Content-based navigation and launching on mobile devices
View Patent ↗Techniques are disclosed for a content-based navigation and launching for portable computing devices such as PDAs and smart phones. A content navigator and launcher allows a user to personalize content groupings. The techniques can run on top of any OS file system that has a mechanism to associate files with their creating applications. Personalization of the content-based navigation and launching scheme can be set-up on the user's work station, and then transmitted and synchronized with a target mobile device. A central server can be used to carry out content harvesting and/or configuring the personalization scheme. The content and/or personalization scheme can then be pushed on to the mobile device (e.g., via a GSM network or other suitable communication link). APIs can be used by application vendors to register the content types of their own choice. A preferences utility allows users to manage the content types and associations.
1. A portable computing device with telecommunications capability, the portable computing device configured for content-based navigation and launching on a portable computing device, comprising:
a communication interface communicating with a host computing device and a server, the server distinct from the host computing device; and
a content navigator module adapted to:
receive a configuration of a content-based launching pad from the host computing device, the configuration including two or more user-categories as defined by a user of the portable computing device, the content-based launching pad grouping links to digital content files into the two or more user-created categories for display within a single launching area in a screen of the portable computing device, at least one of the categories comprising a first link to a first digital content file executed by a first application and a second link to a second digital content file executed by a second application;
provide for displaying an application-based launching pad on the area of the screen of the portable computing device, the application-based launching pad grouping the links to the digital content files based on applications for accessing the digital content files;
toggle to provide display for the content-based launching pad on the area of the screen of the portable computing device responsive to receiving a first user input selecting the content-based launching pad for display on the screen; and
receive a selected digital content file in the content-based launching pad from the server responsive to receiving a second user input representing selection and launching of the selected digital content file.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein the links to the digital content files include hyperlink descriptions of the content files, and responsive to receiving the second user input selecting one of the hyperlink descriptions, the content navigator module launching an application associated with the selected hyperlink description.
3. The device of claim 1 wherein the digital content files are grouped into user-created categories, the content files of the user-created categories executable across multiple operating systems at least two of which are distinct from each other.
4. The device of claim 1 wherein the portable computing device is one of a personal digital assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, or a smart phone.
5. The device of claim 1 wherein the portable computing device is a hand-held mobile device configured to communicate by a wireless network.
6. The device of claim 1 further comprising a database of choices and preferences relative to a personalized content-based navigation and launching scheme of the user.
7. The device of claim 1 wherein the first application comprises at least one of a generic document viewer, an application, a media player, a browser, and a reader.
8. A method of navigating and launching digital content files on a portable computing device with telecommunication capability, comprising:
receiving a configuration of a content-based launching pad from a host computing device, the configuration including two or more user-categories as defined by a user of the portable computing device, the content-based launching pad grouping links to digital content files into the two or more user-created categories for display within a single launching area in a screen of the portable computing device, at least one of the categories comprising a first link to a first digital content file executed by a first application and a second link to a second digital content file executed by a second application;
providing for displaying an application-based launching pad on the area of the screen of the portable computing device, the application-based launching pad grouping the links to the digital content files based on applications for accessing the digital content files;
toggling to provide display for the content-based launching pad on the screen of the portable computing device responsive to receiving a first user input selecting the content-based launching pad for display on the screen; and
receiving a selected digital content file in the content-based launching pad from a server responsive to receiving a second user input representing selection and launching of the selected digital content file.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the links to the digital content files include hyperlink descriptions of content, and further comprising launching an application associated with the selected hyperlink description responsive to receiving the second user input selecting one of the hyperlink descriptions.
10. The method of claim 8 further comprising storing choices and preferences related to a personalized content-based navigation and launching scheme of the user in a database of the portable computing device.
11. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by a processor in a portable computing device with telecommunication capability, cause the processor to:
receive a configuration of a content-based launching pad from a host computing device, the configuration including two or more user-categories as defined by a user of the portable computing device, the content-based launching pad grouping links to digital content files into the two or more user-created categories for display within a single launching area in a screen of the portable computing device, at least one of the categories comprising a first link to a first digital content file executed by a first application and a second link to a second digital content file executed by a second application;
provide for displaying an application-based launching pad on the area of the screen of the portable computing device, the application-based launching pad grouping the links to the digital content files based on applications for accessing the digital content files;
toggle to provide display for the content-based launching pad on the screen of the portable computing device responsive to receiving a first user input selecting the content-based launching pad for display on the screen; and
receive a selected digital content file in the content-based launching pad from a server responsive to receiving a second user input representing selection and launching of the selected digital content file.
12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 wherein each category of the content-based launching pad includes one or more hyperlink descriptions of content, and further comprising instructions to launch an application associated with the selected hyperlink description responsive to receiving the second user input selecting one of the hyperlink descriptions.
13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 further comprising instructions to store choices and preferences related to a personalized content-based navigation and launching scheme of the user in a database of the portable computing device.