Sponsored cellular phone

1. A cellular telephone comprising:

a communications interface operable to service wireless communications with a cellular network infrastructure of a network operator; and

a user interface including a display and at least one input device;

processing circuitry coupled to the communications interface and to the user interface, the processing circuitry operable to:

establish default user interface settings for the user interface consistent with association with the network operator;

determine desired association with a third party sponsor;

based upon the desired association, retrieve third party sponsor settings;

alter the user interface settings based upon the third party sponsor settings,

wherein the altered user interface settings differ from the default user interface settings;

communicate with a third party sponsor server computer via the communications interface to exchange information relating to operation of the cellular telephone indicating alteration of the user interface settings from the default user interface settings;

communicate with the third party sponsor server computer via the communications interface information relating to one or more idle periods of the cellular telephone; and

receive one or more communications from the third party sponsor server computer via the communication interface during the one or more idle periods of the cellular telephone.

2. The cellular telephone of claim 1 , wherein determining a desired association with a third party sponsor is based upon receipt of data from a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) associated with the cellular telephone.

3. The cellular telephone of claim 1 , wherein in determining desired association with a third party sponsor, the processing circuitry is operable to:

identify via a display of the user interface a plurality of available third party sponsors; and

receive input via the user interface indicating selection of the third party sponsor of the plurality of available third party sponsors.

4. The cellular telephone of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to:

determine desired association with a second third party sponsor, the second third party sponsor differing from the third party sponsor;

based upon the desired association with the second third party sponsor, retrieve second third party sponsor settings;

alter the user interface settings based upon the second third party sponsor settings, wherein the altered user interface settings differ from the default user interface settings; and

alternate between the user interface settings based upon the third party sponsor settings and the user interface settings based upon the second third party sponsor settings.

5. The cellular telephone of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to:

receive a Coder/Decoder (CODEC) from the sponsor computer in response to association with the third party sponsor; and

enact the CODEC to process custom content received from the third party sponsor server computer.

6. The cellular telephone of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to:

receive electronic advertisements from the third party sponsor server computer; and

display the electronic advertisements upon the display.

7. The cellular telephone of claim 1 :

further comprising a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver coupled to the processing circuitry; and

the processing circuitry operable to present on the display a location of the cellular telephone and the location of at least one third party sponsor site on a map.

8. The cellular telephone of claim 1 , wherein:

retrieving third party sponsor settings includes downloading a sponsor related ringtone; and

altering the user interface settings based upon the third party sponsor settings include enabling the sponsor related ringtone for communication announcement.

9. The cellular telephone of claim 1 , wherein:

retrieving third party sponsor settings includes downloading a sponsor telephone directory; and

altering the user interface settings based upon the third party sponsor settings include displaying availability of the sponsor telephone directory.

10. The cellular telephone of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further operable to upload user data to the third party sponsor server.

11. The cellular telephone of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further operable:

to receive a sponsor sales media interface; and

alter the user interface to include the sponsor sales media interface.

12. The cellular telephone of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further operable:

to receive at least one sponsor web site link; and

alter the user interface to include the at least one sponsor web site link.

13. The cellular telephone of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further operable:

to receive a sponsor gaming interface; and

alter the user interface to include the sponsor gaming interface.

14. The cellular telephone of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the communications interface, the user interface, and the processing circuitry is configurable based upon the third party sponsor settings.

15. A method for operating a telephone comprising:

establishing default user interface settings for a user interface of the telephone;

determining a desired association with a plurality of third party sponsors by receiving from the user interface a selection of a plurality of third party sponsors;

retrieving a plurality of third party sponsor settings from the selected plurality of third party sponsors;

altering the default user interface settings using the plurality of third party sponsor settings based upon a compensation value established for the selected plurality of third party sponsors, wherein the altered user interface settings differ from the default user interface settings; and

communicating with one or more of the selected plurality of third party sponsors via a communications interface of the telephone to indicate alteration of the default user interface settings.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein altering the default user interface settings using the plurality of third party sponsor settings based upon a compensation value established for the selected plurality of third party sponsors comprises:

providing greater access control to the user interface of the telephone to a third party sponsor of the selected plurality of third party sponsors having a higher established compensation value than to a third party sponsor of the selected plurality of third party sponsors having a lower established compensation value.

17. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

receiving a Coder/Decoder (CODEC) from one of the selected plurality of third party sponsors computer in response to association with the one of the plurality of third party sponsors; and

enacting the CODEC to process custom content received from the one of the selected plurality of third party sponsors computer .

18. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

receiving electronic advertisements from one of the selected plurality of third party sponsors computer; and

displaying the electronic advertisements upon a display of the telephone.

19. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

determining a location of the telephone by accessing a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver of the cellular telephone;

determining a desired association with one of the plurality of third party sponsors based on the time of day and the location of the cellular phone;

altering the user interface settings based upon settings of the determined one of the plurality of third party sponsors; and

presenting on a display of the telephone a location of the telephone and the location of at least one site on a map of the determined one of the plurality of third party sponsors.

20. The method of claim 15 , wherein:

retrieving the plurality of third party sponsor settings includes downloading a sponsor related ringtone; and

altering the default user interface settings using the plurality of third party sponsor settings based upon a compensation value established for the selected plurality of third party sponsors includes enabling the sponsor related ringtone for communication announcement.

21. The method of claim 15 , wherein:

retrieving the plurality of third party sponsor settings includes downloading a sponsor telephone directory; and

altering the default user interface settings using the plurality of third party sponsor settings based upon a compensation value established for the selected plurality of third party sponsors includes displaying availability of the sponsor telephone directory.

22. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

receiving a sponsor sales media interface; and

altering the user interface to include the sponsor sales media interface.

23. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

receiving at least one sponsor web site link; and

altering the user interface to include the at least one sponsor web site link.

24. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

receiving a sponsor gaming interface; and

altering the user interface to include the sponsor gaming interface.

25. The method of claim 15 , further comprising reconfiguring at least one of a communications interface, the user interface, and processing circuitry of the telephone based upon the plurality of third party sponsor settings.

26. A cellular telephone comprising:

a communications interface operable to service wireless communications with a cellular network infrastructure of a network operator; and

a user interface including a display and at least one input device;

configurable processing circuitry coupled to the communications interface and to the user interface, the processing circuitry operable to:

establish a default processing circuitry configuration consistent with association with the network operator;

receive from the user interface a selection of a third party sponsor;

retrieve third party sponsor settings of the selected third party sponsor;

alter the processing circuitry configuration based upon the third party sponsor settings, wherein the altered processing circuitry configuration differs from the default processing circuitry configuration;

communicate with a third party sponsor server computer via the communications interface to exchange information relating to operation of the cellular telephone indicating information relating to one or more idle periods of the cellular telephone; and

receive one or more communications from the third party sponsor server computer via the communication interface during the one or more idle periods of the cellular telephone.

27. The cellular telephone of claim 26 , wherein at least one of the communications interface and the user interface is also configurable based upon the third party sponsor settings.