Content-based navigation and launching on mobile devices

• US 20070083906A1
• Filed: 09/23/2005
• Published: 04/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Welingkar, Bharat
• Granted Patent: US 7,783,993 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/110
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4126 The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8173 End-user applications, e.g. Web browser, game
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02

Abstract

Techniques are disclosed for a content-based navigation and launching for portable computing devices such as PDAs and smart phones. A content navigator and launcher allows a user to personalize content groupings. The techniques can run on top of any OS file system that has a mechanism to associate files with their creating applications. Personalization of the content-based navigation and launching scheme can be set-up on the user'"'"'s work station, and then transmitted and synchronized with a target mobile device. A central server can be used to carry out content harvesting and/or configuring the personalization scheme. The content and/or personalization scheme can then be pushed on to the mobile device (e.g., via a GSM network or other suitable communication link). APIs can be used by application vendors to register the content types of their own choice. A preferences utility allows users to manage the content types and associations.

Claims

1. A portable computing device configured for content-based navigation and launching on a portable computing device, comprising:

a processor for executing one or more sets of instructions to carry out desired functionality of the portable computing device; and

a content navigator module executable by the processor, and for allowing a user to customize a content-based launching pad, whereupon unrelated types of digital content files are grouped into user-created categories, thereby enabling content-based navigation and launching on the portable computing device.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein each category of the content-based launching pad includes one or more hyperlink descriptions of content, and the user can select a particular hyperlink description of digital content to launch an application associated with that content.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the unrelated types of digital content files are grouped into user-created categories without the content files having any knowledge of an operating system by which they are categorized.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the portable computing device is one of a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, or a smart phone.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the portable computing device is a hand-held mobile device configured to communicate by a wireless network.

6. The device of claim 1 further comprising a database of choices and preferences relative to a personalized content-based navigation and launching scheme of the user.

7. The device of claim 1 further comprising at least one of a generic document viewer, an application, a media player, a browser, and a reader.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein the customized content-based launching pad is setup by the user on a host computing device and then synchronized to the portable computing device.

9. A server configured for content-based navigation and launching on portable computing device, comprising:

a processor for executing one or more sets of instructions to carry out desired functionality of the server; and

a content personalization engine executable by the processor, and for allowing a user to subscribe desired digital content for downloading to a portable computing device via a wireless network;

wherein the content personalization engine operates in conjunction with a content navigator module of the portable computing device to allow a user to customize a content-based launching pad, whereupon unrelated types of digital content files are grouped into user-created categories, thereby enabling content-based navigation and launching on the portable computing device.

10. The server of claim 9 wherein the customized content-based launching pad is setup by the user on a host computing device communicatively coupled with the server, and then synchronized to the portable computing device.

11. The server of claim 9 further comprising a content production engine for harvesting targeted online digital content.

12. The server of claim 11 wherein the content production engine queues various digital content for users that have subscribed it via personal choices, as noted in the content personalization engine.

13. A system configured for content-based navigation and launching on a portable computing device, comprising:

a portable computing device configured with a content navigator module for allowing a user to customize a content-based launching pad, whereupon unrelated types of digital content files are grouped into user-created categories, thereby enabling content-based navigation and launching on the portable computing device; and

a server configured with a content personalization engine that operates in conjunction with the content navigator module, for allowing a user to subscribe desired digital content for downloading to the portable computing device via a wireless network.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein each category of the content-based launching pad includes one or more hyperlink descriptions of content, and the user can select a particular hyperlink description of digital content to launch an application associated with that content.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein the unrelated types of digital content files are grouped into user-created categories without the content files having any knowledge of an operating system by which they are categorized.

16. The system of claim 13 wherein the portable computing device is one of a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, or a smart phone.

17. The system of claim 13 wherein the portable computing device further includes a database of choices and preferences relative to a personalized content-based navigation and launching scheme of the user.

18. The system of claim 13 wherein the customized content-based launching pad is setup by the user on a host computing device communicatively coupled with the server, and then synchronized to the portable computing device.

19. The system of claim 13 wherein the server further includes a content production engine for harvesting targeted online digital content.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the content production engine queues various digital content for users that have subscribed it via personal choices, as noted in the content personalization engine.