Caching advertising information in a mobile terminal to enhance remote synchronization and wireless internet browsing

• US 6,826,614 B1
• Filed: 05/04/2001
• Issued: 11/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Western Digital Technologies Incorporated (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Western Digital Ventures Incorporated (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Hanmann, Jonathan Lee, Sareem, Anil, Smith, Kenneth J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Meky, Moustafa M.
• Application Number:
  US09/848,797
• Time in Patent Office: 1,306 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200, 709/201, 709/203, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/220, 709/224, 709/227, 709/229
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching

Abstract

A method and apparatus are disclosed for transmitting advertising information comprising a plurality of banner ads to a mobile terminal over a first connection during a synchronization session and storing the advertising information in a local memory of the mobile terminal. A web page is transmitted to the mobile terminal over a second connection, wherein the web page comprises web page content including a banner ad display area for displaying a banner ad. During a first time interval, a first one of the banner ads is retrieved from the local memory and the web page content is displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal together with the first one of the banner ads in the banner ad display area. During a second time interval, a second one of the banner ads is retrieved from the local memory and the web page content is displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal together with the second one of the banner ads in the banner ad display area.

Claims

1. A method of operating a mobile terminal comprising a local memory and a screen, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) during a synchronization session, receiving advertising information comprising a plurality of banner ads over a first connection and storing the advertising information in the local memory of the mobile terminal;

(b) receiving a web page over a second connection, wherein the web page comprises web page content including a banner ad display area for displaying a banner ad;

(c) during a first time interval, retrieving a first one of the banner ads from the local memory and displaying the web page content on the screen of the mobile terminal together with the first one of the banner ads in the banner ad display area; and

(d) during a second time interval retrieving a second one of the banner ads from the local memory and displaying the web page content on the screen of the mobile terminal together with the second one of the banner ads in the banner ad display area.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein:

(a) the first connection operates at a first bandwidth;

(b) the second connection operates at a second bandwidth; and

(c) the first bandwidth is substantially greater than the second bandwidth.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein:

(a) the first connection comprises a wired connection; and

(b) the second connection comprises a wireless connection.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the advertising information comprises advertising display criteria for displaying the advertising information within the web page content.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the advertising display criteria comprises a location within the web page content to display the advertising information.

6. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the advertising display criteria comprises a selection criteria for selecting one of the banner ads from the local memory.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the web page further comprises advertising display criteria for displaying the advertising information within the web page content.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the advertising display criteria comprises a location within the web page content to display the advertising information.

9. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the advertising display criteria comprises a selection criteria for selecting one of the banner ads from the local memory.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the banner ads are displayed with the web page content in a predetermined rotation.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the banner ads are rotated each time the web page content is redisplayed.

12. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the banner ads are rotated at a predetermined interval while displaying the web page content.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein:

(a) a type indicator is associated with each banner ad; and

(b) the type indicator is used to select a banner ad from the local memory for display with the web page content.

14. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein during the synchronization session personal information management (PIM) data is transmitted to the remote terminal.

15. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the web page is transmitted to the mobile terminal over the second connection during a subsequent synchronization session.

16. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the web page is transmitted to the mobile terminal over the second connection during a browsing session.

17. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(a) evaluating the inventory of advertising information stored in the local memory of the mobile terminal; and

(b) selectively transmitting updated advertising information to the mobile terminal relative to the inventory of advertising information stored in the local memory of the mobile terminal.

18. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the updated advertising information displaces outdated advertising information stored on the mobile terminal.

19. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(a) storing in the local memory of the mobile terminal tracking information identifying the advertising information retrieved from the local memory and displayed with the web page content; and

(b) transmitting the tracking information from the mobile terminal to a target computer.

20. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein the tracking information further comprises click-through data indicating a click-through rate for the advertising information displayed with the web page content.

21. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein:

(a) the advertising information comprises linked web pages, and

(b) during the synchronization session, the linked web pages are transmitted to the mobile terminal over the first connection and stored in the local memory.

22. A mobile terminal for communicating with a target computer, the mobile terminal comprising:

(a) a local memory for storing advertising information comprising a plurality of banner ads received from the target computer over a first connection during a synchronization session;

(b) a screen; and

(c) a terminal controller for;

receiving a web page over a second connection, wherein the web page comprises web page content including a banner ad display area for displaying a banner ad;

during a first time interval, retrieving a first one of the banner ads from the local memory and displaying the web page content on the screen of the mobile terminal together with the first one of the banner ads in the banner ad display area; and

during a second time interval, retrieving a second one of the banner ads from the local memory and displaying the web page content on the screen of the mobile terminal together with the second one of the banner ads in the banner ad display area.

23. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 22, wherein:

(a) the first connection operates at a first bandwidth;

(b) the second connection operates at a second bandwidth; and

(c) the first bandwidth is substantially greater than the second bandwidth.

24. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 23, wherein:

(c) the first connection comprises a wired connection; and

(d) the second connection comprises a wireless connection.

25. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 22, wherein the advertising information comprises advertising display criteria for displaying the advertising information within the web page content.

26. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 25, wherein the advertising display criteria comprises a location within the web page content to display the advertising information.

27. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 25, wherein the advertising display criteria comprises a selection criteria for selecting one of the banner ads from the local memory.

28. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 22, wherein the web page further comprises advertising display criteria for displaying the advertising information within the web page content.

29. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 28, wherein the advertising display criteria comprises a location within the web page content to display the advertising information.

30. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 28, wherein the advertising display criteria comprises a selection criteria for selecting one of the banner ads from the local memory.

31. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 22, wherein the banner ads are displayed with the web page content in a predetermined rotation.

32. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 31, wherein the banner ads are rotated each time the web page content is redisplayed.

33. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 31, wherein the banner ads are rotated at a predetermined interval while displaying the web page content.

34. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 22, wherein:

(c) a type indicator is associated with each banner ad; and

(d) the type indicator is used to select a banner ad from the local memory for display with the web page content.

35. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 22, wherein during the synchronization session the mobile terminal receives personal information management (PIM) data from the target computer over the first connection.

36. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 22, wherein the web page is transmitted to the mobile terminal over the second connection during a subsequent synchronization session.

37. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 22, wherein the web page is transmitted to the mobile terminal over the second connection during a browsing session.

38. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 22, wherein:

(a) during the synchronization session the inventory of advertising information stored in the local memory of the mobile terminal is evaluated; and

(b) updated advertising information is selectively transmitted to the mobile terminal relative to the inventory of advertising information stored in the local memory of the mobile terminal.

39. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 38, wherein the updated advertising information displaces outdated advertising information stored on the mobile terminal.

40. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 22, wherein the terminal controller for:

(a) storing in the local memory of the mobile terminal tracking information identifying the advertising information retrieved from the local memory and displayed with the web page content; and

(b) transmitting the tracking information from the mobile terminal to a target computer.

41. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 40, wherein the tracking information further comprises click-through data indicating a click-through rate for the advertising information displayed with the web page content.

42. The mobile terminal as recited in claim 22, wherein:

(a) the advertising information comprises linked web pages; and

(b) during the synchronization session, the linked web pages are transmitted to the mobile terminal over the first connection and stored in the local memory.

43. A computer program embodied on a computer readable storage medium for use in a mobile terminal comprising a local memory and a screen, the computer program comprising code segments for:

(a) during a synchronization session, receiving advertising information comprising a plurality of banner ads over a first connection and storing the advertising information in the local memory of the mobile terminal;

(b) receiving a web page over a second connection, wherein the web page comprises web page content including a banner ad display area for displaying a banner ad;

(c) during a first time interval, retrieving a first one of the banner ads from the local memory and displaying the web page content on the screen of the mobile terminal together with the first one of the banner ads in the banner ad display area; and

(d) during a second time interval, retrieving a second one of the banner ads from the local memory and displaying the web page content on the screen of the mobile terminal together with the second one of the banner ads in the banner ad display area.

44. The computer program as recited in claim 43, wherein:

(a) the first connection operates at a first bandwidth;

(b) the second connection operates at a second bandwidth; and

(c) the first bandwidth is substantially greater than the second bandwidth.

45. The computer program as recited in claim 44, wherein:

(a) the first connection comprises a wired connection; and

(b) the second connection comprises a wireless connection.

46. The computer program as recited in claim 43, wherein the advertising information comprises advertising display criteria for displaying the advertising information within the web page content.

47. The computer program as recited in claim 46, wherein the advertising display criteria comprises a location within the web page content to display the advertising information.

48. The computer program as recited in claim 46, wherein the advertising display criteria comprises a selection criteria for selecting one of the banner ads from the local memory.

49. The computer program as recited in claim 43, wherein the web page further comprises advertising display criteria for displaying the advertising information within the web page content.

50. The computer program as recited in claim 49, wherein the advertising display criteria comprises a location within the web page content to display the advertising information.

51. The computer program as recited in claim 49, wherein the advertising display criteria comprises a selection criteria for selecting one of the banner ads from the local memory.

52. The computer program as recited in claim 43, wherein the banner ads are displayed with the web page content in a predetermined rotation.

53. The computer program as recited in claim 52, wherein the banner ads are rotated each time the web page content is redisplayed.

54. The computer program as recited in claim 52, wherein the banner ads are rotated at a predetermined interval while displaying the web page content.

55. The computer program as recited in claim 43, wherein:

(a) a type indicator is associated with each banner ad; and

(b) the type indicator is used to select a banner ad from the local memory for display with the web page content.

56. The computer program as recited in claim 43, wherein during the synchronization session personal information management (PIM) data is transmitted to the remote terminal.

57. The computer program as recited in claim 43, wherein the web page is transmitted to the mobile terminal over the second connection during a subsequent synchronization session.

58. The computer program as recited in claim 43, wherein the web page is transmitted to the mobile terminal over the second connection during a browsing session.

59. The computer program as recited in claim 43, further comprising code segments for:

(a) evaluating the inventory of advertising information stored in the local memory of the mobile terminal; and

(b) selectively transmitting updated advertising information to the mobile terminal relative to the inventory of advertising information stored in the local memory of the mobile terminal.

60. The computer program as recited in claim 59, wherein the updated advertising information displaces outdated advertising information stored on the mobile terminal.

61. The computer program as recited in claim 43, further comprising code segments for:

(a) storing in the local memory of the mobile terminal tracking information identifying the advertising information retrieved from the local memory and displayed with the web page content; and

(b) transmitting the tracking information from the mobile terminal to a target computer.

62. The computer program as recited in claim 61, wherein the tracking information further comprises click-through data indicating a click-through rate for the advertising information displayed with the web page content.

63. The computer program as recited in claim 43, wherein:

(a) the advertising information comprises linked web pages; and

(b) during the synchronization session, the linked web pages are transmitted to the mobile terminal over the first connection and stored in the local memory.

64. A method of transmitting data to a mobile terminal, the mobile terminal comprising a local memory and a screen, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) during a synchronization session, transmitting advertising information comprising a plurality of banner ads to the mobile terminal over a first connection, wherein the local memory of the mobile terminal is for storing the advertising information; and

(b) transmitting a web page to the mobile terminal over a second connection, wherein;

the web page comprises web page content including a banner ad display area;

the screen of the mobile terminal is for displaying the web page content; and

the banner ad display area is for displaying a first one of the banner ads retrieved from the local memory of the mobile terminal during a first time interval and for displaying a second one of the banner ads retrieved from the local memory of the mobile terminal during a second time interval.

65. A computer program embodied on a computer readable storage medium for transmitting data to a mobile terminal, the mobile terminal comprising a local memory and a screen, the computer program comprising code segments for:

(a) during a synchronization session, transmitting advertising information comprising a plurality of banner ads to the mobile terminal over a first connection, wherein the local memory of the mobile terminal is for storing the advertising information; and

(b) transmitting a web page to the mobile terminal over a second connection, wherein;

the web page comprises web page content including a banner ad display area;

the screen of the mobile terminal is for displaying the web page content; and

the banner ad display area is for displaying a first one of the banner ads retrieved from the local memory of the mobile terminal during a first time interval and for displaying a second one of the banner ads retrieved from the local memory of the mobile terminal during a second time interval.