Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02727947 2011-01-11
PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND METHOD OF WEB PAGE RENDERING
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present application relates to web page rendering on a display of a
portable electronic device and storage at the portable electronic device.
BACKGROUND DISCUSSION
[0002] Electronic devices, including portable electronic devices, have gained
widespread use and may provide a variety of functions including, for example,
telephonic,
electronic messaging and other personal information manager (PIM) application
functions. Portable electronic devices include, for example, several types of
mobile
stations such as simple cellular telephones, smart telephones, wireless
personal digital
assistants (PDAs), and laptop computers with wireless 802.11 or Bluetooth
capabilities.
[0003] Portable electronic devices such as PDAs or smart telephones are
generally intended for handheld use and ease of portability. Smaller devices
are
generally desirable for portability. The displays of such handheld devices are
small and
therefore have limited space for user input and output. The information
displayed, at one
instance in time, on such displays is limited. With continued demand for
decreased size
of portable electronic devices, portable electronic device displays continue
to decrease in
size.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] Embodiments of the present application will now be described, by way of
example only, with reference to the attached Figures, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of an embodiment of a portable
electronic device;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of a communication subsystem
component of Figure 1;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of an implementation of a node of
a wireless network;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating components of an example of a
configuration of a host system that the portable electronic device can
communicate with;
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FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example of a method in accordance with the
present disclosure; and
FIG 6, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are examples of illustrations of screen shots of a
portable electronic device in the method of FIG. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0005] According to one aspect, a portable electronic device-implemented
method
includes loading a first web page, rendering the first web page on a display
of the
portable electronic device, storing the first web page in memory at the
portable electronic
device, and rendering a first selectable representation of the first web page
in a field on
the display. The field includes at least one other selectable representation
of another
web page stored in memory.
[0006] According to another aspect, a computer-readable medium has computer-
readable code executable by at least one processor of a portable electronic
device to
perform the above method.
[0007] According to still another aspect, a portable electronic device
includes a
display, an input device, a memory, and a processor operably connected to the
display,
the input device and the memory to execute a program stored in the memory to
cause the
portable electronic device to load a first web page, render the first web page
on the
display, store the first web page in the memory, and render a first selectable
representation of the first web page in a field on the display. The field
includes at least
one other selectable representation of another web page stored in memory.
[0008] It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,
where
considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures
to
indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific
details are
set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments
described
herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art
that the
embodiments described herein may be practiced without these specific details.
In other
instances, well-known methods, procedures and components have not been
described in
detail so as not to obscure the embodiments described herein. Also, the
description is not
to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein.
[0009] The embodiments described herein generally relate to portable
electronic
devices. Examples of portable electronic devices include mobile or handheld
wireless
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communication devices such as pagers, cellular phones, cellular smart-phones,
wireless
organizers, personal digital assistants, computers, laptops, handheld wireless
communication devices, wirelessly enabled notebook computers and the like.
[0010] The portable electronic device may be a two-way communication device
with advanced data communication capabilities including the capability to
communicate
with other portable electronic devices or computer systems through a network
of
transceiver stations. The portable electronic device may also have the
capability to allow
voice communication. Depending on the functionality provided by the portable
electronic
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 portable electronic device and how it
communicates
with other devices and host systems, reference will now be made to Figures 1
through 4.
[0011] Referring first to Figure 1, shown therein is a block diagram of an
example
of an embodiment of a portable electronic device 100. The portable electronic
device 100
includes a number of components such as a main processor 102 that controls the
overall
operation of the portable electronic device 100. Communication functions,
including data
and voice communications, are performed through a communication subsystem 104.
Data received by the portable electronic device 100 can be decompressed and
decrypted
by a decoder 103, operating according to any suitable decompression techniques
(e.g.
YK decompression, and other known techniques) and encryption techniques (e.g.
using
an encryption technique such as Data Encryption Standard (DES), Triple DES, or
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)). The communication subsystem 104 receives
messages from and sends messages to a wireless network 200. In this example of
an
embodiment of the portable electronic 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 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
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protocols specified for GSM/GPRS communications. With newer network protocols,
these
channels are capable of supporting both circuit switched voice communications
and
packet switched data communications.
[0012] Although the wireless network 200 associated with portable electronic
device 100 is a GSM/GPRS wireless network in one example of an implementation,
other
wireless networks may also be associated with the portable electronic 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 such as EDGE and
UMTS.
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. The main processor 102 also interacts
with
additional subsystems such as a Random Access Memory (RAM) 106, memory 108, a
display 110, an auxiliary input/output (I/O) subsystem 112, a data port 114, a
trackball
115, a keyboard 116, a speaker 118, a microphone 120, short-range
communications 122
and other device subsystems 124.
[0013] Some of the subsystems of the portable electronic device 100 perform
communication-related functions, whereas other subsystems may provide
"resident" or
on-device functions. By way of example, the display 110, the trackball 115 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.
[0014] The portable electronic device 100 can send and receive communication
signals over the wireless network 200 after network registration or activation
procedures
have been completed. Network access is associated with a subscriber or user of
the
portable electronic device 100. To identify a subscriber, a SIM/RUIM card 126
(i.e.
Subscriber Identity Module or a Removable User Identity Module) is inserted
into a
SIM/RUIM interface 128 in order to communicate with a network. The SIM/RUIM
card 126
is a type of a conventional "smart card" that can be used to identify a
subscriber of the
portable electronic device 100 and to personalize the portable electronic
device 100,
among other things. In the present embodiment, the portable electronic device
100 is not
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fully operational for communication with the wireless network 200 without the
SIM/RUIM
card 126. By inserting the SIM/RUIM card 126 into the SIM/RUIM interface 128,
a
subscriber can access all subscribed services. Services may include: web
browsing and
messaging such as e-mail, 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/RUIM card 126 includes a processor
and
memory for storing information. Once the SIM/RUIM card 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/RUIM card 126 can include some user parameters such as an
International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). An advantage of using the
SIM/RUIM card
126 is that a subscriber is not necessarily bound by any single physical
portable
electronic device. The SIM/RUIM card 126 may store additional subscriber
information for
a portable electronic device as well, including datebook (or calendar)
information and
recent call information. Alternatively, user identification information can
also be
programmed into memory 108.
[0015] The portable electronic 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 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 portable electronic
device 100.
Although current technology makes use of a battery, future technologies such
as micro
fuel cells may provide the power to the portable electronic device 100.
[0016] The portable electronic device 100 also includes an operating system
134
and software components 136 which are described in more detail below. The
operating
system 134 and the software components 136 that are executed by the main
processor
102 are typically stored in a persistent, updatable store such as the memory
108. Those
skilled in the art will appreciate that portions of the operating system 134
and the software
components 136, such as specific device applications 138, 140, 142, 144, 146,
148 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.
[0017] The subset of software components 136 that control basic device
operations, including data and voice communication applications are installed
on the
portable electronic 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 portable electronic device 100 to send and receive electronic messages.
Various
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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
memory 108 of the portable electronic device 100 or some other suitable
storage element
in the portable electronic device 100. In at least some 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 portable electronic device 100
communicates
with.
[0018] The software components 136 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
memory
108, so that the data is not lost when the portable electronic device 100 is
turned off or
loses power.
[0019] The PIM 142 includes functionality for organizing and managing data
items
of interest to the user, such as, but not limited to, e-mail, contacts,
calendar events, voice
mails, appointments, and task items. PIM applications include, for example,
calendar,
address book, tasks and memo applications. The PIM 142 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
portable
electronic device subscriber's corresponding data items stored and/or
associated with a
host computer system. This functionality creates a mirrored host computer on
the
portable electronic device 100 with respect to such items. This can be
particularly
advantageous when the host computer system is the portable electronic device
subscriber's office computer system.
[0020] The software components 62 also includes a connect module 144, and an
information technology (IT) policy module 146. The connect module 144
implements the
communication protocols that are required for the portable electronic device
100 to
communicate with the wireless infrastructure and any host system, such as an
enterprise
system, that the portable electronic device 100 is authorized to interface
with. Examples
of a wireless infrastructure and an enterprise system are given in Figures 3
and 4, which
are described in more detail below.
[0021] The connect module 144 includes a set of APIs that can be integrated
with
the portable electronic device 100 to allow the portable electronic device 100
to use any
number of services associated with the enterprise system. The connect module
144
allows the portable electronic device 100 to establish an end-to-end secure,
authenticated
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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 portable electronic 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.
[0022] Other types of software applications can also be provided on the
portable
electronic device 100, including the Web browser 148 for enabling a user to
display and
interact with text, images, videos, music and other information from a webpage
at a
website on the world wide web or on a local network.
[0023] Still other types of software applications can be installed on the
portable
electronic device 100. Such software applications can be third party
applications, which
are added after the manufacture of the portable electronic device 100.
Examples of third
party applications include games, calculators, utilities, etc.
[0024] The additional applications can be loaded onto the portable electronic
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 installation
increases the
functionality of the portable electronic 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 portable electronic device 100.
[0025] The data port 114 enables a subscriber to set preferences through an
external device or software application and extends the capabilities of the
portable
electronic device 100 by providing for information or software downloads to
the portable
electronic 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
portable electronic device 100 through a direct and thus reliable and trusted
connection to
provide secure device communication.
[0026] The data port 114 can be any suitable port that enables data
communication between the portable electronic 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 portable
electronic device
100.
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[0027] The short-range communications subsystem 122 provides for
communication between the portable electronic 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.
[0028] In use, a received signal such as a text message, an e-mail message,
webpage download, or any other information is processed by the communication
subsystem 104 and input to the main processor 102 where the received signal is
processed for output to the display 110 or alternatively to the auxiliary I/O
subsystem 112.
A subscriber may also compose data items, such as e-mail 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.
[0029] For voice communications, the overall operation of the portable
electronic
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 portable electronic 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.
[0030] Referring now to Figure 2, a block diagram of an example 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
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 portable electronic device 100 is
intended to
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operate. Thus, it should be understood that the design illustrated in Figure 2
serves only
as one example.
[0031] 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.
[0032] The wireless link between the portable electronic device 100 and the
wireless network 200 can contain one or more different channels, typically
different RF
channels, and associated protocols used between the portable electronic device
100 and
the wireless network 200. An RF channel is a limited resource that should be
conserved,
typically due to limits in overall bandwidth and limited battery power of the
portable
electronic device 100.
[0033] When the portable electronic 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.
[0034] Referring now to Figure 3, a block diagram of an example of an
implementation of a node 202 of the wireless network 200 is shown. In
practice, the
wireless network 200 comprises one or more nodes 202. In conjunction with the
connect
module 144, the portable electronic device 100 can communicate with the node
202
within the wireless network 200. In the example of Figure 3, 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
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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.
[0035] 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 infrastructure) represents the data path for
GPRS capable
portable electronic 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 portable electronic 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.
[0036] 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 portable electronic 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
portable electronic
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 portable electronic 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.
[0037] For all portable electronic 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 portable electronic
device and
can be queried to determine the current location of a portable electronic
device. The MSC
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210 is responsible for a group of location areas and stores the data of the
portable
electronic devices currently in its area of responsibility in the VLR 214.
Further, the VLR
214 also contains information on portable electronic devices that are visiting
other
networks. The information in the VLR 214 includes part of the permanent
portable
electronic 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.
[0038] 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 portable electronic 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 portable
electronic
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
portable
electronic 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
portable
electronic device 100 must be assigned to one or more APNs and portable
electronic
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".
[0039] 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
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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 portable electronic 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.
[0040] Referring now to Figure 4, shown therein is a block diagram
illustrating
components of an example of a configuration of a host system 250 that the
portable
electronic 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 Figure 4, the
host system
250 is depicted as a LAN of an organization to which a user of the portable
electronic
device 100 belongs. Typically, a plurality of portable electronic devices can
communicate
wirelessly with the host system 250 through one or more nodes 202 of the
wireless
network 200.
[0041] The host system 250 comprises 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 portable electronic device 100
is situated
on a LAN connection. The cradle 264 for the portable electronic 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 portable
electronic
device 100, and may be particularly useful for bulk information updates often
performed in
initializing the portable electronic device 100 for use. The information
downloaded to the
portable electronic device 100 may include certificates used in the exchange
of
messages.
[0042] 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 Figure 4. Furthermore, only a subset of
network
components of the host system 250 are shown in Figure 4 for ease of
exposition, and it
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will be understood by persons skilled in the art that the host system 250 will
comprise
additional components that are not explicitly shown in Figure 4 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 comprise different
components
and/or be arranged in different topologies than that shown in the example of
Figure 4.
[0043] To facilitate the operation of the portable electronic device 100 and
the
wireless communication of messages and message-related data between the
portable
electronic 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 management server
272,
a mobile data server (MDS) 274, a web server, such as Hypertext Transfer
Protocol
(HTTP) server 275, a contact server 276, and a device manager module 278. HTTP
servers can also be located outside the enterprise system, as indicated by the
HTTP
server 275 attached to the network 224. 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 portable
electronic 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 portable electronic 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.
[0044] In this example, the portable electronic 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.
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
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for the host system 250. The proxy server 266 intelligently routes data to the
correct
destination server within the host system 250.
[0045] 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
portable electronic device 100. The wireless VPN router allows a VPN
connection to be
established directly through a specific wireless network to the portable
electronic device
100. The Wireless VPN router can be used with the Internet Protocol (I P)
Version 6 (IPV6)
and IP-based wireless networks. This protocol can provide enough IP addresses
so that
each portable electronic device has a dedicated IP address, making it possible
to push
information to a portable electronic 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 portable
electronic device
100 in this alternative implementation.
[0046] Messages intended for a user of the portable electronic 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
portable
electronic 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, via the shared network infrastructure 224, possibly through
an
application service provider (ASP) or Internet service provider (ISP), for
example.
[0047] The message server 268 typically acts as the primary interface for the
exchange of messages, particularly e-mail 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 examples of implementations of the message server
268
include a Microsoft Exchange TM server, a Lotus DominoT"'server, a Novell
GroupwiseTMserver, or another suitable mail server installed in a corporate
environment.
In some implementations, the host system 250 may comprise multiple message
servers
268. The message server provides additional functions including PIM functions
such as
calendaring, contacts and tasks and supports data storage.
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[0048] 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
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
e-mail client application operating on a user's computer 262a may request the
e-mail
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 portable
electronic
device 100. Alternatively, the data store associated with the message server
268 can
store all of the messages for the user of the portable electronic device 100
and only a
smaller number of messages can be stored on the portable electronic 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 portable electronic
device
100.
[0049] When operating the portable electronic device 100, the user may wish to
have e-mail messages retrieved for delivery to the portable electronic device
100. The
message application 138 operating on the portable electronic 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 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 portable electronic device 100
is
assigned its own e-mail address, and messages addressed specifically to the
portable
electronic device 100 are automatically redirected to the portable electronic
device 100 as
they are received by the message server 268.
[0050] The management server 272 can be used to specifically provide support
for the management of, for example, messages, such as e-mail messages, that
are to be
handled by portable electronic devices. Generally, while messages are still
stored on the
message server 268, the management server 272 can be used to control when, if,
and
how messages are sent to the portable electronic device 100. The management
server
272 also facilitates the handling of messages composed on the portable
electronic device
100, which are sent to the message server 268 for subsequent delivery.
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[0051] For example, the management server 272 may monitor the user's
"mailbox" (e.g. the message store associated with the user's account on the
message
server 268) for new e-mail messages, and apply user-definable filters to new
messages
to determine if and how the messages are relayed to the user's portable
electronic device
100. The management server 272 may also, through an encoder 273, compress
messages, using any suitable compression technology (e.g. YK compression, and
other
known techniques) and encrypt 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 portable electronic device 100 via the shared network
infrastructure
224 and the wireless network 200. The management server 272 may also receive
messages composed on the portable electronic 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.
[0052] Certain properties or restrictions associated with messages that are to
be
sent from and/or received by the portable electronic device 100 can be defined
(e.g. by
an administrator in accordance with IT policy) and enforced by the management
server
272. These may include whether the portable electronic 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 portable electronic device 100 are to be sent to a pre-defined
copy address,
for example.
[0053] The 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 portable
electronic
device 100. For example, in some cases, when a message is initially retrieved
by the
portable electronic device 100 from the message server 268, the management
server 272
may push only the first part of a message to the portable electronic 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 management server 272 to
the
portable electronic device 100, possibly up to a maximum pre-defined message
size.
Accordingly, the management server 272 facilitates better control over the
type of data
and the amount of data that is communicated to the portable electronic device
100, and
can help to minimize potential waste of bandwidth or other resources.
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[0054] The MDS 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. The MDS 274
can
also connect to the Internet or other public network, through HTTP server 275
or other
suitable web server such as an File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server, to
retrieve HTTP
webpages and other data. Requests for webpages from the portable electronic
device
100 are typically routed through MDS 274 and then to HTTP server 275, through
suitable
firewalls and other protective mechanisms. The web server then retrieves the
webpage
over the Internet, and returns it to MDS 274. As described above in relation
to
management server 272, MDS 274 is typically provided, or associated, with an
encoder
277 that permits retrieved data, such as retrieved webpages, to be compressed,
using
any suitable compression technology (e.g. YK compression, and other known
techniques), and encrypted (e.g. using an encryption technique such as DES,
Triple DES,
or AES), and then pushed to the portable electronic device 100 via the shared
network
infrastructure 224 and the wireless network 200.
[0055] 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 portable electronic
device 100.
Accordingly, for a given contact, the contact server 276 can include the name,
phone
number, work address and e-mail 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.
[0056] It will be understood by persons skilled in the art that the management
server 272, the MDS 274, the HTTP server 275, 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 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 comprise multiple management servers
272,
particularly in variant implementations where a large number of portable
electronic
devices need to be supported.
[0057] 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 portable electronic devices 100. As mentioned, the IT
administrator can
use IT policy rules to define behaviors of certain applications on the
portable electronic
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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 portable electronic devices 100 such as auto
signature
text, WLANNoIPNPN configuration, security requirements (e.g. encryption
algorithms,
password rules, etc.), specifying themes or applications that are allowed to
run on the
portable electronic device 100, and the like.
[0058] As indicated above, the portable electronic device 100 includes the
Personal Information Manager (PIM) 142 that includes functionality for
organizing and
managing data items of interest to the user, such as, but not limited to, e-
mail, contacts,
calendar events, voice mails, appointments, and task items. PIM applications
include, for
example, calendar, address book, tasks and memo applications.
[0059] Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a portable electronic
device
method according to the present disclosure. Coding of software for carrying
out such a
method is within the scope of a person of ordinary skill in the art given the
present
description. Generally, a first web page is loaded 504 and rendered 506 on the
display
110 of the portable electronic device 100. The first web page is stored 508 in
memory at
the portable electronic device 100 and a first selectable' representation of
the first web
page is rendered 510 in a field on the display 110. The field includes at
least one other
selectable representation of another web page stored in memory.
[0060] The present method may be carried out utilizing the processor 102,
executing a web browsing application stored in memory at the portable
electronic device
100. Referring to FIG. 5, a web page request is received 502. The web page
request
may be received in response to selection of an option to load a web page, for
example,
from an entered URL or from selection of the web page from a bookmark in the
browser,
or utilizing any other suitable method.
[0061] The web page is loaded 504 at the portable electronic device 100. To
load
the web page, the request is transmitted wirelessly to the host system 250,
for example,
routed through the MDS 274 and then to the HTTP server 275. The HTTP server
275then retrieves the web page over the Internet, and returns it to the MDS
274, as
described above. The web page may be compressed and encrypted in any suitable
manner and is pushed to the portable electronic device 100 via the shared
network
infrastructure 224 and the wireless network 200. The web page is received at
the
portable electronic device 100 where it is decompressed and decrypted. The web
page is
rendered 506 on the display 110 by laying out and displaying the web page on a
portion
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of the display 110. The webpage is stored 508 in memory, such as RAM 106, at
the
portable electronic device 100.
[0062] A graphical representation of the webpage is created and rendered 510
in
a field on the display 110. The graphical representation may be, for example,
a thumbnail
view of the web page or portion of the web page, or may be some other
graphical
representation such as an icon associated with the web page. The field in
which the
graphical representation of the webpage is rendered is included in a band
along an edge
of the display 110. For example, the band may be included along a top or
bottom edge of
the display 110. The terms top and bottom are used herein with reference to
the
orientation of the display 110 of the portable electronic device 100 when in
use. The term
top edge refers to the edge of the display 110 that is closest to the top of
the displayed
information in the orientation of the displayed information. The term bottom
edge refers
to the edge of the display 110 that is closest to the bottom of the displayed
information in
the orientation of the displayed information. The top and bottom edges may
therefore
change for example, in devices in which information may be displayed in
different
orientations based on the application or based on the orientation in which the
portable
electronic device 100 is held.
[0063] When other web pages are already loaded on the portable electronic
device 100, the graphical representation of the web page is added to the other
graphical
representations of the web pages in the field in the band. When an additional
web page
request is received 512, the process continues at 504. Otherwise, a
determination is
made 514 whether or not sliding input is received. When sliding input is
received, the
direction of sliding input is determined 516. The sliding input may be, for
example,
scrolling utilizing the trackball 115 shown in the example of the portable
electronic device
100 shown in FIG. 1. Scrolling from right to left causes the movement 518 of
the
graphical representations from right to left. Scrolling from left to right
causes movement
520 of the graphical representations from left to right.
[0064] A selection box, located within the band, is maintained in the same
location
on the display 110 as the graphical representations are scrolled into or past
the selection
box. When the graphical representation in the selection box is changed 522, as
the
graphical representations are scrolled along the band, the associated web page
is
displayed 524 on the display 110. Thus, a web page may be selected for display
by
sliding the graphical representations until the one of the graphical
representations
associated with the desired web page is located in the selection box.
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[0065] A limited number of graphical representations are displayed in the band
at
any one instance in time. For example, a total of four graphical
representations may be
displayed in the band at any one instance in time. More than four web pages
may be
loaded and stored in RAM 106, however, and therefore more than four graphical
representations may be included in the field. Only four graphical
representations are
displayed and the remaining graphical representations, that are not displayed
on the
display 110, can be displayed by, for example, scrolling utilizing the
trackball 115 to move
the graphical representations within the band. Scrolling from right to left
causes the
graphical representations to appear to slide from right to left. The graphical
representations may be animated to appear to slide to the left until they are
off the display
110 and no longer displayed. Additional graphical representations enter the
display 110
as the displayed graphical representations slide from right to left. Scrolling
from left to
right causes the graphical representations to appear to slide from left to
right. The
graphical representations may be animated to appear to slide to the right
until they are off
the display 110 and no longer displayed. Additional graphical representations
enter the
display 110 as the displayed graphical representations slide from left to
right. The
graphical representations may be wrapped such that the graphical
representations may
be scrolled in either direction to select any one web page; that is,
continuous scrolling in
one direction will loop through all of the graphical representations.
[0066] Specific examples of the method of FIG. 5 are illustrated in FIG. 6 and
FIG.
7. In the examples of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, web page requests are received in a
web
browsing application. In the upper illustration in FIG. 6, a web page request
is received
502 and a search engine web page 602 is loaded 504 and rendered 506 on the
display
110. The search engine web page 602 is also stored 508 in RAM 106 at the
portable
electronic device 100. A search engine web page representation 604 is rendered
in a
field in the band 606 which, in the present example, is located along the
bottom edge of
the display 110. The search engine web page 602 is the first web page stored
in RAM in
this example and therefore the associated search engine web page
representation 604 is
located within the selection box 608 in the band 606.
[0067] An additional web page request is received 512 and an encyclopedia web
page 610 is loaded 604 and rendered 506 on the display 110. The encyclopedia
web
page 610 is also stored in RAM 106 at the portable electronic device 100. An
encyclopedia web page representation 612 is rendered in the field in the band
606, in
addition to the search engine web page representation 604. The encyclopedia
web page
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representation 612 is displayed in the selection box 608 when the encyclopedia
web page
610 is displayed.
[0068] Additional web page requests may be received and additional web pages
loaded, rendered and stored at the portable electronic device. Associated web
page
representations are also rendered when additional web pages are loaded,
rendered and
stored. The additional web page requests may be received after user-selection
of an
option to load an additional web page, such as the button 614 shown on the
right side of
the display. An additional option to close any one of the web pages may also
be
provided. Selection of the option to close a web page, such as the button 616,
closes the
displayed web page, discontinuing display and the removal of the web page from
memory. Additionally, the representation of the closed web page is removed
from the
field in the band 606.
[0069] Not all web pages visited are required to be opened and displayed in
the
manner described above. For example, an additional option can be provided to
allow a
currently displayed web page and the associated web page representation to be
replaced
by another web page and the respective web page representation.
[0070] In the illustrations of FIG. 7, multiple web pages are loaded, rendered
and
stored at the portable electronic device 100 and multiple associated web page
representations are also rendered in the field in the band 702. An
encyclopedia web
page representation 704 is located in the selection box 706 in the band 702.
Accordingly,
the associated encyclopedia web page 708 is displayed on the display 110 in
the upper
illustration of FIG. 7.
[0071] Sliding input is received 514, for example, as the trackball 115 is
scrolled
from left to right. Scrolling from left to right 516 causes the graphical
representations to
be moved 520 from left to right. The graphical representations are animated to
appear to
slide to the right such that the two graphical representations 710, 712 on the
right side of
the display 110 slide off the display 110 and are therefore no longer
displayed in the
lower illustration of FIG. 7. Two additional graphical representations 714,
716 enter the
display 110 as the displayed graphical representations slide from left to
right. The
encyclopedia web page representation 704 is moved to the right as the
graphical
representation 714 is moved into the selection box 706. Therefore, the
graphical
representation in the selection box is changed 522 to the graphical
representation 714
and the associated web page 718 is displayed 524 on the display 110.
[0072] Although not shown in FIG. 5, display of the band that includes the
field in
which the web page representations are rendered may be discontinued after a
threshold
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period of time passes without receiving input. For example, a timer may be
started after
the web page representation is rendered. The timer may be restarted when input
is
received or when another web page representation is rendered. When input is
not
received, the timer time may be compared to a threshold and, when the timer
time
exceeds the threshold, the band is no longer displayed. The band may be
displayed
again upon receipt of an input, such as a key press, trackball press, touch-
screen tap,
menu item selection, or using an icon (not shown) located at, for example, the
bottom
edge of the display 110. Displaying and hiding the band can be animated so
that the
band appears to slide on or off the display 110.
[0073] FIG. 8 illustrates one example of web page representations 802 rendered
in the band 804. When input is not received and the timer time exceeds the
threshold,
the band 804 is no longer displayed, as shown in the lower illustration of
FIG. 8. The
band 804 is animated such that the band appears to slide off the display 110.
[0074] Although the embodiments are described with reference to a portable
electronic device 100 that includes a trackball 115 for scrolling, the present
disclosure is
not limited to such a portable electronic device 100. In other embodiments,
portable
electronic devices including touch-sensitive input devices, touch-sensitive
displays,
optical trackpads, thumbwheels, or joysticks may utilize the described
methods.
[0075] Advantageously, multiple web pages may be loaded and stored in memory
at the portable electronic device at any one time. Thus, where multiple web
pages are
utilized, a web page may be selected without exiting other web pages and
reloading a
desired web page. Therefore, a previously loaded web page may be displayed
without
reloading the web page on the portable electronic device. This reduces data
transmission between the portable electronic device and the host system.
Further,
transmission time and delay between loading of web pages is reduced, saving
device
power and reducing battery consumption. Additionally, the web pages are
represented in
a band that extends along an edge of the display. The band facilitates
navigation without
requiring additional screens or windows, for example and without discontinuing
display of
a web page on the display 110. The number of screens rendered to display the
information may be reduced, reducing device use time, and thereby further
reducing
power consumption while providing an improved user interface.
[0076] While the embodiments described herein are directed to particular
implementations of the electronic device and method of controlling the
electronic device,
the above-described embodiments are intended to be examples. It will be
understood
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that alterations, modifications and variations may be effected without
departing from the
scope of the present disclosure.
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