Patent Application
20080282205
The present invention generally relates to user interface systems for electronic devices, for example mobile devices, personal digital assistant devices or the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a unified launcher user interface system and method for normalizing the applications on an electronic device such as a mobile device by presenting a common set of general appearances, behaviors, etc., for the applications, regardless of the particular environments in which those applications are executed.
A myriad of different applications are continuously developed for electronic devices (e.g. mobile devices) to execute different improved functions and these applications typically operate in multiple different runtime environments. For example, in mobile devices with telephone capability, Windows Mobile™ devices can run Java applications. However, different runtime environments for hard buttons on the mobile device for different applications have their own unique behavior including distinct differences in installing, launching, and deleting, as well as different inherent behaviors such as navigation and mappings. Each application additionally uses a different widget set and all participate to a different degree in system-wide notifications.
A typical mobile device user has to learn each environment to become familiar, recognize and memorize the differences, and deal with each environment's constraints in order to operate applications successfully. Each environment uses different widget sets, according to different policies and user interaction guidelines, and each appear differently to the user. Text input fields on mobile devices can consist of single-line entry or multiple-line entry.
All these differences are time consuming to learn and serve only to confuse a user. Therefore, there is a need for a unified application launcher system and method, which can make the launching of applications in different runtime environments seamless for the user of electronic devices such as mobile devices.
These and other advantages are provided by various embodiments of the present invention that are described here.
The present invention provides a system and method with a unified launcher capability for integrating a plurality of applications in different runtime environments on an electronic device such as a mobile device. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the system and method comprises a user interface including icons representing a plurality of different applications such that the applications are configured to run or operate in separate runtime environments, and wherein the applications are launched from a unified launcher capability within a normalized environment.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
The invention is further described in the detailed description that follows, by reference to the noted drawings by way of non-limiting illustrative embodiments of the invention, in which like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the drawings. As should be understood, however, the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. In the drawings:
In the detailed description that follows, which is for purposes of explanation and illustration only and not limitation, specific details and/or references are set forth, such as particular networks, communication systems, computers, terminals, devices, components, techniques, data and network protocols, software products and systems, operating systems, development interfaces, hardware, etc., in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention.
However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced in other embodiments that depart from these specific details. It should be understood that any well-known networks, communication systems, computers, terminals, devices, components, techniques, data and network protocols, software products and systems, operating systems, development interfaces, and hardware components may be used and description of the details of these are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the present invention.
Electronic devices such as mobile devices can offer many different runtime environments. The present invention here is illustrated in the context of a mobile device, but it should be understood that the user interface systems and methods discussed here can be applied to any device with similar functionalities. For example, a typical mobile device can offer Access Linux Platform (“ALP”), Garnet OS, and Java, each with its own particular behaviors. To make the experience seamless for the mobile device user and to minimize the problems that are pertinent to each runtime environment, the system and method of the present invention with a unified launcher enables users to determine which applications reside on their mobile device.
In accordance with the system and method of the present invention, the launching experience is “normalized” for a user so that the differences in runtime environment for each application are transparent to the user. The system lists all applications in a unified launcher, e.g., ALP native applications, Java applications (but not individual participants in a midlet suite), and Garnet OS (“operating system”) applications. Each application has the same launch experience and the environment displayed is the respective runtime environment.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, further aspects of integration such as managing memory allocation for each runtime environment are optimized. In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, the installation routine for each runtime environment is normalized so that the user experiences similar mechanisms regardless of the runtime environment. In still another aspect of the present invention, the setting of user preferences for each runtime environment is normalized so that the user experiences similar mechanisms regardless of the runtime environment.
A display screen 112 is coupled to the processing unit 102 through a bus 106 and thereby receives input from the processing unit 102 that provides displays on the screen 112. The system of
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It is to be understood that the foregoing illustrative embodiments have been provided merely for the purpose of explanation and are in no way to be construed as limiting of the invention. Words used herein are words of description and illustration, rather than words of limitation. In addition, the advantages and objectives described herein may not be realized by each and every embodiment practicing the present invention. Further, although the invention has been described herein with reference to particular structure, materials and/or embodiments, the invention is not intended to be limited to the particulars disclosed herein. Rather, the invention extends to all functionally equivalent structures, methods and uses, such as are within the scope of the appended claims. Those skilled in the art, having the benefit of the teachings of this specification, may affect numerous modifications thereto and changes may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/888,541 filed on Feb. 6, 2007, entitled “Unified Launcher for Integrating Multiple Disparate Environments on a Mobile Device,” which is herein incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60888541 | Feb 2007 | US |
