Today, TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted the company patent number 7,483,983 for “Method and System for Deploying Content to Wireless Devices.” This invention allows internet content to be displayed on wireless devices through web browser applications.
The Nielsen Company recently reported the results of a survey that found 17 percent of U.S. mobile phone users, or 43 million subscribers, access the Internet. Although these users are able to access internet content through the web browser of their wireless device, most internet sites are only designed to display information on a standard computer screen — not on small mobile screens. Additionally, wireless devices that access the internet use different mobile browsers and protocols, making it difficult for providers to consistently deliver content across a wide range of wireless devices.
TeleCommunication’s invention, however, allows internet content to be displayed in a variety of formats, dynamic to the mobile device’s web browser and type of display, and by the use of an intermediate gateway. The gateway formats the data from the wireless device and the content provider to eliminate either one from having to alter their communications for each other.
The company provided the following examples of the invention:
– A wireless user sends a request using a web browser for the stock
price of Company ABC. TCS’ invention receives that request and identifies
the device type and web browser of that user. TCS’ invention looks at data
available from different content providers that have ABC’s stock price in
the format that fits the device type and browser, selects that content, and
sends the formatted data back to the wireless device.
– A wireless user enters a particular URL address on their wireless
device. TCS’ invention receives that request and identifies the particular
device and web browser of the user. TCS’ invention applies appropriate
style sheets to the web site’s content based on the device and browser
type, and sends the formatted data back to the device. For example,
graphics may be stripped from the original web site and replaced with
descriptive meta tags prior to sending it back to a wireless device that
cannot accept or render graphics well.
– A content provider pushes data or an alert to a wireless user by
sending the relevant data and the user’s unique identifier to TCS’
invention. TCS’ invention associates the user with a particular device
type and formats the data to the user’s particular device. The transformed
data is then sent to the wireless device.
“The increasing demand from today’s mobile society to instantly access web sites and content presents the challenge of delivering legible content on the mobile device’s smaller viewing screen,” stated Drew Morin, senior vice president and chief technical officer of TCS. “TCS’ invention assists the content provider in accepting requests from a wireless device, and then translating the response for that particular wireless device. By knowing the type of Web browser on the specific phone, the provider can optimize the mobile web experience for that user.”
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