Location-aware mobile device

• US 9,066,199 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2008
• Issued: 06/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Forstall, Scott, Christie, Gregory N., Borchers, Robert E., Chaudhri, Imran A., Mahowald, Peter Henry
• Primary Examiner(s): Prez-Gutirrez, Rafael
• Assistant Examiner(s): SCHWARTZ, JOSHUA L
• Application Number:
  US12/163,858
• Publication Number:
  US 20090005080A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,552 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561-4566
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2477 for selecting a function from a menu display H04M1/2474 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 using location based information parameters
• 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 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination

Abstract

One or more location-based clients can be activated on a mobile device for providing location-based services. The location-based clients can be provided with information (e.g., presets, defaults) related to the current location and/or mode of the mobile device. The information can be obtained from one or more network resources. In some implementations, a number of location-based clients can run concurrently on the mobile device and share information.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

activating a first location-based client and a second location-based client for execution on a mobile device;

determining a location of the mobile device;

controlling the first and second location-based clients to concurrently display a first user interface of the first location-based client and a second user interface of the second location based client respectively;

controlling the first location-based client to display, on the first user interface of the first location-based client, visual indications associated with the determined location of the mobile device;

receiving, through the first user interface of the first location-based client, first user input selecting a first visual indication;

in response to receiving the first user input, transmitting, via a network connection, information corresponding to the selected first visual indication to a network resource;

receiving, from the network resource, information that is based on the selected first visual indication, wherein the information includes content corresponding to the first and second location-based clients; and

in response to receiving the information from the network resource;

controlling the first location-based client to update the first user interface of the first location-based client to display first content corresponding to the first location-based client that is included in the received information,

forwarding, to the second location-based client, second content corresponding to the second location-based client that is included in the received information, and

controlling the second location-based client to update the second user interface of the second location-based client to display second content corresponding to the second location-based client that is included in the received information,

wherein the first content is displayed in the first user interface concurrently with displaying the second content in the second user interface, and wherein the format of the first content is different from the format of the second content.

2. The method of claim 1, where the first location-based client or the second location-based client includes one of:

a city or travel guide client, a currency converter client, a radio client, a world clock client, a golf helper client, a directory client, a tidal watch client, a weather client, a movie/television client or a map client.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second user interface associated with the second location-based client is changed using the information received at the first location-based client.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second location-based client on the mobile device is a radio client, and wherein the information received at the first location-based client on the mobile device is used to preset local radio stations in the radio client on the mobile device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second location-based client is a phonebook client, and wherein the information received at the first location-based client is used to provide local listings in the phonebook client.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the second location-based client is a weather client, and wherein the information received at the first location-based client is used to provide local weather conditions in the weather client.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling the first location-based client to display visual indications associated with the determined location of the mobile device comprises controlling the first location-based client to display a map on the first user interface of the first location-based client, the map including a placemark indicating the determined location of the mobile device, the method further comprising:

receiving a second user input selecting the placemark;

in response to receiving the second user input selecting the placemark, presenting, on the first user interface, an input field for entering new information corresponding to the first visual indication;

receiving, through the first user interface, a third user input entering new information corresponding to the first visual indication; and

transmitting, via a network connection, the entered new information corresponding to the selected first visual indication to the network resource.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling the first location-based client to display visual indications associated with the determined location of the mobile device comprises:

controlling the first location-based client to display information about a landmark associated with the determined location of the mobile device, including a placemark indicating the determined location of the mobile device overlaid on the displayed information about the landmark.

9. The method of claim 1, where at least one of the first user interface or the second user interface is associated with a city guide client, including a number of tour guides that can be selected by a user of the mobile device.

10. The method of claim 9, where the tour guides include at least one of a video tour guide, an audio tour guide, a slide tour guide, and a text tour guide.

11. The method of claim 1, comprising:

presenting at least one of the first user interface or the second user interface on a touch-sensitive display of the mobile device.

12. The method of claim 11, comprising:

modifying attributes or properties of at least one of the first user interface or the second user interface using the received information.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

presenting a map using one of the first user interface or the second user interface on the touch-sensitive display, the map including markers corresponding to businesses, services or attractions at a current location of the mobile device.

14. The method of claim 11, where the touch-sensitive display is a multi-touch-sensitive display that is configured for processing multiple simultaneous touch points.

15. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable medium coupled to the processor and having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

activating a first location-based client and a second location-based client for execution on a mobile device;

determining a location of the mobile device;

controlling the first and second location-based clients to concurrently display a first user interface of the first location-based client and a second user interface of the second location based client respectively;

controlling the first location-based client to display, on the first user interface of the first location-based client, visual indications associated with the determined location of the mobile device;

receiving, through the first user interface of the first location-based client, first user input selecting a first visual indication;

in response to receiving the first user input, transmitting, via a network connection, information corresponding to the selected first visual indication to a network resource;

receiving, from the network resource, information that is based on the selected first visual indication, wherein the information includes content corresponding to the first and second location-based clients; and

in response to receiving the information from the network resource;

controlling the first location-based client to update the first user interface of the first location-based client to display first content corresponding to the first location-based client that is included in the received information,

forwarding, to the second location-based client, second content corresponding to the second location-based client that is included in the received information, and

controlling the second location-based client to update the second user interface of the second location-based client to display second content corresponding to the second location-based client that is included in the received information,

wherein the first content is displayed in the first user interface concurrently with displaying the second content in the second user interface, and wherein the format of the first content is different from the format of the second content.

16. The system of claim 15, where the first location-based client or the second location-based client includes one of:

a city or tour guide client, a currency converter client, a radio client, a world clock client, a golf helper client, a directory client, a tidal watch client, a weather client, a movie/television client or a map client.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein controlling the first location-based client to display visual indications associated with the determined location of the mobile device comprises controlling the first location-based client to display a map on the first user interface of the first location-based client, the map including a placemark indicating the determined location of the mobile device, where the instructions cause the processor to perform operations further comprising:

receiving a second user input selecting the placemark;

in response to receiving the second user input selecting the placemark, presenting, on the first user interface, an input field for entering new information corresponding to the first visual indication;

receiving, through the first user interface, a third user input entering new information corresponding to the first visual indication; and

transmitting, via a network connection, the entered new information corresponding to the selected first visual indication to the network resource.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein controlling the first location-based client to display visual indications associated with the determined location of the mobile device comprises:

controlling the first location-based client to display information about a landmark associated with the determined location of the mobile device, including a placemark indicating the determined location of the mobile device overlaid on the displayed information about the landmark.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the second user interface associated with the second location-based client is changed using the information received at the first location-based client.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the second location-based client on the mobile device is a radio client, and wherein the information received at the first location-based client on the mobile device is used to preset local radio stations in the radio client on the mobile device.

21. The system of claim 15, wherein the second location-based client is a weather client, and wherein the information received at the first location-based client is used to provide local weather conditions in the weather client.

22. The system of claim 15, where at least one of the first user interface or the second user interface is associated with a city guide client, including a number of tour guides that can be selected by a user of the mobile device.

23. The system of claim 22, where the tour guides include at least one of a video tour guide, an audio tour guide, a slide tour guide and a text tour guide.

24. The system of claim 15, where the instructions cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

presenting at least one of the first user interface or the second user interface on a touch-sensitive display of the mobile device.

25. The system of claim 24, where the instructions cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

modifying attributes or properties of at least one of the first user interface or the second user interface using the received information.

26. The system of claim 24, where the instructions cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

presenting a map using one of the first user interface or the second user interface on the touch-sensitive display, the map including markers corresponding to businesses, services or attractions at a current location of the mobile device.

27. The system of claim 24, where the touch-sensitive display is a multi-touch-sensitive display that is configured for processing multiple simultaneous touch points.

28. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

activating a first location-based client and a second location-based client for execution on a mobile device;

determining a location of the mobile device;

controlling the first and second location-based clients to concurrently display a first user interface of the first location-based client and a second user interface of the second location based client respectively;

controlling the first location-based client to display, on the first user interface of the first location-based client, visual indications associated with the determined location of the mobile device;

receiving, through the first user interface of the first location-based client, first user input selecting a first visual indication;

in response to receiving the first user input, transmitting, via a network connection, information corresponding to the selected first visual indication to a network resource;

receiving, from the network resource, information that is based on the selected first visual indication, wherein the information includes content corresponding to the first and second location-based clients; and

in response to receiving the information from the network resource;

controlling the first location-based client to update the first user interface of the first location-based client to display first content corresponding to the first location-based client that is included in the received information,

forwarding, to the second location-based client, second content corresponding to the second location-based client that is included in the received information, and

controlling the second location-based client to update the second user interface of the second location-based client to display second content corresponding to the second location-based client that is included in the received information,

wherein the first content is displayed in the first user interface concurrently with displaying the second content in the second user interface, and wherein the format of the first content is different from the format of the second content.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein controlling the first location-based client to display visual indications associated with the determined location of the mobile device comprises controlling the first location-based client to display a map on the user interface of the first location-based client, the map including a placemark indicating the determined location of the mobile device, where the instructions cause the processor to perform operations further comprising:

receiving a second user input selecting the placemark;

in response to receiving the second user input selecting the placemark, presenting, on the first user interface, an input field for entering new information corresponding to the first visual indication;

receiving, through the first user interface, a third user input entering new information corresponding to the first visual indication; and

transmitting, via a network connection, the entered new information corresponding to the selected first visual indication to the network resource.

30. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein controlling the first location-based client to display visual indications associated with the determined location of the mobile device comprises:

controlling the first location-based client to display information about a landmark associated with the determined location of the mobile device, including a placemark indicating the determined location of the mobile device overlaid on the displayed information about the landmark.

31. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the second user interface associated with the second location-based client is changed using the information received at the first location-based client.

32. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the second location-based client on the mobile device is a radio client, and wherein the information received at the first location-based client on the mobile device is used to preset local radio stations in the radio client on the mobile device.

33. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the second location-based client is a weather client, and wherein the information received at the first location-based client is used to provide local weather conditions in the weather client.

34. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, where the instructions cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

presenting at least one of the first user interface or the second user interface on a touch-sensitive display of the mobile device.

35. The computer-readable medium of claim 34, where the instructions cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

presenting a map using one of the first user interface or the second user interface on the touch-sensitive display, the map including markers corresponding to businesses, services or attractions at a current location of the mobile device.

36. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, where at least one of the first user interface or the second user interface is associated with a city guide client, including a number of tour guides that can be selected by a user of the mobile device.

37. The computer-readable medium of claim 36, where the tour guides include at least one of a video tour guide, an audio tour guide, a slide tour guide and a text tour guide.