System and method for retrofitting a branding framework into a mobile communication device

• US 9,042,877 B1
• Filed: 05/21/2013
• Issued: 05/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Ghoshal, Jagannath, Sumler, John D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lai, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US13/899,566
• Time in Patent Office: 735 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 455/418
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/245 from a network towards a terminal

Abstract

A method for retrofitting a branding framework into a mobile communication device is provided. The Method comprises the mobile communication device wirelessly receiving update instructions. In response to executing the update instructions, reducing the amount of memory in the mobile communication device allocated to a system memory partition. The method further comprises in response to executing the update instructions, reducing the amount of memory allocated to a user memory partition. The method further comprises determining the memory of the mobile communication device to allocate to create a carrier memory partition on the mobile communication device. The method further comprises installing a branding framework application into the system memory partition, wherein the branding framework application is configured to change the mobile communication device from a current brand to a different brand, wherein some information related to the current brand of the mobile communication device is stored in the carrier partition.

Claims

1. A method of retrofitting a branding framework into a mobile communication device, comprising:

determining, by a server executing at least one processor, an amount of memory of the mobile communication device to allocate to creating a carrier memory partition on the mobile communication device, the mobile communication device being associated with a current brand prior to creation of the carrier memory partition;

identifying, by the server, memory of the mobile communication device allocated to a system memory partition of the mobile communication device for reallocating to the carrier memory partition;

creating, by the server, upgrade instructions that, when executed by at least one processor on the mobile communication device,

reduce the amount of memory in the mobile communication device allocated to the system memory partition,

after reducing the amount of memory allocated to the system memory partition, create a carrier memory partition in the mobile communication device at least in part from the reduced amount of memory allocated to the system memory partition, and

install the branding framework application into the system memory partition, wherein the branding framework application is configured to change the mobile communication device from the current brand to a different brand via the carrier partition, and wherein at least some information related to the current brand of the mobile communication device is stored in the carrier partition subsequent to changing the mobile communication device to the different brand; and

wirelessly transmitting the upgrade instructions to the mobile communication device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile communication device is one of a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a media player, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, or a notebook computer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the upgrade instructions are wirelessly transmitted to the mobile communication device using a cellular communication protocol.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the cellular communication protocol is one of a code division multiple access (CDMA) protocol, a global system for mobile communication (GSM) protocol, a long-term evolution (LTE) protocol, or a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) protocol.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the upgrade instructions further reduce the amount of memory in the mobile communication device allocated to a user memory partition and wherein the upgrade instructions further create the carrier memory partition at least in part from the reduced amount of memory allocated to the user system memory partition.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

storing information from a user partition of the mobile communication device; and

after the mobile communication device has completed a rebranding to a different brand, transmitting the information from the user partition to the mobile communication device, whereby the mobile communication device is able to retain without loss the transmitted information from the user partition.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the branding framework is configured to operate upon an open mobile alliance device management (OMA DM) payload transferred to the mobile communication device pursuant to rebranding the mobile communication device.

8. A method of retrofitting a branding framework into a mobile communication device, comprising:

wirelessly receiving, by the mobile communication device executing at least one processor, upgrade instructions associated with the branding framework, wherein the mobile communication device is associated with a current brand prior to creation of a carrier memory partition;

in response to executing the upgrade instructions on the mobile communication device, reducing, on the mobile communication device, the amount of memory in the mobile communication device allocated to a system memory partition;

after reducing the amount of memory allocated to the system memory partition, creating, on the mobile communication device, the carrier memory partition in the mobile communication device at least in part from the reduced amount of memory allocated to the system memory partition; and

installing the branding framework application into the system memory partition on the mobile communication device, wherein the branding framework application is configured to change the mobile communication device from the current brand to a different brand via the carrier partition, wherein the branding framework uses the carrier partition to store branding information related to the current brand and the different brand subsequent to changing the mobile communication device to the different brand.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the system memory partition is reduced by deallocating at least two non-contiguous blocks of memory from the system memory partition, and the carrier memory partition is created at least in part from the at least two non-contiguous blocks of memory deallocated from the system memory partition.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the branding information comprises information drawn from references to application stores, codes for accessing brand supported services, and video animations.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the upgrade instructions are included as part of a maintenance release (MR) package that configures, upon execution by at least one processor, the mobile communication device according to the upgrade instructions.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the mobile communication device is one of a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a media player, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, or a tablet computer.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the upgrade instructions are wirelessly received using one of a code division multiple access (CDMA) wireless communication protocol, a global system for mobile communication (GSM) wireless communication protocol, a long-term evolution (LTE) wireless communication protocol, or a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) wireless communication protocol.

14. A method of retrofitting a branding framework into a mobile communication device, comprising:

wirelessly receiving, by the mobile communication device executing at least one processor, upgrade instructions associated with the branding framework, wherein the mobile communication device is associated with a current brand prior to creation of a carrier memory partition;

in response to executing the upgrade instructions on the mobile communication device;

reducing, on the mobile communication device, the amount of memory in the mobile communication device allocated to a system memory partition;

reducing, on the mobile communication device, the amount of memory in the mobile communication device allocated to a user memory partition;

after reducing the amount of memory allocated to the system memory partition and after reducing the amount of memory allocated to the user memory partition, creating, by the mobile communication device, the carrier memory partition in the mobile communication device from the reduced amount of memory allocated to the system memory partition and from the reduced amount of memory allocated to the user memory partition; and

installing the branding framework application into the system memory partition on the mobile communication device, wherein the branding framework application is configured to change the mobile communication device from the current brand to a different brand via the carrier partition, and wherein at least some information related to the current brand of the mobile communication device is stored in the carrier memory partition subsequent to changing the mobile communication device to the different brand.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the size of the user memory partition is at least 3 times as large as the system memory partition and the system memory partition is at least 3 times as large as the carrier memory partition.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising wirelessly receiving the branding framework application.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the system memory partition is reduced by deallocating at least two non-contiguous blocks of memory from the system memory partition, and the carrier memory partition is created at least in part from the at least two non-contiguous blocks of memory deallocated from the system memory partition.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the user memory partition is reduced by deallocating at least two non-contiguous blocks of memory from the user memory partition, and the carrier memory partition is created at least in part from the at least two non-contiguous blocks of the memory deallocated from the user memory partition.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

copying information stored in the at least two non-contiguous blocks of the memory deallocated from the user memory partition in one of the system memory partition or in a server computer;

after copying the information, performing a system reset of the mobile communication device; and

after performing the system reset of the mobile communication device, copying the information copied into one of the system memory partition or a server computer into the user memory partition.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

receiving, on the mobile communication device, an open mobile alliance device management (OMA DM) payload;

storing, on the mobile communication device, at least some of the OMA DM payload contents in the carrier partition; and

based on the OMA DM payload, rebranding, by the mobile communication device, the mobile communication device from a first branded device to a second branded device, wherein the rebranding is performed by the branding framework application at least in part by retrieving some of the OMA DM payload contents stored in the carrier partition, the first branded device being the mobile communication device using the current brand, and the second branded device being the mobile communication device using the different brand.