Abstract:
Methods and apparatus for distributing processor-executable apps are disclosed. The method includes receiving an app from a developer, categorizing the app so as to associate the app with a particular category, combining the app with other apps that are associated with the particular category so as to create a collection of apps that are associated with the particular category, offering access to the collection of apps in return for compensation, and compensating the developer responsive to receiving the app.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to mobile communication devices. In particular, but not by way of limitation, the present invention relates to the organization and distribution of apps. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    There is an enormous market for applications, also referred to herein as apps, running on cell phones, smart phones, and other computing devices. The growth of the mobile apps industry has been phenomenal due to, among other factors, the success of wireless devices such as iPhones, iPads, BlackBerrys, Android-based computing devices, and Qualcomm&#39;s BREW, BMP and Snapdragon based devices. 
         [0003]    There are wide varieties of applications that are used by millions of users on these devices. A typical usage model for these applications includes users going to a central location where all the apps are located/advertised, selecting the appropriate app, and trying the app for a fixed duration of time. If the users like the app, users may download and pay for the full version of the app. This model has a few inherent drawbacks that include difficult app discovery (from a users&#39; perspective), unwanted apps consuming too much memory on user devices, and developers facing high maintenance costs (e.g., time consuming maintenance activities) and complex licensing/monetization issues. 
         [0004]    With respect to app discovery, in the typical distribution model, users need to be aware of a particular app to find the app to try it out. For example, users typically have to search for a given app by various search criteria in the hopes of finding one that meets their needs, and many potentially viable apps are overlooked by users because of the difficulties associated with searching by the use of search terms. 
         [0005]    If the users download a lot of apps (including apps offered as free downloads), and if they forget to delete the unwanted apps, premium memory space on the device is wasted because the unused applications take away memory space on the device, which leaves less memory available for future app downloads. 
         [0006]    In addition, if a developer is an individual, that developer may be the primary interface for several individual users (e.g., several thousand individual users), and as a consequence, the developer may be overburdened with inquiries and app support issues. Moreover, the developers must transact with multiple users in connection with each distributed app; thus each developer faces the complexity of license management and the logistical challenges of monetizing an app when transacting with multiple individual users. As a consequence, improved apparatus and methods for distributing, marketing, and accessing applications are desired. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    Illustrative embodiments of the present invention that are shown in the drawings are summarized below. These and other embodiments are more fully described in the Detailed Description section. It is to be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the forms described in this Summary of the Invention or in the Detailed Description. One skilled in the art can recognize that there are numerous modifications, equivalents, and alternative constructions that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. 
         [0008]    In accordance with several embodiments, the invention may be characterized as a computing device that includes a network interface adapted to enable bidirectional communication to and from the computing device; a display configured to display content; a memory configured to store apps that are executable by the computing device; and an app management component. The app management component may be configured to remove unused apps from the memory, generate an app guide that includes a listing of app channels that a user of the computing device may subscribe to, wherein each of the app channels is associated with several apps. And in addition, the app management component effectuates digital rights management of apps that are downloaded to the memory of the computing device. 
         [0009]    Another exemplary aspect of the invention may be characterized as a method for distributing apps. The method may include receiving an app from a developer, categorizing the app so as to associate the app with a particular app channel, combining the app with other apps that are associated with the particular app channel so as to create a collection of apps that are associated with the particular app channel, and offering access to the app channel in return for compensation. In addition, the developer is compensated responsive to receiving the app. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    Various objects and advantages and a more complete understanding of the present invention are apparent and more readily appreciated by reference to the following Detailed Description and to the appended claims when taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings where like or similar elements are designated with identical reference numerals throughout the several views and wherein: 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of an app distribution network according to several embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram depicting components of an exemplary app aggregator; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart depicting operations of aspects depicted in  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram depicting an exemplary computing device; 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  depicts an exemplary user interface that may be generated on the computing device of  FIG. 4 ; and 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  depicts exemplary components that may be used to realize the computing device depicted in  FIG. 4 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0017]    Various aspects are now described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects. It may be evident, however, that such aspect(s) may be practiced without these specific details. 
         [0018]    Several embodiments of the present invention are directed to aggregating apps that are created by developers, and categorizing the aggregated apps into channels that users may subscribe to. In many variations of these embodiments, the aggregator of the apps operates to manage, after apps are developed, the branding, marketing, and financial aspects related to app deployment; thus easing many of the difficult aspects faced by app developers. In addition, for users, app discovery, app downloading, and app maintenance on computing devices (e.g., portable devices) is substantially improved. 
         [0019]    Referring first to  FIG. 1 , shown is an exemplary system according to several embodiments of the present invention. As shown, an app aggregator  102  is in communication with both N developers  104  and I carriers  106 , and each of the carriers  106  is in communication with a collection of computing devices  108  in a corresponding service area  110 . 
         [0020]    The computing devices  108  may be any one of a variety of devices that are capable of communicating by network and capable of running apps. For example, each of the computing devices  108  may be realized as a smartphone, netbook, gaming device, PDA, tablet, or a laptop computer. In many embodiments, the computing devices  108  are capable of communicating with one or more wireless network types including, for example, 3G, 4G, WiFi, and WiMax networks. 
         [0021]    In general, each of the app developers  104  develops one or more apps that are designed to operate on the computing devices  108 . The apps for example, may include (without limitation) educational, financial, gaming, and utility apps. Each of the developers  104  may be financially independent from other ones of the developers  104 , and each developer  104  may be a single person or a multi-person business entity. Although not discussed in detail herein because those of ordinary skill in the art are very familiar with app development, the developers  104  may utilize general-purpose computers that execute software (e.g., app development tools) to develop apps for a variety of types of computing devices  108  and operating systems. 
         [0022]    But unlike typical app marketing and distribution models, the app developers  104  in this embodiment interact with the app aggregator  102  instead of potentially thousands of users; thus substantially reducing administrative activities and associated costs. This aspect of the exemplary embodiment is particularly beneficial to developers  104  that are individuals that do not have administrative resources to handle the complexity of license management and general monetization of the apps they develop. 
         [0023]    The app aggregator  102  for example, generally operates to categorize, brand, and manage financial and logistical aspects of app distribution on behalf of the developers  104 . As discussed further herein, each of the developers  104  may receive, from the app aggregator  102 , one or more fees for developing an application; ongoing royalties (e.g., related to the number of downloads of an app); or a combination of upfront fees and royalties. But each of the developers  104  need only interact with the app aggregator  102  instead of multiple users or multiple carriers  106 ; thus time and costs (e.g., legal, administrative, and accounting costs) are saved. In addition, once the developers  104  have provided an app to the app aggregator  102 , the developers  104  do not have to maintain servers to distribute apps or compensate third party entities to host app distribution; thus the app aggregator  102  relieves the developers  104  of many of the hassles of app marketing. 
         [0024]    Moreover, the app aggregator  102  provides a more effective branding and marketing network than any one of the developers  104  could put in place. More specifically, in many variations of the exemplary system of  FIG. 1 , the app aggregator  102  operates specifically to brand collections of apps (e.g., that are categorized into channels) and create an awareness of the brands from the perspective of the users and carriers  106 . In addition, each app benefits from the association of being offered amongst many other apps. As a consequence, developers benefit from the branding as well as the increased exposure that their apps will have by being associated with other apps. 
         [0025]    As discussed further herein, in several variations of the system depicted in  FIG. 1 , the app aggregator  102  categorizes each app into one or more channels so that each app is bundled with other apps that have similar attributes and/or similar markets. And the app aggregator  102  then markets the channels to the carriers  106  and/or users of the computing devices  108 . 
         [0026]    As one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, each of the carriers  106  provides a communication service in a corresponding service area  110  to a collection of computing devices  108 . For example, the carriers  106  may each provide cellular service using infrastructure (e.g., base stations and cell towers) that is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art; thus further details of the architecture and components of each of the carriers  106  is not provided. 
         [0027]    But unlike existing carriers, each of the carriers  106  in the exemplary system depicted in  FIG. 1  may offer app channels—instead of individual apps—to their customers. And as discussed further herein, each of the carriers  106  may further offer channels in a bundled package to their customers. In some variations, the app aggregator  102  may offer bundled channels to each of the carriers  106 , and the carriers  106  may simply offer the same channel packages created by the app aggregator  102 , and/or each of the carriers  106  may create their own packages of bundled channels. And each of the carriers  106  may simply bill the users for the channels and packages that the users subscribe to in the same monthly bill the carriers  106  already send to their customers. 
         [0028]    In some implementations, one or more of the carriers  106  may also develop apps that are marketed, via the app aggregator  102 , to other carriers  106  and/or users. In this way, users that obtain their communication services (e.g., cellular communication services) from a particular one of the carriers  106  may subscribe to a channel and/or package of channels that is developed by another one of the carriers  106 . 
         [0029]    In some variations, the app aggregator  102  receives periodic fee payments from each of the carriers  106  in return for providing particular app channels and/or packaged bundles of app channels. In other variations, the app aggregator  102  receives royalties that are based upon a number of downloads of each app. And in some variations, the app aggregator  102  receives both fees and royalties from one or more of the carriers  106 . 
         [0030]    In other variations, the app aggregator  102  financially interacts with the users of the computing devices  108  directly. In these variations for example, the app aggregator  102  offers subscriptions to the users directly, the users download the apps from the app aggregator  102 , and the users pay the app aggregator  102  directly for subscriptions. 
         [0031]    Although a single app aggregator  102  is depicted in  FIG. 1 , it is certainly contemplated that there may be several app aggregators  102 , and each app aggregator  102  receives apps from developers  104  and markets app channels to one or more carriers  106 . And in turn, each of the carriers  106  may contract with multiple app aggregators  102  so that each carrier  106  may offer channels provided by each of multiple app aggregators  102 . In addition, it also contemplated that there may be multiple layers of app aggregators  102 . For example, each successive layer of app aggregators  102  may aggregate channels offered by other app aggregators  102 . 
         [0032]    Referring next to  FIG. 2 , shown is a block diagram depicting components of an exemplary app aggregator  202 . As shown, N processors in this embodiment (e.g., one or more processors) are coupled to a bus  203 , and also coupled to the bus  203  are a memory  204 , an app data store  206 , a developer data store  208 , a carrier data store  210 , a keyboard/pointing device, a display/graphics component, and a network interface. In addition, an app management component  212 , a digital rights management (“DRM”) component  214 , a developer management component  216 , and a carrier management component  218  are depicted as portions of executable code residing in the memory  204 . 
         [0033]    Each of the app data store  206 , developer data store  208 , and the carrier data store  210  may be realized by any device capable of holding substantial amounts of data, such as a hard drive, flash memory, compact disk (CD-ROM), DVD, or some other form of fixed or removable storage device. And one or more of the data stores  206 ,  208 ,  210  or other data store (not shown) in this embodiment may persistently store processor-readable code with instructions to effectuate processor-executable functions of the app aggregator  202  (e.g., the data stores  206 ,  208 ,  210  may store persistent copies of the app management component  212 , the digital rights management (“DRM”) component  214 , the developer management component  216 , and the carrier management component  218 ). 
         [0034]    The processors generally function to execute code corresponding to the app management component  212 , the digital rights management (“DRM”) component  214 , the developer management component  216 , and the carrier management component  218  and process other information that resides in the memory  204 , and may be any specific or general-purpose processor such as an INTEL x86 or POWERPC-compatible central processing unit (CPU), and may include multiple cores, and the memory  204  may be random access memory or nonvolatile memory. As one of ordinarily skill will appreciate, an operating system (e.g., LINUX or WINDOWS) may also reside in one or more of the data stores  206 ,  208 ,  210  and may execute from memory  204  and function (e.g., when executed by the processor) to enable the app management component  212 , the digital rights management (“DRM”) component  214 , the developer management component  216 , and the carrier management component  218  to interoperate with the other components depicted in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0035]    It should be recognized, however, that the depiction of the components in  FIG. 2  is logical and is not intended to be an actual hardware diagram; thus the depicted components may be realized by common physical constructs or may be further distributed. For example, the app data store  206 , the developer data store  208 , and the carrier data store  210  may be realized by a single memory storage device, or they may be distributed among several local and remote (e.g., cloud based) storage devices. In addition, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the executable code corresponding to the logical depiction of the app management component  212 , the digital rights management (“DRM”) component  214 , the developer management component  216 , and the carrier management component  218  may reside in disparate and distributed memory components and may not be identifiably separate from portions of other code. 
         [0036]    In general, the app data store  206  operates to store the apps that are created by developers  104 , and it may include an index with information that includes channel information for each app. The app management component  212  generally operates to assist personnel with categorizing, managing, and accessing the apps that are stored in the app data store  206 . As discussed with reference to  FIG. 1 , in connection with several embodiments of the present invention, apps are categorized and organized into channels based upon information received from the developers  104  and/or analysis by personnel associated with the app aggregator  202 . Additional details relative to the app categorization process are described further herein with reference to  FIG. 3 . 
         [0037]    In addition, the app management component  212 , in connection with the DRM component  214 , enables personnel to manage access-parameters and the values of the access parameters. For example, access-parameters may include a subscription level setting that restricts access to a particular app to a particular level of user subscription. In addition, the access-parameters may include time-bound subscription information, which limits access based upon a particular subscription term. 
         [0038]    Although the app data store  206 , app management component  212 , and DRM management component  214  are depicted as part of the app aggregator  202 , these components, or similar components, may be implemented and controlled by each of the carriers  106 . For example, in some embodiments one or more carriers  106  may host the app data store  206 , the app management component  212 , and the DRM component  214  so that the carriers  106  maintain control of the apps and the app management. 
         [0039]    The developer management component  216  generally operates to facilitate the management of relationships with the developers  104 . For example, the developer management component  216  may be realized by a variety of available or customized software packages that enable data associated with each of the developers  104  to be tracked, stored (in the developer data store  208 ) and reported. For example, for each of the developers  104 , several types of data may be maintained in the developer data store  208  including, without limitation, an identifier for each app developed by the developer  104 ; download data associated with each app; upgrade option data; and licensing data. 
         [0040]    Using the data in the developer data store  208 , the developer management component  216  may calculate any royalties and/or fees that are due to each individual developer  104 . For example, licensing terms that compensate the developers  104  for each download of their apps in connection with download information for each app may be utilized to calculate and report royalties that are due to the developers  104 . 
         [0041]    The carrier management component  218  generally operates to facilitate the management of relationships with the carriers  106 . For example, the carrier management component  218  may be realized by variety of software packages that enable data associated with each of the carriers  106  to be tracked, stored (in the carrier data store  210 ), and be reported. For example, for each of the carriers  106  that the app aggregator  202  has a relationship with, the carrier management component  218  may collect and store information (in the carrier data store  210 ) including, but not limited to, subscription information, the apps that are downloaded via each of the carriers  106 , and financial agreements (e.g., licensing agreements). And among other information, any fees and/or royalties that are due from each of the carriers  106  may be calculated from this information. 
         [0042]    Referring next to  FIG. 3 , shown is a flowchart depicting activity that may be carried out by the app aggregator  102 ,  202  described with reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 . As shown, when a newly developed app is received (Block  302 ), in many implementations, a proposed category for the app is also received (Block  304 ). In some instances for example, an app aggregator decides at its sole discretion what category the app will be assigned to. In other instances, depending upon a relationship that the app aggregator has with a developer, the app aggregator may confer with the app developer to arrive at a category for the app. 
         [0043]    For example, an app aggregator may provide each developer with a particular membership level that is selected from among several levels of available membership privileges. More specifically, each level of membership may provide the developer with an increased likelihood that their app is selected into a particular desired category. The level of membership that a developer attains may be based upon a variety of factors including a number of apps that the developer has developed; the success of the developer&#39;s apps; and a length of time the developer has had a relationship with the app aggregator. And as depicted in  FIG. 3 , in some implementations, an upgrade option is provided to the developer to increase the developer&#39;s chances that an app will be categorized into one or more “prominent” categories (e.g., a channel category that has more subscribers or subscribers that are more likely to purchase the app)(Block  306 ). A developer may upgrade, for example, by agreeing to a lower royalty; agreeing to receive a smaller fee from the app aggregator; or in some instances, the developer may agree to pay the app aggregator for the upgrade. 
         [0044]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , once a developer and the app aggregator arrive at an agreement, the app aggregator confirms the category that the app will be placed within (Block  308 ), and the app is combined with other apps in the selected category (or categories)(Block  310 ). 
         [0045]    As discussed with reference to  FIG. 1 , apps are branded (as a collection) and collectively marketed as a channel (Block  312 ). As a consequence, the app aggregator adds substantial value by creating an opportunity for apps to branded with other attention-provoking apps; thus providing exposure to a developer&#39;s app that any independently marketed app would not obtain. 
         [0046]    For example, a particular category of apps or a bundle of related apps may be branded by the app aggregator and the carriers may also benefit by the favorable association that users have with the brand; thus in many embodiments, the branding information is provided (e.g., licensed) to carriers, and the carriers use the banding to market the channels. 
         [0047]    As discussed in connection with  FIG. 1  an app aggregator in many instances receives compensation from the carriers in return for the carrier&#39;s access to the channels (Block  316 ), and the app aggregator provides compensation to the developers (Block  318 ). 
         [0048]    Referring next to  FIG. 4 , shown is a block diagram depicting the functional components of an exemplary computing device  400  according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the computing device  400  includes an app management component  402  that is in communication with a display  404 , an app data store  406 , and a network interface  414 . And the app management component  402  in this embodiment includes an app channel interface  408 , an app cleaning component  410 , and a digital rights management (“DRM”) component  412 . 
         [0049]    The illustrated arrangement of these components is logical, the connections between the various components are exemplary only, and the depiction of this embodiment is not meant to be an actual hardware diagram. And one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the depicted components may be realized by a combination of hardware and software, and can be combined, or further separated and sub-divided, in an actual implementation. In addition, the components can be connected in a variety of ways without changing the basic operation of the system. Moreover, components may be removed and/or supplemented so that more or less components can be utilized in any particular implementation. 
         [0050]    The app management component  402  generally functions to manage access to remote apps, and manage the apps once downloaded via the network interface  414 . As shown, the app channel interface  408  is in communication with the network interface  414  and the display  404 , and the app channel interface  408  in connection with the display  404  graphically provides an app guide for the user of the computing device  400 . 
         [0051]    Referring briefly to  FIG. 5 , for example, shown is an exemplary app guide  500  that includes selectable buttons for each of several separate channels, and each of the channels includes a set of apps. Unlike prior app distribution systems, users subscribe to one or more of the depicted channels, and each of the channels includes a set of apps that are associated by one or more common attributes. 
         [0052]    Although it is contemplated that channel-based app guides may vary from the depicted example in  FIG. 5 , the app guide  500  in  FIG. 5  is formatted to include a category name, and in some variations a sub-category. As shown in  FIG. 5 , Channel  1  is categorized as an Education Channel and the subcategory Math is also shown in the app guide for Channel  1 . 
         [0053]    As discussed above, in many embodiments the app aggregator (e.g., app aggregator  102 ,  202 ) and/or carriers (e.g., the carriers  106 ) may bundle channels into channel packages that are offered on a subscription basis. For example, an Elementary Education package may include Channel  1 , Channel  2 , Channel  3 , and Channel  5 , which are channels that are more likely to interest a particular group of users (e.g., children in elementary school and parents of children in elementary school). As another example, a Business package may include Channel  4 , Channel  7 , and Channel  8 , which are channels that are more likely to interest business people. 
         [0054]    Subscription packages may also include selections of channels from different packages. For example, a selection of apps from an Education channel may be combined with selected apps from a Family Entertainment category. This combined package may be of interest to a family as a whole because some family members may be interested in the apps that relate to education and other family members may be interested in the apps that relate to games. As another example, a package may be offered to subscribers that includes a selection of apps from a Finance channel, a Personal Office channel, and a Sports channel. 
         [0055]    In addition, channels and/or packages may be branded according to particular market segments. As a consequence, a particular brand (e.g., identified by a particular logo, trademark, or other unique branding aspect) will attract particular people based upon the types of apps that the brand is known for. For example, apps may be branded according to different levels of quality so as to create an association between each brand and an expected level of quality. As another example, a particular brand may be associated with apps that business people are more likely to be attracted to, and another brand may be associated with apps that educators are attracted to. In addition, branding may also be utilized in connection with the marketing of free channels, but it should be recognized that many embodiments of the present invention need not utilize branding techniques at all. 
         [0056]    Although not depicted in  FIG. 5 , when a user selects any one of the channels, the app channel interface  408  may generate another display screen that includes channel subscription price, which may be set by a carrier or an app aggregator based upon the apps, and quantity of apps that are available in the channel. In addition, information about whether the channel is available as part of a package subscription may also be presented to the user, and information about whether the channel (or selected apps therefrom) may be used for a trial period may also be presented. Parental guidance information may also be provided to the user in addition to any other channel specific information. 
         [0057]    Referring again to  FIG. 4 , the app management component  402  includes an app cleaning component  410  that is generally configured to remove apps from the app data store  406  to prevent unused or undesired apps from occupying memory space on the computing device  400 . In this way, valuable memory space is not wasted and additional memory space is made available for future downloads. In some modes of operation for example, apps are removed if the app is not used within a specific period of time after the app is downloaded. In other modes of operation, apps that are not accessed for a certain length of time are removed. And in connection with these modes of operation, a user may be informed and/or prompted to initiate the removal of an app before the app is removed. 
         [0058]    The DRM component  412  generally operates to carry out the digital rights management schemes that are initiated by an app aggregator (e.g., the app aggregator  102 ,  202 ) and/or carriers (e.g., carriers  106 ). For example, the DRM component  412  may disable apps that are tested on a trial basis after the initial trial period has ended. In addition, many subscriptions may be time-bound subscriptions, which may be defined in terms of monthly, weekly, annual or other time-defined terms. 
         [0059]    In some variations of the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 4 , apps may be hosted remotely by a hosting entity (e.g., by a carrier or app aggregator) and run over the network (e.g., a  4 G or other high speed network) that couples the computing device  400  with the hosting entity. In these variations, the app datastore  406 , app cleaning component  410 , and DRM component  412  may be optional components. 
         [0060]    Referring next to  FIG. 6 , shown is a block diagram depicting physical components of an exemplary computing device  600  that may be utilized to realize the computing device  400  described with reference to  FIG. 4 . As shown, the computing device  600  in this embodiment includes a display portion  612 , and nonvolatile memory  620  that are coupled to a bus  622  that is also coupled to random access memory (“RAM”)  624 , a processing portion (which includes N processing components)  626 , and a transceiver component  628  that includes N transceivers. Although the components depicted in  FIG. 6  represent physical components,  FIG. 6  is not intended to be a hardware diagram; thus many of the components depicted in  FIG. 6  may be realized by common constructs or distributed among additional physical components. Moreover, it is certainly contemplated that other existing and yet-to-be developed physical components and architectures may be utilized to implement the functional components described with reference to  FIG. 6 . 
         [0061]    This display portion  612  generally operates to provide a presentation of content to a user, and in several implementations, the display is realized by either an LCD or an OLED display. In general, the nonvolatile memory  620  functions to store (e.g., persistently store) data and executable code including code that is associated with the functional components of the app management component  402  described with reference to  FIG. 4 . In some embodiments for example, the nonvolatile memory  620  includes bootloader code, modem software, operating system code, file system code, and code to facilitate the implementation of one or more portions of the app channel interface  408 , the app cleaning component  410 , and the digital rights management (“DRM”) component  412 . 
         [0062]    In many implementations, the nonvolatile memory  620  is realized by flash memory (e.g., NAND or ONENAND memory), but it is certainly contemplated that other memory types may be utilized as well. Although it may be possible to execute the code from the nonvolatile memory  620 , the executable code in the nonvolatile memory  620  is typically loaded into RAM  624  and executed by one or more of the N processing components in the processing portion  626 . 
         [0063]    The N processing components in connection with RAM  624  generally operate to execute the instructions stored in nonvolatile memory  620  to effectuate the functional components depicted in  FIG. 4 . As one of ordinarily skill in the art will appreciate, the processing portion  626  may include a video processor, modem processor, DSP, graphics processing unit (GPU), and other processing components. 
         [0064]    The depicted transceiver component  628  includes N transceiver chains, which may be used for communicating with external devices via wireless networks. Each of the N transceiver chains may represent a transceiver associated with a particular communication scheme. 
         [0065]    While the foregoing disclosure discusses illustrative aspects and/or aspects, it should be noted that various changes and modifications could be made herein without departing from the scope of the described aspects and/or aspects as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, although elements of the described aspects and/or aspects may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. Additionally, all or a portion of any aspect and/or aspect may be utilized with all or a portion of any other aspect and/or aspect, unless stated otherwise.