Abstract:
An integrated message center operates on telecommunications equipment, having a display and a processor, to consolidate messages of different types for viewing and manipulation by a user. The telecommunications equipment receives notification messages corresponding to pending messages of different types and determines the message type of the pending messages. The integrated message center associates a message type indicator with each of the received notification messages based on the determined message type and displays on the display a portion of the received notification messages and the associated message type indicators as entries in a single selectable list. The user can select one of the pending messages for retrieval based on the entries in the single selectable list. In response to user selection, the integrated message center retrieves the selected pending message for viewing and manipulation by the user.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is related to U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 08/842,015, entitled MULTITASKING GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE; U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 08/841,485, entitled ELECTRONIC BUSINESS CARDS; U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 08/841,486, entitled SCROLLING WITH AUTOMATIC COMPRESSION AND EXPANSION; U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 08/842,019, entitled CLID WITH LOCATION ICON; U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 08/842,017, entitled CLID WITH DRAG AND DROP CAPABILITY; and U.S. patent application, Ser. No. 08/842,036, entitled ICONIZED NAME LIST, all of which were filed concurrently herewith, and all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to the field of message handling, and more specifically to the field of message presentation to a user by which messages of all types are consolidated and graphically displayed in a searchable list to allow for easy graphical scanning, prioritizing, editing, selection, viewing, forwarding, playback, and response by the user. 
     Traditionally, a user could retrieve only voice messages by calling and interacting with a voice mail service using dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) commands. Such retrieval of messages, however, required the user to dial the voice mail service and listen to each message, or minimally the header of each message, that is, the name of the person and the time received. This type of voice mail retrieval tended to be a slow and tedious process. 
     Additionally, the user needed to memorize the DTMF number commands to control the voice mail service. Sometimes these commands were different for the user&#39;s home voice mail service and the user&#39;s office voice mail service. For example, the user needed to remember that pressing “1” with the office voice mail service, while pressing “6” with the home voice mail service, meant “play the message.” 
     More recently, telephones have been designed with the capability to directly receive, or download, different types of messages, such as faxes, e-mail, and Short Messaging Service (SMS) messages. One conventional mobile telephone has a display, a keypad, and numerous hard keys, and uses menus to enable a user to view different types of received messages. 
     When a message arrives, an internal processor detects the message type and stores the message in a folder dedicated to the message type. If the telephone receives a fax, for example, the internal processor stores the fax in a fax folder. 
     When the user opens the cover to the display, the internal processor displays a note indicating the quantity and type of messages received. For example, if two faxes and two SMS messages have been received, the note will show “You have: 2 unread faxes and 2 unread short messages.” 
     If the user wants to view a received message, the user first goes to the main menu and selects the type of message to view. This causes the internal processor to launch a message-type specific application to retrieve the message from the message folder and display it for the user. For example, if the user wants to read a received fax, the user selects “Received faxes” from the main menu. In response, the internal processor launches the fax application to display a list of received faxes. From the list, the user selects a particular fax to read. The fax application then displays the selected fax. 
     If the user then wanted to view a received SMS message, however, the user must return to the main menu to select “Received short messages.” In response, the internal processor launches the SMS application to display a list of received SMS messages from which the user selects the desired one. 
     Telephones of this type, however, suffer from a number of drawbacks. First, they store in their internal memory all received messages, except voice and e-mail messages which are stored at an external server. This wastes precious memory space, and as a result, fewer messages can be locally stored. 
     Additionally, message handling is cumbersome because the telephones are menu driven and contain separate applications for the different message types. To view different types of messages, the user must follow a series of menus that cause specific applications to be executed. 
     Therefore, a need exists to integrate different types of messages from different types of equipment into one graphical location to notify the user of pending messages and their type, and to allow the user to view and respond to the messages by simple operation. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Systems and methods consistent with the present invention address this need by providing an integrated message center that graphically displays different types of received messages together to facilitate user viewing and manipulation of the messages without having to follow a series of menus or launch separate applications. 
     In accordance with the purpose of the invention as embodied and broadly described herein, an integrated message center consistent with the principles of the present invention operates on telecommunications equipment, having a display and a processor, to consolidate messages of different types for viewing and manipulation by a user. The telecommunications equipment receives notification messages corresponding to pending messages of different types and determines the message type of the pending messages. 
     The integrated message center associates a message type indicator with each of the received notification messages based on the determined message type and displays on the display a portion of the received notification messages and the associated message type indicators as entries in a single selectable list. The user can select one of the pending messages for retrieval based on the entries in the single selectable list. In response to user selection, the integrated message center retrieves the selected pending message for viewing and manipulation by the user. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate systems and methods consistent with this invention and, together with the description, explain the objects, advantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings, 
     FIG. 1 is a diagram of a communications network containing the integrated message center consistent with the principles of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a diagram of the user mobile telephone operating in the network of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the elements included in the user mobile telephone of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the software components stored in the flash ROM of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the elements included in the network services provider of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 6 is an example of an idle screen of the user mobile telephone shown in FIG. 2; 
     FIGS. 7A and 7B are example displays of received messages; 
     FIG. 8A is an example display of a received SMS text message; 
     FIG. 8B is an example display of a received electronic ink message; 
     FIGS. 9A and 9B are example displays of SMS text messages with hypertext markup language code; 
     FIG. 10 is an example display in which the user selects to listen to a voice mail message; 
     FIG. 11 is an example display in which the user selects to forward a fax; 
     FIG. 12 is an example display of a received e-mail message; 
     FIGS. 13A through 13D are example displays in which the user responds to an ink message by sending an SMS message; 
     FIGS. 14A and 14B are example displays in which the user responds to an ink message by establishing a voice call; and 
     FIGS. 15A and 15B are example displays in which the user receives a voice call and an SMS message, respectively. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings that illustrate preferred embodiments consistent with the principles of this invention. Other embodiments are possible and changes may be made to the embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The following detailed description does not limit the invention. Instead, the scope of the invention is defined only by the appended claims. 
     The integrated message center consistent with the principles of the present invention displays different types of received messages in a single display and permits manipulation of the messages by a user, such that the user can view, discard, forward, and respond to any type of message without the need to launch different applications. 
     I. System Architecture 
     FIG. 1 is a diagram of a communications network containing the integrated message center consistent with the principles of the present invention. The integrated message center is a logical entity that resides in mobile telephone  1100  and operates in conjunction with network services provider  1200  to inform a user of incoming and pending messages, such as fax mail, e-mail, voice mail, etc. The integrated message center also serves as a mechanism by which the user can retrieve, manipulate, and reply to all types of messages. User manipulation of the pending messages might include the ability to view, prioritize, edit, playback, discard, and/or forward messages. 
     The user uses mobile telephone  1100  to view messages from callers having different types of caller equipment, such as ordinary telephone  1300 , caller mobile telephone  1400  which is similar to user mobile telephone  1100 , facsimile equipment  1500 , computer  1600 , and Analog Display Services Interface (ADSI) telephone  1700 . The callers leave different types of messages for the user, depending upon the type of caller equipment. 
     Network services provider  1200  stores many of the messages awaiting retrieval by the user and notifies the user of the pending messages. Subscriber mobile telephone  1100  and caller equipment  1300  through  1700  communicate with network services provider  1200  over a communications network, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) switching fabric  1800 . 
     While FIG. 1 shows caller equipment  1300  through  1700  directly connected to GSM switching fabric  1800 , this is not typically the case. Telephone  1300 , facsimile equipment  1500 , computer  1600 , and ADSI telephone  1700  normally connect to GSM switching fabric  1800  via another type of network, such as a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). 
     When a caller uses telephone  1300  to communicate with the user, the caller dials the telephone number corresponding to mobile telephone  1100 . If the user does not answer the call for a predetermined number of rings, or upon direction of the user (to be described), the call routes to network services provider  1200  over GSM switching fabric  1800  by conventional mechanisms. Network services provider  1200  stores the message left by the caller as voice mail and sends a short message to mobile telephone  1100 , notifying the user of the pending voice mail message. 
     When the caller uses caller mobile telephone  1400  to communicate with the user, the caller may either call the user, as described above with regard to telephone  1300 , or may send the user a Short Messaging Service (SMS) message. GSM networks typically include an SMS server that provides the SMS service. The SMS service is an error-free, guaranteed delivery transport mechanism by which callers can send short point-to-point messages, i.e., SMS messages, through the GSM network, such as GSM switching fabric  1800 , in a GSM signaling channel, simultaneously with, or without, a voice or data call. 
     GSM protocol limits the length of the standard SMS text message to a maximum of 140 bytes. However, GSM protocol permits longer messages to be formed by concatenating several messages together, transparent to the caller. Because GSM protocol transparently performs this concatenating of messages, the caller sees no restriction on message length. 
     If the caller chooses to send the user an SMS message, the caller inputs the message data, and selects a destination corresponding to the user. GSM switching fabric  1800  routes the message to an SMS server that services the area containing mobile telephone  1100 , and the SMS server, in turn, relays the message to the user. 
     When the caller uses facsimile equipment  1500  to send a fax to the user, the caller dials the fax telephone number corresponding to network services provider  1200 . The caller sends the fax to network services provider  1200 . Network services provider  1200  stores the fax and then sends a short message to mobile telephone  1100 , notifying the user of the pending fax. 
     When the caller uses computer  1600  to send an e-mail message to the user, the caller enters the message into the computer and affixes the user&#39;s e-mail address. The user&#39;s e-mail address directs the e-mail message to network services provider  1200 . Network services provider  1200  stores the e-mail message, and then sends a short message to mobile telephone  1100 , notifying the user of the pending e-mail message. 
     When the caller uses ADSI telephone  1700  to communicate with the user, the caller dials the telephone number corresponding to mobile telephone  1100 , as described above with regard to telephone  1300 . If the user does not answer the call for a predetermined number of rings, or upon direction of the user, the call routes to network services provider  1200  over GSM switching fabric  1800  by conventional mechanisms. Network services provider  1200  stores the message left by the caller as voice mail and sends a short message to mobile telephone  1100 , notifying the user of the pending voice mail message. 
     Mobile telephone  1100  provides a user friendly interface to facilitate message retrieval, manipulation, and response by the user. FIG. 2 is a diagram of mobile telephone  1100 , including main housing  2100 , antenna  2200 , keypad  2300 , and display  2400 . 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the hardware elements of mobile telephone  1100 , including antenna  3100 , communications module  3200 , feature processor  3300 , memory  3400 , sliding keypad  3500 , analog controller  3600 , display module  3700 , battery pack  3800 , and switching power supply  3900 . 
     Antenna  3100  transmits and receives radio frequency information for mobile telephone  1100 . Antenna  3100  preferably comprises a planar inverted F antenna (PIFA)-type or a short stub (2 to 4 cm) custom helix antenna. Antenna  3100  communicates over GSM switching fabric  1800  using a conventional voice B-channel, data B-channel, or GSM signaling channel connection. 
     Communications module  3200  connects to antenna  3100  and provides the GSM radio, baseband, and audio functionality for mobile telephone  1100 . Communications module  3200  includes GSM radio  3210 , VEGA  3230 , BOCK  3250 , and audio transducers  3270 . 
     GSM radio  3210  converts the radio frequency information to/from the antenna into analog baseband information for presentation to VEGA  3230 . VEGA  3230  is preferably a Texas Instruments VEGA device, containing analog-to-digital (A/D)/digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion units  3235 . VEGA  3230  converts the analog baseband information from GSM radio  3210  to digital information for presentation to BOCK  3250 . 
     BOCK  3250  is preferably a Texas Instruments BOCK device containing a conventional ARM microprocessor and a conventional LEAD DSP device. BOCK  3250  performs GSM baseband processing for generating digital audio signals and supporting GSM protocols. BOCK  3250  supplies the digital audio signals to VEGA  3230  for digital-to-analog conversion. VEGA  3230  applies the resulting analog audio signals to audio transducers  3270 . Audio transducers  3270  include speaker  3272  and microphone  3274  to facilitate audio communication by the user. 
     Feature processor  3300  provides graphical user interface features and a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Feature processor  3300  communicates with BOCK  3250  using high level messaging over an asynchronous (UART) data link. Feature processor  3300  contains additional system circuitry, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) controller, timers, UART and bus interfaces, and real time clock and system clock generators (not shown). 
     Memory  3400  stores data and program code used by feature processor  3300 . Memory  3400  includes static RAM  3420  and flash ROM  3440 . Static RAM  3420  is a volatile memory that stores data and other information used by feature processor  3300 . 
     Flash ROM  3440  is a non-volatile memory that stores the program code and directories utilized by feature processor  3300 . FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the software components of flash ROM  3440 . ROM  3440  includes graphical user interface (GUI) manager  4100 , user applications  4200 , service classes  4300 , Java environment  4400 , real time operating system (RTOS) utilities  4500 , and device drivers  4600 . 
     GUI manager  4100  acts as an application and window manager. GUI manager  4100  oversees the user interface by allowing the user to select, run, and otherwise manage applications. 
     User applications  4200  contain all the user-visible applications and network service applications. User applications  4200  preferably include a call processing application for processing incoming and outgoing voice calls, a message processing application for sending and receiving short messages, a directory management application for managing database entries in the form of directories, a web browser application, and other various applications. 
     Service classes  4300  provide a generic set of application programming facilities shared by user applications  4200 . Service classes  4300  preferably include various utilities and components, such as a Java telephony application interface, a voice and data manager, directory services, voice mail components, text/ink note components, e-mail components, fax components, network services management, and other miscellaneous components and utilities. 
     Java environment  4400  preferably includes a JVM and the necessary run-time libraries for executing applications written in the Java™ programming language. 
     RTOS utilities  4500  provide real time tasks, low level interfaces, and native implementations to support Java environment  4400 . RTOS utilities  4500  preferably include Java peers, such as networking peers and Java telephony peers, optimized engines requiring detailed real time control and high performance, such as recognition engines and speech processing, and standard utilities, such as protocol stacks, memory managers, and database packages. 
     Device drivers  4600  provide access to the hardware elements of mobile telephone  1100 . Device drivers  4600  include, for example, drivers for sliding keypad  3500  and display module  3700 . 
     Returning to FIG. 3, sliding keypad  3500  enables the user to dial a telephone number, access remote databases and servers, and manipulate the graphical user interface features. Sliding keypad  3500  preferably includes a mylar resistive key matrix that generates analog resistive voltage in response to actions by the user. Sliding keypad  3500  preferably connects to main housing  2100  (FIG. 2) of mobile telephone  1100  through two mechanical “push pin”-type contacts. 
     Analog controller  3600  is preferably a Phillips UCB 1100  device that acts as an interface between feature processor  3300  and sliding keypad  3500 . Analog controller  3600  converts the analog resistive voltage from sliding keypad  3500  to digital signals for presentation to feature processor  3300 . 
     Display module  3700  is preferably a 160 by 320 pixel LCD with an analog touch screen overlay and an electroluminescent backlight. Display module  3700  operates in conjunction with feature processor  3300  to display the graphical user interface features. 
     Battery pack  3800  is preferably a single lithium-ion battery with active protection circuitry. Switching power supply  3900  ensures highly efficient use of the lithium-ion battery power by converting the voltage of the lithium-ion battery into stable voltages used by the other hardware elements of mobile telephone  1100 . 
     These hardware elements of mobile telephone  1100  permit the user to communicate with network services provider  1200  (FIG. 1) to retrieve pending messages. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the elements of network services provider  1200 , including interface  5100 , transcoder and rate adapter unit (TRAU)  5200 , SMS server  5300 , interworking function (IWF) servers  5400  and  5500 , voice mail server  5600 , fax mail server  5700 , e-mail server  5800 , and backup  5900 . 
     Interface  5100  interfaces the elements of network services provider  1200  to GSM switching fabric  1800 . TRAU  5200  performs GSM-specific speech encoding and decoding and rate adaption of voice signals received from mobile telephone  1100  for transmission to a destination network, such as a PSTN, and vice versa. TRAU  5200  is a conventional hardware device that converts, for example, voice signals to or from 64 kb/s pulse code modulated (PCM) and 13 kb/s RPE-LTP signals. 
     SMS server  5300  provides the SMS service for GSM switching fabric  1800 . SMS server  5300  is a conventional hardware device that processes SMS messages. SMS server  5300  preferably relays SMS messages to or from mobile telephone  1100 , and notifies the user of pending messages via SMS notification messages. SMS server  5300  transmits SMS messages, including notification messages, on mobile telephone  1100 &#39;s GSM signaling channel, which is independent of mobile telephone  1100 &#39;s voice and data B-channels. 
     IWF servers  5400  and  5500  convert data received from mobile telephone  1100  to a format suitable for transmission to a destination network. IWF servers  5400  and  5500  are conventional hardware devices that provide an interface between dissimilar networks. 
     IWF server  5400  connects to interface  5100 . When the user exchanges data with a terminal in a PSTN, for example, IWF server  5400  provides a digital interface for transmission toward mobile telephone  1100  and a modem interface for transmission toward the PSTN. IWF server  5400  preferably handles conversions to or from transmission control protocol (TCP) and Internet protocol (IP). IWF server  5500  operates similar to IWF server  5400 . IWF server  5500 , however, connects to interface  5100  through TRAU  5200  and processes mainly voice data. 
     Voice mail server  5600  processes and stores voice messages for the user. When a caller leaves a voice message, voice mail server  5600  stores the message at a location corresponding to the user and informs SMS server  5300  of the pending message. Voice mail server  5600  also notifies SMS server  5300  of the identity and telephone number of the caller which voice mail server  5600  obtains from the caller&#39;s telephone signal or from a local database. Voice mail server  5600  might make this notification via a direct connection to SMS server  5300  (not shown), or might alternatively, make the notification via a modem connection. 
     In response to the notification from voice mail server  5600 , SMS server  5300  formulates an SMS voice mail notification message to notify the user of the voice mail message. The voice mail notification message might include the caller&#39;s name and telephone number, a time and date stamp, and the name and address of voice mail server  5600 . 
     Fax mail server  5700  processes and stores fax mail messages for the user. When a caller sends a fax, or fax mail message, to network services provider  1200  for the user, fax mail server  5700  stores the fax at a location corresponding to the user and again informs SMS server  5300  of the pending message and the identity and telephone number of the caller. SMS server  5300  formulates an SMS fax notification message to notify the user of the fax. The fax notification message might include the sender&#39;s name and telephone and/or fax number, a time and date stamp, and the name and address of fax mail server  5700 . 
     Similarly, e-mail server  5800  processes and stores e-mail messages, and informs SMS server  5300  of the pending message and the identity of the caller. SMS server  5300 , in turn, notifies the user of the pending message via an SMS e-mail notification message. The SMS notification message might include the sender&#39;s name, telephone number, and e-mail address, a time and date stamp, and the name and address of e-mail server  5800 . Backup  5900  serves as a backup memory device that stores pending messages in the event of a failure in one of the servers. 
     II. System Processing 
     Mobile telephone  1100  provides a graphical user interface on display  2400  (FIG. 2) to facilitate management of the messages by the user. FIG. 6 is an example of an idle screen of display  2400  including various graphical icons and information, such as integrated message center  6100  and business card  6200 . 
     Business card  6200  contains information regarding individuals or businesses the user may desire to call. In the case of an individual, business card  6200  includes the individual&#39;s name and address, the individual&#39;s home, business, and/or cellular telephone numbers, and location icons. The location icons indicate graphically the characteristics representing the location or type of telephone number. In other words, a home icon indicates that the corresponding telephone number is the individual&#39;s home telephone number. 
     Message center  6100  represents a unified mailbox through which the user is presented with SMS notification messages for all types of received messages, including voice, text, ink, fax, e-mail, etc. To access message center  6100 , the user selects the message center icon, for example, simply by pressing it. Once the user selects the message center icon, message center  6100  displays a list of received messages. FIGS. 7A and 7B are examples of typical message center displays. 
     FIG. 7A is an example display in which message center  6100  presents the user with an indication of the total number of messages received  7100  and sent  7200 , and a scrollable, selectable list  7300  of notification headers for all the received messages. Each entry in the scrollable list of notification headers identifies a received message and includes the sender&#39;s name  7400  and an identification icon  7500 , identifying the type of message. The identification icons include, for example, icons used to identify voice mail, SMS messages, e-mail, and faxes. 
     Message center  6100  organizes the messages according to user preference. For example, the messages might be arranged alphabetically, chronologically, by message type, or by sender. In addition, the user might specify that each message include a date/time stamp to indicate when the message was received. 
     If the user desires, message center  6100  will provide more detailed information about any of the received messages before retrieving the actual message. To view the detailed information, the user selects a message from the scrollable list and message center  6100  displays the detailed information corresponding to the selected message. The detailed information might include the sender&#39;s home, office, and/or cellular telephone number, a location icon indicating from where the sender sent the message, the sender&#39;s e-mail address, the date and time the message was received, etc. Message center  6100  obtains the detailed information from the notification message received from network services provider  1200  or from the directories stored in memory  3400  (FIG.  3 ). 
     Once the user reads or listens to a message, message center  6100  marks the message as read/heard. Message center  6100  indicates read/unread, or heard/unheard, status of the messages by using a discernable mark to indicate that the corresponding message has been read or heard. In FIG. 7B, message center  6100  uses a check mark  7600  to indicate that a message has been read or heard. 
     FIGS. 8A,  8 B,  9 A, and  9 B are examples of screen displays in which the user selects to read an SMS message from a caller using mobile telephone  1400  (FIG.  1 ). Mobile telephone  1100  stores all received SMS messages in its memory. The SMS messages may be notification messages or the actual messages. 
     The SMS message could be of several different data types. FIG. 8A is an example of a screen display for a standard SMS text message. The caller enters the text message directly into mobile telephone  1400  using the mobile telephone&#39;s keypad or an on-screen keyboard. 
     FIG. 8B is an example of a screen display for an electronic ink message. The caller enters the ink message by writing directly on mobile telephone  1400 &#39;s display. Mobile telephone  1400  bit maps the ink message and converts it into SMS characters for transmission to GSM switching fabric  1800 . 
     FIGS. 9A and 9B are examples of screen displays for SMS text messages with hypertext markup language (HTML) code. The HTML code permits the caller to insert selection buttons or hot-links into the text message. FIG. 9A is an example of a screen display for a text message that includes two selection buttons. To respond to the text message, the user can simply press the “Yes” or “No” button. FIG. 9B is an example of screen display of a text message that includes a hot-link. By pressing the “TravelNorth” hot-link, mobile telephone  1100  establishes a telephone connection to the TravelNorth company or accesses their web page. 
     FIG. 10 is an example of a screen display in which the user selects to listen to a voice mail message from a caller using telephone  1300  (FIG.  1 ). Message center  6100  provides a graphical depiction of the SMS voice mail notification message that mobile telephone  1100  received from network services provider  1200 . At this point, however, voice mail server  5600  in network services provider  1200  continues to store the actual voice mail message. 
     Message center  6100  provides all of the conventional voice mail services in graphical form. Some of the voice mail features provided by message center  6100  might include play, skip back, skip ahead, go to previous message, go to next message, call sender, reply to sender, reply to all, delete the message, set external and/or internal greetings, and change password. Message center  6100  additionally provides features for viewing the voice mail notification message and composing, recording, and sending a text message. 
     When the user wants to listen to the voice mail message after viewing the voice mail notification message, the user selects the voice mail icon corresponding to the voice message from the message center display (FIGS.  7 A and  7 B). In response, mobile telephone  1100  establishes a connection with network services provider  1200  over the voice B-channel. 
     The user interacts with voice mail server  5600  using the graphical controls shown in FIG.  10 . When the user presses one of the graphical controls, mobile telephone  1100  translates the user&#39;s action into corresponding DTMF tones to control voice mail server  5600 . For example, when the user presses the “Play” button, mobile telephone  1100  generates a DTMF tone identical to pressing the “2” key on a telephone. Voice mail server  5600  interprets this DTWF tone as an instruction to play back the voice message. 
     FIG. 11 is an example of a screen display in which the user wants to retrieve a fax, or fax mail message, from a caller using facsimile equipment  1500  (FIG.  1 ). Message center  6100  provides a graphical depiction of the SMS fax notification message that mobile telephone  1100  received from network services provider  1200 . At this point, however, fax mail server  5700  in network services provider  1200  continues to store the actual contents of the fax. 
     Message center  6100  permits the user to view the fax notification message, select and view the contents or a portion of the contents of the fax, forward the fax to facsimile equipment, a printer, or a computer, delete the fax, and change the password to fax mail server  5700 . FIG. 11 shows that message center  6100  provides the user with graphical controls corresponding to these features. 
     When the user wants to retrieve the fax after viewing the fax notification message, the user first selects the fax icon corresponding to the fax from the message center display (FIGS.  7 A and  7 B), and then instructs mobile telephone  1100  to retrieve the fax by pressing the “View” button. In response, mobile telephone  1100  establishes a B-channel connection with network services provider  1200  to download the fax from fax mail server  5700 . Display  2400  only displays a portion of the downloaded fax at a time due to display  2400 &#39;s limited size. Mobile telephone  1100  provides on-screen graphical scroll keys, or hard keys on main housing  2100 , to allow the user to scroll horizontally and vertically to view the entire fax. 
     When the user wants to forward the fax after viewing the fax notification message, the user first selects the fax icon from the message center display, and then presses the graphical button corresponding to the destination location. In response, mobile telephone  1100  establishes a connection with network services provider  1200  and informs fax mail server  5700  where to forward the fax. 
     FIG. 12 is an example of a screen display in which the user wants to retrieve e-mail from a caller using computer  1600  (FIG.  1 ). Message center  6100  provides a graphical depiction of the SMS e-mail notification message that mobile telephone  1100  received from network services provider  1200 . At this point, however, e-mail server  5800  in network services provider  1200  continues to store the actual e-mail message. Message center  6100  permits the user to view the e-mail notification message and download the e-mail message from e-mail server  5800 . 
     When the user wants to retrieve the e-mail message after viewing the e-mail notification message, the user first selects the e-mail icon corresponding to the e-mail message from the message center display (FIGS.  7 A and  7 B), and then instructs mobile telephone  1100  to retrieve the e-mail message by pressing the “View” button. In response, mobile telephone  1100  establishes a connection with network services provider  1200  to download the e-mail message from e-mail server  5800 . 
     Unlike in the case of fax retrieval, e-mail server  5800  reformats the e-mail message for viewing on display  2400 . The user scrolls vertically through the e-mail message using on-screen scroll keys or hard keys on main housing  2100 . 
     Message center  6100  allows the user to respond to any type of message by either sending an SMS message or by establishing a voice call to the message sender. FIGS. 13A through 13D,  14 A, and  14 B are example displays showing the two types of responses. 
     FIGS. 13A though  13 D are example displays in which the user responds to an ink message from a message sender by sending an SMS message. FIG. 13A is an example display showing the ink message received from the message sender. In FIG. 13B, the user selects a toolbox menu by pressing the “Tools” button on display  2400 . The toolbox menu provides the user with several writing tools: Clear, Type, Erase, and Write. Clear clears the original message from display  2400 , Type enables the user to generate a text message using an on-screen keyboard or hard keys, Erase allows the user to erase a portion of the original message from display  2400 , and Write enables the user to write an ink message. 
     FIG. 13C is an example display of the case in which the user selects Write from the toolbox menu. The user annotates the existing ink message with an ink response and sends it to the message sender by pressing the “Send” button. FIG. 13D is an example display showing that once mobile telephone  1100  sends the response, message center  6100  prompts the user whether the response should be saved. The user can save the response by pressing the “Yes” button. 
     FIGS. 14A and 14B are example displays in which the user responds to the ink message by establishing a voice call to the message sender. FIG. 14A is an example display showing the ink message received from the message sender. To respond to the ink message by calling the message sender, the user presses the “Talk” button on display  2400 . FIG. 14B is an example display showing that mobile telephone  1100  automatically dials the message sender in response to selection by the user. Mobile telephone  1100  obtains the message sender&#39;s telephone number from the SMS notification message or from the directories stored in memory  3400  (FIG.  3 ). 
     Whenever mobile telephone  1100  receives a voice call or an SMS message, message center  6100  presents information regarding the call to the user. Message center  6100  provides sufficient information about the call to permit the user to decide whether to accept the call or send it to the message center for later retrieval. The information presented by message center  6100  might include the type of call, the caller&#39;s name, the caller&#39;s telephone number, and preferably the location from which the caller placed the call. 
     FIGS. 15A and 15B are example displays in which the user receives a voice call and an SMS message, respectively. FIG. 15A is an example display in which the user presses the “Accept” button to accept the voice call. At this time, the user may speak to the caller. If the user decides, on the other hand, to send the voice call to the message center, the user either presses the “MsgCtr” button or simply does not respond to the voice call for a predetermined period of time. Under either circumstance, the voice call forwards to voice mail server  5600  in network services provider  1200  by conventional mechanisms. 
     FIG. 15B is an example display in which the user presses the “Read” button to read the SMS message. Message center  6100  displays the SMS message on display  2400  in response. If the user decides, on the other hand, to send the SMS message to the message center, the user either presses the “MsgCtr” button or simply does not respond to the SMS message for a predetermined period of time. Under either circumstance, the SMS message forwards to SMS server  5300  in network services provider  1200  by conventional mechanisms. 
     Message center  6100  offers many call and message handling features to the user. For example, message center  6100  offers various call forwarding and call filtering features to handle specific calls or specific types of calls in a special manner. 
     III. Conclusion 
     The integrated message center according to the principles of the present invention provides an integrated display of different types of messages that can be easily manipulated by a user. 
     The foregoing description of preferred embodiments of the present invention provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the invention. For example, the servers have been described as being located at a single location, namely, the network services provider. However, this need not be the case. The servers could be physically positioned at locations remote from each other, and communicate with an SMS server by modem, for example, to provide the SMS message notification capability. 
     Additionally, the user has been described as accessing the integrated message center using a mobile telephone. The user could, alternatively, access the integrated message center using other mechanisms, such as a desktop-type unit or a personal computer. 
     Moreover, the foregoing description detailed specific message center displays, containing various graphical icons and buttons. These displays have been provided as examples only. The foregoing description encompasses obvious modifications to the described message center displays. The scope of the invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.