Patent Application
20100222040
The present disclosure relates to the field of communications systems, and, more particularly, to mobile wireless communications systems and related methods.
Mobile communications systems continue to grow in popularity and have become an integral part of both personal and business communications. Mobile telephones allow users to place and receive voice calls most anywhere they travel. Moreover, as mobile telephone technology has increased, so too has the functionality of mobile devices and the different types of devices available to users. For example, many mobile devices now incorporate personal digital assistant (PDA) features such as calendars, address books, task lists, etc. Moreover, such multi-function devices may also allow users to wirelessly send and receive electronic mail (email) messages and access the Internet via a mobile network and/or a wireless local area network (WLAN), for example.
As a result, users continue to spend more time using their mobile devices during the course of a day performing information searches, reading emails, etc., as opposed to early cellular phones that were used only for phones calls. This has resulted in a significant interest from the advertising community in targeting advertisements to mobile devices.
The present description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which various embodiments are shown. However, many different embodiments may be used, and thus the description should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout, and prime notation is used to indicate similar elements or steps in alternative embodiments.
One technical problem addressed by the exemplary embodiments set forth herein is how to include supplemental notification information, such as advertising information, along with menus or application icons on a relatively small mobile device display, yet without having to increase the physical dimensions of the display to accommodate both the menus/icons and the supplemental notification information.
Generally speaking, this and other technical problems are addressed by a wireless communications system which may include a notification (e.g., an advertising) server and at least one mobile wireless communications device. The at least one mobile wireless communications device may include a display, a wireless transceiver, a user input device, and a processor. More particularly, the processor may be for rendering or displaying a plurality of selectable icons on the display, and retrieving notification data (e.g., advertising data) from the notification server via the wireless transceiver. The processor may also be for indicating a selected one of the icons on the display based upon the user input device by displaying notification indicia framing around the selected icon based upon the notification data from the notification server.
In one exemplary embodiment, the notification indicia framing may surround the selected icon. By way of example, the notification indicia framing may include notification text, or may include a corporate logo. Furthermore, the processor is configured to change a position of the displayed notification indicia framing from surrounding one selected icons to surrounding an adjacent selected icon based on user input from the user input device. Moreover, the displayed notification indicia framing may be different for different icons in some embodiments.
In addition, the displayed notification indicia framing may be selected based upon a geographic location of the mobile wireless communications device. Further, the processor may also be for displaying at least one additional icon on the display for which notification indicia framing is not displayed upon selection. Additionally, the notification server may provide the notification data based upon bidding (e.g., advertiser bidding). By way of example, the wireless transceiver may be a cellular transceiver.
A mobile wireless communications device, such as the one described briefly above, is also provided. In addition, a mobile wireless communications method aspect is for use with a notification server and at least one mobile wireless communications device including a display, a wireless transceiver, and a user input device. The method may include rendering a plurality of selectable icons on the display, and retrieving notification data from the notification server via the wireless transceiver. The method may further include indicating a selected one of the icons on the display based upon the user input device by displaying notification indicia framing around the selected icon based upon the notification data from the notification server.
A related computer-readable medium is also provided. The computer-readable medium may have computer-executable instructions for causing a mobile wireless communications device including a display, a wireless transceiver, and a user input device to perform steps including rendering a plurality of selectable icons on the display, retrieving notification data from a notification server via a wireless transceiver, and indicating a selected one of the icons on the display based upon the user input device by displaying notification indicia framing around the selected icon based upon the notification data from the notification server.
Referring initially to
By way of example, the mobile device 31 and wireless communications network 34 may operate in accordance with a cellular, wireless LAN (e.g., 802.11x, Bluetooth, etc.), WiMAX, or satellite, etc., communications format, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. In some embodiments, more than one such wireless communications format may be used in the same device (e.g., cellular, wireless LAN, and Bluetooth). Various types of mobile devices 31 may be used, such as mobile phones, PDAs, laptop computers, wireless-enabled cameras, and wireless-enabled media players, etc., for example.
The mobile device 31 further illustratively includes a display 36, at least one user input device 37, and a processor 38. By way of example, the display 36 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), although other suitable display types may also be used, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Various types of user input devices 37 may be used, such as a track ball, thumb wheel, directional (up, down, left, right, etc.) buttons, and a sensory contact layer for a touch screen display, etc., as will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art. In addition, the processor 38 may be implemented using a combination of hardware and software components, including a microprocessor, memory, etc., for example.
In some embodiments, the system 30 may advantageously be implemented in accordance with the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Mobile Advertising Requirements (see OMA-RD-Mobile-Advertising-V1—0-20080805-C, 2008 Open Mobile Alliance Ltd., Candidate Version 1.0, available at http://www.openmobilealliance.org/Technical/release_program/mobad_v1—0.aspx). In accordance with the OMA MobAd specification, the notification server 35 may be implemented as an advertiser server or Ad Network server, content service provider, etc., that will provide notifications with notification indicia framing to the device 31, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
Referring now additionally to
By way of example, the advertising data may include text, corporate logos, or images, etc., from one or more advertisers (e.g., corporations), along with optional information such as how this information is to be included in the advertising indicia framing 41, the conditions under which the framing is to be displayed (e.g., for which icons), etc. In the illustrated example of
In the exemplary embodiment, the advertising indicia framing 41 illustratively surrounds the selected icon 40a by displaying the repeating logo on four sides of the icon in a rectangular shape. On the left and right sides of the rectangle, the text is illustratively rotated so that the bottom of the letters face inward toward the icon. The text is not rotated on the top or bottom sides so that it is presented in a normal fashion to the user (i.e., the bottom of the letters face the bottom of the display 36). However, different orientations of the framing text may be used in different embodiments.
By way of example, one alternative is that the letters on the sides of the rectangle may be in their normal orientation (i.e., not rotated), but printed vertically from top-to-bottom as opposed to horizontally in left-to-right fashion (i.e., in vertical “crossword puzzle” orientation). It should also be noted that different framing shapes besides rectangles or squares may also be used, such as circle or oval framing, etc., as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Moreover, the framing need not completely surround the selected icon in all embodiments. It should also be noted that other components may be included within the framing 41, such as lines, shadows (such as a shadow box), colors, etc., to further accentuate the given icon 40 and the framing. Moreover, the framing 41 could also flash, change color, be animated (e.g., moving around the icon), etc.
The advertising indicia framing 41 advantageously addresses a problem that advertisers experience in attempting to deliver messages to users of mobile device in an unobtrusive way, yet also in a manner that will attract a user's attention. These two concepts are typically at odds with many current forms of advertising. For example, banner ads in a browser window may take up significant display area, which can be particularly undesirable on relatively small mobile device screens (e.g., PDA screens, smart phone screens, etc.). Moreover, users may learn to avoid paying attention to banner ads since they are typically located at a position on the screen that the user is not focusing on (e.g., the banner is at the top of the screen, whereas the user is focused on the center of the screen).
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the advertising indicia framing 41 advantageously is presented relatively closely around the given icon 40 that the user seeks to click or activate. Thus, the advertising indicia framing 41 around the given icon 40 acts as a target or guide that visually focuses the user's eyes on the given icon, while at the same time also causing the user to notice the advertising text or image included within the framing.
This effect can become even more acute in embodiments where the processor 38 advantageously causes the advertising indicia framing 41 to move between selected icons. For example, from
The advertising indicia included within the advertising indicia framing 41 advantageously needs little or no additional display space than is already consumed by the icons 40 and the padding that would already be included between the icons, which is beneficial in many applications, but particularly so where the mobile device display 36 is relatively small (e.g., as on a cellular phone, PDA, etc.). Yet, the advertisements are also advantageously displayed in a location where the user is forced to visually focus or pay attention, namely around the icon 40 the user desires to select.
It should be noted that in some embodiments the processor 38 may display one or more icons 40 for which advertising indicia framing is not displayed upon selection. That is, not all of the icons 40 need be highlighted with the advertising indicia framing 41 in all embodiments. As seen in
Moreover, in some embodiments the displayed advertising indicia framing 41′ may be different for different icons. Referring to the example of
Referring now to
In accordance with another advantageous aspect, the displayed advertising indicia framing 40 may be selected based upon a geographic location of the mobile device 31. For example, the location of the mobile device 31 may be determined based upon a satellite positioning device (e.g., Global Positioning System (GPS)) or other positioning device (which may or may not be in the same physical form factor as the mobile device 31), by triangulation from cellular network base stations, etc., as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, at Block 66′. Accordingly, the advertising indicia to be used may be selected based upon the proximity of the mobile device 31 to a given advertiser's place of business, such as a restaurant, store, etc. (Block 63′). That is, if the user is traveling toward a location of a sponsoring advertiser, then that advertiser's indicia may be used next, for example. Examples may include when the mobile device 31 is traveling down a road toward a sponsoring restaurant, moving through a mall toward a sponsoring store, etc.
A related computer-readable medium is also provided. The computer-readable medium may have computer-executable instructions or computer-executable modules for causing the mobile wireless communications device 31 to perform steps including displaying the plurality of selectable icons 40a-40f on the display 36, retrieving advertising data from the advertising server 35 via the wireless transceiver 32 and wireless communications network 34, and indicating a selected one of the icons on the display based upon the user input device 37 by displaying advertising indicia framing 41 around the selected icon based upon the advertising, data from the advertising server.
Exemplary components of a mobile wireless communications device 1000 that may be used in accordance with the system 30 are further described in the example below with reference to
The housing 1200 may be elongated vertically, or may take on other sizes and shapes (including clamshell housing structures). The key pad 1400 may include a mode selection key, or other hardware or software for switching between text entry and telephony entry.
In addition to the processing device 1800, other parts of the mobile device 1000 are shown schematically in
Operating system software executed by the processing device 1800 may be stored in a persistent store, such as the flash memory 1160, but may be stored in other types of memory devices, such as a read only memory (ROM) or similar storage element. In addition, system software, specific device applications, or parts thereof, may be temporarily loaded into a volatile store, such as the random access memory (RAM) 1180. Communications signals received by the mobile device may also be stored in the RAM 1180.
The processing device 1800, in addition to its operating system functions, enables execution of software applications 1300A-1300N on the device 1000. A predetermined set of applications that control basic device operations, such as data and voice communications 1300A and 1300B, may be installed on the device 1000 during manufacture. In addition, a personal information manager (PIM) application may be installed during manufacture. The PIM may be capable of organizing and managing data items, such as e-mail, calendar events, voice mails, appointments, and task items. The PIM application may also be capable of sending and receiving data items via a wireless network 1401. The PIM data items may be seamlessly integrated, synchronized and updated via the wireless network 1401 with the device user's corresponding data items stored or associated with a host computer system.
Communication functions, including data and voice communications, are performed through the communications subsystem 1001, and possibly through the short-range communications subsystem. The communications subsystem 1001 includes a receiver 1500, a transmitter 1520, and one or more antennas 1540 and 1560. In addition, the communications subsystem 1001 also includes a processing module, such as a digital signal processor (DSP) 1580, and local oscillators (140s) 1601. The specific design and implementation of the communications subsystem 1001 is dependent upon the communications network in which the mobile device 1000 is intended to operate. For example, a mobile device 1000 may include a communications subsystem 1001 designed to operate with the Mobitex™, Data TAC™ or General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) mobile data communications networks, and also designed to operate with any of a variety of voice communications networks, such as AMPS, TDMA, CDMA, WCDMA, PCS, GSM, EDGE, etc. Other types of data and voice networks, both separate and integrated, may also be utilized with the mobile device 1000. The mobile device 1000 may also be compliant with other communications standards such as 3GSM, 3G, UMTS, 4G, etc.
Network access requirements vary depending upon the type of communication system. For example, in the Mobitex and DataTAC networks, mobile devices are registered on the network using a unique personal identification number or PIN associated with each device. In GPRS networks, however, network access is associated with a subscriber or user of a device. A GPRS device therefore utilizes a subscriber identity module, commonly referred to as a SIM card, in order to operate on a GPRS network.
When required network registration or activation procedures have been completed, the mobile device 1000 may send and receive communications signals over the communication network 1401. Signals received from the communications network 1401 by the antenna 1540 are routed to the receiver 1500, which provides for signal amplification, frequency down conversion, filtering, channel selection, etc., and may also provide analog to digital conversion. Analog-to-digital conversion of the received signal allows the DSP 1580 to perform more complex communications functions, such as demodulation and decoding. In a similar manner, signals to be transmitted to the network 1401 are processed (e.g. modulated and encoded) by the DSP 1580 and are then provided to the transmitter 1520 for digital to analog conversion, frequency up conversion, filtering, amplification and transmission to the communication network 1401 (or networks) via the antenna 1560.
In addition to processing communications signals, the DSP 1580 provides for control of the receiver 1500 and the transmitter 1520. For example, gains applied to communications signals in the receiver 1500 and transmitter 1520 may be adaptively controlled through automatic gain control algorithms implemented in the DSP 1580.
In a data communications mode, a received signal, such as a text message or web page download, is processed by the communications subsystem 1001 and is input to the processing device 1800. The received signal is then further processed by the processing device 1800 for an output to the display 1600, or alternatively to some other auxiliary I/O device 1060. A device user may also compose data items, such as e-mail messages, using the key pad 1400 and/or some other auxiliary I/O device 1060, such as a touchpad, a rocker switch, a thumb-wheel, track ball, or some other type of input device. The composed data items may then be transmitted over the communications network 1401 via the communications subsystem 1001.
In a voice communications mode, overall operation of the device is substantially similar to the data communications mode, except that received signals are output to a speaker 1100, and signals for transmission are generated by a microphone 1120. Alternative voice or audio I/O subsystems, such as a voice message recording subsystem, may also be implemented on the device 1000. In addition, the display 1600 may also be utilized in voice communications mode, for example to display the identity of a calling party, the duration of a voice call, or other voice call related information.
The short-range communications subsystem enables communication between the mobile device 1000 and other proximate systems or devices, which need not necessarily be similar devices. For example, the short-range communications subsystem may include an infrared device and associated circuits and components, or a Bluetooth™ communications module to provide for communication with similarly-enabled systems and devices.
Many modifications and other embodiments will come to the mind of one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is understood that various modifications and embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09153877.7 | Feb 2009 | EP | regional |
