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HK1133340A - Apparatus and method for creating service accounts and configuring devices - Google Patents

Apparatus and method for creating service accounts and configuring devices Download PDF

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Publication number
HK1133340A
HK1133340A HK09111410.0A HK09111410A HK1133340A HK 1133340 A HK1133340 A HK 1133340A HK 09111410 A HK09111410 A HK 09111410A HK 1133340 A HK1133340 A HK 1133340A
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HK
Hong Kong
Prior art keywords
service
account
user
email
provider
Prior art date
Application number
HK09111410.0A
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Chinese (zh)
Inventor
E‧埃罗拉
V‧瓦斯塔
Original Assignee
Nokia Technologies Oy
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Publication date
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Publication of HK1133340A publication Critical patent/HK1133340A/en

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Description

Device and method for creating service account and configuring device
Technical Field
[1] The present invention relates generally to mobile communications, and more particularly to systems, devices and methods for conducting the creation of service provider accounts and the configuration of devices associated therewith.
Background
[2] Advancements in communication infrastructures and devices have turned standard communication devices into versatile communication tools. People communicate with each other and other electronic devices through networks ranging from Local Area Networks (LANs) to the ubiquitous Global Area Network (GAN), such as the internet. Wireless communication devices, such as mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), etc., are typically designed to interface with such networks, as well as with their local environment using short-range wireless technology.
[3] Today, such wireless devices are being used for a variety of different types of communications. For example, current and anticipated mobile phone technologies have transformed wireless devices into powerful tools capable of capturing and delivering voice, data, images, video, and other multimedia content. Mobile phones, once only a means of voice communication, now typically include data messaging capabilities, e.g., text messaging such as Short Message Service (SMS), multimedia messaging, instant messaging, email, voice over internet protocol (VoIP), and the like.
[4] However, these messaging capabilities typically require a corresponding messaging account. For example, a mobile phone user who wants to send and/or receive email via his/her mobile phone must establish some email account in order to engage in email communications. However, there are a large number of individuals who do not have a prior email account, or do not have a personal computer through which it is possible to have an email account/address on hand. This is especially true in the developing market.
[5] In addition, there are individuals who may already have an established email account but do not want to use the email account on the mobile device and therefore want the mobile device to have another email box. Thus, these people have to take action to determine who can create accounts and how to configure any such accounts. There are also security concerns with current configuration methods, as malicious configuration packages may arrive at the device and the user will face potentially serious risks.
[6] Another problem often affects mobile device users, where user interface mechanisms may be more difficult to manipulate. For example, many mobile phones do not have a standard keyboard (e.g., a QWERTY keyboard), but rather have a numeric keypad with alphabetic character capabilities. Entering information needed to establish a new service account or configure an account via such a limited UI device is difficult and time consuming. These limitations can also complicate activating existing email accounts on such devices.
[7] Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a way to efficiently and easily establish and/or configure service accounts on a communication device. The present invention fulfills these and other needs, and provides other advantages over the prior art.
Disclosure of Invention
[8] To overcome the limitations in the prior art described above, and to overcome other limitations that will become apparent upon reading and understanding the present specification, the present invention discloses systems, devices, and methods for conducting the creation of service provider accounts and the configuration of devices associated therewith.
[9] A method according to one embodiment of the invention includes transmitting one or more parameters associated with a device and, in response, receiving a list of service providers. The list is derived from the set of service providers using the parameters of the transmission. Selection of a service provider is enabled and communication is made with the selected service provider to create a service account with the selected service provider.
[10] In more specific embodiments of such methods, selectable options are presented to create a new service account or to configure an existing service account for use on the device bypassing creation of a new service account. In one embodiment, a selection of an option to configure an existing service account is identified and, in response, a service account identifier representing an existing service provider of the existing service account is provided. Configuration data associated with an existing service provider is received, and the device is configured to operate with the existing service provider using the received configuration data. In another particular embodiment, the existing service account is an existing email account. In this case, providing the service account identifier of the existing service provider representing the existing service account includes providing an email address associated with the existing email account. In another embodiment, the communication is redirected to an existing service provider to authenticate the user of the device to an existing service account. In this case, receiving the configuration data associated with the existing service provider includes receiving the configuration data if a user of the device is authenticated for the existing service account.
[11] In another embodiment of the method, a network address is associated with each service provider in the list, wherein communicating with the selected service provider comprises communicating with the selected service provider at the network address of the selected service provider. In another embodiment, conducting communications with the selected service provider includes directing a browser application on the device to a network address of the selected service provider to create a service account with the selected service provider. In another embodiment, conducting communications with the selected service provider includes presenting a web page provided by the selected service provider, enabling entry of account data associated with the user/device, and communicating the account data to the selected service provider for creation of a service account.
[12] Other embodiments of the method include automatically transmitting parameters associated with the device with a request to create a service account in response to an attempt to invoke a client that has not been configured for use with the selected service provider. Another embodiment further includes configuring the device with configuration data obtained in response to creating the new service account.
[13] One embodiment of the method includes receiving a contact record that includes at least a user service identifier (e.g., an email address, a VoIP address, a SIP address, etc.) that identifies a user of the device with respect to the created service account, and storing the received contact record in a contact database. In an alternative embodiment, such a contact record is created at the device when the user service identifier is received.
[14] Yet another embodiment includes receiving a contact record including at least identifying information obtained from the creation of the service account, and modifying at least one existing local contact record with information from the received contact record. Thus, existing contact records at a device may be updated instead of or in addition to creating new contact records at the device. Another embodiment includes receiving a contact record including at least identifying information obtained from the creation of the contact account, and creating a new local contact record from the received contact record.
[15] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method is provided that includes receiving a first parameter associated with a device and, in response, deriving a list of service providers from a set of service providers. The list is provided to the device. Second parameters are received, wherein the second parameters are associated with a service account established between the device and a selected one of the service providers from the list. Configuration data is created based on the first and second parameters and provided to the device.
[16] In more particular embodiments, the method further includes enabling selectable options for the device to create a new service account or configure an existing service account for use on the device bypassing creation of the new service account. A service account identifier is received in response to selection of the option to configure an existing service account. A messaging provider corresponding to the service account identifier is identified. Configuration data for a device capable of configuring the device for use with an existing service account is created and transmitted to the device.
[17] More specific embodiments of such methods further include instructing the device to communicate with a service provider corresponding to the service account identifier to authenticate a user of the device to an existing service account. In another embodiment, the service account identifier includes a messaging address, the existing service account includes an existing messaging account, and the service provider includes a messaging provider.
[18] In other embodiments of such methods, deriving the list of service providers comprises comparing the first parameter to a set of service providers and creating the list based on those service providers corresponding to the first parameter. Another embodiment further comprises associating a network address for each respective service provider in the list. Another embodiment includes signing the configuration data before providing the configuration data to the device.
[19] Another embodiment of the method includes creating a contact record that includes at least a user service identifier corresponding to an established service account and providing the contact record to the device. In another embodiment, in response to receiving the test identifier, a test mode may be invoked during which the service provider being tested is hidden from the derived list and then the appropriate service establishment is tested. Another embodiment includes providing at least one software module to a device relating to a service associated with an established service account.
[20] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a communication device is provided. The apparatus includes a transmitter to transmit parameters associated with the apparatus, and a receiver to receive a list of service providers derived using the transmitted parameters. The user interface is configured to enable user selection of a service provider in the list. The processor is configured to identify a selection of at least one service provider in the list and to conduct creation of a service account with the selected service provider.
[21] In a more specific embodiment, the processor is further configured to initiate a browser module directed to a network address of the selected service provider to enable user interaction therewith to create the service account with the selected service provider. In another embodiment, the processor is configured to identify an attempt to invoke a non-configured client module and, in response, instruct the transmitter to automatically transmit one or more parameters associated with the device. Another embodiment includes the processor being configured to activate the device with configuration data obtained in response to creation of a new service account. The communication device may be any type of device capable of communicating, such as a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, a computing device, and the like.
[22] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a network element is provided. The network element, e.g., a server, includes a receiver that receives a first parameter associated with a device. The processor is configured to derive a list of service providers from the set of service providers using the first parameter. The transmitter is for providing the list to the device. The receiver further receives second parameters associated with a service account established between the device and a selected one of the service providers from the list. The processor is further configured to create configuration data for the device based on the first and second parameters. In a particular embodiment of such a network element, the processor is further configured to create a contact record comprising at least a user service identifier identifying a user of the device with respect to the established service account.
[23] According to another embodiment of the invention, a communication device is provided that includes a transmitter to transmit a service related identifier associated with an existing service account, and a receiver to receive configuration data associated with a service provider identified by the service related identifier. The processor uses the received configuration data to configure the communication device for operation with the service provider.
[24] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a computer-readable medium is provided having instructions stored thereon that are executable by a computer system to create a service account usable by a communication device. Computer-executable instructions cause identification of one or more device parameters to be communicated and present a list of service providers, wherein the list is derived from a set of service providers, the deriving being performed using the one or more parameters. The instructions further enable user selection of a service provider in the list and communication with the selected service provider to create a service account with the selected service provider.
[25] The above summary of the present invention is not intended to describe each embodiment or every implementation of the present invention. Rather, attention is directed to the following drawings and description, which set forth representative embodiments of the invention.
Drawings
[26] The invention will be described in connection with embodiments illustrated in the following drawings.
[27] FIG. 1 is a block diagram generally illustrating a representative network environment in which the principles of the present invention may be applied;
[28] FIG. 2 is a block diagram generally illustrating a representative network environment in which the principles of the present invention may be applied to initiate an email application on a mobile device;
[29] FIG. 3A is an exemplary message flow diagram of one manner in which a service account may be created and activated;
[30] FIG. 3B is an exemplary message flow diagram illustrating an alternative representative embodiment in which the resulting contact record may be made available to the user;
[31] FIG. 4 (including FIGS. 4A-4I) illustrates an exemplary, representative progression of device screen/display presentation during creation and automatic configuration of an email account;
[32] FIG. 5 is an exemplary message flow diagram of one manner in which a service account may be configured or activated for use on a device;
[33] FIG. 6 (including FIGS. 6A-6G) illustrates an exemplary, representative progression of device screen/display presentations during automatic configuration of an existing email account;
[34] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram generally illustrating an exemplary manner in which a device may establish a service account for any service type;
[35] FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary embodiment for deriving a filtered list of service providers based on parameters provided by a device;
[36] figure 9 is a flow diagram generally illustrating one representative manner in which a network element may indicate the creation of a service account and optionally configure a device for use with the service account;
[37] FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating one representative manner in which a device may implement its configuration for use with an existing email account;
[38] FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating one representative manner in which a server or network element may facilitate configuration of a device in which an email account of a device user already exists;
[39] FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating various embodiments of a method including a user selection of whether a new service account is desired or an existing service account is to be used; and
[40] FIG. 13 illustrates a representative system in which the present invention may be implemented or utilized.
Detailed Description
[41] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the U.S. patent and trademark office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
[42] In the following description of the exemplary embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration various ways in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and operational changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
[43] In general, the present invention provides systems, devices, and methods for conducting the creation of service provider accounts and the configuration of devices associated therewith. For example, the present invention makes the creation of new accounts for services such as email, voice over internet protocol (VoIP), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), picture sharing, etc. As indicated above, the new email service is one in which the present invention can be used, making it easy and convenient for users to establish email messaging on their mobile devices. In addition to creating new email and other service accounts, one embodiment also includes an activation service mechanism for activating existing email accounts in such devices. This also provides a direct way for service providers to obtain new and active users.
[44] Although the following description focuses on an email implementation as a representative application to which the present invention may be applied, this is for illustrative purposes only. The invention is equally applicable to other services such as email, voice over internet protocol (VoIP), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), picture sharing, etc. Those skilled in the art can determine from the description provided herein that embodiments for email applications are equally applicable to other applications and services that also involve initial activation. The present invention is therefore not limited to the specific, representative embodiments described below.
[45] FIG. 1 is a block diagram generally illustrating a representative network environment in which the principles of the present invention may be applied. The device that may attempt to create and/or configure a service account may be any device capable of communicating (i.e., transmitting and/or receiving) information over a landline trunk and/or wireless network. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a representative device attempting to create and/or configure a service account is a mobile device 100, such as a mobile phone 100A, a personal digital assistant 100B, a laptop computer 100C, or other computing device 100D. The representative network 102 is representative of devices 100 capable of communicating information to and from applications such as email clients, VoIP clients, picture capture and publishing clients, and the like. For example, network 102 may represent a GSM/GPRS network that also communicates with the Internet and/or other terrestrial backbone networks to ultimately connect wireless device 100 with servers and other resources available via the Internet. As another representative example, network 102 may include a wireless local area network infrastructure. These are merely representative examples, as network 102 may represent any network or networks capable of operating with another network to communicate information to and from device 100.
[46] One example of use involves a user of device 100 invoking a native application (e.g., client 104) that has not yet been configured for use. For example, client 104 may represent an email client, where a user attempts to open the program and is notified that an email account has not been established in accordance with the present invention. In accordance with the present invention, another client 105 (which may or may not be part of the client 104) may automatically know the location of the activation server 106, and based on certain parameters associated with the device 100, a list of email (or other related service) providers may be retrieved to the activation server 106. The activation server 106 may itself store the list of email providers, or may obtain the list from elsewhere, such as from the association database 108, the backend server 110, and so forth. Depending on which provider the user selects, the device 100 browser or other accessing application will be directed to the selected provider server 112 (e.g., a website or other addressable network location). Service activation causes the email client to communicate with the appropriate server (e.g., servers 113 and 114). These servers 113, 114 represent servers such as the following: IMAP servers, POP servers, SMTP servers, or other related servers that may be used when the application server represents an "email" server.
[47] It should be noted that some of these servers 113, 114 may be servers of an e-mail provider, or servers of a network operator. For example, the SMTP server may be a server of an email provider, or may be a server of a mobile operator or an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Configuring the SMTP address of the operator may be preferred in cases where the mobile device capable of communicating via the cellular infrastructure does not have a WLAN or other network interface beyond the cellular network interface.
[48] When directed to a selected provider, the user will have the ability to create an account with the selected provider (if no account already exists). In one embodiment, the user device 100 may then receive a link or other automatic or selectable option to cause the device to be automatically configured to a new account. In one embodiment, the user is presented with a main menu, a new email box, and/or other relevant starting points for the messaging client 104. In this way, device 100 may easily create a new service account and may be automatically configured for use with the new service account.
[49] FIG. 2 is a block diagram generally illustrating a representative network environment in which the principles of the present invention may be applied to launch an email application on a mobile device. As previously described, it is often tedious for the end user to make email settings correct for use with communication devices and especially for use with wireless/mobile devices. This becomes quite complicated if the end user does not have any existing email accounts, or wants to set up new email accounts specifically for use on the mobile device. This may be the case in emerging markets, for example. In addition to assisting in the establishment of new service providers, the present invention also provides support for end users who want to select between multiple email service providers.
[50] The embodiment of fig. 2 relates to, among other things, distributing new email accounts (or other application accounts) on behalf of an email provider (or other service provider) through a communication device such as a mobile phone, PDA, or other handset. As noted above, the present invention is applicable to a variety of services and associated accounts, such as email, VoIP, picture sharing, and the like. For example, in the case of VoIP, a user may obtain a VoIP account from a service provider and the device client is automatically configured. Alternatively, the user may first send the credentials to the WLAN network and then the VoIP account, where VoIP is an application over WLAN. In another embodiment, the user may create an account for the photo sharing application, whereby the camera application asks the user whether he wants to get an account to photo company a in the united states, or photo company B in finland, etc.
[51] A typical use case, namely obtaining an email account on a mobile device, is described in connection with fig. 2. In the representative embodiment of fig. 2, where the service provider is an email provider, and involves a plurality of network elements, including a communication device having a messaging client (not shown) and service activation clients 200, 202. Each client type 200, 202 may represent a different service activation client for a different device. For example, client type-A200 may be for a first mobile phone, where client type-n 202 may be for a particular personal digital assistant. In another representative example, client type-A200 may be used in one particular mobile phone model and client type-n 202 may be used in another mobile phone model. These client modules 200, 202 may be implemented as embedded native applications in the device or as additional applications.
[52] The devices associated with the client modules 200, 202 have User Interfaces (UIs), such as browser applications and displays, to provide the web UIs 204A, 204B to network elements, such as the service activation server 206, and to provide the user 208 with an account creation interface for an email provider. Signature server 210 may be used to sign configuration documents, as will be described in detail below. One embodiment involves a settings database 212, wherein the service activation server 206 imports data from the settings database 212. In one embodiment, the settings database 212 is editable via an interface, which in one embodiment is implemented as a web interface 214. The settings database 212 may be used to store settings data and may store parameters in a flexible scheme that can be extended for other service provisioning needs (e.g., IM, VoIP, etc.). The service activation server 206 and/or the signature server 210 may be controlled via the administrator UI 216. The monitoring module 218 may also be used to monitor system functionality.
[53] As noted above, management of service provider settings may be accomplished by an administrator via administrator UI 216. The administrator may manually enter new service provider information, such as by manually entering setup parameters via the administrator UI 216. Alternatively, the setup parameters/information may be received by way of a document or other block of data provided to the administrator UI 216. In another representative embodiment, data from an external master database (not shown) may be automatically updated (e.g., automatic periodic, scheduled, or event-triggered updates) to the settings database 212. Higher administrators (e.g., "super administrators") may create accounts for individuals in a particular region or country in order to have administrative rights to manage new account offerings within a given region, country, group of countries, etc.
[54] Managing the service activation server 206 and/or other elements associated with the service activation server 206 may also include testing for new information associated with the server 206. For example, the service activation server 206 may include testing functionality, wherein data, such as new service provider information, may be tested and during the testing time may be hidden from the other devices 200 and 202.
[55] One representative way to perform such testing is for an administrator or other designated user to enter a particular keyword or other test identifier through the handset when the server 206 requests, for example, a username or other identifier for a service account. More specifically, when a new email provider entry is tested on the server, the email provider entry is only active on the server for the test and is not presented to other users. When the wizard is launched, the tester may first choose to use an existing account. When the server 206 requests an email account (e.g., enters an email address and/or other email account information), the tester may type or enter keywords. The keyword informs the server 206 that the test is being performed and the server 206 enables configuration with a service provider entry on the server that is only active for the test. The tester now types in an email address for the new service provider entry and tests whether the email is operating correctly with the device configured by the new service provider's settings from the server. In this manner, an administrator or other designated tester may determine whether a service provider entry may operate correctly before making the new service provider entry available to all users.
[56] The representative elements of fig. 2 all allow various situations to occur. For example, a user may create a new email account and configure it for a device. Alternatively, the user may configure an email client on the handset to use an existing email account. Authorized maintenance personnel are allowed to create, update and modify operator details, such as outgoing SMTP server addresses. Maintenance personnel may also be allowed to create, update and modify email provider details, such as incoming IMAP or POP server addresses. Maintenance personnel may also be allowed to import data from the settings database 212, import and export data, create reports on system usage, monitor system functionality, and the like.
[57] An exemplary use case for the representative system of fig. 2 is now described. When a user opens an unconfigured email client/application (not shown), one embodiment involves presenting the user with an option to activate the application. This may be presented, for example, when a first attempt is made to invoke a messaging client (e.g., an email application). Alternatively, this may be the "create email account" menu item in the messaging client. As another example, a separate UI may reside in the device for accessing settings configurations, which includes options for "create new email account", "activate email client", and/or "configure email". As another example, a link on a web page may point to a service activation server to initiate service activation. The above examples are merely representative examples and a number of other alternatives may be used to initiate the creation of a new account.
[58] In the case where the user has selected to create a new account, the user is presented (visually and/or otherwise) with a list of email providers, such as where the handset browser retrieves such a list from the service activation server 206 and/or settings database 212. In one embodiment, the particular list presented depends on one or more parameters associated with the handset or user, such as the country of the device, the operator of the device, the model of the device, the language of the device, and so forth. In one embodiment, individuals in a particular country manage the list through an administrator User Interface (UI)216 of the service activation server; for example, a service activation account for a country/operator/language/device combination is assigned to the user by an administrator. Companies may enter into country-specific agreements with service providers who have distribution channels to their accounts in certain devices. The user clicks on one of the service provider options that takes the user to the account of provider 208 to create a web page. In one embodiment, the user obtains a web page confirmation from the service provider 208 that the account was created, whereby the user can obtain an email address, username, and/or other information presented to the user.
[59] According to one embodiment of the invention, a link or other selectable option is provided to the user to initiate configuration of the new account. This may be performed automatically upon selection of a service provider. In another embodiment, a confirmation web page (or similar electronic document) from the service provider provides a link, such as a "CONTINUE" link. In one embodiment, clicking on such a link will cause the device to be automatically configured to a new account, and at the end of this configuration process, the user may be presented with the main menu of the messaging client, with a new email box appearing in the menu. Such a "continue" or other similar link may include all parameters needed to properly configure the account to the device. The link points to the service activation server, which in one embodiment is the same server the handset accesses at the start of the service activation session, so that the email provider list is obtained based on the parameters received by the server from the device. In one embodiment, the service activation server 206 may have received certain parameters from the device to ensure security when the device initially requests the service provider list.
[60] Using the parameters from the device and possibly also from the email provider 208, the device activation server creates a configuration file. In one embodiment, service activation server 208 requests signing server 210 to sign a document. The signed document is received by the device, the signature is checked, and the configuration is completed.
[61] In one embodiment, the implementation may be affected using an email activation wizard/client 200, 202 provided in the device, an email server (e.g., IMAP, POP, SMTP) and a web server (e.g., providing an account creation web page) of any consumer email provider, along with easy account creation and service activation. This makes email messaging simple for the user. After service activation, the device email client has the appropriate configuration parameters to receive and send emails. The user does not need to know anything about the configuration and only needs to provide some easily understandable data, such as a name, password, etc. For service providers, the approach is simple and easy to deploy, since only a few web pages are needed to support service activation and potentially reach a large number of new consumers.
[62] FIG. 3A is an exemplary message flow diagram of one manner in which an email (or other service) account may be created and activated. Since some of the network elements of fig. 3A correspond to those of fig. 2, the same reference numerals may be used for the service activation client 200, the service activation server 206, the email provider 208 and the signature server 210 in fig. 3A.
[63] The example of fig. 3A assumes that the user 300 attempts to initiate an unconfigured email client associated with the user's handset 302. Using the mobile device 302, the user can create a new account and configure the device 302 to use the new account. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3A, both service activation server 206 and email provider 208 provide HTML pages to user 300. As will be set forth below, the embodiment of FIG. 3A involves a user first interacting with service activation server 206, then with email provider 208, and then interacting with service activation server 206 again.
[64] The user 300 first chooses to create a new email account via handset 302, as depicted by interaction line 304. In one embodiment, the user activates an email service activation wizard (i.e., client 200) on the handset and begins the account creation process. This may be activated by any UI means including, but not limited to, selecting a link, selecting a menu item, entering text, etc. A web browser on the handset is launched with an initial URL pointing to the email service activation server 206.
[65] In one embodiment, handset 302 sends a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) or other similar request 306 with various parameters such as the user's location and network (e.g., MCC, MNC), handset type, language, key information, specific words (nonces), etc. These parameters are used in messages between system components or, in other words, they form part of the namespace of the interaction. Some of these handset parameters (e.g., MCC, MNC, handset type, language) cause the set of email providers to be limited to a relevant subset of email providers, among others. Other parameters (e.g., "key information," "specific words") support building trust between the client and the server. In one embodiment, the client 200 and/or other service activation client adds the parameter to the URI. Table 1 below illustrates representative sets of parameters that may be communicated from the handset 302 to the service activation server 206 with a new service request.
Parameter(s) Description of the invention
MNC The mobile network code of the user. The parameters may be used to personalize the service based on the user's local information. Example BNF (Backus-Naur Form) syntax: a string of numeric characters. MNC 1X 3DIGIT
MCC The mobile country code of the user. The parameters may be used to personalize the service based on the user's local information. Example BNF syntax: MCC-1-3 DIGIT
Nonce Created at the handset. The device may provide a NONCE code (randomly created) to the email service activation server 206. When the provisioning document is sent to the device, the specific word is used as part of the signature computation (using, for example, a fully defined asymmetric signature process). The device may then automatically accept the provisioning without disturbing the user. Example BNF syntax: nonce-charronce-char ═ ([ a-z ═ c]|[A-Z]|[0-9])
Key information The public key may be built into the client software of the handset and used as a key pair identifier that can be used for signing and verification. In one embodiment, the service activation server 206 may interoperate with multiple generations of devices, where each generation of devices may have a unique public key, and the associated private key is managed by the server. The device indicates which private key is to be used. This may be achieved by using the key parameter "key information"provide a reference string of, for example, a maximum of 16 characters. In one exemplary embodiment, the value of the key parameter has a prefix of "skey" with the creation date of the key pair in the format YYYYMMDD. Example BNF syntax: keyinfo ═ skey' creation date
Creation date of 8DIGIT
Device information The device information parameter identifies the phone model for which the provisioning request is being made. Example BNF syntax: device information 2 x 10ALPHA
Movement of This action should be set to "create" if the user's intent is to create a new email account, or "activate" if the user's intent is to activate an existing account. Set to "create" in the example of fig. 3A. Example BNF syntax: action ═ action ("create" | "activate")
cVersion This is the version number of the client software. In one embodiment, the cVersion parameter is used to express plug and play (PnP) mobile services capabilities of a device. Example BNF syntax: cVersion ═<PnP-MS capability><PnP-MS capability>＝<PnP-MS capability name>-<major>.<minor><PnP-MS capability name>＝1*ALPHA<Major>＝1*ALPHA<Minor>1 ═ ALPHA example: cVersion ═ EXAMPLE-1.2 it should be noted that the exemplary version numbers shown above represent an expression of PnP capabilities of a device. In some cases, such as VoIP, version information for the VoIP client itself may also be provided.
sType This represents the type of setting to be created. In one embodiment, for an e-mail setting, the parameter is set to a particular value, such as 1. BNF syntax: sType ═ 1 "
TABLE 1
[66] As an example, the called URI (or other Uniform resource identifier URI) may look like the following:
https://<servername>/settings/getProviderList.doMNC＝123&MCC＝123&Nonce＝abcdefgh&keyinfo＝nok12345&deviceinfo＝N90-1&action＝create&sType＝1
[67] the language of the user may be determined by an accepted language HTTP header. In response to receiving the parameter, the service activation server 206 identified by the URL (or other URI) obtains a list of email providers available to the user based on the parameter. The list is returned 308 to the handset 302 where it may be displayed or presented to the user 300.
[68] The set of service providers (from which the subset/list of service providers is obtained) may be maintained by one or more entities. In one embodiment, if the associated company so chooses, the service provider is added to the collection or pool of potential service providers through the administration UI. For example, a company acting as a service provider may complete testing, validation, etc. of a service and thereafter notify an administrator of the pool to add the service provider to the pool of service providers. In another embodiment, the service providers may be provided with web UIs to add themselves to the pool of service providers. In this case, the service provider will be given more responsibility in order to ensure proper operation. Additionally, the order of service providers on the set of service providers and/or the resulting subset/list of service providers may be managed by an administrator. Alternatively, the order may be random, alphabetical, rotated view, or the like.
[69] From the presented list of email providers, the user may then select a desired email provider, as depicted at interaction line 310. In one embodiment, the list of email providers presented by the browser of the handset 302 includes a link to each email provider's account creation page. In such an embodiment, the user selects one of the links corresponding to the desired email provider 208. The URL associated with the selected link is sent 312 to the email provider 208 identified by the URL and also includes email account parameters. Table 2 below illustrates a representative set of email account parameters that may be communicated from handset 302 to email provider 208, e.g., appended to a selected email provider URL. The request may be made in any known manner, such as by a GET or POST request including parameters such as those in table 2 below. The e-mail provider 208 should store the parameters during the signing process.
Parameter(s) Description of the invention
MNC Mobile network code for a user
MCC Mobile country code for a user
homeUrl It may be desirable to allow the user to navigate back to the provider list page in service activation server 206. homeUrl defines the address of the service activation server 206, where the user can be directed if he/she decides to cancel the email activation process when interacting with the email provider's server. Thus, the address may be provided to the email provider 208 using the "homeUrl" parameter or other suitable parameter.
serverUrl The parameter defines the address of the service activation server 206.
TABLE 2
[70] In response, the email provider 208 may provide 314 a blank web page to obtain details of the user. For convenience, the web form should be formatted for the user's handset 302. The user may provide 316 details to create an email account with the email provider 208. In one embodiment, email provider 208 takes appropriate action to prevent automated email account creation, such as allowing the user to recognize text in an image. The email provider 208 may also require the user to pay a fee. These or other/additional interactions 318, 320 may be implemented.
[71] In one embodiment, the email provider 208 eventually creates a new account and provides 322a link or other selectable option to the setup/configuration service. In one embodiment, provided is a link on a page provided to the browser of the handset 302. For purposes of discussion, assume that the link is entitled "Activate," which points to the service activation server 206. The user clicks on the "activate" link, as depicted by interaction line 324, and then sends a request 326 from the handset 302 to the service activation server 206. The URL "request" includes the address of the service activation server 206, as well as various parameters. The parameters may include, for example, parameters provided earlier by the device (e.g., MCC, MNC, key information, specific words, etc.). The parameters may also include email account details such as email address, username, IMAP server address and type, SMTP server address, etc. Some of these parameters may be provided by the email provider 208 backend, such as email address and username. Other of these parameters may be provided by handset 302 at the beginning of the service activation session. In any case, sufficient parameters are provided to service activation server 206 to allow service activation server 206 to create 328 a settings document, also referred to as a configuration document or provisioning document. Table 3 below illustrates one representative, exemplary set of parameters that may be provided to the service activation server 206 from the email provider 208.
Parameter(s) Constraining By default Description of the invention
sType Mandatory property* 1 Representing to be createdThe type of setting. In one embodiment, for an email setting, the parameter is set to a particular value, such as 1. Example BNF syntax: sType ═ 1 "
provId Mandatory property* - A unique ID of the e-mail provider 208. The service activation server 206 is able to identify the provider based on the parameter. Each provider knows its own id. Example BNF syntax: prevId ═ 2 x 20ALPHA
settingName Database with a plurality of databases Default values for configuration A user readable name of the setting to be created. The parameter is displayed as a name set in the handset. BNF syntax: settingName ═ 1 × 30ALPHA
fromAddr Is interrogated - The email address of the user. Example BNF syntax: fromacaddr ═ 1 × ALPHA
inAddr Database + queried - The address of the incoming mail server. Example BNF syntax: InAddr ═ 1 ═ ALPHA
inPort Database with a plurality of databases 110 for POP3, 143 for IMAP, and 993 for IMAPS Port number into the server. Example BNF syntax: any valid port number. InPort-1-5 DIGIT
inAuthName Is interrogated User email address without domain Username used when authenticating to an incoming mail server. If this sum inAuthPass is omitted, no verification will be performed when connecting to the incoming mail server. Example BNF syntax: InAuthName ═ ALPHA
inAuthPass Is interrogated If it is set, equal to outauthPas A password for authenticating access to the mail server. Example BNF syntax: InAuthPass ═ ALPHA
inAuthType Database with a plurality of databases LOGIN A type of authentication used to authenticate access to the mail server. BNF syntax for example of POP3 server: InAuthType ═ CRAM-MD5 "|" DIGEST-MD5”|“LOGIN”|“PLAIN”)
BNF syntax for the example of IMAP server: InAuthType ═ LOGIN "
inType Optional i The type of outgoing server. For IMAP "i" and for POP3 "p". Example BNF syntax: InType ═ p ("|")
outAddr Database + queried - The address of the outgoing mail server. Example BNF syntax: outAddr ═ 1 ═ ALPHA
outPort Optional 25 Port number into the server. Example BNF syntax: any effectPort number. InPort-1-5 DIGIT
outAuthName Is interrogated User email address without domain A username to authenticate the outgoing server. Example BNF syntax: outauthNam ═ ALPHA
outAuthPass Is interrogated - BNF syntax of password example for authenticating outgoing mail server: outauthNam ═ ALPHA
outAuthType Database with a plurality of databases LOGIN Authentication type for authenticating an outgoing server. Example BNF syntax: outauttype ═ ("CRAM-MD 5" | "LOGIN" | "PLAIN")
*"mandatory" is used only for the purpose of this example embodiment.
TABLE 3
[72] In one embodiment, after the provisioning document is created 328, it is signed 330 by the service activation server 206. In one embodiment, the signature is signed using a private key in the signature server 210, and the email service activation server 206 receives 332 the signed document and the client verifies the signature using a public key. Thus, the service activation server 206 may sign the configuration document with a private key and the clients may check the signature with the respective public key. This addresses security concerns for the device user so that the user need not be interrupted by a potential security threat, which may be a malicious configuration package reaching the device. For example, if the configuration package is sent today via SMS, the user has to decide whether he/she wants to save the configuration data. This embodiment of the invention, which relates to signing a configuration document, alleviates this type of problem for the end user.
[73] After optional signature verification is complete, the settings are installed on the handset 302 by providing 334 the settings document to the handset 302. When this process is complete, the email mailbox is immediately accessible on the handset 302 by launching the email client software. In another embodiment, the service activation client 200 may initiate an email client with the newly configured settings.
[74] While the configuration or "settings" document may be provided in any desired form, and any desired information may be provided to sufficiently configure the handset 302 for use with the service, representative examples of settings documents are provided below. This particular example is provided merely as an illustrative example showing exemplary set-up parameters and programming. For example, in one embodiment, prior to over-the-air provisioning of the mobile device, the provisioning document is converted to binary WBXML (WAP binary XML) form and a header wrapper (header) specific may be applied. The following example (example 1) represents example code to configure settings according to a particular development platform.
<characteristic type＝″APPLICATION″>
<parm name＝″APPID″value＝″143″/>
<parm name＝″PROVIDER-ID″value＝″MyMail″/>
<parm name＝″NAME″value＝″IMAP box″/>
<parm name＝″TO-NAPID″value＝″Browsing_GPRS″/>
<characteristic type＝″APPADDR″>
<parm name＝″ADDR″value＝″imap.mail.com″/>
<characteristic type＝″PORT″>
<parm name＝″PORTNBR″value＝″143″/>
<parm name＝″SERVICE″value＝″STARTTLS″/>
</characteristic>
<characteristic type＝″APPAUTH″>
<parm name＝″AAUTHNAME″value＝″username″/>
<parm name＝″AAUTHSECRET″value＝″password″/>
</characteristic>
</characteristic>
Example 1
[75] In one embodiment, if the email provider does not have an IMAP or POP interface for the user but only a web interface, the bookmark to the mailbox verification page of the email provider may be configured in the browser instead of the IMAP or POP interface to the email client.
[76] In addition to delivering signed setup documents 334 or other configuration files to the device, the service activation server 206 may also be used to manage the download of software (e.g., a Java midlet) to the device. Assuming for this example that the software is a Java midlet, the midlet may be downloaded from another server (not shown) triggered by the service activation server 206. This provides additional convenience to the end user, as the relevant software can be obtained along with the configuration (and possibly creation) of the service account.
[77] A representative working example involves invoking a client on a device, such as a wizard. The client/wizard may be invoked in any desired manner. One way is to select a guide from a menu, or to use the graphic and/or textual names of the guide. Another representative way is to have the wizard automatically trigger when another application on the device is started or used (e.g., a camera application, VoIP application, etc.). In the case where the wizard is triggered by some event, the user may be provided with an option to activate the associated function. The user may use the wizard and establish and/or create a service account in the manner described herein. Referring now to fig. 2 and 3A, the data associated with the server 206 may include setup data and information about software needed to implement the operational services through the device and downloaded to the device. When an account has been established and/or configured, a profile or other configuration file is created based on parameters received by the server 206 from the service provider 208 and parameters residing on a database 212 associated with the server 206. As previously indicated, the configuration file or "profile" is signed and sent 334 to the device 302, whereby the device checks the signature of the configuration file and configures the device. In one embodiment, the download of the relevant software from another server (not shown) is triggered. The user may use the service when the configuration files and software are properly stored and processed on the device 302. The relevant software may be managed by the download server (not shown) through its administrator UI and the address to the download server may be managed by the service activation server 206 via its administrator UI 216.
[78] At some point, provider 208 creates an email account in response to user details 316, as described above. In one embodiment, the user may be provided with the ability to store email information, such as his or her new email address resulting from the creation of a new email account, regardless of whether the end user continues to activate the account. The information may be provided in a manner in which an existing email account is configured on the device, as further described in connection with fig. 5 and 6. In either case, the user's email address and/or other information associated with the creation and/or configuration of the handset 302 or other device may be stored. This information may be stored locally on the handset 302 or other device, and/or may be stored remotely, for example, using the email provider 208.
[79] In one particular example, when a new email account has been created and/or configured, it may be important for the user to know some information resulting from the creation/configuration. In the context of an email service, creating an email account for a user results in a new email address for the user, which is not previously known to the user. This information may be stored, for example, locally on the user's device, on a server of the service provider, etc.
[80] Accordingly, one aspect of the present invention supports a user to store newly created service information locally on his or her handset or other device. One embodiment relates to storing this information in a client database, where contact information is stored, for example, in a record of a local contact database (e.g., contact card, vCard, etc.). The user can then find his or her own email address or other service number/address in a convenient manner and have a convenient way to provide his or her email address to relatives, friends, business associates, acquaintances, etc.
[81] The same may be applied to services other than the email service. For example, when a user creates a new VoIP account in the manner previously described. The VoIP address may similarly be stored to a contact or other related database. The user may then forward the contact item to others who then have the information needed to contact the user via his/her VoIP number or other address. Thus, information from any service creation and/or configuration may be stored locally and/or remotely for the convenience of the user and others who may want to contact the user.
[82] Figure 3A illustrates one way in which such contact records may be available to a user 300. In the example illustrated, service activation server 206 creates contact record 336A. The contact record may be in a form known to be compatible with a contact client (not shown) at the handset 302 or other device. For example, when providing user details 316, this information may include an identification of the type of email client operating on handset 302. Using this information, the service activation server 206 may provide available client-specific contact records via the email client. In another embodiment, the service activation server 206 may provide 338 a contact record that is compatible with multiple or all email (or other service) clients. One example is a vCard, which is widely supported by email clients. The contact record may then be automatically stored in the device 302 or, alternatively, a query may be presented to the user 300 via the device 302 to allow the user to select to store the contact record. The contact record may include, among other things, any user-service identifier related to the user and the service, such as an email address, a VoIP number/address, a SIP address, an instant messaging address, a web URL, and so forth.
[83] One representative alternative to providing a completely new database record (e.g., vCard) is to update an existing contact record in the contact database of the device 302 with the contact record provided to the device 302. For example, the contact record provided 338 by the service activation server 206 may include information such as a new email address to replace or augment an existing contact record for the user. The provided information may be created in a new field of the user's existing contact record, or may overwrite or replace an existing field of the user's existing contact record. In one embodiment, the client 200 or contact client at the device 302 may determine whether to add the received contact record as a new contact record in the contact database or whether to change an existing contact record.
[84] FIG. 3B is an exemplary message flow diagram corresponding to FIG. 3A in which a service account is created, depicting an alternative, representative embodiment in which contacts may be created and/or provided to a user. For ease of reference, the reference numbers used in fig. 3A are reserved in fig. 3B.
[85] In the example of FIG. 3B, a contact record may be created 336B at the email provider 208 or elsewhere, the email provider 208 maintaining privacy with respect to the user details 316 and the user's new email or other service address, and the contact record may be created accordingly (or updated to an already existing contact record in the user's contact database). The contact record may be provided separately to the handset 302 or may be provided with other information, such as a link to a setup service as depicted on line 322A.
[86] In another representative embodiment, the handset 302 itself can create the contact record 336C. Upon receiving the email address, the local client 200 (or other client) may create a new contact record 336C and enter the new email address. The client 200 may alternatively, or additionally, modify any existing contact records that may already exist in the local contact database. The same applies to other services such as VoIP accounts, picture sharing accounts, etc.
[87] Fig. 4 (including fig. 4A-4I) shows a representative progression of device screen/display presentation during email account creation and configuration. As noted previously, the following description is generally applicable to the creation/configuration of other accounts as well. The display or screen shown in fig. 4 represents a display/screen on a mobile device (e.g., mobile phone, PDA, etc.), but the invention is equally applicable to other screen sizes and configurations.
[88] Fig. 4A illustrates a screen 400A representing a menu of selectable items. In the illustrated embodiment, one such selectable item is an email item 402 provided via a representative messaging menu. Clicking on or using UI functionality to select email item 402 typically invokes an email client/application on the mobile device. If an email account is not created, the email application will not be able to transmit email messages. Thus, if an email account cannot locate appropriate settings, the user may initiate creation and/or configuration of the email account. In one embodiment of the invention, when a user attempts to invoke an email client from email item 402, the service activation client will be automatically invoked to establish an email account. In other implementations, the client may initiate the email account creation process using other UI functions (e.g., text entry, menu, voice activation, etc.).
[89] The service activation session may be initiated in other ways than by selecting menu item 402. For example, the service activation session may be initiated in a device UI external to the email client, or via a link on a web page, or otherwise. However, if the service activation session is initiated via a web link to the service activation server, the server may not be able to obtain the required parameters (e.g., key information, specific words, MCC, MNC) from the request from the device. In such a case, the server may first make a request to the device to obtain the required parameters (e.g., PAOS; reverse SOAP request). The mechanism for creating parameters in the service activation client is triggered by a request from the server, for example.
[90] The user may be given a choice as to whether to activate an email client on the device, such as shown at FIG. 4B, where screen 400B presents the user with questions as to whether email activation is desired. If the user selects "no," no email activation will occur. If the user selects "yes," screen 400C of FIG. 4C is presented, for example, via a browser program. This allows the user to create a new email account or to activate an email client with an existing email account. The embodiment of fig. 4C provides such a selection through links 404, 406. In the embodiment of fig. 4, it is assumed that an email account is not established, and thus it is assumed that the user selects link 404 to create a new email account. As previously described, this causes a request to be sent to the service activation server, whereby a list of available email providers is provided back to the device, where it may be as shown on screen 400D of fig. 4D, in accordance with the present invention. In the illustrated embodiment, each possible list item is presented in the form of a selectable link. The user selects one of the email providers (e.g., provider-3408), which directs the device browser to the account creation page of the email provider's site shown in fig. 4E and 4F. As shown on these displays 400E, 400F, a user may be required to create an email account through, for example, multiple input areas on one or more web pages that the email provider will use to create the email account. In another embodiment, the user may be directly asked to create a new account in the UI. In this case, fig. 4C will not be shown.
[91] When the user has submitted this information, an email account may be created whereby the user may be provided with an email mailbox and/or other email functionality accessible via an email client. Screen 400G of fig. 4G illustrates a screen indicating that creation of an email account is successfully completed. In one embodiment, the device may now undergo automatic configuration of an email account, such as by receiving email settings for the user's email client. Other implementations are possible, such as depicted in FIG. 4G, in which a selectable link 412 is provided to the user. The email provider may show certain information specific to the new account on a page (e.g., in fig. 4G). This information may include, for example, a new email address, username, etc., and suggestions to the user, or other guidance, such as carefully writing down or recording the username and email address.
[92] User selection of link 412 or similar action as described above will initiate activation (i.e., configuration) of the email client at the user device. The service activation server may present screen 400H of fig. 4H while configuring the device with the appropriate settings. A screen (not shown) may be presented, for example via a browser, to inform the user of successful activation/configuration. Finally, due to the new settings, the email client may update the mailbox, as shown via screen 400I of fig. 4I.
[93] FIG. 5 is an exemplary message flow diagram of one manner in which an existing email (or other service) account may be configured or activated for use on a device. Since some of the network elements of fig. 5 correspond to those of fig. 2 and 3, and for consistency and comparison purposes, the same reference numerals have been used for the user 300, handset 302, service activation client 200, service activation server 206, email provider 208, and signature server 210 in fig. 5.
[94] The example of fig. 5 assumes that the user 300 has attempted to initiate an email client (not shown) associated with the user's handset 302. One embodiment of the present invention enables a handset 302 or other terminal to be configured for an existing email (or other service) account. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3A, both service activation server 206 and email provider 208 provide HTML pages to user 300. As demonstrated below, the embodiment of FIG. 5 involves a user first interacting with service activation server 206, then with email provider 208, and then again with service activation server 206.
[95] The user 300 first selects to activate an existing account, as depicted by interaction line 500. The email service on the handset 302 activates the client 200 or "wizard" to begin the activation process. A web browser or other access program on the handset 302 is initiated. The initial URL points to the email activation server 206 and includes various parameters. In one embodiment, an HTTP "GET" request 502 is issued by the client 200. Because the user already has an email account and does not need to create a new email account, unlike the previous example, service activation server 206 will not respond with a list of email providers. Conversely, when an existing account is to be used on the handset 302, the service activation server 206 responds with instructions and/or a suitable user interface to enter an existing email address of the user corresponding to the existing email account. In one embodiment, the service activation server 206 provides a blank form to the browser application of the handset 302, thereby allowing the user to enter 505 and send 506 his/her email address and/or other information. One embodiment relates to providing a link or other UI functionality to support a user initiating a transfer of information to the service activation server 206, where the link points to the service activation server 206.
[96] The service activation server 206 receives the email address and identifies 508 the email provider based on the email address of the user. In response, service activation server 206 may redirect 510 the user to the provider's activation URI. For example, service activation server 206 may issue an HTTP redirect instruction to the activation URL of email provider 208 associated with the user's existing email address. Parameters such as the user's preferred language, email address, and/or other information may be sent 512 to the email provider 208. This process of redirecting the user to the site of the email provider 208 is transparent to the user. If the email identification fails, various responses may be performed, at least one of which is described more fully below.
[97] Assuming that the redirection to the email provider 208 site is successful, the user is optionally authenticated at the email provider 208 web site. In such an embodiment, the verification page is provided from the email provider 208 to the browser of the handset 302, as depicted by interaction line 514. The authentication page may include, for example, a request for the user to enter 516 a username, password, and/or other authentication information. This information is sent 518 back to the e-mail provider server 208. If the user 300 is authenticated, a link to the settings or service (or other relevant information to target the user) is provided 520. For example, a link or other UI feature on the handset 302 that activates an email is presented to the user via the handset browser.
[98] If the user selects the link/UI feature (as depicted by interaction line 522), a request is automatically made to activate the email on handset 302, as depicted by interaction line 524. The link includes various parameters such as those provided earlier by the device (e.g., with request 502), and email account details (email address, username, IMAP server address and type, SMTP server address, etc.). The link request service activation server 206 configures the device with these parameters. In one embodiment, the email address and username are automatically from the email provider 208 backend. This enables an easy experience for the user. Sending the password is optional because it can be requested from the user and saved to the device memory when needed for the first time. In one embodiment, the HTTP POST request is used in response to the user clicking on a link.
[99] The browser of the handset 302 is essentially forwarded back to the service activation server 206, which ultimately creates 526 a provisioning or "setup" document. In one embodiment, the service activation server 206 requests 528 the signing server 210 to sign the provisioning document using, for example, a private key in the signing server 210. The signed document is returned 530 to the service activation server 206 and eventually provided 532 to the client 200, where the signature can be verified using, for example, a public key. The settings may then be installed on the handset 302 and the email mailbox or other email features on the handset 302 may be immediately accessed. These email features are accessed by the user 300 who initiated the email client software. In another embodiment, the email client software is automatically initiated by the client 200 when the activation process has been completed.
[100] Fig. 6 (including fig. 6A-6G) illustrates an exemplary, representative progression of device screen/display presentations during configuration of an existing email account. The following description is generally applicable to other account configurations as well. The display or screen shown in fig. 6 represents a display/screen on a mobile device (e.g., mobile phone, PDA, etc.), but the invention is equally applicable to other screen sizes and configurations.
[101] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the particular screen sequence shown in fig. 6, which merely sets forth a representative example. For example, the UI of the device may support bypassing the web page depicted in fig. 6C and proceeding directly to the page depicted in fig. 6D. Thus, the present invention is expressly not limited to the particular embodiments shown, and screens 600A-600G represent only one embodiment that is useful for understanding this aspect of the present invention.
[102] Fig. 6A illustrates a screen 600A representing a menu of selectable items. In the illustrated embodiment, one such selectable item is an email item 602 provided via a representative messaging menu. Clicking on or using UI functionality to select email item 602 typically invokes an email client/application on the mobile device. If an email account has not been configured, the user may be given a choice as to whether to activate an email client on the device, such as shown at FIG. 6B, where screen 600B presents the user with questions as to whether email activation is desired. If the user selects "no," no email activation will occur. If the user selects "yes," screen 600C of FIG. 6C is presented, for example, via a browser program. This allows the user to create a new email account or to activate an email client with an existing email account. The embodiment of fig. 6C provides such a selection via links 604, 606. In the embodiment of fig. 6, it is assumed that an email account already exists, and thus it is assumed that the user selects link 606 to activate the existing email account.
[103] Selection of link 606 will result in a request being sent to the service activation server according to the present invention, whereby the service activation server responds in a manner in which the user can enter his/her email address. One example is shown in fig. 6D, where screen 600D presents a way for a user to identify his/her email address for the email account. In the illustrated embodiment, this is accomplished through the use of a text entry field 608. When the user has entered an email address, the user may select a "forward" link 610 (or send the entered email address) to the service activation server. As previously described, the service activation server identifies the email address, identifies the email provider, and directs the handset's browser to the email provider's site.
[104] For privacy reasons, the process may be designed to ignore certain portions of the email address, such as the "personal" portion preceding the "@" character. In this case, only the portion following the "@" character will be sent to the server to identify the service provider. This may be achieved by, for example, implementing a service activation server web UI element as an embedded UI element in the device. The appropriate portion of the page to display to the user comes from the device. In this case, logic may be devised to ignore a portion of the email address. The service provider identifies the user, for example, using a username entered on a web page.
[105] In one embodiment, authentication is required and the email provider provides page 600E shown in fig. 6E for the user to enter appropriate authentication information, such as a username, password, etc. In the illustrated embodiment, the device at this point undergoes automatic configuration of the email account, such as by receiving email settings for the user's email client. When the device is configured with the appropriate settings, the service activation server may present screen 600F of fig. 6F. A screen (not shown) may be presented (e.g., via a browser) to inform the user of successful activation/configuration. Finally, due to the new settings, the email client may update the mailbox, as shown via screen 600G of fig. 6G. Optionally, a messaging client menu or other user interface may be displayed.
[106] Various variations may occur with respect to the account creation and/or configuration process. One such variation is that an email provider cannot be identified based on the email address of the user (see, e.g., provider identification 508 of fig. 5) in order to activate an existing email account. If the service activation server 206 is unable to identify the user's email provider, one variation is to then provide a UI to the user whereby the user may, for example, select his/her email provider from a list, enter his/her email provider, or notify the service activation server 206 of the user's email provider.
[107] Another variation associated with activating an existing email account is detecting misspelled email addresses. Provider identification 508 may apply heuristics or determine a likely email provider from an email address that is received from a user and that may be misspelled or incorrectly entered. Com "and the user enters his/her email address as" abcd.com, "provider identification module 508 may locate a possible match. In this case, the user may be presented with a confirmation question (e.g., "are your email provider abcde.
[108] Another variation associated with activating an existing email account is that the email provider does not provide a page that the user uses to activate the existing email account (see interaction 514 of FIG. 5). The email provider need not do so and when it does not, the user can simply interact with the service activation server without using a username or password. More specifically, the service activation server detects the email provider of the user, because the service activation server has the configuration data of the email provider in a local database. The service activation server may then create a settings (provisioning) document and send it to the user. Since the username and password (or other authentication data) are unknown at this point, they are not included in the provisioning document. In this case, when the user first connects to his/her mailbox using the email client, the email client may request entry of a username and password. Alternatively, the user may manually add data via a settings UI for the email client.
[109] Another variation associated with activating an existing email account is that the user's email provider is unknown to the service activation server. In one embodiment, this is addressed by instructing the user to use an email client graphical user interface on the handset to manually enter email provider details. The service activation server administrator may view the reports of unknown email providers so that missing data may be added to the database.
[110] Another variation relates to a device that includes a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) or similar radio facility. Network operators may provide SMTP services in their networks to send e-mail. The operator may identify the sending devices connected to their network (e.g., cellular or ADSL). When a device is identified within the network, no authentication is required to prevent misuse of the SMTP device. However, if the device is connected via a carrier's network (e.g., WLAN) that cannot identify the sender, sending an email via the carrier's SMTP service may not be feasible because the carrier's network sees a request from outside the carrier's network (e.g., cellular network) and cannot identify the device requesting to send the message. The SMTP address of the service provider may be configured for the device. In this case, authentication using a user name and password is required. The username and password may be the same username and password used to access the mailbox via IMAP or POP, if desired. In some operators' cellular networks, external SMTP services may not work. Thus, handsets in these carriers 'networks may be configured with the carriers' SMTP addresses, and thus such devices would not work for sending e-mail over WLAN. One embodiment of the invention relates to providing multiple (e.g., two) configurations for a device, such as one configuration for GPRS and another configuration for WLAN. Multiple SMTP configurations may be associated with multiple access points (e.g., cellular GPRS APN or WLAN), for example, and email may use one SMTP configuration for a GPRS access point and another for a WLAN APN, for example. Depending on which network traffic is taking place, one of these is used by the email application. Alternatively, the operator SMTP may use a username/password to authenticate the user when outside the operator GPRS network.
[111] By way of example, some of the UI elements described above have been described as web pages on a service-based activation server. Alternatively, the UI element described as a web page on the service activation server may be implemented as a UI element on the mobile device. For example, the service activation server does not contain any UI elements to be localized and maintained. In this case, the client and server communicate using the logic, but the mobile device is responsible for all UI elements.
[112] The present invention alleviates, among other things, the burdensome task of a user to obtain email or service setting corrections when launching a new email service or deploying an existing email service for a new device. For example, if an end user does not have any established email accounts that can be used on a new device (e.g., mobile phone), it is often confusing and complicated for the user to know what service providers are available, how to establish accounts with the desired service providers, and how to configure the device to use the service. This is true for various service types, such as e-mail providers, voice over internet protocol (VoIP) applications, media and multimedia sharing applications, and so forth. The present invention addresses these and other deficiencies of the prior art.
[113] The above-mentioned embodiments generally represent establishing and/or configuring an email account on a device. As indicated previously, the invention is equally applicable to other service types. FIG. 7 is a flow chart generally illustrating an exemplary manner in which a device (e.g., a mobile phone, PDA, etc.) may establish a service account for any service type. Parameters associated with the device are transmitted 700. Item 800 of fig. 8 depicts some representative examples of such parameters, which may include the home operating country of the device, the network operator of the device, the language of the device, the device model, and/or other parameters. These parameters may be transmitted 700 from the device to the service activation server via commands, messages, or other means, as previously described. In one embodiment, the request is transmitted 700 via an HTTP request.
[114] The device receives 702 a list of service providers, wherein the list is derived from a set of service providers using parameters. Referring again to FIG. 8, input parameters 800 are applied to a set of service providers 802, such as by comparing parameters 800 to attributes associated with each provider of the set of providers 802. Providers that match or correspond to parameters from a subset of providers may be available to a particular device. This subset of providers is shown as provider list 804. It should be noted that the term "list" is not intended to represent the form or order of any particular provider, but is used broadly to represent the identity of each provider corresponding to input parameters 800.
[115] The device proceeds with the user selecting a service provider from the list, as shown in block 704. The user selection may use any one or more forms, such as a Graphical User Interface (GUI), text entry, voice command, and the like. Communication is then made 706 with the selected service provider to create a service account with the selected service provider. For example, the service activation server may provide a link or notify the device of the network address of the selected service provider, thereby causing the device to be automatically directed to the account creation website of the selected service provider.
[116] Figure 7 also shows the possibility of the device receiving 708 a contact record. As indicated previously, one embodiment involves creating a contact record (e.g., a vCard or the like) using at least the information derived by the service creation process. For example, where the service provider is an email service provider that creates a new email account, the contact record may include a username and email address. Various embodiments relate to automatically storing contact records at a device and providing a user with an option to store contact records (and/or update one or more existing contact records) via a device user interface. Other information may also be included with the contact record, which may be based on parameters associated with the device and/or other information communicated to the service provider. For example, if the user includes address or business address information regarding account creation, this information may also be included in the contact record. Further, the contact record may be obtained from a service activation server or service provider, or alternatively, created by a client residing on the user's device in response to receiving new service information.
[117] Figure 9 is a flow diagram generally illustrating one example manner in which a server (e.g., a service activation server) or other network element may indicate the creation of a service account and optionally configure a device to use the service account. A first parameter associated with a device is received 900 at a service activation server. These parameters may include, for example, those identified in item 800 of fig. 8. With one or more of the first parameters, the server derives 902 a list of service providers from the set of service providers and makes the list available to the device, as shown in block 904. For example, the list may be communicated from the service activation server to the device, and the list may be made available on an accessible web page of the service activation server. The second parameter is received 906 at the service activation server. These second parameters are associated with establishing a service account between the device and one of the listed service providers selected by the device. In other words, a service account for the device is created with the service provider selected from the list, and at least some of the second parameters are associated with the newly created service account. Using the first and second parameters, the service activation server may create 908 configuration data and make the configuration data available to the device. In this way, the device may store or be configured with configuration data for use with a particular service account. Another option for the server is to create a contact record from the information that appears from the creation service account and make the contact record available to the device, as shown in block 910.
[118] As previously noted, some embodiments of the invention are not directed to creating new service accounts, but rather to creating configuration documents to configure a device to operate with an existing service account. Fig. 10 and 11 are flow diagrams illustrating representative embodiments for configuring a device to operate with an existing service account. It should be appreciated that fig. 10 and 11 apply equally to service accounts other than email accounts.
[119] More specifically, FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating one representative manner in which a device (e.g., a mobile phone, PDA, etc.) may implement its configuration for use with an existing email account. An email address associated with an existing email account is provided 1000. For example, the mobile phone may transmit an email address to the service activation server, or may input the email address via a website of the service activation server or the like. The email address provided represents an email address from an existing email account. In response to providing this information, the device ultimately receives 1002 configuration data associated with the email provider identified by the email address. The received configuration data is used to configure 1004 the device to operate with the email provider.
[120] It should also be noted that the device may further receive contact records from a server relating to the user and the corresponding email address. In one embodiment, the user may be prompted as to whether he/she actually wants to use the user's existing email (or other service) address to store the created new contact record. In some cases, the user will already have a personal contact record and may not need to store such a contact record. For embodiments in which contact records are available to the user, the user may choose to ignore receiving any contact records through a user interface on his/her device.
[121] Fig. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating one representative manner in which a server (e.g., a service activation server) or other network element may assist in configuring a device for which an email account already exists for a device user. An email address associated with an existing email account is received 1100 by a server. An email provider corresponding to the email address is identified 1102. A configuration document is created 1104 that can configure the device for use with an existing email account and then the configuration document is transmitted 1106 to the device so that the device can implement the configuration. Again, in some embodiments, the server may also provide a contact record that includes at least some information associated with the user's existing account. In one embodiment, the server provides the user with an option as to whether he/she wants to store a contact record.
[122] Various variations and alternatives result in various embodiments of the invention. One embodiment relates to selecting whether to desire user capabilities of a new service account or whether to use user capabilities of an existing service account. FIG. 12 is another embodiment illustrating a method involving the user selection. Likewise, although FIG. 12 is described in terms of an email account, it may apply equally to other service accounts.
[123] The user attempts to open/launch 1200 an unconfigured email application on the device. If it is determined at decision block 1202 that the email application has been configured, the device may access its email box (e.g., inbox), as shown at block 1232. If the application has not been configured, the user may then obtain a prompt or other suggestion to activate the email, as indicated at block 1204. If the user chooses to activate an unconfigured email account, further steps depend on whether an existing email account is to be used or a new email account is to be created. If there is no existing account, a list of suitable email providers is presented 1208, where the list is based on parameters provided by the device to the service activation server. The user selects 1210 a desired provider from the list. In one embodiment, each provider in the list is associated with a respective URL or other address, and selecting a service provider from the list will bring the device to an account creation site for the selected provider, as shown at block 1212. An account is created 1214 at the service activation server, which in turn provides 1220 a link to the service activation server to the device. Additional parameters are provided 1222 to the service activation server, which ultimately creates 1224 a provisioning document and provides it to the device. In one embodiment, the provisioning document is signed 1226 before being provided to the device. The configuration document is then used to configure 1228 the device. If the document is signed, the signature is verified 1230 before configuring the device. The device may then present its email box or perform other functions associated with the now configured email client.
[124] If it is determined at decision block 1206 that there is an existing account, the user provides 1216 his/her email address to the service activation server. In response, based on the email address, the service activation server identifies 1218 the relevant email provided and may then perform the function associated with items 1220 and 1232.
[125] A representative system in which the present invention may be implemented or used is illustrated in fig. 13. The communication device 1300A represents any communication device capable of performing the previously described device/handset functions. In the illustrated embodiment, device 1300A represents a mobile device capable of communicating with a wireless network over an air interface (OTA) and/or capable of communicating over a wired network. By way of example, and not limitation, device 1300A includes mobile telephones (including smart phones) 1302, personal digital assistants 1304, computing devices 1306, and other networked terminals 1308.
[126] The representative terminal 1300A employs a computing system to control and manage the conventional device activities and device functionality provided by the present invention. For example, the representative wireless terminal 1300B includes a processing/control unit 1310, such as a microprocessor, controller, Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC), or other central processing module. The processing unit 1310 need not be a single device, but may include one or more processors. For example, the processing unit may include a master processor and one or more associated slave processors connected to communicate with the master processor.
[127] The processing unit 1310 controls the basic functions of the terminal 1300B, as dictated by programs available in the program storage/memory 1312. Storage/memory 1312 may include an operating system and various program modules and data modules associated with the present invention. In one embodiment of the present invention, the program is stored in a nonvolatile electrically erasable, programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash ROM, or the like, so that the program is not lost when the terminal is powered off. The storage 1312 may also include one or more of other types of read-only memory (ROM) and programmable and/or erasable ROM, random-access memory (ROM), a user interface module (SIM), a Wireless Interface Module (WIM), a smart card, or other fixed or removable storage devices/media. Programs may also be provided via other media 1313, such as disks, CD-ROMs, DVDs, etc., which may be read by suitable interface and/or media drive 1314. The relevant software for carrying out terminal operations in accordance with the invention may also be transmitted to the terminal 1300B via data signals, for example, being downloaded electronically via one or more networks, for example, the data network 1315 or other data networks, and the intermediary wireless network 1316 in the case of the terminal 1300A/1300B being a wireless device, for example, a mobile telephone.
[128] Processor 1310 is also connected to a user input interface 1318 associated with terminal 1300B, for performing other standard terminal functions. The user input interface 1318 may include, for example, a keypad, function buttons, a joystick, a scrolling mechanism (e.g., mouse, trackball), a touchpad/screen, or other user entry mechanism (not shown).
[129] A User Interface (UI)1320 may be provided that allows a user of the terminal 1300A/B to perceive information visually, audibly, by touch, and the like. For example, one or more display devices 1320A can be associated with terminal 1300B. Display 1320A may display web pages, images, videos, text, links, and other information. A speaker 1320B may be provided to audibly present instructions or other information. Other User Interface (UI) mechanisms may also be provided, such as tactile 1320C or other feedback. The information associated with the present invention may be provided by any type of presentation that is perceptible by a user.
[130] The exemplary mobile device 1300B of fig. 13 also includes conventional circuitry for performing wireless transmissions over the wireless network 1316. DSP 1322 may be used to perform various functions including analog-to-digital (a/D) conversion, digital-to-analog (D/a) conversion, speech encoding/decoding, encryption/decryption, error detection/correction, bit stream conversion, filtering, and the like. The transceiver 1324 includes at least a transmitter and a receiver, whereby outgoing wireless signals and incoming wireless signals are typically transmitted and received through the antenna 1326. When the device 1300B is a non-mobile or mobile device, it may include a transceiver (T)1327 to allow other types of wireless, or wired, communication with a network, e.g., the internet. For example, the device 1300B may communicate via a proxy network (e.g., IEEE802.11 or other wireless local area network) that is in turn connected to a fixed network 1315, such as the internet. Point-to-point networking may also be used. Further, the wired connection may include, for example, an Ethernet connection to a network such as the Internet. These and other ways of ultimately communicating between the devices 1300A/1300B and the server 1350 may be implemented.
[131] In one embodiment, the storage/memory 1312 stores various client programs and data used in connection with the present invention. For example, the storage/memory 1312 includes storage to store clients/applications, e.g., browser 1330, and service clients 1331 such as email clients, photo sharing clients, VoIP clients, and the like. Also included is a service activation client 1332, also referred to herein as a service activation wizard, which generally corresponds to client 200 of the previous figures. The storage 1312 also includes other modules, such as a specific word generation module 1333 and a signature verification module 1334. A settings installation module 1335, which may be part of service activation client 1332 or different from service activation client 1332, is provided to cause device 1300B to be configured with the received settings document.
[132] It should be appreciated that module 1330-1335 may be a separate module operating in conjunction with processor 1310, may be a single module performing each of these functions, or may include multiple such modules performing various functions. In other words, although a module is shown as multiple software/firmware modules, these modules may or may not reside within the same software/firmware program. It should also be recognized that hardware is used to perform one or more of these functions. For example, the comparison function may be performed by using a hardware comparison function to compare the contents of hardware registers or other memory locations. These clients and data modules represent the types of functionality and data modules that may be associated with a terminal in accordance with the present invention and are not intended to represent an exhaustive list. In addition, other functions not specifically shown may also be implemented by the processor 1310.
[133] FIG. 13 also depicts a representative computing system 1350 that may operate on the network. One or more of such systems 1350 may be available via a network, such as the wireless network 1316 and/or the fixed network 1315. In one embodiment, computing system 1350 represents a service activation server as previously described. The server system 1350 can be a single system or a distributed system. The illustrated computing system/server 1350 includes a processing device 1352, which can be connected to storage/memory 1354. The processor 1352 performs various standard computing functions as is known in the art, as dictated by software and/or firmware instructions. Storage/memory 1354 may represent firmware, media storage, and/or memory. The processor 1352 may communicate with other internal and external components via input/output (I/O) circuits 1356. Computing system 1350 may also include media drives 1358, such as hard and floppy disk drives, CD-ROM drives, DVD drives, and other media 1360 that can read and/or store information. In one embodiment, software for implementing operations at computing system 1350 may be stored and distributed on CD-ROMs, magnetic disks, magnetic media, removable storage, or other form of media capable of portably storing information, as represented by media device 1360, in accordance with the invention. Such software can also be transferred to system 1350 via data signals, e.g., downloaded electronically via a network, such as data network 1315, a Local Area Network (LAN) (not shown), wireless network 1316, and/or any combination thereof.
[134] The storage/memory 1354 and/or media devices 1360 store various programs and data used in connection with the present invention, according to one embodiment of the invention. For example, the single or distributed service activation server 1350 comprises an application or client, shown as a service provider list generation module 1380, which the service provider list generation module 1380 generates a list of available service providers from a collection of service providers based on parameters provided by the device 1300B. The profile creation module 1381 creates a profile based on parameters provided by one or both of the device 1300B and a service provider (not shown). Service provider identification module 1382 is used to identify service providers (e.g., email providers) that give certain information, such as email addresses. Contact record creation module 1384 may be used to create a contact record, such as a vCard, based on a user service identifier derived from the creation of the new service or known as a result of generating configuration information for device 1300A.
[135] The illustrated computing system 1350 also includes a DSP circuit 1366 and at least one transceiver 1368 (which is intended to also refer to separate transmitter/receiver components). While the server 1350 can communicate with the data network 1315 via a wired connection, the server can also/or instead be configured with a transceiver 1368 to communicate with the wireless network 1316, and thus can employ an antenna 1370.
[136] Hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof may be used to perform the functions and operations according to the present invention. Using the foregoing specification, some embodiments of the invention may be implemented as a machine, process, or article of manufacture by using standard programming and/or engineering techniques to produce programming software, firmware, hardware or any combination thereof. Any resulting program(s), having computer-readable program code, may be embodied within one or more computer-usable media such as memory devices or transmission devices, thereby making a computer program product, computer-readable medium, or other article of manufacture according to the invention. As such, the terms "computer-readable medium," "computer program product" or other similar language is intended to include any computer-usable medium which can exist, for example, permanently, temporarily or temporarily on any memory device or in any transmitting device.
[137] For example, one embodiment of the invention includes a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions executable by a computing system for creating a service account usable by a communication device. The instructions enable identification of one or more device parameters to be communicated and conduct presentation of a list of one or more service providers, wherein the list is derived from a set of service providers using the one or more parameters. The instructions further perform user selection of at least one service provider in the list and enable communication with the selected service provider to create a service account with the selected service provider.
[138] From the description provided herein, those skilled in the art are readily able to combine software created using any suitable general purpose or special purpose computer hardware to create a computing system and/or computing subcomponents embodying the invention, and to create a computing system and/or computing subcomponents for carrying out the method of the invention.
[139] The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather determined by the claims appended hereto.

Claims (33)

1. A method, comprising:
transmitting one or more parameters associated with a device;
receiving a list of one or more service providers, wherein the list is derived from a set of service providers using one or more of the parameters;
making a selection of at least one service provider in the list;
communication is made with the selected service provider to create a service account with the selected service provider.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting selectable options to create a new service account or bypass creation of a new service account and configure an existing service account for use on the device.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:
identifying a selection of an option to configure an existing service account for use on the device and, in response, providing a service account identifier representing an existing service provider of the existing service account;
receiving configuration data associated with an existing service provider; and
the received configuration data is used to configure the device to operate with an existing service provider.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the existing service account comprises an existing email account, and wherein providing the service account identifier of the existing service provider representing the existing service account comprises providing an email address associated with the existing email account.
5. The method of claim 3, further comprising redirecting the communication to an existing service provider to authenticate the user of the device against an existing service account, and wherein receiving the configuration data associated with the existing service provider comprises receiving the configuration data if the user of the device is authenticated against the existing service account.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating a network address with each service provider in the list, and wherein making communication with the selected service provider comprises communicating with the selected service provider at the network address of the selected service provider.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein conducting communication with the selected service provider comprises directing a browser application on the device to a network address of the selected service provider to create a service account with the selected service provider.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein conducting communication with the selected service provider comprises:
presenting one or more web pages provided by the selected service provider;
making an entry of account data associated with one or both of the user and the device; and
the account data is transmitted to the selected service provider for creation of the service account.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein communicating one or more parameters associated with the device comprises automatically utilizing a request to transfer parameters to create a service account in response to attempting to invoke a client that is not configured for use with the selected service provider.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising configuring the device with configuration data obtained in response to creating the new service account.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a contact record, the contact record including at least a user service identifier that identifies a user of the device with respect to the created service account; and storing the received contact record in a contact database.
12. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating, at the device, a contact record, the contact record including at least the received user service identifier, the user service identifier identifying a user of the device identified for the created service account; and storing the created contact record in a contact database.
13. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a contact record including at least the identification information obtained from creating the service account, and modifying at least one existing local contact record with information from the received contact record.
14. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a contact record including at least the identification information obtained from creating the service account, and creating a new local contact record from the received contact record.
15. A method, comprising:
receiving one or more first parameters associated with a device;
deriving a list of one or more service providers from the set of service providers using the one or more first parameters;
providing the list to the device;
receiving a second parameter associated with a service account established between the device and a selected one of the service providers from the list; and
configuration data is created based on the first and second parameters and provided to the device.
16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:
enabling selectable options for the device to create or bypass creation of a new service account and configure an existing service account for use on the device;
receiving a service account identifier in response to selection of an option to configure an existing service account;
identifying a messaging provider corresponding to the service account identifier;
creating configuration data that can configure the device for use with an existing service account; and
the configuration data is transmitted to the device.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising instructing the device to communicate with a service provider corresponding to the service account identifier to authenticate a user of the device against an existing service account.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein:
the service account identifier comprises a messaging address;
the existing service accounts include existing messaging accounts; and
the service providers include messaging providers.
19. The method of claim 15, wherein deriving the list of one or more service providers comprises comparing the first parameter to a set of service providers and creating the list based on those service providers corresponding to the first parameter.
20. The method of claim 15, further comprising associating a network address for each respective service provider in the list.
21. The method of claim 15, further comprising signing the configuration data prior to providing the configuration data to the device.
22. The method of claim 15, further comprising creating a contact record that includes at least a user service identifier corresponding to the established service account and providing the contact record to the device.
23. The method of claim 15, further comprising invoking a test mode in response to receiving a test identifier, hiding a service provider being tested from a derived list, and testing for proper service setup.
24. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing the device with at least one software module relating to a service associated with the established service account.
25. A communication device, comprising:
a transmitter for transmitting one or more parameters associated with the device;
a receiver for receiving a list of service providers derived using the one or more transmitted parameters;
a user interface configured to make a user selection of at least one service provider in the list; and
a processor configured to identify a selection of at least one service provider in the list and to conduct creation of a service account with the selected service provider.
26. The communication device of claim 25, wherein the processor is further configured to initiate a browser module directed to a network address of the selected service provider to enable user interaction therewith to create a service account with the selected service provider.
27. The communication device of claim 25, wherein the processor is configured to identify an attempt to invoke a non-configured client module and, in response, instruct the transmitter to automatically transmit one or more parameters associated with the device.
28. The communication device of claim 25, wherein the processor is further configured to activate the device with configuration data obtained in response to creating a new service account.
29. The communication device of claim 25, wherein the communication device comprises any one of a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, a computing device.
30. A network element, comprising:
a receiver to receive one or more first parameters associated with a device;
a processor configured to derive a list of one or more service providers from the set of service providers using one or more of the first parameters;
a transmitter for providing the list to the device;
wherein the receiver further receives a second parameter associated with a service account established between the device and one of the service providers selected from the list, and wherein the processor is further configured to create configuration data for the device based on the first and second parameters.
31. The network element of claim 30, wherein the processor is further configured to create a contact record, the contact record including at least a user service identifier that identifies a user of the device with respect to the established service account.
32. A communication device, comprising:
a transmitter for transmitting a service related identifier associated with an existing service account;
a receiver for receiving configuration data associated with a service provider identified by the service related identifier; and
a processor for using the received configuration data to configure the communication device to operate with the service provider.
33. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon which are executable by a computer system for creating a service account usable by a communication device by performing the steps comprising:
identifying one or more device parameters to be communicated;
presenting a list of one or more service providers, wherein the list is derived from a set of service providers using one or more of the parameters;
making a user selection of at least one service provider in the list; and
communicating with the selected service provider to create a service account with the selected service provider.
HK09111410.0A 2006-10-24 2007-10-24 Apparatus and method for creating service accounts and configuring devices HK1133340A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US11/585,780 2006-10-24

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HK1133340A true HK1133340A (en) 2010-03-19

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