System and method for providing a network service in a distributed fashion to a mobile device

1. A system for providing a service to a mobile device over a mobile network, comprising:

a first server communicatively coupled to the mobile device over the mobile network, the first server configured to:

store an account record associated with a user of the mobile device,

wherein the account record includes a user name, a phone number of the mobile device, a credit card number, and a usage history associated with the mobile device;

receive a unique authentication token from the mobile device;

authenticate the user to provide the service to the mobile device, wherein the authentication is based on the received unique authentication token;

transmit a list of available digital content stored at the first server to the mobile device;

receive a user selection of digital content to access;

transfer, in response to the user selection, the selected digital content to the mobile device over a first communication medium,

wherein the first communication medium for transferring the selected digital content is determined based on a type of the selected digital content and a user-selectable preference;

transfer, after the user selection, a representation of the selected digital content over a second communication medium to a personal computing device associated with the user of the mobile device,

wherein the representation of the selected digital content is either transferred automatically to the personal computing device when the personal computing device is available over the second communication medium or transferred to the personal computing device in response to a command received from the personal computing device when the personal computing device is available over the second communication medium;

monitor usage of the service provided to the mobile device; and

update the usage history associated with the mobile device based on usage of the mobile device and the monitored usage of the service;

wherein the service is provided by an entity other than an entity that operates the mobile network, and

wherein billing for the service is separate from billing for the mobile network.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first communication medium used to transfer the selected digital content is a communication medium other than a cellular connection.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the communication medium other than a cellular connection is used when the type of the selected digital content is video.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the selected digital content is a software application for installation on the mobile device.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the usage history associated with the mobile device includes a purchase history.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein providing the service to the mobile device includes associating the selected digital content with the unique authentication token such that the selected digital content can be transferred to the mobile device at a later time.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first server selects a format of the digital content to be transferred to the mobile device according to a formatting characteristic, and wherein the formatting characteristic for the digital content to be transferred is based on at least one of mobile device screen size, mobile device screen resolution, mobile device processing power, mobile device memory size, and mobile device available free memory.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first server selects a format of the digital content to be transferred to the mobile device according to a formatting characteristic, and wherein the formatting characteristic for the digital content to be transferred is based on available mobile network connection bandwidth.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first server selects a format of the digital content to be transferred to the mobile device according to a formatting characteristic, and wherein the formatting characteristic for the digital content to be transferred includes a screen resolution based on the type of the digital content requested by the user.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first server is configured to dynamically adjust the list of available digital content based upon a location of the mobile device.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first server is further configured to determine data that the user of the mobile device will request and provide the data in advance of a request from the mobile device.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first server is configured to bill the user of the mobile device for a service plan relating to the service provided by the first server.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mobile network is a cellular network, wherein the first server is further configured to enforce at least one service policy, the at least one service policy includes optimization of a file size of a file being downloaded over the cellular network.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first server is further configured to select a format of digital content to be transferred to the mobile device based on a characteristic of the mobile network.

15. A method for providing a service to a mobile device over a mobile network, comprising:

storing an account record associated with a user of the mobile device,

wherein the account record includes a user name, a phone number of the mobile device, a credit card number, and a usage history associated with the mobile device;

receiving a unique authentication token from the mobile device at a server that is communicatively coupled to the mobile device over the mobile network;

authenticating the user to provide the service to the mobile device, wherein the authentication is based on the received unique authentication token;

transmitting a list of available digital content to the mobile device;

receiving a user selection of digital content to access;

transferring, in response to the user selection, the selected digital content to the mobile device over a first communication medium,

wherein the first communication medium for transferring the selected digital content is determined based on a type of the selected digital content is determined based on a type of the selected digital content and a user-selectable preference;

transferring, after the user selection, a representation of the selected digital content over a second communication medium to a personal computing device associated with the user of the mobile device,

wherein the representation of the selected digital content is either transferred automatically to the personal computing device when the personal computing device is available over the second communication medium or transferred to the personal computing device in response to a command received from the personal computing device when the personal computing device is available over the second communication medium;

monitoring usage of the service provided to the mobile device; and

updating the usage history associated with the mobile device based on usage of the mobile device and the monitored usage of the service;

wherein the service is provided by an entity other than an entity that operates the mobile network, and

wherein billing for the service is separate from billing for the mobile network.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first communication medium used to transfer the selected digital content is a communication medium other than a cellular connection.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the communication medium other than a cellular connection is used when the type of the selected digital content is video.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the usage history associated with the mobile device includes a purchase history.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the service to the mobile device includes associating the selected digital content with the unique authentication token such that the selected digital content can be transferred to the mobile device at a later time.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the list of available digital content is dynamically adjusted based upon a location of the mobile device.

21. The system of claim 1 , wherein the selected digital content is transferred over a cellular connection based on the user-selectable preference when the type of the selected digital content is video.

22. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first communication medium used to transfer the selected digital content is determined based on a predefined preference.

23. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first server is further configured to anticipate digital content that the user may desire based on the usage history maintained in the account record.

24. The system of claim 1 , wherein the service provided is downloading of a file, wherein the digital content received by the mobile device is configured to be automatically removed after a preset period of time.

25. The method of claim 15 , wherein the selected digital content is transferred over a cellular connection based on the user-selectable preference when the type of the selected digital content is video.

26. The method of claim 15 , wherein the first communication medium used to transfer the selected digital content is determined based on a predefined preference.

27. The method of claim 15 , wherein the server is further configured to anticipate digital content that the user may desire based on the usage history maintained in the account record.

28. The method of claim 15 , wherein the service provided is downloading of a file, wherein the digital content received by the mobile device is configured to be automatically removed after a preset period of time.

29. The system of claim 1 , wherein the personal computing device is a desktop computer.

30. The method of claim 15 , wherein the personal computing device is a desktop computer.

31. A system for providing a service to a mobile device over a mobile network, comprising:

a first server communicatively coupled to the mobile device over the mobile network, the first server configured to:

store an account record associated with a user of the mobile device,

wherein the account record includes a user name, a phone number of the mobile device, a credit card number, and a usage history associated with the mobile device;

receive a unique authentication token from the mobile device;

authenticate the user to provide the service to the mobile device, wherein the authentication is based on the received unique authentication token;

transmit a list of available digital content stored at the first server to the mobile device;

receive a user selection of digital content to access;

transfer, in response to the user selection, the selected digital content to the mobile device over a first communication medium,

wherein the first communication medium for transferring the selected digital content is determined based on a type of the selected digital content and a user-selectable preference;

transfer, after the user selection, a representation of the selected digital content over a second communication medium to a personal computing device associated with the user of the mobile device,

wherein the representation of the selected digital content is transferred automatically to the personal computing device when the personal computing device is available over the second communication medium;

monitor usage of the service provided to the mobile device; and

update the usage history associated with the mobile device based on usage of the mobile device and the monitored usage of the service;

wherein the service is provided by an entity other than an entity that operates the mobile network, and

wherein billing for the service is separate from billing for the mobile network.

32. The system of claim 31 , wherein the first communication medium used to transfer the selected digital content is a communication medium other than a cellular connection.

33. The system of claim 32 , wherein the communication medium other than a cellular connection is used when the type of the selected digital content is video.

34. The system of claim 31 , wherein the selected digital content is a software application for installation on the mobile device.

35. The system of claim 31 , wherein the usage history associated with the mobile device includes a purchase history.

36. The system of claim 31 , wherein providing the service to the mobile device includes associating the selected digital content with the unique authentication token such that the selected digital content can be transferred to the mobile device at a later time.

37. The system of claim 31 , wherein the first server is configured to dynamically adjust the list of available digital content based upon a location of the mobile device.

38. The system of claim 31 , wherein the first server is configured to bill the user of the mobile device for a service plan relating to the service provided by the first server.

39. The system of claim 31 , wherein the personal computing device is a desktop computer.

40. A system for providing a service to a mobile device over a mobile network, comprising:

a first server communicatively coupled to the mobile device over the mobile network, the first server configured to:

store an account record associated with a user of the mobile device, wherein the account record includes a user name, a phone number of the mobile device, a credit card number, and a usage history associated with the mobile device;

receive a unique authentication token from the mobile device;

authenticate the user to provide the service to the mobile device, wherein the authentication is based on the received unique authentication token;

transmit a list of available digital content stored at the first server to the mobile device;

receive a user selection of digital content to access;

transfer, in response to the user selection, the selected digital content to the mobile device over a first communication medium,

wherein the first communication medium for transferring the selected digital content is determined based on a type of the selected digital content and a user-selectable preference;

transfer, after the user selection, a representation of the selected digital content over a second communication medium to a personal computing device associated with the user of the mobile device,

wherein the representation of the selected digital content is transferred to the personal computing device in response to a command received from the personal computing device when the personal computing device is available over the second communication medium;

monitor usage of the service provided to the mobile device; and

update the usage history associated with the mobile device based on usage of the mobile device and the monitored usage of the service;

wherein the service is provided by an entity other than an entity that operates the mobile network, and

wherein billing for the service is separate from billing for the mobile network.

41. The system of claim 40 , wherein the first communication medium used to transfer the selected digital content is a communication medium other than a cellular connection.

42. The system of claim 41 , wherein the communication medium other than a cellular connection is used when the type of the selected digital content is video.

43. The system of claim 40 , wherein the selected digital content is a software application for installation on the mobile device.

44. The system of claim 40 , wherein the usage history associated with the mobile device includes a purchase history.

45. The system of claim 40 , wherein providing the service to the mobile device includes associating the selected digital content with the unique authentication token such that the selected digital content can be transferred to the mobile device at a later time.

46. The system of claim 40 , wherein the first server is configured to dynamically adjust the list of available digital content based upon a location of the mobile device.

47. The system of claim 40 , wherein the first server is configured to bill the user of the mobile device for a service plan relating to the service provided by the first server.

48. The system of claim 40 , wherein the personal computing device is a desktop computer.