Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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EMAIL SYSTEM PROVIDING CONVERSATION UPDATE FEATURES
AND RELATED METHODS
Technical Field
[0001] This application relates to the field of communication
systems, and more particularly, to electronic mail (email)
systems and related methods.
Background
[0002] Electronic mailboxes reside on email servers and are
used to store email messages. Electronic mailboxes are connected
to the Internet to enable users to send and receive incoming and
outgoing email messages. These mailboxes may also be extended to
deliver email to mobile wireless communication devices via
wireless networks. In the case of a corporation, electronic
mailboxes are typically located on email servers at the
corporation. On the other hand, mailboxes for small businesses
or individuals are typically located on Internet service
provider (ISP) email servers.
[0003] Mail user agents (MUAs) are applications which use a
technique called polling to relay messages from the email server
to the mail program at a user's computer or mobile wireless
communications device. A MUA is a program running either on a
user's personal computing device (mobile or stationary), or on a
shared email relay or polling server that checks for new mail on
behalf of a multitude of such users. More particularly, polling
is the retrieval of incoming messages from other users at the
mail server and delivery of these messages to the user's
mailbox. Such systems may also poll for other record types,
including address records, calendar records, etc. MUAs may also
synchronize messages and records between mobile devices and
email servers.
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Brief Description of the Drawings
[0004] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an email system
in accordance with an example embodiment.
[0005] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the email
system of FIG. 1 showing the email synchronization server
thereof in greater detail.
[0006] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating method aspects
associated with the email system of FIG. 1.
[0007] FIGs. 4 and 5 are schematic system flow diagrams
illustrating conversation deletion operations performed by the
email synchronization server of FIG. 1 initiated by conversation
delete commands received from a mobile device and from the email
server, respectively.
[0008] FIG. 6 is a command structure diagram for an example
conversation delete command.
[0009] FIGs. 7 and 8 are schematic system flow diagrams
illustrating conversation status operations performed by the
email synchronization server of FIG. 1 initiated by conversation
status commands received from a mobile device and from the email
server, respectively.
[0010] FIG. 9 is a command structure diagram for an example
conversation status command.
[0011] FIGs. 10 and 11 are schematic system flow diagrams
illustrating conversation category addition operations performed
by the email synchronization server of FIG. 1 initiated by
conversation category addition commands received from a mobile
device and from the email server, respectively.
[0012] FIG. 12 is a command structure diagram for an example
conversation category addition command.
[0013] FIGs. 13 and 14 are schematic system flow diagrams
illustrating conversation category removal operations performed
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by the email synchronization server of FIG. 1 initiated by
conversation category removal commands received from a mobile
device and from the email server, respectively.
[0014] FIG. 15 is a command structure diagram for an example
conversation category removal command.
[0015] FIG. 16 is a schematic block diagram of an alternative
embodiment of the email system of FIG. 1 providing enhanced
conversation and category search features.
[0016] FIGs. 17 and 18 are flow diagrams illustrating method
aspects associated with the email system of FIG. 16.
[0017] FIG. 19 is a block diagram of an example embodiment of
a mobile device that may be used with the system of FIG. 1.
[0018] FIG. 20 is a block diagram of an example embodiment of
a communication subsystem component of the mobile device of FIG.
19.
[0019] FIG. 21 is an example block diagram of a node of a
wireless network.
[0020] FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating components of
a host system in one example configuration for use with the
wireless network of FIG. 21 and the mobile device of FIG. 19.
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Detailed Description
[0021] 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.
[0022] Some email systems support conversations (also known
as threads). A conversation can be defined, for the purpose of
this disclosure, as a grouping of at least two emails related by
at least one attribute. For example, emails in a conversation
could have the same subject name, a same identifier, or
correspond to one or more heuristics. Email systems such as
Google Gmail from and Microsoft Exchange support a view of a
conversation in a user's email box. In example embodiments
disclosed herein, a conversation ID may be used to identify all
of the emails in a particular conversation.
[0023] Some email systems support categories (also known as
labels), such as Gmail's labels. A category can be defined, for
the purpose of this disclosure, as a label (e.g. a text, symbol
or color label) that an email user can apply, to certain
messages in the user's email box, to categorize them. For
example, an email user can apply a "Confidential email" category
to certain emails which he/she wants to categorize as
confidential. In another example, the email user can apply a
"Family messages" category to certain emails which he/she wants
to categorize as family messages. In example embodiments
disclosed herein, a category ID may be used to identify all of
the emails in a particular category.
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[0024] Generally speaking, an electronic mail (email) system
is disclosed herein which may include at least one email server
configured to store email messages in a plurality of mailboxes,
where the email messages are organized into conversations, and a
plurality of mobile wireless communications devices each
configured to store email messages from respective mailboxes.
The system may also include at least one email synchronization
server configured to synchronize email messages between a given
mobile wireless communications device and its respective mailbox
so that the given mobile wireless communications device stores a
subset of email messages from among a full set of email messages
from a given conversation, and to update the full set of email
messages in the given conversation based upon receiving a
conversation update command from the given mobile wireless
communications device. Accordingly, a mobile wireless
communications device may usefully make changes to all of the
emails in a given conversation stored on the at least one email
server, even without knowing all of the messages stored therein.
[0025] By way of example, the conversation update command may
be for deleting the full set of email messages in the given
conversation, marking the full set of email messages in the
given conversation as read, marking the full set of email
messages in the given conversation as unread, etc. The at least
one email synchronization server may be further configured to
update the subset of email messages for the given conversation
in the given mobile wireless communications device based upon an
update to the full set of email messages for the given
conversation.
[0026] In addition, the at least one email synchronization
server may also be configured to organize conversations for a
given mailbox based upon receiving a category update command
from the given mobile wireless communications device, e.g., such
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as adding or deleting categories for a given conversation. The
conversations may be organizable based upon a subject field, a
sender field, etc., for example. Also by way of example, at
least some of the mobile wireless communications devices may
comprise cellular devices.
[0027] A related email synchronization server is also
provided for use with at least one email server and a plurality
of mobile wireless communications devices, such as those
described briefly above. The email synchronization server may
include a mobile device interface module and an email server
interface module coupled together and configured to synchronize
email messages between a given mobile wireless communications
device and its respective mailbox so that the given mobile
wireless communications device stores a subset of email messages
from among a full set of email messages from a given
conversation, and to update the full set of email messages in
the given conversation based upon receiving a conversation
update command from the given mobile wireless communications
device.
[0028] A related email method may include storing email
messages in a plurality of mailboxes on at least one email
server, where the email messages are organized into
conversations, and storing email messages from respective
mailboxes on a plurality of mobile wireless communications
devices. The method may further include using at least one email
synchronization server to synchronize email messages between a
given mobile wireless communications device and its respective
mailbox so that the given mobile wireless communications device
stores a subset of email messages from among a full set of email
messages from a given conversation, and to update the full set
of email messages in the given conversation based upon receiving
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a conversation update command from the given mobile wireless
communications device.
[0029] Referring initially to FIGs. 1 through 3, an email
system 30 illustratively includes one or more email servers 32.
Beginning at Block 50, the email server 32 is configured to
store email messages in a plurality of mailboxes 34 hosted
thereon, at Block 51, as will be appreciated by those skilled in
the art. For example, the email server(s) 32 may be a corporate
or ISP server (e.g., GMail, Yahoo! mail, MSN mail, etc.).
Moreover, the email messages in the mailboxes 34 are organized
into conversations. That is, email message replies are grouped
with their original message, creating a single conversation or
thread, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. This
grouping may be done based upon the sender (or a recipient) of
the replies, or based upon the subject associated with the email
thread, for example. Generally speaking, an email message may be
associated with a single conversation and one or more
categories, but in some embodiments a given email message may be
associated with multiple conversations as well.
[0030] The system 30 further illustratively includes a
plurality of mobile wireless communications devices 36 (also
referred to as "mobile devices" herein) each configured to store
email messages from respective mailboxes 34 and communicate via
a wireless network 38, at Block 52. In the example illustrated
in FIG. 2, the wireless network 38 is a cellular network and the
mobile devices 36 are cellular devices. However, the mobile
devices 36 may instead, or in addition, communicate via other
wireless formats, such as wireless LAN (e.g., 802.11x,
Bluetooth), WiMAX, etc., as will be appreciated by those skilled
in the art.
[0031] In particular, the email messages stored on the mobile
devices 36 may be synchronized with respective mailboxes 34
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hosted on the email server 32 by one or more email
synchronization server(s) 40. As seen in FIG. 2, the email
synchronization server 40 illustratively includes a mobile
device interface module 41 for interfacing with the mobile
devices 36, and an email server interface module 42 coupled to
the mobile device interface module for interfacing with the
email server 32. By way of example, the mobile device and email
server interface modules 41, 42 may be implemented using a
combination of hardware (e.g., processor, memory, etc.) and
software, i.e., computer-executable instructions implemented in
a non-transitory medium.
[0032] The email synchronization server 40 is configured to
synchronize email messages between a given mobile device 36 and
its respective mailbox 34 so that the given mobile device stores
a subset of email messages from among a full set of email
messages from a given conversation, at Block 53. For example,
the email synchronization server 40 may be configured to retain
messages on the mobile devices 36 only for a specified period of
time, such as for fifteen days, one month, two months, etc., to
conserve mobile device memory resources. The specified retention
period may be set from the mobile devices 36, or centrally at
the email synchronization server 40, and may be the same or
different for different mobile devices. Accordingly, if email
messages in a conversation extend over a longer period of time
than the specified retention period, the conversation on the
mailboxes 34 will have more messages than the corresponding
conversation stored on the respective mobile device 36.
[0033] Yet, in some circumstances it may be desirable to
perform an update to an entire conversation from a mobile
devices 36, but the mobile device may not be aware of all of the
email messages in a given conversation in its respective mailbox
34 (i.e., it will not know of all the email messages in the full
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set), and thus would not otherwise be able to instruct the email
synchronization server 40 as to all of the email messages to
which a desired update is to apply. As such, the mobile devices
36 may usefully generate and send to the email synchronization
server 40 conversation update commands. The email
synchronization server 40 updates the full set of email messages
in the given conversation based upon the received conversation
update commands from the mobile device 36, at Blocks 54-55.
Accordingly, a mobile device 36 may usefully make changes to all
of the emails in a given conversation stored on the email server
32, even without knowing all of the email messages stored
therein.
[0034] By way of example, the conversation update command may
be for deleting the full set of email messages in the given
conversation, marking the full set of email messages in the
given conversation as read or unread, etc. As will be discussed
further below, the conversation update command may also be a bi-
directional command, meaning that in some implementations the
email server 32 may generate a command based upon an update to a
conversation in one of the mailboxes (e.g., via a user interface
(UI) over an Internet connection to the email server). In such
case, the email synchronization server 40 may update the subset
of email messages for a given conversation in the respective
mobile wireless communications device based upon the update to
the full set of email messages on the email server 32 and the
conversation update command.
[0035] In some embodiments, however, the email server 32 need
not generate a conversation update command, but the email
synchronization server 40 may instead detect the change to a
conversation in a given mailbox 34 and cause a respective mobile
device 36 to update the subset of email messages accordingly. In
addition, the email synchronization server 40 may also be
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configured to organize conversations for a given mailbox 34
based upon receiving a category update command from the given
mobile wireless communications device, e.g., such as adding or
deleting categories for a given conversation, as will be
discussed further below.
[0036] Turning to FIGs. 4-15, example implementations of
conversation update command flows for different types of update
operations will now be described. For these examples, the email
server 32 is a GMail server, although the operations described
herein apply to other ISP and corporate email servers as well.
[0037] The first example is for a bi-directional conversation
delete command, which allows a mobile device 36 to inform the
email synchronization server 40 to delete an entire conversation
from the respective mailbox 34, or to allow the email server to
inform the email synchronization server to delete a conversation
from the respective mobile device. The first case is illustrated
in FIG. 4, i.e., where the conversation delete command is issued
by a mobile device 36, which may be in the form of a CMIME
command, for example, although other suitable formats may also
be used, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. The
mobile device interface module (DIM) 41 then generates a
corresponding conversation delete command in a common protocol
format for communicating with the email server interface module
(SIM) 42, which in the present example is a WebDAV protocol,
although other suitable protocols may here again be used, as
will also be appreciated by the skilled artisan. The SIM 42 then
cooperates with the Gmail server to perform the conversation
delete operation, and generates a multistatus OK acknowledgement
for the DIM 41.
[0038] As an example, the conversation delete command may be
sent by the mobile device 36 when a user chooses to delete an
entire conversation on the mobile device, and the email
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synchronization server 40 accordingly causes the GMail server to
remove all messages in the corresponding conversation when it
receives this command. For example, if the mobile device 36 only
has a subset of two messages in the conversation, but ten exist
on the Gmail server, rather than deleting the two messages
individually, the user can choose to delete the entire
conversation. The mobile device 36 then sends the conversation
delete command to the email synchronization server 40, which in
turn causes the Gmail server to remove all ten messages, even
though they are not known to the mobile device.
[0039] The opposite sequence is shown in FIG. 5, i.e., in
which a conversation delete command is initiated from the Gmail
server via a GMail UI over the Internet and provided to the SIM
42. This conversation delete command is communicated via HTTP to
the DIM 41, which acknowledges the same via a 200 OK HTTP reply.
The DIM 41 then communicates the conversation delete command
(e.g., in CMIME format) to the respective mobile device 36,
which performs the conversation delete operation. That is, the
mobile device 36 will delete all messages stored thereon that
are part of the given conversation, which may be identified to
the mobile device by a conversation ID, for example. An example
section and structure layout for a CMIME conversation delete
command is shown in FIG. 6, although it will be appreciated that
other command structures may be used in different embodiments.
[0040] A similar command flow sequence for a conversation
read or unread command from the mobile device 36 to the GMail
server, and vice-versa, are respectively shown in FIGs. 7 and 8,
and an example CMIME conversation read or unread update command
61 is shown in FIG. 9. That is, the conversation read or unread
command may be sent to the email synchronization server 40 by
the mobile device 36 when a user chooses to mark an entire
conversation on the mobile device as read or unread. The email
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synchronization server 40 then causes the Gmail server to mark
all messages in the given conversation (i.e., the full set of
messages) as read or unread accordingly when it receives this
command, even if this applies to messages that the mobile device
36 is unaware of, as noted above. Similarly, the conversation
read or unread command may be sent by the Gmail server to the
email synchronization server 40 when the user chooses to mark an
entire conversation read or unread via the Gmail UI. The email
synchronization server 40 accordingly causes the respective
mobile device 36 to mark as read or unread accordingly all
messages on the mobile device that are part of the given
conversation.
[0041] Additional command flow sequences for conversation
category updates are shown in FIGs. 10-15. More particularly,
FIGs. 10-12 pertain to a conversation category addition
operation, and FIGs. 13-15 pertain to a conversation category
removal operation. That is, the conversation category update
command allows the mobile device 36 to update the GMail server
when categories have been added to or removed from one or more
conversations on the mobile device, and to allow the Gmail
server to update the mobile device when categories have been
added to or removed form one or more conversations on the
server. As similarly described above, this command is sent by
the mobile device 36 to the email synchronization server 40 when
a user adds categories to one or more conversations on the
mobile device. Upon receiving this command, the email
synchronization server 40 causes the Gmail server to apply (or
remove) the specified category (or multiple categories) to all
messages in the given conversation.
[0042] This command is sent by the Gmail server to the email
synchronization server 40 when a user adds categories to one or
more conversations via the Gmail UI, for example. The email
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synchronization server 40 then causes the respective mobile
device 36 to apply the specified category (or categories) to all
messages in the given conversation on the mobile device. It
should also be noted that with this command the mobile device 36
and Gmail server may send a batch of add or remove category
updates to a number of different conversations at a same time,
if desired, which is also the case for the conversation delete
and read or unread commands discussed above. The command flow
for the add conversation category command 62 and remove
conversation category command 63 are similar to those described
above with respect to FIGs. 4-9, and therefore do not require
further description herein.
[0043] Referring now additionally to FIGs. 16-18, another
example embodiment of the email system 30' usefully provides
remote searching of email message conversations on mailboxes 34'
from the mobile devices 36'. Generally speaking, a remote search
may be performed to return email messages for only one
conversation, as well as for email messages that have a set of
categories applied. More particularly, beginning at Block 70
(and Block 70'), the email server 32' is configured to store
email messages in the mailboxes 34', at Block 71 (and Block
71'). Furthermore, the email messages in the mailboxes 34' are
organized into different conversations, and the conversations
are in turn organized into different categories. One or more
categories, which may be standardized categories or user-defined
categories, may be associated with a given conversation.
[0044] The mobile devices 36' in the present example are
configured to store email messages from respective mailboxes 34'
also organized into the different conversations and the
different categories, at Block 72 (and Block 72'). Each of the
mobile devices 36' may also associate respective conversation
IDs with the different conversations, and associate respective
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category IDs with the different categories. More particularly,
the mobile devices 36' may use a unique set of IDs for the
conversations and categories, which may not correspond to
conversation and category IDs used by the email server 32'.
Another possibility is that the email server 32' may not use IDs
for referencing categories, etc., but instead simply reference
them by name. As such, this may ordinarily make it difficult to
isolate desired categories for searching on the email server
32', as well as searching across multiple categories, for
example.
[0045] In this regard, the email synchronization server 40'
is not only configured to synchronize email messages between the
mobile wireless communications devices 36' and respective
mailboxes 34', at Block 73 (and Block 73'), but it is also
configured to translate an email search request in the form of
at least one of a conversation ID and a category ID from a given
mobile device 36' to an appropriate format for searching on the
email server 32' (Block 74), and cooperate with the email server
to retrieve email messages based upon the translated email
search request, at Block 75. The method of FIG. 17 is
illustratively concluded at Block 76, although it will be
appreciated that the above-noted operations may continue
indefinitely in actual operation.
[0046] More particularly, the email synchronization server
40' may translate the conversation or category IDs used by the
given mobile device 36' to corresponding conversation or
category IDs used by the email server 32'. The email
synchronization server 40' may also translate the category ID
(or IDs) used by the given mobile device 36' to a corresponding
category name(s) used by the email server 32' (Block 74'). In
this way, the email synchronization server 40' may cooperate
with the email server 32' to return search results for a single
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or multiple conversations. In the case where a mobile device 36'
search request includes a plurality of category IDs to be
searched, the email synchronization server 40' may cooperate
with the email server 32' to search across corresponding
categories based upon the plurality of category IDs, i.e., to
search multiple categories in a single search.
[0047] The searching of messages based upon conversation IDs
and category IDs need not be visible to a mobile device 36'
user. Rather, they may be used in the "background" processing
operations performed by an email application on the mobile
devices 36', which cooperates with the email synchronization
server 40' to initiate the desired searching operations, as will
be appreciated by those skilled in the art. When the email
synchronization server 40' communicates search results to
respective mobile devices 36' (Block 75'), the mobile devices
36' may be configured to usefully group the search results into
pages, at Block 77'. The method of FIG. 18 is illustratively
concluded at Block 76', although it will be appreciated that the
above-noted operations may continue indefinitely in actual
operation.
[0048] With respect to the search commands generated by the
mobile devices 36', a conversation ID may be specified to
constrain the search request to a single conversation or thread
from the given mailbox 34'. Moreover, category IDs may be
specified to constrain the search request to email messages that
have all of the given categories applied in the given mailbox
34'. The-email synchronization server 40' will perform the
translation of category IDs to category names, etc., as
required. Further, if multiple category IDs are specified, this
may be considered by the email synchronization server 40' as a
Boolean AND operation in which all of the category IDs are
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required in the search, although other approaches (e.g., a
Boolean OR operation) may be used in some configurations.
[0049] It should be noted that FIGs. 3 and 17-18 are flow
diagrams illustrating method aspects associated with the systems
of FIGs. 1 and 16, respectively. Some of the steps illustrated
in the flow diagrams may be performed in an order other than
that which is described. Also, it will also be appreciated that
not all of the steps described in the flow diagrams are required
to be performed in all implementations, that additional steps
may be added, and that some of the illustrated steps may be
substituted with other steps.
[0050] Example components of a mobile wireless communications
device that may be used in accordance with an example embodiment
(e.g., the mobile wireless communications devices of FIG. 1) are
further described below with reference to FIGs. 19-22. Generally
speaking, a mobile device may be configured according to an IT
policy. It should be noted that the term IT policy, in general,
refers to a collection of IT policy rules, in which the IT
policy rules can be defined as being either grouped or non-
grouped and global or per-user. The terms grouped, non-grouped,
global and per-user are defined further below. Examples of
applicable communication devices include pagers, cellular
phones, cellular smart-phones, wireless organizers, personal
digital assistants, computers, laptops, handheld wireless
communication devices, wirelessly enabled notebook computers and
the like.
[0051] The mobile device is a two-way communication device
with advanced data communication capabilities including the
capability to communicate with other mobile devices or computer
systems through a network of transceiver stations. The mobile
device may also have the capability to allow voice
communication. Depending on the functionality provided by the
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mobile device, it may be referred to as a data messaging device,
a two-way pager, a cellular telephone with data messaging
capabilities, a wireless Internet appliance, or a data
communication device (with or without telephony capabilities).
To aid the reader in understanding the structure of the mobile
device and how it communicates with other devices and host
systems, reference will now be made to FIGs. 19-22.
[0052] Referring first to FIG. 19, shown therein is a block
diagram of an example embodiment of a mobile device 100. The
mobile device 100 includes a number of components such as a main
processor 102 that controls the overall operation of the mobile
device 100. Communication functions, including data and voice
communications, are performed through a communication subsystem
104. The communication subsystem 104 receives messages from and
sends messages to a wireless network 200. In this example
embodiment of the mobile device 100, the communication subsystem
104 is configured in accordance with the Global System for
Mobile Communication (GSM) and General Packet Radio Services
(GPRS) standards. The GSM/GPRS wireless network is used
worldwide and it is expected that these standards will be
superseded eventually by Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE)
and Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS). New
standards are still being defined, but it is believed that they
will have similarities to the network behavior described herein,
and it will also be understood by persons skilled in the art
that the example embodiments described herein are intended to
use any other suitable standards that are developed in the
future. The wireless link connecting the communication subsystem
104 with the wireless network 200 represents one or more
different Radio Frequency (RF) channels, operating according to
defined protocols specified for GSM/GPRS communications. With
newer network protocols, these channels are capable of
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supporting both circuit switched voice communications and packet
switched data communications.
[0053] Although the wireless network 200 associated with
mobile device 100 is a GSM/GPRS wireless network in one example
implementation, other wireless networks may also be associated
with the mobile device 100 in variant implementations. The
different types of wireless networks that may be employed
include, for example, data-centric wireless networks, voice-
centric wireless networks, and dual-mode networks that can
support both voice and data communications over the same
physical base stations. Combined dual-mode networks include, but
are not limited to, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) or
CDMA2000 networks, GSM/GPRS networks (as mentioned above), and
third-generation (3G) networks like EDGE and UMTS, 4G networks,
etc. Some other examples of data-centric networks include WiFi
802.11, MobitexTM and DataTACTM network communication systems.
Examples of other voice-centric data networks include Personal
Communication Systems (PCS) networks like GSM and Time Division
Multiple Access (TDMA) systems.
[0054] The main processor 102 also interacts with additional
subsystems such as a Random Access Memory (RAM) 106, a flash
memory 108, a display 110, an auxiliary input/output (I/O)
subsystem 112, a data port 114, a keyboard 116, a speaker 118, a
microphone 120, short-range communications 122 and other device
subsystems 124.
[0055] Some of the subsystems of the mobile device 100
perform communication-related functions, whereas other
subsystems may provide "resident" or on-device functions. By way
of example, the display 110 and the keyboard 116 may be used for
both communication-related functions, such as entering a text
message for transmission over the network 200, and device-
resident functions such as a calculator or task list.
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[0056] The mobile device 100 can send and receive
communication signals over the wireless network 200 after
required network registration or activation procedures have been
completed. Network access is associated with a subscriber or
user of the mobile device 100. To identify a subscriber, the
mobile device 100 requires a SIM/RUIM card 126 (i.e., Subscriber
Identity Module or a Removable User Identity Module) to be
inserted into a SIM/RUIM interface 128 in order to communicate
with a network. The SIM card or RUIM 126 is one type of a
conventional "smart card" that can be used to identify a
subscriber of the mobile device 100 and to personalize the
mobile device 100, among other things. Without the SIM card 126,
the mobile device 100 is not fully operational for communication
with the wireless network 200. By inserting the SIM card/RUIM
126 into the SIM/RUIM interface 128, a subscriber can access all
subscribed services. Services may include: web browsing and
messaging such as email, voice mail, Short Message Service
(SMS), and Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS). More advanced
services may include: point of sale, field service and sales
force automation. The SIM card/RUIM 126 includes a processor and
memory for storing information. Once the SIM card/RUIM 126 is
inserted into the SIM/RUIM interface 128, it is coupled to the
main processor 102. In order to identify the subscriber, the SIM
card/RUIM 126 can include some user parameters such as an
International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). An advantage of
using the SIM card/RUIM 126 is that a subscriber is not
necessarily bound by any single physical mobile device. The SIM
card/RUIM 126 may store additional subscriber information for a
mobile device as well, including datebook (or calendar)
information and recent call information. Alternatively, user
identification information can also be programmed into the flash
memory 108.
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[0057] The mobile device 100 is a battery-powered device and
includes a battery interface 132 for receiving one or more
rechargeable batteries 130. In at least some example
embodiments, the battery 130 can be a smart battery with an
embedded microprocessor. The battery interface 132 is coupled to
a regulator (not shown), which assists the battery 130 in
providing power V+ to the mobile device 100. Although current
technology makes use of a battery, future technologies such as
micro fuel cells may provide the power to the mobile device 100.
[0058] The mobile device 100 also includes an operating
system 134 and software components 136 to 146 which are
described in more detail below. The operating system 134 and the
software components 136 to 146 that are executed by the main
processor 102 are typically stored in a persistent store such as
the flash memory 108, which may alternatively be a read-only
memory (ROM) or similar storage element (not shown). Those
skilled in the art will appreciate that portions of the
operating system 134 and the software components 136 to 146,
such as specific device applications, or parts thereof, may be
temporarily loaded into a volatile store such as the RAM 106.
Other software components can also be included, as is well known
to those skilled in the art.
[0059] The subset of software applications 136 that control
basic device operations, including data and voice communication
applications, will normally be installed on the mobile device
100 during its manufacture. Other software applications include
a message application 138 that can be any suitable software
program that allows a user of the mobile device 100 to send and
receive electronic messages. Various alternatives exist for the
message application 138 as is well known to those skilled in the
art. Messages that have been sent or received by the user are
typically stored in the flash memory 108 of the mobile device
CA 02705438 2010-05-26
100 or some other suitable storage element in the mobile device
100. In at least some example embodiments, some of the sent and
received messages may be stored remotely from the device 100
such as in a data store of an associated host system that the
mobile device 100 communicates with.
[0060] The software applications can further include a device
state module 140, a Personal Information Manager (PIM) 142, and
other suitable modules (not shown). The device state module 140
provides persistence, i.e., the device state module 140 ensures
that important device data is stored in persistent memory, such
as the flash memory 108, so that the data is not lost when the
mobile device 100 is turned off or loses power.
[0061] The PIM 142 includes functionality for organizing and
managing data items of interest to the user, such as, but not
limited to, email, contacts, calendar events, voice mails,
appointments, and task items. A PIM application has the ability
to send and receive data items via the wireless network 200. PIM
data items may be seamlessly integrated, synchronized, and
updated via the wireless network 200 with the mobile device
subscriber's corresponding data items stored and/or associated
with a host computer system. This functionality creates a
mirrored host computer on the mobile device 100 with respect to
such items. This can be particularly advantageous when the host
computer system is the mobile device subscriber's office
computer system.
[0062] The mobile device 100 also includes a connect module
144, and an IT policy module 146. The connect module 144
implements the communication protocols that are required for the
mobile device 100 to communicate with the wireless
infrastructure and any host system, such as an enterprise
system, that the mobile device 100 is authorized to interface
with. Examples of a wireless infrastructure and an enterprise
21
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system are given in FIGs. 21 and 22, which are described in more
detail below.
[0063] The connect module 144 includes a set of APIs that can
be integrated with the mobile device 100 to allow the mobile
device 100 to use any number of services associated with the
enterprise system. The connect module 144 allows the mobile
device 100 to establish an end-to-end secure, authenticated
communication pipe with the host system. A subset of
applications for which access is provided by the connect module
144 can be used to pass IT policy commands from the host system
to the mobile device 100. This can be done in a wireless or
wired manner. These instructions can then be passed to the IT
policy module 146 to modify the configuration of the device 100.
Alternatively, in some cases, the IT policy update can also be
done over a wired connection.
[0064] The IT policy module 146 receives IT policy data that
encodes the IT policy. The IT policy module 146 then ensures
that the IT policy data is authenticated by the mobile device
100. The IT policy data can then be stored in the flash memory
106 in its native form. After the IT policy data is stored, a
global notification can be sent by the IT policy module 146 to
all of the applications residing on the mobile device 100.
Applications for which the IT policy may be applicable then
respond by reading the IT policy data to look for IT policy
rules that are applicable.
[0065] The IT policy module 146 can include a parser (not
shown), which can be used by the applications to read the IT
policy rules. In some cases, another module or application can
provide the parser. Grouped IT policy rules, described in more
detail below, are retrieved as byte streams, which are then sent
(recursively, in a sense) into the parser to determine the
values of each IT policy rule defined within the grouped IT
22
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policy rule. In at least some example embodiments, the IT policy
module 146 can determine which applications are affected by the
IT policy data and send a notification to only those
applications. In either of these cases, for applications that
aren't running at the time of the notification, the applications
can call the parser or the IT policy module 146 when they are
executed to determine if there are any relevant IT policy rules
in the newly received IT policy data.
[0066] All applications that support rules in the IT Policy
are coded to know the type of data to expect. For example, the
value that is set for the "WEP User Name" IT policy rule is
known to be a string; therefore the value in the IT policy data
that corresponds to this rule is interpreted as a string. As
another example, the setting for the "Set Maximum Password
Attempts" IT policy rule is known to be an integer, and
therefore the value in the IT policy data that corresponds to
this rule is interpreted as such.
[0067] After the IT policy rules have been applied to the
applicable applications or configuration files, the IT policy
module 146 sends an acknowledgement back to the host system to
indicate that the IT policy data was received and successfully
applied.
[0068] Other types of software applications can also be
installed on the mobile device 100. These software applications
can be third party applications, which are added after the
manufacture of the mobile device 100. Examples of third party
applications include games, calculators, utilities, etc.
[0069] The additional applications can be loaded onto the
mobile device 100 through at least one of the wireless network
200, the auxiliary I/O subsystem 112, the data port 114, the
short-range communications subsystem 122, or any other suitable
device subsystem 124. This flexibility in application
23
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installation increases the functionality of the mobile device
100 and may provide enhanced on-device functions, communication-
related functions, or both. For example, secure communication
applications may enable electronic commerce functions and other
such financial transactions to be performed using the mobile
device 100.
[0070] The data port 114 enables a subscriber to set
preferences through an external device or software application
and extends the capabilities of the mobile device 100 by
providing for information or software downloads to the mobile
device 100 other than through a wireless communication network.
The alternate download path may, for example, be used to load an
encryption key onto the mobile device 100 through a direct and
thus reliable and trusted connection to provide secure device
communication.
[0071] The data port 114 can be any suitable port that
enables data communication between the mobile device 100 and
another computing device. The data port 114 can be a serial or a
parallel port. In some instances, the data port 114 can be a USB
port that includes data lines for data transfer and a supply
line that can provide a charging current to charge the battery
130 of the mobile device 100.
[0072] The short-range communications subsystem 122 provides
for communication between the mobile device 100 and different
systems or devices, without the use of the wireless network 200.
For example, the subsystem 122 may include an infrared device
and associated circuits and components for short-range
communication. Examples of short-range communication standards
include standards developed by the Infrared Data Association
(IrDA), Bluetooth, and the 802.11 family of standards developed
by IEEE.
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[0073] In use, a received signal such as a text message, an
email message, or web page download will be processed by the
communication subsystem 104 and input to the main processor 102.
The main processor 102 will then process the received signal for
output to the display 110 or alternatively to the auxiliary I/O
subsystem 112. A subscriber may also compose data items, such as
email messages, for example, using the keyboard 116 in
conjunction with the display 110 and possibly the auxiliary I/O
subsystem 112. The auxiliary subsystem 112 may include devices
such as: a touch screen, mouse, track ball, infrared fingerprint
detector, or a roller wheel with dynamic button pressing
capability. The keyboard 116 is preferably an alphanumeric
keyboard and/or telephone-type keypad. However, other types of
keyboards may also be used. A composed item may be transmitted
over the wireless network 200 through the communication
subsystem 104.
[0074] For voice communications, the overall operation of the
mobile device 100 is substantially similar, except that the
received signals are output to the speaker 118, and signals for
transmission are generated by the microphone 120. Alternative
voice or audio I/O subsystems, such as a voice message recording
subsystem, can also be implemented on the mobile device 100.
Although voice or audio signal output is accomplished primarily
through the speaker 118, the display 110 can also be used to
provide additional information such as the identity of a calling
party, duration of a voice call, or other voice call related
information.
[0075] Referring now to FIG. 20, an example block diagram of
the communication subsystem component 104 is shown. The
communication subsystem 104 includes a receiver 150, a
transmitter 152, as well as associated components such as one or
more embedded or internal antenna elements 154 and 156, Local
CA 02705438 2010-05-26
Oscillators (LOs) 158, and a processing module such as a Digital
Signal Processor (DSP) 160. The particular design of the
communication subsystem 104 is dependent upon the communication
network 200 with which the mobile device 100 is intended to
operate. Thus, it should be understood that the design
illustrated in FIG. 20 serves only as one example.
[0076] Signals received by the antenna 154 through the
wireless network 200 are input to the receiver 150, which may
perform such common receiver functions as signal amplification,
frequency down conversion, filtering, channel selection, and
analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion. A/D conversion of a received
signal allows more complex communication functions such as
demodulation and decoding to be performed in the DSP 160. In a
similar manner, signals to be transmitted are processed,
including modulation and encoding, by the DSP 160. These DSP-
processed signals are input to the transmitter 152 for digital-
to-analog (D/A) conversion, frequency up conversion, filtering,
amplification and transmission over the wireless network 200 via
the antenna 156. The DSP 160 not only processes communication
signals, but also provides for receiver and transmitter control.
For example, the gains applied to communication signals in the
receiver 150 and the transmitter 152 may be adaptively
controlled through automatic gain control algorithms implemented
in the DSP 160.
[0077] The wireless link between the mobile device 100 and
the wireless network 200 can contain one or more different
channels, typically different RF channels, and associated
protocols used between the mobile device 100 and the wireless
network 200. An RF channel is a limited resource that must be
conserved, typically due to limits in overall bandwidth and
limited battery power of the mobile device 100.
26
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[0078] When the mobile device 100 is fully operational, the
transmitter 152 is typically keyed or turned on only when it is
transmitting to the wireless network 200 and is otherwise turned
off to conserve resources. Similarly, the receiver 150 is
periodically turned off to conserve power until it is needed to
receive signals or information (if at all) during designated
time periods.
[0079] Referring now to FIG. 21, a block diagram of an
example implementation of a node 202 of the wireless network 200
is shown. In practice, the wireless network 200 includes one or
more nodes 202. In conjunction with the connect module 144, the
mobile device 100 can communicate with the node 202 within the
wireless network 200. In the example implementation of FIG. 21,
the node 202 is configured in accordance with General Packet
Radio Service (GPRS) and Global Systems for Mobile (GSM)
technologies. The node 202 includes a base station controller
(BSC) 204 with an associated tower station 206, a Packet Control
Unit (PCU) 208 added for GPRS support in GSM, a Mobile Switching
Center (MSC) 210, a Home Location Register (HLR) 212, a Visitor
Location Registry (VLR) 214, a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN)
216, a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) 218, and a Dynamic Host
Configuration Protocol (DHCP) 220. This list of components is
not meant to be an exhaustive list of the components of every
node 202 within a GSM/GPRS network, but rather a list of
components that are commonly used in communications through the
network 200.
[0080] In a GSM network, the MSC 210 is coupled to the BSC
204 and to a landline network, such as a Public Switched
Telephone Network (PSTN) 222 to satisfy circuit switched
requirements. The connection through the PCU 208, the SGSN 216
and the GGSN 218 to a public or private network (Internet) 224
(also referred to herein generally as a shared network
27
CA 02705438 2010-05-26
infrastructure) represents the data path for GPRS capable mobile
devices. In a GSM network extended with GPRS capabilities, the
BSC 204 also contains the Packet Control Unit (PCU) 208 that
connects to the SGSN 216 to control segmentation, radio channel
allocation and to satisfy packet switched requirements. To track
the location of the mobile device 100 and availability for both
circuit switched and packet switched management, the HLR 212 is
shared between the MSC 210 and the SGSN 216. Access to the VLR
214 is controlled by the MSC 210.
[0081] The station 206 is a fixed transceiver station and
together with the BSC 204 form fixed transceiver equipment. The
fixed transceiver equipment provides wireless network coverage
for a particular coverage area commonly referred to as a "cell."
The fixed transceiver equipment transmits communication signals
to and receives communication signals from mobile devices within
its cell via the station 206. The fixed transceiver equipment
normally performs such functions as modulation and possibly
encoding and/or encryption of signals to be transmitted to the
mobile device 100 in accordance with particular, usually
predetermined, communication protocols and parameters, under
control of its controller. The fixed transceiver equipment
similarly demodulates and possibly decodes and decrypts, if
necessary, any communication signals received from the mobile
device 100 within its cell. Communication protocols and
parameters may vary between different nodes. For example, one
node may employ a different modulation scheme and operate at
different frequencies than other nodes.
[0082] For all mobile devices 100 registered with a specific
network, permanent configuration data such as a user profile is
stored in the HLR 212. The HLR 212 also contains location
information for each registered mobile device and can be queried
to determine the current location of a mobile device. The MSC
28
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210 is responsible for a group of location areas and stores the
data of the mobile devices currently in its area of
responsibility in the VLR 214. Further, the VLR 214 also
contains information on mobile devices that are visiting other
networks. The information in the VLR 214 includes part of the
permanent mobile device data transmitted from the HLR 212 to the
VLR 214 for faster access. By moving additional information from
a remote HLR 212 node to the VLR 214, the amount of traffic
between these nodes can be reduced so that voice and data
services can be provided with faster response times and at the
same time requiring less use of computing resources.
[0083] The SGSN 216 and the GGSN 218 are elements added for
GPRS support, namely packet switched data support, within GSM.
The SGSN 216 and the MSC 210 have similar responsibilities
within the wireless network 200 by keeping track of the location
of each mobile device 100. The SGSN 216 also performs security
functions and access control for data traffic on the wireless
network 200. The GGSN 218 provides internetworking connections
with external packet switched networks and connects to one or
more SGSN's 216 via an Internet Protocol (IP) backbone network
operated within the network 200. During normal operations, a
given mobile device 100 must perform a "GPRS Attach" to acquire
an IP address and to access data services. This requirement is
not present in circuit switched voice channels as Integrated
Services Digital Network (ISDN) addresses are used for routing
incoming and outgoing calls. Currently, all GPRS capable
networks use private, dynamically assigned IP addresses, thus
requiring the DHCP server 220 connected to the GGSN 218. There
are many mechanisms for dynamic IP assignment, including using a
combination of a Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service
(RADIUS) server and a DHCP server. Once the GPRS Attach is
complete, a logical connection is established from a mobile
29
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device 100, through the PCU 208, and the SGSN 216 to an Access
Point Node (APN) within the GGSN 218. The APN represents a
logical end of an IP tunnel that can either access direct
Internet compatible services or private network connections. The
APN also represents a security mechanism for the network 200,
insofar as each mobile device 100 must be assigned to one or
more APNs and mobile devices 100 cannot exchange data without
first performing a GPRS Attach to an APN that it has been
authorized to use. The APN may be considered to be similar to an
Internet domain name such as "myconnection.wireless.com".
[0084] Once the GPRS Attach operation is complete, a tunnel
is created and all traffic is exchanged within standard IP
packets using any protocol that can be supported in IP packets.
This includes tunneling methods such as IP over IP as in the
case with some IPSecurity (IPsec) connections used with Virtual
Private Networks (VPN). These tunnels are also referred to as
Packet Data Protocol (PDP) Contexts and there are a limited
number of these available in the network 200. To maximize use of
the PDP Contexts, the network 200 will run an idle timer for
each PDP Context to determine if there is a lack of activity.
When a mobile device 100 is not using its PDP Context, the PDP
Context can be de-allocated and the IP address returned to the
IP address pool managed by the DHCP server 220.
[0085] Referring now to FIG. 22, shown therein is a block
diagram illustrating components of an example configuration of a
host system 250 that the mobile device 100 can communicate with
in conjunction with the connect module 144. The host system 250
will typically be a corporate enterprise or other local area
network (LAN), but may also be a home office computer or some
other private system, for example, in variant implementations.
In this example shown in FIG. 22, the host system 250 is
depicted as a LAN of an organization to which a user of the
CA 02705438 2010-05-26
mobile device 100 belongs. Typically, a plurality of mobile
devices can communicate wirelessly with the host system 250
through one or more nodes 202 of the wireless network 200.
[0086] The host system 250 includes a number of network
components connected to each other by a network 260. For
instance, a user's desktop computer 262a with an accompanying
cradle 264 for the user's mobile device 100 is situated on a LAN
connection. The cradle 264 for the mobile device 100 can be
coupled to the computer 262a by a serial or a Universal Serial
Bus (USB) connection, for example. Other user computers 262b-
262n are also situated on the network 260, and each may or may
not be equipped with an accompanying cradle 264. The cradle 264
facilitates the loading of information (e.g., PIM data, private
symmetric encryption keys to facilitate secure communications)
from the user computer 262a to the mobile device 100, and may be
particularly useful for bulk information updates often performed
in initializing the mobile device 100 for use. The information
downloaded to the mobile device 100 may include certificates
used in the exchange of messages.
[0087] It will be understood by persons skilled in the art
that the user computers 262a-262n will typically also be
connected to other peripheral devices, such as printers, etc.
which are not explicitly shown in FIG. 22. Furthermore, only a
subset of network components of the host system 250 are shown in
FIG.22 for ease of exposition, and it will be understood by
persons skilled in the art that the host system 250 will include
additional components that are not explicitly shown in FIG. 22
for this example configuration. More generally, the host system
250 may represent a smaller part of a larger network (not shown)
of the organization, and may include different components and/or
be arranged in different topologies than that shown in the
example embodiment of FIG. 22.
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[0088] To facilitate the operation of the mobile device 100
and the wireless communication of messages and message-related
data between the mobile device 100 and components of the host
system 250, a number of wireless communication support
components 270 can be provided. In some implementations, the
wireless communication support components 270 can include a
message management server 272, a mobile data server 274, a
contact server 276, and a device manager module 278. The device
manager module 278 includes an IT Policy editor 280 and an IT
user property editor 282, as well as other software components
for allowing an IT administrator to configure the mobile devices
100. In an alternative embodiment, there may be one editor that
provides the functionality of both the IT policy editor 280 and
the IT user property editor 282. The support components 270 also
include a data store 284, and an IT policy server 286. The IT
policy server 286 includes a processor 288, a network interface
290 and a memory unit 292. The processor 288 controls the
operation of the IT policy server 286 and executes functions
related to the standardized IT policy as described below. The
network interface 290 allows the IT policy server 286 to
communicate with the various components of the host system 250
and the mobile devices 100. The memory unit 292 can store
functions used in implementing the IT policy as well as related
data. Those skilled in the art know how to implement these
various components. Other components may also be included as is
well known to those skilled in the art. Further, in some
implementations, the data store 284 can be part of any one of
the servers.
[0089] In this example embodiment, the mobile device 100
communicates with the host system 250 through node 202 of the
wireless network 200 and a shared network infrastructure 224
such as a service provider network or the public Internet.
32
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Access to the host system 250 may be provided through one or
more routers (not shown), and computing devices of the host
system 250 may operate from behind a firewall or proxy server
266. The proxy server 266 provides a secure node and a wireless
internet gateway for the host system 250. The proxy server 266
intelligently routes data to the correct destination server
within the host system 250.
[0090] In some implementations, the host system 250 can
include a wireless VPN router (not shown) to facilitate data
exchange between the host system 250 and the mobile device 100.
The wireless VPN router allows a VPN connection to be
established directly through a specific wireless network to the
mobile device 100. The wireless VPN router can be used with the
Internet Protocol (IP) Version 6 (IPV6) and IP-based wireless
networks. This protocol can provide enough IP addresses so that
each mobile device has a dedicated IP address, making it
possible to push information to a mobile device at any time. An
advantage of using a wireless VPN router is that it can be an
off-the-shelf VPN component, and does not require a separate
wireless gateway and separate wireless infrastructure. A VPN
connection can preferably be a Transmission Control Protocol
(TCP)/IP or User Datagram Protocol (UDP)/IP connection for
delivering the messages directly to the mobile device 100 in
this alternative implementation.
[0091] Messages intended for a user of the mobile device 100
are initially received by a message server 268 of the host
system 250. Such messages may originate from any number of
sources. For instance, a message may have been sent by a sender
from the computer 262b within the host system 250, from a
different mobile device (not shown) connected to the wireless
network 200 or a different wireless network, or from a different
computing device, or other device capable of sending messages,
33
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via the shared network infrastructure 224, possibly through an
application service provider (ASP) or Internet service provider
(ISP), for example.
[0092] The message server 268 typically acts as the primary
interface for the exchange of messages, particularly email
messages, within the organization and over the shared network
infrastructure 224. Each user in the organization that has been
set up to send and receive messages is typically associated with
a user account managed by the message server 268. Some example
implementations of the message server 268 include a Microsoft
Exchange TM server, a Lotus DominoTM server, a Novell GroupwiseTM
server, or another suitable mail server installed in a corporate
environment. In some implementations, the host system 250 may
include multiple message servers 268. The message server 268 may
also be adapted to provide additional functions beyond message
management, including the management of data associated with
calendars and task lists, for example.
[0093] When messages are received by the message server 268,
they are typically stored in a data store associated with the
message server 268. In at least some example embodiments, the
data store may be a separate hardware unit, such as data store
284, that the message server 268 communicates with. Messages can
be subsequently retrieved and delivered to users by accessing
the message server 268. For instance, an email client
application operating on a user's computer 262a may request the
email messages associated with that user's account stored on the
data store associated with the message server 268. These
messages are then retrieved from the data store and stored
locally on the computer 262a. The data store associated with the
message server 268 can store copies of each message that is
locally stored on the mobile device 100. Alternatively, the data
34
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store associated with the message server 268 can store all of
the messages for the user of the mobile device 100 and only a
smaller number of messages can be stored on the mobile device
100 to conserve memory. For instance, the most recent messages
(i.e., those received in the past two to three months for
example) can be stored on the mobile device 100.
[0094] When operating the mobile device 100, the user may
wish to have email messages retrieved for delivery to the mobile
device 100. The message application 138 operating on the mobile
device 100 may also request messages associated with the user's
account from the message server 268. The message application 138
may be configured (either by the user or by an administrator,
possibly in accordance with an organization's information
technology (IT) policy) to make this request at the direction of
the user, at some pre-defined time interval, or upon the
occurrence of some pre-defined event. In some implementations,
the mobile device 100 is assigned its own email address, and
messages addressed specifically to the mobile device 100 are
automatically redirected to the mobile device 100 as they are
received by the message server 268.
[0095] The message management server 272 can be used to
specifically provide support for the management of messages,
such as email messages, that are to be handled by mobile
devices. Generally, while'messages are still stored on the
message server 268, the message management server 272 can be
used to control when, if, and how messages are sent to the
mobile device 100. The message management server 272 also
facilitates the handling of messages composed on the mobile
device 100, which are sent to the message server 268 for
subsequent delivery.
[0096] For example, the message management server 272 may
monitor the user's "mailbox" (e.g., the message store associated
CA 02705438 2010-05-26
with the user's account on the message server 268) for new email
messages, and apply user-definable filters to new messages to
determine if and how the messages are relayed to the user's
mobile device 100. The message management server 272 may also
compress and encrypt new messages (e.g., using an encryption
technique such as Data Encryption Standard (DES), Triple DES, or
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)) and push them to the mobile
device 100 via the shared network infrastructure 224 and the
wireless network 200. The message management server 272 may also
receive messages composed on the mobile device 100 (e.g.,
encrypted using Triple DES), decrypt and decompress the composed
messages, re-format the composed messages if desired so that
they will appear to have originated from the user's computer
262a, and re-route the composed messages to the message server
268 for delivery.
[0097] Certain properties or restrictions associated with
messages that are to be sent from and/or received by the mobile
device 100 can be defined (e.g., by an administrator in
accordance with IT policy) and enforced by the message
management server 272. These may include whether the mobile
device 100 may receive encrypted and/or signed messages, minimum
encryption key sizes, whether outgoing messages must be
encrypted and/or signed, and whether copies of all secure
messages sent from the mobile device 100 are to be sent to a
pre-defined copy address, for example.
[0098] The message management server 272 may also be adapted
to provide other control functions, such as only pushing certain
message information or pre-defined portions (e.g., "blocks") of
a message stored on the message server 268 to the mobile device
100. For example, in some cases, when a message is initially
retrieved by the mobile device 100 from the message server 268,
the message management server 272 may push only the first part
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of a message to the mobile device 100, with the part being of a
pre-defined size (e.g., 2 KB). The user can then request that
more of the message be delivered in similar-sized blocks by the
message management server 272 to the mobile device 100, possibly
up to a maximum predefined message size. Accordingly, the
message management server 272 facilitates better control over
the type of data and the amount of data that is communicated to
the mobile device 100, and can help to minimize potential waste
of bandwidth or other resources.
[0099] The mobile data server 274 encompasses any other
server that stores information that is relevant to the
corporation. The mobile data server 274 may include, but is not
limited to, databases, online data document repositories,
customer relationship management (CRM) systems, or enterprise
resource planning (ERP) applications.
[00100] The contact server 276 can provide information for a
list of contacts for the user in a similar fashion as the
address book on the mobile device 100. Accordingly, for a given
contact, the contact server 276 can include the name, phone
number, work address and email address of the contact, among
other information. The contact server 276 can also provide a
global address list that contains the contact information for
all of the contacts associated with the host system 250.
[00101] It will be understood by persons skilled in the art
that the message management server 272, the mobile data server
274, the contact server 276, the device manager module 278, the
data store 284 and the IT policy server 286 do not need to be
implemented on separate physical servers within the host system
250. For example, some or all of the functions associated with
the message management server 272 may be integrated with the
message server 268, or some other server in the host system 250.
Alternatively, the host system 250 may include multiple message
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CA 02705438 2010-05-26
management servers 272, particularly in variant implementations
where a large number of mobile devices need to be supported.
[00102] Alternatively, in some example embodiments, the IT
policy server 286 can provide the IT policy editor 280, the IT
user property editor 282 and the data store 284. In some cases,
the IT policy server 286 can also provide the device manager
module 278. The processor 288 of the IT policy server 286 can be
used to perform the various steps of a method for providing IT
policy data that is customizable on a per-user basis. The
processor 288 can execute the editors 280 and 282. In some
cases, the functionality of the editors 280 and 282 can be
provided by a single editor. In some cases, the memory unit 292
can provide the data store 284.
[00103] The device manager module 278 provides an IT
administrator with a graphical user interface with which the IT
administrator interacts to configure various settings for the
mobile devices 100. As mentioned, the IT administrator can use
IT policy rules to define behaviors of certain applications on
the mobile device 100 that are permitted such as phone, web
browser or Instant Messenger use. The IT policy rules can also
be used to set specific values for configuration settings that
an organization requires on the mobile devices 100 such as auto
signature text, WLAN/VoIP/VPN configuration, security
requirements (e.g., encryption algorithms, password rules,
etc.), specifying themes or applications that are allowed to run
on the mobile device 100, and the like.
[00104] 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.
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