Energy efficient roaming of a mobile device

1. A method comprising:

activating a radio in a mobile device by a processor of the mobile device, the radio configured to communicate with a wireless network;

provisioning the mobile device with at least one pre-determined environment profile, wherein the at least one pre-determined environment profile comprises conditions under which the radio is unable to connect with the wireless network;

sensing, by a sensor of the mobile device, an environmental condition of the mobile device to generate a sensor signal;

generating, by the processor of the mobile device, an environmental profile of the mobile device based at least on the sensor signal;

comparing, by the processor of the mobile device, the environmental profile of the mobile device with the at least one pre-determined environmental profile;

deactivating, by the processor of the mobile device, the activated radio when the comparing indicates that the environmental profile is above a threshold of the pre-determined environmental profile for a first period of time; and

reactivating, by the processor of the mobile device, the deactivated radio when the comparing indicates that the environmental profile is below a threshold of the pre-determined environmental profile for a second period of time,

wherein the sensor is an altimeter and the wireless network comprises an IEEE 802.11 wireless communication system, and wherein the environmental profile further comprises a rate of change in altitude of the mobile device, and wherein the threshold indicates that the mobile device is within a building, whereupon the radio is activated.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wireless network comprises an IEEE 802.11 wireless communication system, and wherein the environmental condition includes a speed of the mobile device, wherein the threshold indicates that the mobile device is within a moving vehicle, whereupon the radio is deactivated.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the motion is sensed using a motion sensor in the mobile device.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing the environmental profile in a memory of the mobile device.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the environmental condition is based on at least one of a velocity, acceleration, vibration, rotation, and tilt of the mobile device.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wireless network comprises an IEEE 802.11 wireless communication system.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising periodically reactivating the radio during the first period of time to attempt to communicate with the wireless network.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first period of time is different than the second period of time.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising deactivating the radio when the environmental profile indicates that the mobile device is traveling in a vehicle.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising manually overriding the sensor signal to reactivate the radio when the radio is deactivated.

11. A mobile device comprising:

a sensor sensing an environmental condition of the mobile device to generate a sensor signal;

a radio configured to communicate with a wireless network; and

a memory coupled to a processor and storing at least one pre-determined environmental profile, wherein the at least one pre-determined environmental profile comprises conditions under which the radio is unable to connect with the wireless network;

the processor configured to:

activate the radio in the mobile device;

generate an environmental profile of the mobile device based at least on the sensor signal;

compare the environmental profile of the mobile device with the at least one predetermined environmental profile;

de-activate the activated radio when the comparing indicates that the environmental profile is above a threshold of the pre-determined environmental profile for a first period of time; and

re-activate the deactivated radio when the comparing indicates that the environmental profile is below a threshold of the pre-determined environmental profile for a second period of time,

wherein the sensor is an altimeter and the wireless network comprises an IEEE 802.11 wireless communication system, and wherein the environmental profile further comprises a rate of change in altitude of the mobile device, and wherein the threshold indicates that the mobile device is within a building, whereupon the radio is activated.

12. The mobile device of claim 11 , wherein the wireless network comprises an IEEE 802.11 wireless communication system, and wherein the environmental condition includes a speed of the mobile device, wherein the threshold indicates that the mobile device is within a moving vehicle, whereupon the radio is deactivated.

13. The mobile device of claim 11 , wherein the environmental condition is based on at least one of a velocity, acceleration, vibration, rotation, and tilt of the mobile device.

14. The mobile device of claim 11 , wherein the sensor comprises at one of an accelerometer and a gyroscopic sensor.

15. The mobile device of claim 11 , wherein the processor periodically reactivates the radio during the first period of time to attempt to communicate with a wireless network.

16. The mobile device of claim 11 , wherein the first period of time is different than the second period of time.

17. The mobile device of claim 11 , wherein the wireless network comprises an IEEE 802.11 wireless communication system.

18. The mobile device of claim 11 , wherein the radio is deactivated when the environmental profile indicates that the mobile device is traveling in a vehicle.

19. The mobile device of claim 11 , further comprising a user interface for communicating an instruction to the processor.

20. The mobile device of claim 19 , wherein the instruction comprises manually overriding the sensor signal to reactivate the radio when the radio is deactivated.