Patent Publication Number: US-2003228862-A1

Title: Portable terminal apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] The present invention relates to a portable terminal apparatus such as a cellular phone set and a method of editing e-mail in the portable terminal apparatus.  
       [0002] Various telecommunications carriers are nowadays providing their original communication services. They include a communication service called a mail transmission service. Examples of mail transmission services are Internet mail, message service, and pager.  
       [0003] Portable terminal apparatuses that are widely used in recent years are designed to cope with the plurality of mail transmission services. E-mail is transmitted using one of the plurality of mail transmission services.  
       [0004] A conventional portable terminal apparatus  600  shown in FIG. 12 comprises a single mail destination editing section  601 , a single mail text editing section  602 , and three mail transmission sections  603   a ,  603   b , and  603   c.    
       [0005] The mail transmission sections  603   a ,  603   b , and  603   c  cope with different mail transmission services.  
       [0006] In the portable terminal apparatus  600 , the mail text editing section  602  creates the text of e-mail. Then, one of the mail transmission sections  603   a ,  603   b , and  603   c  is selected. The e-mail is transmitted by the selected mail transmission section.  
       [0007] The mail destination editing section  601  has, e.g., a memory. This memory stores a plurality of mail addresses. The user of the portable terminal apparatus  600  can determine the destination of e-mail by selecting one of the plurality of mail addresses stored in the memory.  
       [0008] Alternatively, the mail destination editing section  601  has, e.g., a plurality of keys representing numbers and characters. The user of the portable terminal apparatus  600  can input the destination of e-mail to the portable terminal apparatus  600  through these keys.  
       [0009] The allowable character type and the maximum number of transmittable characters change between the mail transmission sections  603   a ,  603   b , and  603   c . For this reason, the mail text editing section  602  is designed to cover all the allowable character types and maximum numbers of transmittable characters of the plurality of mail transmission sections  603   a ,  603   b , and  603   c.    
       [0010] More specifically, in the mail text editing section  602 , the allowable character types are defined by combining the character types specified for the mail transmission sections  603   a ,  603   b , and  603   c  by “OR”. Additionally, in the mail text editing section  602 , the maximum value of the maximum numbers of transmittable characters specified for the mail transmission sections  603   a ,  603   b , and  603   c  is selected as the maximum number of characters that can be input to the portable terminal apparatus  600 .  
       [0011] However, the conventional portable terminal apparatus  600  described above has the following problems.  
       [0012] As the first problem, the user of the portable terminal apparatus  600  for creating e-mail must always execute the step of selecting one of the mail transmission sections  603   a ,  603   b , and  603   c  after he/she creates e-mail.  
       [0013] This is because a specific one of the mail transmission sections  603   a ,  603   b , and  603   c  cannot be designated at the time of character input to the mail destination editing section  601  and mail text editing section  602 .  
       [0014] As the second problem, at the time of character input to the mail text editing section  602 , the user of the portable terminal apparatus  600  needs to do operation while being aware of one of the mail transmission sections  603   a ,  603   b , and  603   c , which should be selected later.  
       [0015] The reason for this is as follows. The allowable character types and maximum inputtable number of characters in the mail text editing section  602  are designed to cover the plurality of mail transmission sections  603   a ,  603   b , and  603   c . Hence, a character type or a number of characters that are unallowable for a specific one of the mail transmission sections  603   a ,  603   b , and  603   c  can be input. For example, a character type that is unallowable in the mail transmission section  603   a  but allowable in the mail transmission section  603   b  can be input to the mail text editing section  602 .  
       [0016] As a result, if the user inputs an unallowable character, no correct message can be transmitted to the other party.  
       [0017] As the third problem, even when one mail transmission service handles a plurality of character codes in correspondence with languages used for transmission, the user must perform operation while being aware of the character type or the maximum number of transmittable characters, like the second problem.  
       [0018] This is because even when in a mail transmission service that handles a plurality of character codes, the allowable character type or the maximum number of transmittable characters changes depending on the character code.  
       [0019] For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-250066 has proposed an e-mail apparatus which temporarily transmits the text of e-mail created in Japanese to a translation server, causes the translation server to translate the text into English, and transmits the e-mail translated into English to a designated destination.  
       [0020] In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-101105 has proposed an e-mail creating apparatus which comprises a means for inputting a text to be transmitted, an input form storage means for storing a plurality of input forms having different display sizes, a means for, at the time of creating e-mail, creating an e-mail text as e-mail in accordance with the input form stored in the input form storage means, and a display means for displaying the created e-mail.  
       [0021] Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-344173 has proposed an e-mail transmission apparatus which has a function of transmitting e-mail to an e-mail server apparatus on a network, and an editing function of creating e-mail. When e-mail is to be transmitted, it is determined whether the e-mail address of a transmission destination indicates a portable terminal apparatus having a limitation on the number of characters that can be received. When the transmission destination is a portable terminal apparatus, only the summary of the e-mail text is transmitted to the portable terminal apparatus. When the transmission destination is an apparatus other than a portable terminal apparatus, both the text and summary of the e-mail are transmitted to the apparatus.  
       [0022] Even in the portable terminal apparatuses proposed in these prior arts, however, the second problem described above remains unsolved. At the time of inputting an e-mail text, an unallowable character type or characters more than the transmittable number may be input because of the lack of limitations on the character type and the number of transmittable characters.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0023] It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable terminal apparatus which can use a plurality of mail transmission services and allows a user to edit e-mail without being aware of the limitation on the character type allowable in each mail transmission service or the limitation on the maximum number of transmittable characters in each mail transmission service and a mail editing method in the portable terminal apparatus.  
       [0024] In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a portable terminal apparatus comprising radio means for transmitting/receiving a radio signal, data input means for inputting data, display means for displaying the data input by the input means, a memory which stores the data, a plurality of mail transmission means, arranged in correspondence with a plurality of mail transmission services, for transmitting mail, a plurality of mail text editing means, arranged in correspondence with the plurality of mail transmission services, for editing e-mail within a mail transmission condition defined for each mail transmission service, and mail destination editing means for designating a mail transmission service in accordance with a destination, activating a corresponding one of the mail text editing means, and editing the destination of the other party to which the e-mail is to be transmitted. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0025]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of a portable terminal apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0026]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the structure of the control section of the portable terminal apparatus according to the first embodiment;  
     [0027]FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the data structure of telephone directory data stored in the memory section of the portable terminal apparatus according to the first embodiment;  
     [0028]FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of the portable terminal apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0029]FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the structure of the control section of a portable terminal apparatus according to the second embodiment;  
     [0030]FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the data structure of telephone directory data stored in the memory section of the portable terminal apparatus according to the second embodiment;  
     [0031]FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the operation of the portable terminal apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0032]FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the operation of a portable terminal apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0033]FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the structure of the control section of a portable terminal apparatus according to the fourth embodiment;  
     [0034]FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing the operation of the portable terminal apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention;  
     [0035]FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing a process from e-mail text creation to e-mail transmission; and  
     [0036]FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the structure of a conventional portable terminal apparatus. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     [0037] A portable terminal apparatus  10  according to the first embodiment comprises a control section  11 , display section  12 , input section  13 , search processing section  14 , memory section  15 , and radio section  16 , as shown in FIG. 1.  
     [0038] The control section  11  is connected to the display section  12 , input section  13 , search processing section  14 , memory section  15 , and radio section  16  and generally controls their hardware and software operations.  
     [0039] The display section  12  displays a character string input using keys through the input section  13 , various kinds of information, or other data.  
     [0040] The input section  13  is constituted by a plurality of buttons including a ten-key pad. The input section  13  has a function of dialing for a phone call and inputting characters.  
     [0041] The memory section  15  stores and manages user data represented by telephone directory data  2   a  and mail data  2   b . The telephone directory data  2   a  can be searched through the search processing section  14 . By the searching, specific data can be read out from the telephone directory data  2   a.    
     [0042] The radio section  16  is connected to an antenna. The radio section  16  has a function of browsing external information as well as a function of not only executing voice communication but also transmitting a message of mail or the like.  
     [0043] As shown in FIG. 2, the control section  11  comprises one mail destination editing section  111 , first to third mail transmission sections  112   a ,  112   b , and  112   c , and first to third mail text editing sections  113   a ,  113   b , and  113   c.    
     [0044] The mail destination editing section  111  has a function of editing the destination to the other party to which mail is to be transmitted. The mail destination editing section  111  has a search section  111   a  such as an interface which searches for personal information stored in the telephone directory data  2   a . The mail destination editing section  111  can be designed as an editing window to be used to, e.g., input a mail destination.  
     [0045] The first to third mail transmission sections  112   a ,  112   b , and  112   c  respectively have the first to third mail text editing sections  113   a ,  113   b , and  113   c  which correspond to various mail transmission services (e.g., original communication services such as Internet mail, message service, and pager provided by telecommunications carriers) in a one-to-one correspondence. Each of the first to third mail transmission sections  112   a ,  112   b , and  112   c  has software that realizes mail transmission by a corresponding mail transmission service.  
     [0046] The mail text editing sections  113   a ,  113   b , and  113   c  are designed as editing windows to be used to, e.g., input an e-mail text.  
     [0047] The respective mail transmission services specify allowable character types and maximum numbers of transmittable characters for the first to third mail text editing sections  113   a ,  113   b , and  113   c  corresponding to the first to third mail transmission sections  112   a ,  112   b , and  112   c.    
     [0048] More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the first mail text editing section  113   a  allows four character types, i.e., kanji, kana (hiragana and katakana characters), alphabet, and numbers. The maximum number of transmittable characters (maximum number of input characters) is 1,000. The second mail text editing section  113   b  allows two character types, i.e., alphabet and numbers. The maximum number of transmittable characters is 100. The third mail text editing section  113   c  allows three character types, i.e., kana (hiragana and katakana characters), alphabet, and numbers. The maximum number of transmittable characters is 250.  
     [0049] In each of the mail text editing sections  113   a ,  113   b , and  113   c , it is impossible to input character types that are unallowable in the mail transmission service. It is also impossible to input characters more than the maximum number of transmittable characters.  
     [0050] The data structure of the telephone directory data  2   a  according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. 3.  
     [0051] A plurality of pieces of personal information  20  are stored in the telephone directory data  2   a . Each personal information  20  contains a name  201 , phonetic transcription  202  in kana, first telephone number (telephone number  1 )  203 , second telephone number (telephone number  2 )  205 , first mail address (mail address  1 )  207 , second mail address (mail address  2 )  209 , address  211 , note  212 , and other information.  
     [0052] Attributes  204  and  206  of telephone numbers are added to the first telephone number  203  and second telephone number  205 , respectively. Attributes  208  and  210  of the mail addresses are added to the first mail address  207  and second mail address  209 , respectively. More specifically, attribute Type A is added to the first telephone number  203  and first mail address  207 . Attribute Type B is added to the second telephone number  205 . No attribute is added to the second mail address  209 .  
     [0053] These attributes correspond to the mail transmission services in a one-to-one correspondence, as shown in FIG. 2. More specifically, attribute Type A corresponds to the first mail transmission section  112   a  and first mail text editing section  113   a . Attribute Type B corresponds to the second mail transmission section  112   b  and second mail text editing section  113   b . Attribute Type C corresponds to the third mail transmission section  112   c  and third mail text editing section  113   c.    
     [0054] These attributes are used to designate one of the first to third mail transmission sections  112   a ,  112   b , and  112   c  when the first telephone number  203 , second telephone number  205 , first mail address  207 , or second mail address  209  is designated as the destination of e-mail.  
     [0055] In this embodiment, one attribute is added to one telephone number or mail address. However, a plurality of attributes may be set for one telephone number or mail address.  
     [0056] The attribute need not always be added, like the second mail address  209 . In this case, it is assumed that the attribute  210  indicating “no attribute” is added to the second mail address  209 .  
     [0057] The operation of the portable terminal apparatus  10  according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. 4.  
     [0058] First, the user of the portable terminal apparatus  10  activates the mail destination editing section  111  to input the address of the other party at the transmission destination (step S 1 ).  
     [0059] A destination can be selected from the telephone directory data  2   a  and input or directly input through the keys. The user can select and employ one of the methods (step S 2 ).  
     [0060] When input from the telephone directory data  2   a  is selected as the destination input method (“telephone directory input” is selected in step S 2 ), the search processing section  14  is activated to search the telephone directory data  2   a  for the target personal information  20  (step S 3 ).  
     [0061] When searching is executed using data such as the name, phonetic transcription in kana, or telephone number, and the target data is found (YES in step S 4 ), the data is designated as the destination (step S 5 ).  
     [0062] If the target data is not found (NO in step S 4 ), the telephone directory data  2   a  is searched again (step S 3 ).  
     [0063] After the destination is selected (step S 5 ), the attribute added to the destination (telephone number or mail address) is loaded from the personal information  20  (step S 6 ), the type of attribute is determined (step S 7 ), and a mail text editing section corresponding to the attribute is activated (step S 10 , S 11 , or S 12 ).  
     [0064] More specifically, when the attribute added to the destination is Type A, the first mail text editing section  113   a  corresponding to Type A is activated (step S 10 ). When the attribute added to the destination is Type B, the second mail text editing section  113   b  corresponding to Type B is activated (step S 11 ). When no attribute is added to the destination, the third mail text editing section  113   c  that is defined in advance to be activated when no attribute is added is activated (step S 12 ).  
     [0065] In this embodiment, when no attribute is added to the destination, the third mail text editing section  113   c  corresponding to Type C different from Type A and Type B is activated. However, not the third mail text editing section  113   c  but one of the first mail text editing section  113   a  and second mail text editing section  113   b , which correspond to Type A and Type B, respectively, may be activated.  
     [0066] Generally, when no attribute is designated, a mail text editing section that is expected to be most frequently used in the portable terminal apparatus  10  is activated.  
     [0067] Assume that direct key input (“key input” is selected in step S 2 ) is to be executed instead of input from the telephone directory data  2   a  (step S 8 ). In this case, even when the destination input is completed (step S 9 ), the destination can be regarded to have no attribute because the personal information  20  in the telephone directory data  2   a  is not referred to. Hence, in this embodiment, the third mail text editing section  113   c  corresponding to Type C is activated.  
     [0068] The relationship between the mail destinations/attributes and the mail transmission sections will be described next with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4.  
     [0069] When the destination  207  is input from the telephone directory data  2   a  to the mail destination editing section  111 , the destination  207  has one of three attributes Type A, Type B, and Type C.  
     [0070] When the destination  207  is input not from the telephone directory data  2   a  but by key input, the destination can be regarded to have no attribute so that the default mail transmission section of the portable terminal apparatus  10  can be automatically selected.  
     [0071] As shown in FIG. 3, when attribute Type A is added to the destination  207 , the first mail transmission section  112   a  that corresponds to attribute Type A in a one-to-one correspondence is selected. The first mail transmission section  112   a  corresponds to a transmission section for one of the mail transmission services such as the Internet mail, message service, and pager.  
     [0072] The first mail transmission section  112   a  includes the mail text editing section  113   a  that corresponds to the first mail transmission section  112   a  in a one-to-one correspondence.  
     [0073] Generally, in a mail transmission service, the character types and number of characters transmittable as mail are defined in advance. Similarly, the first mail transmission section  112   a  also has limitations on the allowable character types and the number of inputtable/transmittable characters (maximum number of inputtable characters) in correspondence with the mail transmission service.  
     [0074] For this reason, the user cannot input a character type that is unallowable in the mail transmission service corresponding to the first mail transmission section  112   a  or characters more than the transmittable number. When the mail text is edited, and then, mail transmission is to be executed, a transmission sequence corresponding to the selected mail transmission service is used.  
     [0075] A portable terminal apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention has the same structure as that of the portable terminal apparatus  10  according to the first embodiment, as shown in FIGS.  5  to  7 . As will be described below, only the operation is different from that of the portable terminal apparatus  10  according to the first embodiment. Hence, only points different from the operation of the portable terminal apparatus  10  according to the first embodiment will be described below.  
     [0076] Referring to FIG. 5, in the portable terminal apparatus according to the second embodiment, a first mail transmission section  112   a  and fourth mail transmission section  112   d  are arranged for Japanese  51  and English  52 , respectively, in correspondence with attribute Type A corresponding to one mail transmission service. The fourth mail transmission section  112   d  allows two character types, i.e., alphabet and numbers. The maximum number of transmittable characters is 2,000.  
     [0077] Depending on the character type of an input mail text (for example, the text contains both English alphabet and Japanese characters or contains only English alphabet), a plurality of mail transmission sections that handle different character codes may be present in correspondence with one mail transmission service. For this reason, in this embodiment, the first mail transmission section  112   a  for Japanese and the fourth mail transmission section  112   d  for English are prepared.  
     [0078] In general, alphabet and numbers are used in, e.g., ASCII codes as a standard and have a small information amount per character. To the contrary, Japanese characters are not assigned in the ASCII codes and have a large information amount per character. For example, the fourth mail transmission section  112   d  for English allows not input of Japanese characters but only input of alphabet/numbers with a small character code information amount per character. Hence, the number of input characters of the fourth mail transmission section  112   d  is larger than that of the first mail transmission section  112   a  for Japanese.  
     [0079] In the data structure of telephone directory data  2   a  according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, personal information  20  contains data representing the type of use language  213  in addition to attributes  204 ,  206 ,  208 , and  210  added to destinations.  
     [0080] Normally, one language is used for one person. Hence, in this embodiment, one use language  213  is assigned to one person.  
     [0081] The operation of the portable terminal apparatus according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. 7 in association with only part different from the operation of the portable terminal apparatus  10  according to the first embodiment.  
     [0082] Steps S 1  to S 5  are executed as in the first embodiment, as shown in the flow chart of FIG. 7.  
     [0083] Information that represents the type of use language  213  is loaded simultaneously with the attribute of the destination (step S 6 ).  
     [0084] Then, the attribute of the destination is determined (step S 7 ).  
     [0085] When the attribute of the destination is Type A, it is further determined whether the type of use language  213  is Japanese or English (step S 13 ).  
     [0086] When the use language  213  is Japanese, a first mail text editing section  113   a  is activated (step S 10 ). Then the use language  213  is English, a fourth mail text editing section  113   d  is activated (step S 14 ).  
     [0087] When the attribute of the destination is Type B, a second mail text editing section  113   b  is activated (step S 11 ), as in the first embodiment. When no attribute is set for the destination, a third mail text editing section  113   c  is activated (step S 12 ), as in the first embodiment.  
     [0088] As described above, in the second embodiment, even when one mail transmission service handles a plurality of character codes, and different mail transmission sections are used for the respective character codes, an optimum mail text editing section and mail transmission section can be automatically selected in accordance with the other party to which mail is to be transmitted.  
     [0089] The operation of a portable terminal apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 8 in association with only part different from the operation of the portable terminal apparatus  10  according to the first embodiment.  
     [0090] In the third embodiment, even when a destination is designated by key input, the attribute of the destination can be determined, and a mail transmission section corresponding to the attribute can be designated.  
     [0091] In selecting a destination input method (step S 2 ), when the user selects key input (step S 8 ), he/she directly inputs a destination by key operation.  
     [0092] When the destination input is completed (step S 9 ), a control section  11  automatically activates a search processing section  14  (step S 15 ) to search telephone directory data  2   a  (step S 16 ).  
     [0093] This processing of searching the telephone directory data  2   a  is executed to automatically search whether a telephone number or mail address that completely coincides with the input destination is present, unlike processing (step S 3 ) of searching the telephone directory data  2   a  for target personal information  20 .  
     [0094] When the telephone directory data  2   a  is searched, and data that coincides with the input destination is found (YES in step S 16 ), the attribute of the data is loaded (step S 6 ). If no data that coincides with the input destination is present (NO in step S 16 ), the destination is regarded to have no attribute.  
     [0095] In this case, in comparison between the input destination and the telephone directory data  2   a , the input destination need not always completely coincide with data. Instead, the attribute may be designated on the basis of partial coincidence within a range in which a mail transmission section can be determined, like a case wherein a mail transmission section can be determined on the basis of the domain name of a mail address.  
     [0096] As described above, according to this embodiment, a mail transmission section corresponding to the attribute of a destination can be designated even for key input that the first embodiment cannot cope with.  
     [0097] When e-mail is to be transmitted, a data file is sometimes attached to the e-mail. Examples of attached data files are a text file containing only characters and symbols, an image file such as a GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) file, and a music file such as an MP3 (MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group)-1 audio layer-III) file. When an attached file should be transmitted together with e-mail, it is sometimes necessary to select a mail transmission section in correspondence with the type of attached file because some mail transmission sections are unsuitable for transmission of the attached file.  
     [0098] In addition, the charging system may change depending on the capacity of the attached file and selection of the mail transmission section. Hence, it is necessary to select the mail transmission section of a charging system that is advantageous for the user.  
     [0099] Hence, in the portable terminal apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention to be described below, the presence/absence of an attached file and the capacity of the attached file are taken into consideration.  
     [0100] The operation of the portable terminal apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 in association with only part different from the operation of the portable terminal apparatus  10  according to the first embodiment.  
     [0101] In the portable terminal apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 9, a control section  11  has attached file determination sections ( 114   a ,  114   b , and  114   c ).  
     [0102] After steps S 1  to S 5  and steps S 8  and S 9  are executed, as in the first embodiment, the attached file determination sections ( 114   a ,  114   b , and  114   c ) of the control section  11  determine whether the e-mail has an attached file (step S 17 ).  
     [0103] When an attached file is present (YES in step S 17 ), the attached file determination sections ( 114   a ,  114   b , and  114   c ) further determine whether the attached file is an image file (step S 18 ).  
     [0104] When the attached file is an image file (YES in step S 18 ), the attached file determination section determines the image format of the image data (step S 19 ).  
     [0105] Some image formats cannot be displayed on the portable terminal apparatus at the transmission destination. When the attached image data has such an image format (NO in step S 19 ), the attached file determination section displays, on a display section  12 , a warning message “this image cannot be displayed at transmission destination” (step S 20 ).  
     [0106] Next, the capacity of the attached file is calculated (step S 21 ). If no attached file is present (NO in step S 17 ), the attached file is not image data (NO in step S 18 ), or the image data has an image format that can be displayed on the portable terminal apparatus at the transmission destination (YES in step S 19 ), the capacity of the attached file is calculated after the determination in step S 17 , S 18 , or S 19  (step S 21 ).  
     [0107] For example, three capacity levels are prepared in advance, and mail transmission sections suitable for the respective levels are set in advance. Under these circumstances, the capacity of the attached file is calculated (step S 21 ), and a mail transmission section is selected in accordance with the capacity of the attached file (step S 22 , S 23 , or S 24 ).  
     [0108] The number of capacity levels is not limited to 3. An arbitrary number of 2 or more can be set.  
     [0109] As described above, according to the portable terminal apparatus of this embodiment, an appropriate mail transmission section is selected in accordance with the presence/absence of an attached file and the capacity of the attached file.  
     [0110] In recent years, there are a variety of charging systems including a packet charging system and flat-rate system. Hence, it is becoming more necessary to select a portable terminal apparatus connection method for e-mail transmission after creation of an e-mail text.  
     [0111] In a packet charging system as in a cellular phone network, a packet death may occur. To the contrary, in HotSpot (a public space where access points of wireless LAN (Local Area Network) are installed) that employs a flat-rate system, the capacity of data is irrelevant to the fee. For this reason, when connection by HotSpot becomes popular, it may call for a need for determining whether the cellular phone network or the wireless LAN should be selected as the portable terminal apparatus connection method.  
     [0112] For example, as shown in FIG. 11, after an e-mail text is created (step S 25 ), the control section  11  inquires of the user about whether the cellular phone network should be selected as the connection method (step S 26 ). For example, a first mail transmission section  112   a , second mail transmission section  112   b , or third mail transmission section  112   c  of the control section  11  inquires of the user about whether the cellular phone network should be selected.  
     [0113] When the user selects the cellular phone network (YES in step S 26 ), the control section  11  calculates the capacity of the e-mail (step S 27 ). If connection by HotSpot is more advantageous for the user with that capacity value, the control section  11  displays a warning message representing it on the display section  12  (step S 28 ).  
     [0114] Next, the control section  11  inquires of the user about whether the connection method should be changed from the cellular phone network to HotSpot (step S 29 ).  
     [0115] When the user selects change (YES in step S 29 ), the control section  11  changes the connection method from the cellular phone network to HotSpot (step S 30 ). Then, the control section  11  transmits the e-mail (step S 31 ).  
     [0116] When the user selects HotSpot from the beginning (NO in step S 26 ), transmission by HotSpot is done (step S 31 ). When the cellular phone network is selected, and the cellular phone network is more advantageous for the capacity of the e-mail (NO in step S 27 ), or when the user does not want to change the connection method from the cellular phone network to HotSpot (NO in step S 29 ), transmission by the cellular phone network is done (step S 31 ).  
     [0117] The connection method selection method shown in FIG. 11 can be applied to all the first to fourth embodiments described above.  
     [0118] The operation of the control section  11  in the portable terminal apparatus according to each of the above-described first to fourth embodiments can also be executed by a computer program that is described using a computer-readable language.  
     [0119] To operate the control section  11  by a computer program, for example, a memory for storing the program is prepared in the portable terminal apparatus, and the computer program is stored in the memory. The control section  11  reads out the computer program from the memory and executes the above-described operation in accordance with the computer program.  
     [0120] Alternatively, when a storage medium that stores the computer program is set in the control section  11 , the control section  11  can read out the computer program from the storage medium and execute the above-described operation in accordance with the computer program.  
     [0121] As has been described above, according to the present invention, in a portable terminal apparatus which can use a plurality of mail transmission services, a specific mail transmission service is automatically designated in accordance with an input e-mail destination, and a mail text editing section having character types and number of inputtable characters, which are allowable in the designated mail transmission service, is activated. Accordingly, the user can edit the text of e-mail without being aware of the limitations on the character types and the number of inputtable characters.  
     [0122] For example, a destination contained in specific personal information searched from telephone directory data which stores destination information of a plurality of persons is input to the mail destination editing section. The destination of the personal information has an attribute that designates a mail transmission section to be used for transmission to the destination. The control section determines the destination of the other party of the transmission and then automatically activates a mail text editing section corresponding to the attribute of the mail transmission section from a plurality of mail text editing sections. Each of the mail text editing sections corresponding to individual attributes has predetermined allowable character types and number of inputtable characters in accordance with a mail transmission service. For this reason, it is impossible to input unallowable character types and characters more than the inputtable number.  
     [0123] In this way, in the portable terminal apparatus that copes with a plurality of mail transmission services, the user can edit a mail text and transmits the mail without being aware of character types that do not cope with each mail transmission service or character input more than the transmittable number.  
     [0124] In addition, the user need not edit the mail text while being aware of the mail transmission service of the other party. This is because an attribute for mail transmission service selection is added to each destination data of personal information in the telephone directory data.  
     [0125] Furthermore, the number of transmission errors due to an input error (character type selection error or character input more than the allowable number) in text editing by the user can be decreased. This is because the mail transmission section and mail text editing section can be automatically selected in accordance with the attribute of the transmission destination (mail transmission service belonging to the destination), and input of unallowable characters or characters more than the transmittable number defined in the mail transmission service can be prevented. This is also because a transmission sequence corresponding to the mail transmission service can be automatically used at the time of mail transmission.