMS transmittal message type cannot be used.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

transmitting the message to the recipient address using the selected transmittal message type.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the determining comprises using a server.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the first non-SMS transmittal message type is transmitted by a communication network path including a wireless local area network.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the determining is further based at least in part upon a user preference.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least two different transmittal message types further include a second non-SMS transmittal message type and wherein the method further comprises:

determining, based at least in part on the recipient address, whether the SMS transmittal message type can be used to transmit the message to the recipient address; and

automatically selecting the second non-SMS transmittal message type to be used for the transmission of the message to the recipient address when it is determined that the first non-SMS transmittal message type cannot be used and that the SMS transmittal message type cannot be used;

wherein the automatically selecting the SMS transmittal message type to be used for the transmission of the message occurs when it is determined that the first non-SMS transmittal message type cannot be used and that the SMS transmittal message type can be used.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second non-SMS transmittal message type is a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) transmittal message type.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions thereon, the computer-readable instructions executable by a processor of a handheld communication device to perform a method for transmission of messages from the handheld communication device to recipient devices, the handheld communication device including a display, the method comprising:

presenting a unified messaging interface to a user via the display for composition of messages which can be transmitted from the handheld communication device in at least two different transmittal message types, including a Short Message Service (SMS) transmittal message type and a first non-SMS transmittal message type;

determining, based at least in part on a recipient address associated with a message, whether the first non-SMS transmittal message type can be used to transmit the message to the recipient address;

automatically selecting the first non-SMS transmittal message type to be used for the transmission of the message to the recipient address when it is determined that the first non-SMS transmittal message type can be used; and

automatically selecting the SMS transmittal message type to be used for the transmission of the message to the recipient address when it is determined that the first non-SMS transmittal message type cannot be used.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises:

transmitting the message to the recipient address using the selected transmittal message type.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the determining comprises using a server.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the first non-SMS transmittal message type is transmitted by a communication network path including a wireless local area network.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the determining is further based at least in part upon a user preference.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the at least two different transmittal message types further include a second non-SMS transmittal message type, and wherein the method further comprises:

determining, based at least in part on the recipient address, whether the SMS transmittal message type can be used to transmit the message to the recipient address; and

automatically selecting the second non-SMS transmittal message type to be used for the transmission of the message to the recipient address when it is determined that the first non-SMS transmittal message type cannot be used and that the SMS transmittal message type cannot be used;

wherein the automatically selecting the SMS transmittal message type to be used for the transmission of the message occurs when it is determined that the first non-SMS transmittal message type cannot be used and that the SMS transmittal message type can be used.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the second non-SMS transmittal message type is a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) transmittal message type.