Handheld electronic device including automatic mobile phone number management, and associated method
View Patent ↗A method of updating information included in a handheld device user's contact entry included in a global address list wherein the device stores information of a first type, such as a mobile phone, SMS or MMS number or a PIN. The method includes determining whether the information of a first type has been modified from a first stored piece of information to a second stored piece of information, and generating a message including the second stored piece of information and sending the message to a computer system of the organization if it is determined that the information of a first type has been modified. The computer system stores the second stored piece of information in response to receipt of the message by the computer system for subsequent access by a requesting party. Also provided is an improved handheld electronic device having one or more routines adapted to implement the method.
1. A method for providing communication services to a plurality of associated handheld electronic devices via a wireless network, comprising:
storing a global list of contact information uniquely identifying each handheld electronic device associated with the communication system,
accepting a message, received from a handheld electronic device via the wireless network, in which the handheld electronic device indicates that contact information uniquely identifying the handheld electronic device and stored at the handheld electronic device has been modified from a first piece of information to a second piece of information, the accepted message including the second piece of information, and
storing the second piece of information for subsequent access by a requesting party in a table in an association with a user of the handheld electronic device, the table being separate from the global list of contact information, rather than updating the stored global list of contact information.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the global list of contact information is stored and maintained by a messaging server.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the information that uniquely identifies the handheld electronic device is a mobile phone number, wherein the first stored piece of information is an old mobile phone number for the handheld electronic device, and wherein the second stored piece of information is a new mobile phone number for the handheld electronic device.
4. The method of claim 3 further comprising providing access the second stored piece of information to a party requesting a mobile phone number of the user of the handheld electronic device.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the information that uniquely identifies the handheld electronic device is a PIN, wherein the first stored piece of information is an old PIN for the handheld electronic device, and wherein the second stored piece of information is a new PIN for the handheld electronic device.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the information that uniquely identifies the handheld electronic device is an SMS number, wherein the first stored piece of information is an old SMS number for the handheld electronic device, and wherein the second stored piece of information is a new SMS number for the handheld electronic device.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the information that uniquely identifies the handheld electronic device is an MMS number, wherein the first stored piece of information is an old MMS number for the handheld electronic device, and wherein the second stored piece of information is a new MMS number for the handheld electronic device.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the accepting of a message further comprises accepting the message received from a handheld electronic device via the wireless network at a wireless enterprise server and sending the message to a messaging server.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the accepting the message further comprises sending the message received from a handheld electronic device via the wireless network to the wireless enterprise server via a firewall.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the messaging server implements an electronic mail system, and wherein the global list of contact information includes contact information for each handheld electronic device associated with the communication system that has an email account in the electronic mail system.
11. A communication system that provides communication services to a plurality of associated handheld electronic devices via a wireless network, comprising:
a server, coupled to the wireless network, that provides a message service to the plurality of handheld devices and is configured to:
store a global list of contact information uniquely identifying each handheld electronic device associated with the communication system,
accept a message received from a handheld electronic device via the wireless network, in which the handheld electronic device indicates that contact information uniquely identifying the handheld electronic device and stored at the handheld electronic device has been modified from a first piece of information to a second piece of information, the accepted message including the second piece of information, and
store the second piece of information for subsequent access by a requesting party in a table in an association with a user of the handheld electronic device, the table being separate from the global list of contact information, rather than updating the stored global list of contact information.
12. The communication system of claim 11 , wherein the global list of contact information is stored and maintained by a messaging server.
13. The communication system of claim 11 , wherein the information that uniquely identifies the handheld electronic device is a mobile phone number, wherein the first stored piece of information is an old mobile phone number for the handheld electronic device, and wherein the second stored piece of information is a new mobile phone number for the handheld electronic device.
14. The communication system of claim 11 , wherein the information that uniquely identifies the handheld electronic device is a PIN, wherein the first stored piece of information is an old PIN for the handheld electronic device, and wherein the second stored piece of information is a new PIN for the handheld electronic device.
15. The communication system of claim 11 , wherein the information that uniquely identifies the handheld electronic device is an SMS number, wherein the first stored piece of information is an old SMS number for the handheld electronic device, and wherein the second stored piece of information is a new SMS number for the handheld electronic device.
16. The communication system of claim 11 , wherein the information that uniquely identifies the handheld electronic device is an MMS number, wherein the first stored piece of information is an old MMS number for the handheld electronic device, and wherein the second stored piece of information is a new MMS number for the handheld electronic device.
17. The communication system of claim 11 further comprising a wireless enterprise server coupled to the messaging server, wherein the message received from a handheld electronic device via the wireless network is coupled to the wireless enterprise server and then to the messaging server.
18. The communication system of claim 11 , wherein the wireless enterprise server is coupled to the Internet.
19. The communication system of claim 18 further comprising a firewall disposed between the Internet and the wireless enterprise server.
20. The communication system of claim 19 , wherein the messaging server implements an electronic mail system, and wherein the global list of contact information includes contact information for each handheld electronic device associated with the communication system that has an email account in the electronic mail system.