GB2451616A

GB2451616A - Location or motion dependent automatic control in a cellular phone

Info

Publication number: GB2451616A
Application number: GB0708845A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ian Anderson
Original assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2007-05-08
Filing date: 2007-05-08
Publication date: 2009-02-11
Anticipated expiration: 2027-05-08
Also published as: GB2451616B; GB0708845D0

Abstract

A method and apparatus are presented in which power drawn from a cellular phone by ancillary devices can be reduced by automatically turning the ancillary devices on or off depending on the detected movement and/or the indoor or outdoor location of the cellular phone. The ancillary devices may be, for example, a satellite signal receiver, an infra red transceiver or a short range radio transceiver. Other possible automatic actions in response to the motion or location type detected may be brightening or dimming a display or increasing or decreasing the volume of an audible alert.

Description

Location-Dependent Control In A Cellular Phone

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for saving power in a cellular phone.

ackground to the Invention Portable cellular telephones allow a user to make and receive telephone calls from different locations without the need for wired infrastructure connecting the cellular telephone to the telephone network.

This freedom from connecting wires enables a user of a portable cellular telephone to make and receive calls whether they are standing still, walking, or moving via some other form of transport. A relatively recent development in portable cellular telephones has been a short range radio link known as Bluetooth, which enables peripheral devices such as headsets, keyboards, or Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers to be connected to the portable cellular device without wires.

Also, there is a continuing trend among manufacturers and service providers of portable cellular telephones towards integration of different devices and services into one package. For example, it is now common to find portable cellular telephones that include a Wi-Fi interface and software to allow wireless connection to the Internet, and/or a GPS signal receiver, which may either be in-built or alternatively may be a separate unit that communicates with the portable cellular device via a Bluetooth link, to allow a user of the portable cellular device to ascertain their precise location.

Battery life between charges is an important consideration in the design of portable cellular devices. Battery life for a portable cellular phone is finite for a given size and type of battery. This life is shortened by drawing more power from the battery by, for example, powering ancillary devices such as a Wi-Fi card, a Bluetooth link, or a GPS signal receiver within the cellular device. Alternatively, if the GPS signal receiver is an external device that is communicating with the portable cellular device via the Bluetooth link, power will be drawn from the cellular device to power both the Bluetooth link and the GPS signal receiver (that is if the receiver draws its power from the cellular device. Alternatively, the GPS signal receiver may contain its own power source in which case the power drawn from the cellular device will be less).

In order to conserve battery life, it is desirable to turn off ancillary devices when their use is not required. Although ancillary devices can be turned off manually by the user when not needed, users often forget that the ancillary devices are switched on. Also, the steps needed to turn off the ancillary devices are often laborious. The result is that the user leaves the ancillary devices switched on whether they are needed or not. It is desirable therefore to turn these devices on and off automatically as required.

An object of the present invention is to provide a mobile communication device in which the power supplied to an ancillary device is automatically controlled in order to increase battery life.

Summary of the Invention

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, a mobile communication device is presented which is able to communicate wirelessly with a plurality of base stations that make up a communications network. The mobile communication device comprises a detector that is able to detect a parameter that indicates at least one movement that the mobile communication device makes. The mobile communication device also has an ancillary wireless communicator that is able to transmit information to and/or receive information from at least one remote device. Lastly, the mobile communication device has a controller that is able to adjust the ancillary device in response to a predetermined change in the parameter that indicates movement of the mobile communication device.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, a mobile communication device is presented which is able to communicate wirelessly with a plurality of base stations of a communications network. The mobile communication device comprises a detector that is able to detect a parameter that indicates information relating to movement of the mobile communication device. The mobile communication device also has a user interface having a plurality of configurable settings. A controller within the mobile communication device is able to adjust automatically the settings of the user interface in response to a predetermined change in the parameter detected by the detector.

Bnef Description of the Drawing

Various embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the attached figures in which: Fig. I schematically shows a cellular communications system in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 shows a schematic representation of main components of a cellular phone forming part of the cellular communication system of Figure 1; Fig. 3 is a graph showing base station signal strength fluctuations against time for three different types of cellular phone movement; Fig. 4 is a graph showing number of base station cells monitored against time for three different types of cellular phone movement; Fig. 5 is a graph showing total signal strength level against time as measured by a cellular phone when transitioning from an inside environment to an outside environment; Fig. 6 is a flow diagram of a method of operation of a cellular phone according to the first embodiment of the invention; Fig. 7 is a flow diagram of a method of operation of a cellular phone according to a second embodiment of the invention; Fig. 8 shows a schematic representation of main components of a cellular phone forming part of the cellular communication system of Figure 1 according to a third embodiment of the present invention; and Fig. 9 shows a schematic representation of main components of a cellular phone forming part of the cellular communication system of Figure 1 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the Embodiments

First Embodiment.

Figure 1 shows a cellular communications network I having a plurality of base stations 3a. . . 3e in communication with a plurality of cellular phones Sa. . . 5d. In particular, each base station 3 is capable of communicating with cellular phones 5 within a corresponding geographical cell 7a. . . 7e. In this embodiment the base stations 3 are conventional base stations for the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) system which is well known and accordingly will not be described in further detail.

In this embodiment, a cellular phone 5 measures the signal strengths from all of the base stations 3 with which the cellular phone 5 is in communication in order to monitor movement of the cellular phone 5. The cellular phone 5 also includes a conventional Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) receiver (not shown in Figure 1) which is able to determine the position of the cellular phone 5 by processing signals from a plurality of satellites 9a, 9b, 9c forming part of the GPS System. In accordance with the present invention, the cellular phone 5 controls the power supplied to the GPS receiver in accordance with the movement of the cellular phone 5 determined by the measured base station signal strengths as will be described in more detail hereafter.

As schematically shown in Figure 2, in this embodiment the cellular phone 5 has a controller 21 which is connected to an RF transceiver 23, a drive circuit 25, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 27, a keypad 29, a display 31, an IRDA module 33, a Bluetooth module 35, a GPS receiver 37 and a power module 39.

The RF receiver 23 is connected to an antenna 41 which detects signals from base stations 3 having cells 7 which cover the location of the cellular

I

phone 5. The RF receiver 23 processes the detected signals into a format for supply to the controller 21. The RF receiver 23 also processes signals from the controller 21 into a format for transmission to base stations 3 using the antenna 41. In this embodiment, the RF transceiver 23 also processes the signals detected by the antenna 41 from the base stations 3, and supplies parameters indicative of the signal strength from each detected base station 3 to the controller 21.

The drive circuit 25 is connected to speaker 43 and to controller 21. In this embodiment, drive circuit 25 comprises an amplifier and digital-to-analog converter and converts signals from controller 21 into a format suitable for output via speaker 43. The amplifier and digital-to-analog converter are any type of commercially available amplifier and digital-to-analog converter suitable for the task.

Analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 27 is connected to microphone 45 and controller 21 to convert signals from microphone 45 into a format suitable for supply to controller 21. ADC 27 is any type of commercially available ADC suitable for the task.

Keypad 29 is connected to controller 21 and allows a user of the cellular phone 5 to input data to controller 21 in a suitable format. Display 31 is connected to controller 21 and allows controller 21 to output data in a suitable format to a user of the cellular phone 5.

IRDA module 33, Bluetooth Module 35, and GPS receiver 37 are ancillary devices individually connected to controller 21. IRDA module 33 is an interface that allows controller 21 to send and/or receive data to or from an external device using an infra-red signal modulated in accordance with the IRDA standard. Bluetooth module 35 is an interface that allows controller 21 to send and/or receive data to or from an external device using a short range RF signal modulated in accordance with the Bluetooth standard. GPS receiver 37 is a GPS receiver that is able to receive signals from a plurality of satellites 9a, 9b, 9c forming part of the GPS System and pass these to controller 21.

Power module 39 supplies power from a battery (not shown) to controller 21, RF transceiver 23, drive circuit 25, ADC 27, keypad 29, display 31, IRDA module 33, Bluetooth module 35 and GPS receiver 37. Power module 39 is also connected to controller 21 which sends control signals to the power module 39 for controlling power output to each of the components supplied by power module 39.

Controller 21 contains a processor, a storage module for storing data, and code which is implemented by the processor to process input data and/or data stored in the storage module (none shown in Figure 2).

As a cellular phone 5 changes its geographical location from one cell 7 to another, i.e. as the user moves their location, the cellular phone 5 communicates with the different base stations 3 corresponding to the cell 7 in which the cellular phone 5 is geographically located (a process known as roaming). Techniques for handing off communication between cellular phone to different base stations 3 as the cellular phone 5 moves through different cells 7 corresponding to the different base stations 3 within cellular communications network I are well known in the art and will not be described in further detail here.

In this embodiment, in addition to monitoring the signal from the base station 3 corresponding to the cell 7 in which the portable cellular phone 5 is located, cellular phone 5 also monitors signals from one or more base stations corresponding to geographically neighbouring cells 7. The number of base stations 3 monitored is typically around six, and the parameters monitored typically include the strength of the signal from the base station 3 in each cell 7. Information regarding the signal strengths of the current and neighbouring base stations 3 is passed to the controller 21. Information regarding the number of base stations 3a. . . 3e being monitored by cellular phone 5 at any given time is also passed to the controller 21. Following receipt of the information about the monitored base stations 3 the controller 21 ascertains the current movement state of cellular phone 5 i.e. whether cellular phone 5 is stationary or moving, or whether the cellular phone 5 has moved inside or outside of a building.

The method in which the controller 21 ascertains the state of cellular phone 5 is described in "Context Awareness via GSM Signal Strength Fluctuation" (Ian Anderson et al.), published in the 4th International Conference on Pervasive Computing, late breaking results (pages 27-31) Oesterreichische Computer Gesellschaft, May 2006, and incorporated herein by reference.

Briefly, controller 21 records the maximum and minimum signal strength from each monitored base station 3 over a given time interval, typically 15 seconds. A total average signal strength value can be calculated by summing the maximum signal strength value for each base station 3 and dividing the value by the total number of base stations 3 monitored. A signal strength fluctuation value for each monitored base station 3 is calculated by subtracting the minimum signal strength value from the maximum signal strength value for each base station 3. A total signal strength fluctuation is then calculated for cellular phone 5 by summing the individual signal strength fluctuation values for all of the base stations 3 monitored in the given time interval.

The graph shown in Figure 3 illustrates typical total signal strength fluctuation against time results. The three lines in Figure 3 trace total signal strength fluctuations for three different movements of cellular phone 5 i.e. when the user of cellular phone 5 is stationary, walking and driving in a car.

Figure 4 shows three similar traces but represents the number of base stations 3 monitored by cellular phone 5 over time. It can be seen in both Figure 3 and Figure 4 that there is a large difference in the amplitude for both the total signal strength fluctuations and the number of base stations 3 monitored between the trace for when a user of cellular phone 5 is stationary and the trace for when a user of cellular phone 5 is moving (either by walking or by driving).

Figure 5 shows a trace of average total signal strength (i.e. the average strength as measured across all monitored cells) against time. Figure 5 clearly shows a large upward increase in total average signal strength as monitored by cellular phone 5 between forty and sixty seconds. This increase corresponds to movement of the cellular phone 5 from inside a building to outside a building.

The controller 21 analyses the total signal strength fluctuation data and total average signal strength data and outputs data indicative of whether the cellular phone 5 is stationary or moving, and data indicative of whether the cellular phone 5 inside a building or outside a building.

Figure 6 represents a method of operation of cellular phone 5 as illustrated in Figure 2. After determining, at SI, the movement parameters, the controller 21 checks, at S3, if the movement parameters indicate that the cellular phone 5 is outside and moving. If the controller 21 ascertains that cellular phone 5 is outside and moving, controller 21 checks, at S5, whether the GPS receiver 37 is switched on. If controller 21 ascertains that GPS receiver 37 is switched off then controller 21 switches, at S7, the GPS receiver 37 on, and no further action is taken, S9. If controller 21 ascertains, at S5, that the GPS receiver 37 is switched on then no further action is taken, sli.

If controller 21 ascertains that the movement parameters indicate that cellular phone 5 is not outside and moving, the controller 21 checks, at S13, whether the movement parameters indicate that the cellular phone 5 is inside and stationary. If the controller 21 ascertains that cellular phone 5 is inside and stationary, controller 21 checks, at S15, whether the GPS receiver 37 is switched on. If controller 21 ascertains that GPS receiver 37 is switched on then controller 21 switches, at S17, the GPS receiver 37 off, and no further action is then taken, S19. If controller 21 ascertains, at S15, that the GPS receiver 37 is not switched on then no further action is taken, S21.

If the controller ascertains that the movement parameters indicate that cellular phone 5 is not outside and moving, at S3, and not inside and stationary, at S13, no further action is taken, S23.

Second Embodiment A second embodiment will now be described, with reference to Figure 2, in which the method of controlling the supply of power to ancillary devices described in the first embodiment is modified to take account of whether the GPS receiver 37 has a satellite fix. The remaining features of the second embodiment are the same as for the first embodiment. Figure 7 represents the method of operation of cellular phone 5 of the second embodiment.

After determining, at Si, the movement parameters, the controller 21 checks, at S3, if the movement parameters indicate that the cellular phone 5 is outside and moving. If the controller 21 ascertains that cellular phone 5 is outside and moving, controller 21 checks, at S5, whether the GPS receiver 37 is switched on. If controller 21 ascertains that GPS receiver 37 is switched off, at S5, then the controller 21 switches, at S7, the GPS receiver on, and no further action is taken, S9. If controller 21 ascertains that the GPS receiver 37 is switched on then the controller 21 checks, at S25, whether the GPS receiver 37 has lost a satellite fix for more than two minutes. If the controller 21 ascertains that the GPS receiver 37 has lost a satellite fix for less than two minutes, no further action is taken, S27. If the controller 21 ascertains that the GPS receiver 37 has lost a satellite fix for more than two minutes, the controller 21 switches, at S29, the (3PS receiver 37 off, and no further action is taken, S31.

If controller 21 ascertains that the movement parameters indicate that cellular phone 5 is not outside and moving the controller 21 checks, at Si 3, whether the movement parameters indicate that the cellular phone 5 is inside and stationary. If the controller 21 ascertains that cellular phone 5 is inside and stationary, controller 21 checks, at S15, whether the GPS receiver 37 is switched on. If controller 21 ascertains that the GPS receiver 37 is not switched on then no further action is taken, S21. If controller 21 ascertains that GPS receiver 37 is switched on then the controller 21 checks, at S33, whether the GPS receiver 37 has lost a satellite fix for more than two minutes.

If the controller 21 ascertains that the GPS receiver 37 has lost a satellite fix for less than two minutes, no further action is taken, S27. If the controller 21 ascertains that the GPS receiver 37 has lost a satellite fix for more than two minutes, the controller 21 switches, at Si 7, the GPS receiver 37 off and no further action is taken, S19.

Third Embodiment In an alternative embodiment as depicted in Figure 8, a similar cellular phone 5 to that illustrated in Figure 2 is presented but cellular phone 5 does not contain a GPS receiver. In this embodiment, similar reference numerals have been used to describe features that are shared with the apparatus of the first embodiment. An external GPS receiver 801 is used that is able to communicate with the controller 21 of cellular phone 5 via Bluetooth module 35. External GPS receiver 801 is any type of commercially available GPS receiver that is capable of communicating via the short range radio link in accordance with the Bluetooth standard used by Bluetooth module 35. In this embodiment, GPS receiver 801 is electrically connected to power module 39 of cellular phone 5 such that it is able to draw power from the battery of cellular phone 5 (not shown) via power module 39, power output port 803, and power lead 805.

The method of operation of the apparatus of this third embodiment is the same as the method described in relation to the first embodiment.

Fourth Embodiment In an alternative embodiment as depicted in Figure 9, a similar cellular phone 5 to that illustrated in Figure 8 is presented. Similar numerals to those used in Figure 8 are used to describe features that occur in this embodiment that are also present in the apparatus of the third embodiment. In this embodiment, GPS receiver 901 contains its own power module 903 and is not electrically connected to power module 39 inside cellular phone 5.

The method of operation of the apparatus of this fourth embodiment is similar to that described in relation to the first embodiment but in this embodiment the supply of power to the Bluetooth module 35, rather than the GPS receiver 901, is turned on or off in dependence on the movement parameters.

Modifications Although the methods of operation of the apparatuses of the third and fourth embodiments have been described as similar to that of the first embodiment, it will be understood by the skilled person that the method of operation in the third and fourth embodiments could, instead, be similar to that described in relation to the second embodiment.

It will be understood by the skilled person that although the method of operation of the apparatus of the second embodiment describes the controller 21 ascertaining whether the GPS receiver 37 has lost satellite fix for more or less than 2 minutes, any suitable time limit could be used.

Although the aforementioned embodiments describe the turning on or off of either the GPS receiver 37 or the Bluetooth module 35 in response to a pre-determined routine of events, the skilled person will appreciate that the modules may be turned on or off in response to user defined routines. For example, a list of modules might be stored in the storage module in controller 21, where the list of modules defines a set of modules such as IRDA module 33 and/or Bluetooth module 35 that may be automatically controlled by cellular phone 5. For each module specified in the list, the user of the cellular phone 5 may enter a value to be associated with that module, the value being indicative of whether that module should be switched on or off depending on what movement parameters the controller 21 of cellular phone 5 determines.

Once controller 21 determines movement parameters for cellular phone 5, the controller 21 can turn modules on or off depending on the value associated with the module in the module list, the initial on/off state of the module, and the movement parameters of cellular phone 5.

In this modification, controller 21 could use any method to turn the modules on or off. One method would be by issuing a command that initiates the modules themselves to start up or shut down. Alternatively, controller 21 could instruct power module 39 to cease supplying, or to start supplying, power to individual modules to turn them off or on respectively.

Alternatively, rather than the controller 21 turning on or turning off power to the modules, the controller 21 could instruct power module 39 to decrease or increase the power supplied to the modules respectively. For example, Bluetooth module 35 could be made to enter a standby mode, corresponding to lower power consumption, by decreasing the power supplied to the Bluetooth module 35 when movement parameters indicate that the cellular phone 5 is stationary.

Although the first embodiment describes the turning on or off of the GPS receiver 37 in dependence on ascertained movement parameters, the skilled person will appreciate that rather than turning on or off the GPS receiver 37, certain behavioural aspects of the cellular phone 5 could be controlled instead.

In this modification, once controller 21 determines movement parameters for cellular phone 5, the controller 21 alters some aspect of cellular phone 5. For example, controller 21 could increase the ringer volume of the cellular phone 5 if the ascertained movement parameters indicate that the cellular phone 5 is outside andlor moving. Additionally or alternatively, controller 21 could decrease the ringer volume of the cellular phone 5 if the ascertained movement parameters indicate that the cellular phone 5 is inside and/or stationary. The skilled person will appreciate that rather than increasing or decreasing ringer volume, controller 21 could switch the ringer into a silent vibrate mode, or change some other aspect of the cellular phone 5.

It will be understood by the skilled person that although the GSM cellular communications network standard is referred to in the aforementioned embodiments, the cellular communications network standard could alternatively be the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UTMS) "3G" network standard or any other type of cellular communications network standard.

The skilled man will understand that although the aforementioned embodiments have been described as using a GPS receiver and the Global Positioning System, any type of satellite positioning system, such as the proposed European system, Galileo, and corresponding satellite signal receiver could be used to provide positional data to cellular phone 5 and the invention is not to be limited to the GPS system.

The use of an RF transceiver 23 has been described in the aforementioned embodiments but it will be understood by the skilled person that the RF transceiver 23 could be replaced by a separate RF transmitter and RF receiver, both drawing power separately from the battery of cellular phone 5 via power module 39, and both being controlled independently by controller 21.

The skilled person will appreciate that the IRDA module 33 and Bluetooth module 35 described in any one of the aforementioned embodiments could be replaced by any other communication interface means that will allow controller 21 to communicate with an external device. Other modules might include a Serial connection, a USB connection, a mini-USB connection, or a Wi-Fi interface (according to any Wi-Fi standard such as 802.1 lb or 802.1 Ig).

The method of all the preceding embodiments describes the controller 21 recording the maximum and minimum signal strength of each monitored base station 3 over a time interval of 15 seconds. It will be understood by the skilled person that any time interval could be chosen, and the controller 21 could even continuously record the instantaneous maximum and minimum signal strengths of each monitored base station 3.

In embodiments 1 to 4, controller 21 has been described as turning on or off the GPS receiver 37 or the Bluetooth module 35. The skilled person will understand that any method of turning the GPS receiver 37, or Bluetooth module 35 on or off could be used. One method would be by issuing a command that initiates the GPS receiver 37 or Bluetooth module 35 themselves to start up or shut down. Alternatively, controller 21 can instruct power module 39 to cease supplying, or to start supplying, power to GPS receiver 37 and/or Bluetooth module 35 to turn them off or on respectively.

In a modification of any one of embodiments I to 4, if controller 21 ascertains that cellular phone 5 has been outside and/or moving at any point within a given time period then controller 21 does not switch off the GPS receiver 37 and/or Bluetooth module 35. This time period may be five minutes, although the skilled person will appreciate that this time limit could be any suitable time limit.

Although the method of determining whether the cellular phone 5 is stationary or moving is described in any of the preceding embodiments as being ascertained through analysis of neighbouring base station signal strengths, the skilled man will appreciate that any other method of ascertaining whether the cellular phone 5 is stationary or moving could be used. The movement (i.e. stationary or moving) of the cellular phone 5 could be ascertained by analysing signal data from 2D accelerometers. US 2006/0187847 (Cisco Technology, mc) discloses one such system for detecting the state of a wireless mobile device by utilising signals from a 2D accelerometer. The Applicant notices however that using an accelerometer to sense the movement of the cellular phone 5, whilst effective, may be undesirable for a number of reasons. Firstly, additional hardware is required.

The hardware may be implemented in the cellular phone 5 at the time of manufacture in which case the additional manufacturing costs will ultimately be passed on to the end user. Alternatively, if an after market accelerometer unit is produced as an accessory that can be added to the cellular phone 5 at a later date, there may be customer confusion regarding model compatibility and difficulty in setting up the device etc. Regardless of whether the hardware is in-built or an after market accessory, there is the ever present risk that this hardware may become damaged; if a user were to drop the cellular phone 5, the resultant deceleration may be large enough to damage or destroy the sensitive accelerometer.

Although the method of operation of the preceding embodiments have been described in relation to determining whether cellular phone 5 is outside and moving and also whether cellular phone is inside and stationary, the skilled person will recognise that different combinations of these states may be used in order to control the power supplied to the anci!lary devices. For example, the power supplied to the ancillary devices might be dependent on whether cellular phone 5 was either stationary or moving only. Alternatively, the power supplied to the ancillary devices might be dependent on whether cellular phone 5 was either inside or outside only.

A particular advantage of the embodiments of the present invention presented above is that power is only supplied to the modules 35, 37 and/or OPS receiver 37, 801 if the user of the cellular phone 5 is in a situation where the use of these facilities is likely to be required. Turning off power to the modules 35, 37 and/or GPS receiver 37, 801 when the user of the cellular phone 5 is in a situation where their use is unlikely, results in more efficient use of stored power. This in turn may extend the battery life of the cellular phone S and result in an increase in the duration of time before the cellular phone 5 needs to be recharged.

Claims

1. A mobile communication device operable to communicate wirelessly with a plurality of base stations of a communications network, the mobile communication device comprising: a detector operable to detect at least one parameter indicative of movement of the mobile communication device; an ancillary device operable to transmit information to and/or receive information from at least one remote device; a controller operable to adjust the ancillary device in response to at least one predetermined change in the at least one parameter indicative of movement detected by said detector.

2. A mobile communication device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said at least one parameter indicative of movement is an indication that the mobile communication device is either stationary, moving, inside a building, or outside a building.

3. A mobile communication device in accordance with either claim I or claim 2, wherein said ancillary device is a satellite signal receiver and said at least one remote device is a satellite, said satellite being a member of a satellite positioning network.

4. A mobile communication device in accordance with either claim I or claim 2, wherein said ancillary device is a communicator capable of generating a short range radio link and said at least one remote device is a device capable of communicating with said ancillary device using said short range radio link.

5. The mobile communication device of claim 4, wherein said short range radio link is* Bluetooth and said at least one remote device is a Bluetooth compatible device.

6. The mobile communication device of claim 5, wherein said Bluetooth compatible device is arranged to draw power from said mobile communication device.

7. The mobile communication device of claim 6, wherein said Bluetooth compatible device is a satellite signal receiver.

8. A mobile communication device in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein said controller is operable to adjust the ancillary device by turning the ancillary device on or off.

9. A mobile communication device in accordance with any one of claims I to 7, wherein said controller is operable to adjust the ancillary device by turning power to the ancillary device on or off.

10. The mobile communication device of any one of claims 8 or 9, wherein said controller is operable to turn the ancillary device on, or to turn power to the ancillary device on, when said mobile communication device (5) is outside and/or moving and said ancillary device is turned off.

11. The mobile communication device of any one of claims 8 or 9, wherein said controller is operable to turn the ancillary device off, or to turn power to the ancillary device off, when said mobile communication device is inside and/or stationary and said ancillary device is turned on.

12. A mobile communication device in accordance with any one of claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7, wherein said controller is operable to adjust the ancillary device by decreasing or increasing the power supplied to the ancillary device.

13. The mobile communication device of claim 12, wherein said controller is operable to increase power to the ancillary device when said mobile communication device is outside and/or moving.

14. The mobile communication device of claim 12, wherein said controller is operable to decrease power to the ancillary device when said mobile communication device is inside and/or stationary.

15. A mobile communication device in accordance with any preceding claim, wherein said communications network is a GSM communications network.

16. A mobile communication device in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein said communications network is a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System communications network.

17. A mobile communication system comprising: at least one circuit switched network; at least two base stations connected to said at least one circuit switched network; and at least one mobile communication device in accordance with any preceding claim.

18. A method of saving power in a mobile communication device communicating wirelessly with a plurality of base stations of a communications network, the method comprising: detecting, using signals received from said plurality of base stations, at least one parameter indicative of movement of the mobile communication device; adjusting an ancillary device in response to at least one predetermined change in the at least one parameter indicative of movement detected.

19. A method of saving power in a mobile communication device in accordance with claim 18, wherein said at least one parameter indicative of movement is an indication that the mobile communication device is either stationary, moving, inside of a building, or outside of a building.

20. A method of saving power in a mobile communication device in accordance with either claim 18 or claim 19, wherein said adjusting an ancillary device comprises adjusting a satellite signal receiver.

21. A method of saving power in a mobile communication device in accordance with either claim 18 or claim 19, wherein said adjusting an ancillary device is adjusting a device capable of generating a short range radio link.

22. The method of saving power in a mobile communication device of claim 21, wherein said short range radio link is Bluetooth.

23. A method of saving power in a mobile communication device in accordance with any one of claims 18 to 22, wherein said adjusting said ancillary device comprises turning the ancillary device on or off.

24. The method of saving power in a mobile communication device of claim 23 further comprising turning the ancillary device on when said mobile communication device is outside and/or moving and said ancillary device is turned off.

25. The method of saving power in a mobile communication device of claim 23, further comprising turning the ancillary device off when said mobile communication device is inside and/or stationary and said ancillary device is turned on.

26. A method of saving power in a mobile communication device in accordance with any one of claims 18 to 22, wherein said adjusting the ancillary device comprises turning power to the ancillary device on or off.

27. A method of saving power in a mobile communication device in accordance with any one of claims 18, 19, 21, or 22, wherein said adjusting the ancillary device comprises decreasing or increasing the power supplied to said ancillary device.

28. A method of saving power in a mobile communication device in accordance with any preceding claim, wherein said communicating wirelessly comprises communicating wirelessly in a GSM communications network.

29. A method of saving power in a mobile communication device in accordance with any one of claims 18 to 27, wherein said communicating wirelessly comprises communicating wirelessly in a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System communications network.

30. An apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of Figures 1, 2, 8, or 9 of the accompanying drawings.

31. A system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of Figures 1, 2, 8, or 9 of the accompanying drawings.

32. A method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of Figures 6 or 7 of the accompanying drawings.

33. A mobile communication device operable to communicate wirelessly with a plurality of base stations of a communications network, the mobile communication device comprising: a detector operable to detect at least one parameter indicative of movement of the mobile communication device; a user interface means, having a plurality of configurable settings, to exchange information with a user of said mobile communication device; and a controller operable to adjust at least one of the plurality of configurable settings of the user interface means, in response to at least one predetermined change in the at least one parameter indicative of movement detected by said detector.

34. A mobile communication device in accordance with claim 33, wherein said at least one parameter indicative of movement is an indication that the mobile communication device is either stationary, moving, inside a building, or outside a building.

35. A mobile communication device in accordance with either claim 33 or claim 34, wherein said user interface means comprises a first audio alert associated with mobile communication device.

36. A mobile communication device in accordance with claim 35, wherein said adjusting at least one of the plurality of configurable settings of the user interface means comprises changing the first audio alert associated with mobile communication device to a second audio alert.

37. A mobile communication device in accordance with claim 34, wherein said user interface means comprises a speaker operable to output information from the mobile communication device to the user of mobile communication device.

38. A mobile communication device in accordance with claim 37, wherein said adjusting at least one of the plurality of configurable settings of the user interface means comprises increasing the volume output from said speaker in response to the at least one predetermined change in the at least one parameter indicative of movement detected by said detector indicating that the mobile communication device is moving or outside a building.

39. A mobile communication device in accordance with claim 37, wherein said adjusting at least one of the plurality of configurable settings of the user interface means comprises decreasing the volume output from said speaker in response to the at least one predetermined change in the at least one parameter indicative of movement detected by said detector indicating that the mobile communication device is stationary or inside a building.

40. A mobile communication device in accordance with claim 34, wherein said user interface means comprises a display operable to output information from the mobile communication device to the user of mobile communication device.

41. A mobile communication device in accordance with claim 40, wherein said adjusting at least one of the plurality of configurable settings of the user interface means comprises increasing the brightness of said display in response to the at least one predetermined change in the at least one parameter indicative of movement detected by said detector indicating that the mobile communication device is moving or outside a building.

42. A mobile communication device in accordance with claim 40, wherein said adjusting at least one of the plurality of configurable settings of the user interface means comprises decreasing the brightness of said display in response to the at least one predetermined change in the at least one parameter indicative of movement detected by said detector indicating that the mobile communication device is stationary or inside a building.

43. A mobile communication device in accordance with any one of claims 32 to 42, wherein said communications network is a GSM communications network.

44. A mobile communication device in accordance with any one of claims 33 to 42, wherein said communications network is a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System communications network.

45. A mobile communication system comprising: at least one circuit switched network; at least two base stations connected to said at least one circuit switched network; and at least one mobile communication device in accordance with any one of claims 33 to 44.