Method and apparatus for electronic mailing of data utilizing a data reference
View Patent ↗A mobile device for electronic mailing of data utilizing a data reference, the mobile device having: a communications subsystem for communicating with a wireless gateway; a user interface; a processor interacting with the user interface and the communications subsystem; an electronic mail application adapted to run on the processor; a data application adapted to run on the processor; and memory adapted to be accessed by the electronic mail application and the data application, the memory storing a data reference identifier for data in the data application, the data reference identifier capable of identifying the data on a data server remote from the mobile device, wherein the data application is adapted to interact with the electronic mail application to send data in an electronic mail message, and wherein the data is replaced in the electronic mail message with the data reference identifier.
1. A method for sending data content from a mobile device storing data content in a data server, the method comprising steps of:
generating an electronic mail message at the mobile device, the message including data content stored in the data server;
generating at the data server a reference identifier identifying the data content stored on the data server;
synchronizing periodically the mobile device and the data server over a connected serial interface or short range wireless communications;
receiving at the mobile device the reference identifier from the data server, the receiving occurs during synchronization between the mobile device and the data server;
replacing at the mobile device the data content in the message with the reference identifier; and
sending the message from the mobile device over a wireless network.
2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising replacing the reference identifier with the data content after the message has passed over the wireless network.
3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the reference identifier is replaced with the data content by sending the reference identifier to the data server and receiving the data content from the data server in response to the reference identifier.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the generating the electronic mail message is performed at a data application.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the data application is a memorandum application.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data content is periodically deleted from the mobile device, wherein reference identifiers are left at the mobile device.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference identifier is selected from at least one of a numeric identifier, an alphanumeric identifier, and a subset of the data content.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data content referred to by the reference identifier is associated with a data application separate from an electronic mail application.
9. A mobile device comprising:
a short range wireless communications subsystem for periodically synchronizing the mobile device with a data server remote from the mobile device and for receiving reference identifiers from the data server during said synchronization, the reference identifiers generated at the data server and identifying data content stored on the data server;
an electronic mail application configured to generate an electronic mail message including data content stored on the data server;
memory configured to be accessed by the electronic mail application, said memory being configured to store the received reference identifiers from the data server the email application being configured to replace data content in an outgoing electronic mail message with a reference identifier identifying the data content stored on the data server; and
a communications subsystem for sending the outgoing electronic mail message over a wireless network after the data content in the outgoing electronic mail message is replaced with the reference identifier.
10. The mobile device of claim 9 , further comprising a data application, wherein the electronic mail application is accessed by the data application to generate the outgoing electronic mail message.
11. The mobile device of claim 10 , wherein the data application is a memorandum application.
12. The mobile device of claim 9 , further comprising a garbage collector configured to periodically delete data content from the mobile device, wherein reference identifiers are left at the mobile device.
13. The mobile device of claim 9 , wherein the reference identifier is selected from at least one of a numeric identifier, an alphanumeric identifier, and a subset of the data content.
14. The mobile device of claim 9 , further comprising a serial interface for said synchronization.
15. The mobile device of claim 9 , wherein data content referred to by the reference identifier is associated with a data application separate from the email application.