DIRECT ACCESS ELECTRONIC MAIL (EMAIL) DISTRIBUTION AND SYNCHRONIZATION SYSTEM WITH PROVISION FOR PRE-CONFIGURED SERVICE OFFERINGS

• US 20080256179A1
• Filed: 04/11/2008
• Published: 10/16/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: TeamOn Systems Incorporated (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Gardner, Darren L., GORTY, Suryanarayana Murthy
• Granted Patent: US 9,118,506 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication

Abstract

A communications system includes a network engine that communicates with a plurality of unsubscribed mobile wireless communications devices using a communications network for sending and receiving emails therefrom. A direct access server is operative with the network engine for polling electronic mailboxes of users and retrieving email from the electronic mailboxes and pushing any email through the network engine to selected user subscribed mobile wireless communications devices. This direct access server is operative for providing at least one pre-configured service offering to a user that is linked to mail-access parameters when a user configures their respective electronic mailbox.

Claims

1. A communications system, comprising:

a network engine that communicates with a plurality of user subscribed mobile wireless communications devices via a communications network for sending and receiving emails therefrom; and

a direct access server operative with the network engine for polling electronic mailboxes of users and retrieving email from the electronic mailboxes and pushing any email through the network engine to selected user subscribed mobile wireless communications devices, wherein said direct access server is operative for providing at least one pre-configured service offering to a user that is linked to mail-access parameters when a user configures their respective electronic mailbox.

2. The communications system according to claim 1, wherein said mail-access parameters comprise a mail-access configuration including one of a mail server, mail protocol and communications port.

3. The communications system according to claim 1, wherein said mail-access parameters comprise an email address of a user.

4. The communications system according to claim 1, wherein said mail-access parameters comprise a user name and password.

5. The communications system according to claim 1, wherein a user to which the pre-configured service offering has been provided has an option of accepting or rejecting the pre-configured service offering.

6. The communications system according to claim 1, wherein said direct access server is operative for automatically providing the at least one pre-configured service offering to the user.

7. The communications system according to claim 1, wherein said at least one pre-configured service offering comprises a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service.

8. The communications system according to claim 1, wherein said at least one pre-configured service offering comprises an address book synchronization service.

9. The communications system according to claim 1, wherein said at least one pre-configured service offering comprises a mail-notification service.

10. The communications system according to claim 1, wherein said at least one pre-configured service offering comprises a financial service.

11. A communications system, comprising:

a network engine that communicates with a plurality of user subscribed mobile wireless communications devices via a communications network for sending and receiving emails therefrom; and

a direct access server including a proxy and SOAP module operative with the network engine for polling electronic mailboxes of users and retrieving email from the electronic mailboxes and pushing any email through the network engine to selected user subscribed mobile wireless communications devices, wherein said direct access server is operative for providing a pre-configured service offering including a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service to a user that is linked to mail-access parameters when a user configures their respective electronic mailbox.

12. The communications system according to claim 11, and further comprising a SMTP mail server and a database for storing data relating to the SMTP mail server wherein said SOAP module is operative for querying, updating and modifying data within the database.

13. The communications system according to claim 11, wherein said mail-access parameters comprise a mail-access configuration including one of a mail server, mail protocol and communications port.

14. The communications system according to claim 11, wherein said mail-access parameters comprise an email address of a user.

15. The communications system according to claim 11, wherein said mail-access parameters comprise a user name and password.

16. A communications method, comprising:

providing a direct access server that polls electronic mailboxes of users at an email source, retrieves email from the electronic mailboxes, and pushes any email through a communications network to selected user subscribed mobile wireless communications devices; and

providing any pre-configured service offering to a user that is linked to mail-access parameters when a user configures their respective electronic mailbox.

17. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises providing mail-access parameters comprising one of a mail server, mail protocol and communications port.

18. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises providing mail-access parameters comprising an email address of a user.

19. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises providing mail-access parameters comprising a user name and password.

20. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises the user accepting or rejecting the pre-configured service offering.

21. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises providing a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service.

22. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises providing an address book synchronization service.

23. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises providing a mail-notification service.

24. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises filtering the linked services by criteria such as mail-domain or specific mobile-carriers.

25. The method according to claim 16, which further comprises pre-configuring the mail access parameters using configurations that had been generated for accessing the electronic mailbox of the user.