LOCATION-VARIABLE CONTEXTUAL CONTACTS

1 . A method for updating location-dependent contact information, ion, the method comprising:

at a first location, storing first location-dependent contact information for a first service-providing entity as a contact in an address book in a memory of the mobile device;

determining a current location of the mobile device; and

in response to determining that the current location has changed from the first location to a second location, automatically updating the address book by replacing the first location-dependent contact information in the address book with second location-dependent contact information for a second entity equivalent to the first entity.

2 . The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein automatically updating comprises:

causing a search engine to perform a web search for service-providing entities that provide a same service as the first service-providing entity; and

selecting the second entity from search results obtained from the web search.

3 . The method as claimed in claim 2 further comprising receiving a sponsored search result from an advertising entity and selecting the sponsored search result as the second entity.

4 . The method as claimed in claim 3 wherein the sponsored search result is a targeted sponsored search result determined based on competitive bidding amongst advertising entities and further refined based on mobile subscriber profiles.

5 . The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein automatically updating comprises searching a service-rating website, using the second location and a service-identifying keyword as search terms, to identify a top-rated service-providing entity for the second location.

6 . The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising transmitting a search request to a social network website to identify social network contacts in the second location and to identify any replacement entities associated with the social network contacts.

7 . A computer-readable medium comprising instructions in code which when loaded into a memory and executed by a processor of a mobile device cause the mobile device to:

at a first location, store first location-dependent contact information for a first service-providing entity as a contact in an address book in a memory of the mobile device;

determine a current location of the mobile device; and

in response to determining that the current location has changed from the first location to a second location, automatically update the address book by replacing the first location-dependent contact information in the address book with second location-dependent contact information for a second entity equivalent to the first entity.

8 . The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 7 further comprising code to cause the device to:

cause a search engine to perform a web search for service-providing entities that provide a same service as the first service-providing entity; and

select the second entity from search results obtained from the web search.

9 . The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 8 further comprising code to cause the device to receive a sponsored search result from an advertising entity and selecting the sponsored search result as the second entity.

10 . The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 9 wherein the sponsored search result is a targeted sponsored search result determined based on competitive bidding amongst advertising entities and further refined based on mobile subscriber profiles.

11 . The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 7 further comprising code for causing the device to search a service-rating website, using the second location and a service-identifying keyword as search terms, to identify a top-rated service-providing entity for the second location.

12 . The computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 7 further comprising code for transmitting a search request to a social network website to identify social network contacts in the second location and to identify any replacement entities associated with the social network contacts.

13 . A mobile device comprising:

a memory for storing, at a first location, first location-dependent contact information for a first service-providing entity as a contact in an address book;

a position-determining subsystem for determining a current location of the mobile device; and

a processor operatively coupled to the memory for determining that the current location has changed from the first location to a second location, the processor being configured to automatically update the address book by replacing the first location-dependent contact information in the address book with second location-dependent contact information for a second entity equivalent to the first entity.

14 . The mobile device as claimed in claim 13 wherein the processor cooperates with a radiofrequency transceiver to:

cause a search engine to perform a web search for service-providing entities that provide a same service as the first service-providing entity; and

select the second entity from search results obtained from the web search.

15 . The mobile device as claimed in claim 14 wherein the radiofrequency transceiver receives a sponsored search result from an advertising entity as the second entity.

16 . The mobile device as claimed in claim 15 wherein the sponsored search result is a targeted sponsored search result determined based on competitive bidding amongst advertising entities and further refined based on mobile subscriber profiles.

17 . The mobile device as claimed in claim 13 wherein the radiofrequency transceiver transmits the second location and a service-identifying keyword as search terms for searching a service-rating website to identify a top-rated service-providing entity for the second location.

18 . The mobile device as claimed in claim 13 wherein the processor cooperates with a radiofrequency transceiver to transmit a search request to a social network website to identify social network contacts in the second location and to identify any replacement entities associated with the social network contacts.