Method and apparatus of providing notification services to smartphone devices

1. A method, comprising:

uploading, by at least one entity, at least one notification intended for at least one user recipient by uploading appointment information which triggers at least one appointment reminder to be transmitted to the at least one user recipient ahead of a scheduled appointment time;

receiving the at least one notification and storing the at least one notification in a transfer queue until a time window is invoked as determined by the at least one entity, wherein the time window includes a “window begin” parameter designating an earliest time in a date-time format at which the at least one notification can be transmitted and a “window end” parameter, designating a latest time in a date-time format at which the notification can be transmitted;

transmitting the at least one notification to the at least one user recipient during the time window specified by the at least one entity, the at least one notification comprising the at least one appointment reminder; and

responding, by the at least one recipient, to the transmitted at least one notification, by performing at least one of: confirming the scheduled appointment time and unsubscribing from receiving the at least one notification.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the appointment information is periodically uploaded.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising periodically receiving messages at an application programming interface to upload at least one appointment notification scheduled for the at least one user recipient.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

triggering the at least one notification scheduled for the at least one user recipient via a notification engine; and

transmitting the at least one notification to the at least one user responsive to triggering the at least one notification.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving user information in a notification database identifying the at least one user recipient;

periodically receiving update messages at the notification database; and

creating new notification entries in the notification database responsive to receiving the update messages.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the update messages prompt a rescheduling of existing notifications.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one notification is transmitted to a mobile station operated by the at least one user recipient automatically during the time window associated with the at least one notification via a push protocol.

8. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor;

memory; and

a receiver configured to:

receive an upload, by at least one entity, of at least one notification intended for at least one user recipient, the at least one notification including appointment information which triggers at least one appointment reminder to be transmitted to the at least one user recipient ahead of a scheduled appointment time;

store the at least one notification in a transfer queue until a time window is invoked as determined by the at least one entity, wherein the time window includes a “window begin” parameter designating an earliest time in a date-time format at which the at least one notification can be transmitted and a “window end” parameter, designating a latest time in a date-time format at which the notification can be transmitted; and

a transmitter configured to transmit the at least one notification to the at least one user recipient during the time window specified by the at least one entity, the at least one notification comprising the at least one appointment reminder;

wherein the receiver is configured to receive, from the at least one recipient, based on the transmitted at least one notification, at least one of: a confirmation of the scheduled appointment time and an unsubscription from receiving the at least one notification;

wherein the memory, the receiver and the transmitter are communicably coupled to the processor.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the appointment information is periodically uploaded.

10. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the receiver is further configured to periodically receive messages at an application programming interface to upload at least one appointment notification scheduled for the at least one user recipient.

11. The apparatus of claim 8 , further comprising a notification engine configured to trigger the at least one notification scheduled for the at least one user recipient, and wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit the at least one notification to the at least one user responsive to the at least one notification being triggered.

12. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the receiver is further configured to receive user information in a notification database identifying at least one user recipient, periodically receive update messages at the notification database, and the processor is configured to create new notification entries in the notification database responsive to receiving the update messages.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the update messages prompt a rescheduling of existing notifications.

14. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the at least one notification is transmitted to a mobile station operated by the at least one user recipient automatically during the intended time window associated with the at least one notification via a push protocol.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium configured to store instructions that when executed cause a processor to perform:

uploading, by at least one entity, at least one notification intended for at least one user recipient by uploading appointment information which triggers at least one appointment reminder to be transmitted to the at least one user recipient ahead of a scheduled appointment time;

receiving the at least one notification and storing the at least one notification in a transfer queue until a time window is invoked as determined by the at least one entity, wherein the time window includes a “window begin” parameter designating an earliest time in a date-time format at which the at least one notification can be transmitted and a “window end” parameter, designating a latest time in a date-time format at which the notification can be transmitted;

transmitting the at least one notification to the at least one user recipient during the time window specified by the at least one entity, the at least one notification comprising the at least one appointment reminder; and

responding, by the at least one recipient, to the transmitted at least one notification, by performing at least one of: confirming the scheduled appointment time and unsubscribing from receiving the at least one notification.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the appointment information is periodically uploaded.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the processor is further configured to perform periodically receiving messages at an application programming interface to upload at least one appointment notification scheduled for the at least one user recipient.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the processor is further configured to perform:

triggering the at least one notification scheduled for the at least one user recipient via a notification engine; and

transmitting the at least one notification to the at least one user responsive to triggering the at least one notification.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the processor is further configured to perform:

receiving user information in a notification database identifying the least one user recipient;

periodically receiving update messages at the notification database; and

creating new notification entries in the notification database responsive to receiving the update messages.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 19 , wherein the update messages prompt a rescheduling of existing notifications.