Dialling phone numbers
Method and apparatus for effecting a voice communication between user terminals connected via a communication network include displaying a menu of country options to a user and receiving a number in local form. Formatting rules are recalled for a destination country selected by the user from the country options. A country prefix for the destination country is prepended to the number in accordance with the formatting rules to generate a formatted number. The formatted number is supplied to a client installed at the user terminal for effecting the voice communication using the formatted number.
1. A method for effecting a voice communication between a first user terminal and a second user terminal connected via a communication network, the method comprising:
displaying a dialing screen in a user interface;
receiving a number in the dialing screen at the first user terminal;
responsive to a user input to select a destination country, displaying a list of countries, each country in the list comprising a country icon;
recalling a country prefix from a database for the destination country selected by the user;
prepending to the number the country prefix for the destination country to generate a formatted number; and
supplying the formatted number to a client installed at the first user terminal for effecting the voice communication using the formatted number.
2. A method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the dialing screen comprises a dialing keypad.
3. A method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the dialing screen comprises a country icon for the destination country.
4. A method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the dialing screen comprises a visual representation of a country flag for the destination country.
5. A method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the database is located in the first user terminal.
6. A method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the database is located remotely from the first user terminal.
7. A method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising displaying the formatted number and rate information associated with conducting the voice communication to the formatted number.
8. A system comprising:
one or more processors; and
a store storing instructions that are executable by the one or more processors to perform operations including:
displaying a dialing screen in a user interface;
receiving a number in the dialing screen at a user terminal;
responsive to a user input to select a destination country, displaying a list of countries, each country in the list comprising a country icon;
recalling a country prefix from a database for the destination country selected by the user;
prepending to the number the country prefix for the destination country to generate a formatted number; and
supplying the formatted number to a client installed at the user terminal for effecting the voice communication using the formatted number.
9. A system as described in claim 8 , wherein the dialing screen comprises a dialing keypad.
10. A system as described in claim 8 , wherein the dialing screen comprises a country icon for the destination country.
11. A system as described in claim 8 , wherein the dialing screen comprises a visual representation of a country flag for the destination country.
12. A system as described in claim 8 , wherein the database is located in the first user terminal.
13. A system as described in claim 8 , wherein the database is located remotely from the first user terminal.
14. A system as described in claim 8 , further comprising displaying the formatted number and rate information associated with conducting the voice communication to the formatted number.
15. A user terminal comprising:
one or more processors; and
a store storing instructions that are executable by the one or more processors to perform operations including:
displaying a dialing screen in a user interface;
receiving a number in the dialing screen at the user terminal;
responsive to a user input to select a destination country, displaying a list of countries, each country in the list comprising a country icon;
recalling a country prefix from a database for the destination country selected by the user;
prepending to the number the country prefix for the destination country to generate a formatted number; and
supplying the formatted number to a client installed at the user terminal for effecting the voice communication using the formatted number.
16. A user terminal as described in claim 15 , wherein the dialing screen comprises a dialing keypad.
17. A user terminal as described in claim 15 , wherein the dialing screen comprises a country icon for the destination country.
18. A user terminal as described in claim 15 , wherein the dialing screen comprises a visual representation of a country flag for the destination country.
19. A user terminal as described in claim 15 , wherein the database is located in the first user terminal.
20. A user terminal as described in claim 15 , further comprising displaying the formatted number and rate information associated with conducting the voice communication to the formatted number.