Patent Publication Number: US-9844080-B2

Title: Notification triggered device management session

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Oftentimes, users of mobile stations, such as mobile phones or tablet computers, experience problems (e.g., software bugs, poor network connectivity, etc.) with their devices and contact the cellular operator for support regarding the problems. The cellular operator may provide support using a device management session, where the mobile station connects to a device management server via the cellular network. The mobile station is prompted to connect to the device management server via a wireless application protocol (WAP) push or a short messaging service (SMS) message initiated at the device management server. 
     However, in some cases, and especially in cases when a user is experiencing problems with his/her mobile station, the mobile station may be unable to connect to the cellular network, for instance, due to a software bug, a hardware failure, or being in a geographic location with poor cellular coverage. In these cases, the mobile station may be unable to receive the WAP push or the SMS message and, thus, may fail to connect to the device management server. As the foregoing illustrates, a new approach for connecting a mobile station with a device management server may be desirable. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The drawing figures depict one or more implementations in accord with the present teachings, by way of example only, not by way of limitation. In the figures, like reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary system in which a notification triggered device management session may be implemented; 
         FIG. 2  is an exemplary data flow diagram for initiating a device management session using a wireless application protocol (WAP) push, where the mobile station is connected to the cellular network; 
         FIG. 3  is an exemplary data flow diagram for attempting to initiate a device management session using a WAP push, where the mobile station is disconnected from the cellular network; 
         FIG. 4  is an exemplary data flow diagram for initiating a notification triggered device management session, where the mobile station is disconnected from the cellular network; 
         FIG. 5  is an exemplary flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for initiating a device management session; 
         FIG. 6  is a high-level functional block diagram of an exemplary system of networks/devices that provide various communications for mobile stations, using which a notification triggered device management session may be implemented; 
         FIG. 7  is a high-level functional block diagram of an exemplary non-touch type mobile station which may be involved in a notification triggered device management session; 
         FIG. 8  is a high-level functional block diagram of an exemplary touch screen type mobile station which may be involved in a notification triggered device management session; 
         FIG. 9  is a simplified functional block diagram of a computer that may be configured to function a server computing device; and 
         FIG. 10  is a simplified functional block diagram of a personal computer or other work station or terminal device, which may be configured to function as the server computing device. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding of the relevant teachings. However, it should be apparent that the present teachings may be practiced without such details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, and/or circuitry have been described at a relatively high-level, without detail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the present teachings. 
     The subject technology provides techniques for connecting a mobile station with a device management server for initiating a device management session for the mobile station via the device management server. A mobile station may include any device configured to connect to a cellular network, for example, a mobile phone, a tablet computer including a cellular network interface, a laptop computer including a cellular network interface, etc. According to some implementations, a device management server receives a request for a device management session for a mobile station. For example, a user of the mobile station may notify an employee of the cellular operator that the user is having problems with the mobile station, and the employee may signal the device management server to initiate the device management session to troubleshoot or provide updates or bug fixes to the mobile station. In one specific example, the user may call a customer support of the cellular operator or visit the web site of the cellular operator to inform the cellular operator of the user&#39;s problems with the mobile station. The employee receiving the call or reviewing the information entered by the user when visiting the website may then signal the device management server to initiate the device management session. Alternatively, the initiation of the device management session may be automated. For example, a user may open an application or visit a website and press a button in the application or website to initiate the device management session. The device management session may include a software update, a connectivity settings update, a cellular provider settings update, or a diagnostic session. 
     The device management server attempts to connect to the mobile station using a message transmitted via the cellular network, for example, a wireless application protocol (WAP) push or a short messaging service (SMS) message. If the mobile station is connected to the cellular network, the mobile station may respond by initiating the device management session with the device management server over the cellular network connection. If the device management server fails to receive, within a threshold time period (e.g., 10 seconds, 1 minute, 1 hour, etc.), a response to the message from the mobile station, the device management server may determine that the mobile station is not presently connected to the cellular network. The threshold time period may be determined based on a network speed, a processing speed of the mobile station, or a processing speed of the device management server. The threshold time period may be based on either a client configuration (e.g., of the mobile station) or a server configuration (e.g., of the device management server or the SMS Center). The server may have an automated retry mechanism or the server delivering the WAP/SMS message may have an automatic retry mechanism based on a back-off algorithm. The mobile station may not be connected to the cellular network for several reasons. The reasons may be due to problems with software or hardware of the mobile station allowing connection with the cellular network, due to the mobile station being in a geographic area with poor cellular coverage, due to the mobile station having a cellular radio turned off (e.g., being placed in airplane mode), or due to the mobile station being fully turned off. 
     Upon determining that the mobile station is not presently connected to the cellular network, the device management server signals a home subscriber server (HSS) to update a user equipment profile for the mobile station to indicate that the mobile station has a pending device management session. The mobile station may connect to a first network either in real-time (e.g., without any intentional delay) or a time period (e.g., 10 minutes, 1 hour, 12 hours, etc.) after the HSS updates the user equipment profile for the mobile station. The length of the time period is determined based on the activities and geographic location(s) of the user of the mobile station. For example, if the mobile station and its users are flying in an airplane, the mobile station may connect to the first network when the airplane lands. If the mobile station is in a basement of a house with no cellular coverage, the mobile station may be connected to the first network (e.g., a Wi-Fi network of the house) or may connect to the first network when the user decides to initiate the network connection. The delay may be caused, for example, due to the mobile station not being within a connectivity range of any network when the HSS updates the user equipment profile. The first network may be the cellular network, a Wi-Fi network distinct from the cellular network, or a wired network. For example, the mobile station may be located in a geographic area where there is a Wi-Fi connection but no cellular connection (e.g., a basement of a home) when the HSS updates the user equipment profile. Alternatively, the mobile station may be turned off when the HSS updates the user equipment profile and may later be turned on. 
     Upon connecting to the first network, the mobile station is signaled, by a call session control function (CSCF) to connect to the device management server for the device management session. The CSCF signals the mobile station to connect to the device management server for the device management session based on the user equipment profile for the mobile station indicating that the mobile station has the pending device management session. The CSCF may signal the mobile station using a session initiation protocol (SIP) message. In response to the signal, the mobile station connects to the device management server using the first network. The device management session is run using the first network connection between the cellular network and the device management server. 
     To this end, in some implementations of the subject technology, the number of failures experienced in initiating a device management session between the device management server and the mobile station may be reduced because the device management session may be initiated using any network connection of the mobile station, not necessarily a cellular network connection. Also, if the mobile station is not connected to any network when the device management session is requested, the device management session may remain pending until the mobile station connects to a network. If the mobile station is connected to the cellular network when the device management session is requested, an SMS message may be sent to the mobile station to automatically initiate the device management session. However, if the mobile station is connected to a network different from the cellular network, the device management server and the mobile station may communicate using an Internet Protocol (IP) connection. In some cases, the mobile station may not have cellular connectivity at all, but may register with the mobile network operator (MNO) Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network for other services, such as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) over Wi-Fi. In some cases, the mobile station may not be programmed to communicate using WAP or SMS. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary system  100  in which a notification triggered device management session may be implemented. As shown, the system  100  includes a mobile station (MS)  105 , an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Access Network (E-UTRAN)  110 , a mobility management entity (MME)  115 , a serving gateway (SGW)  120 , a HSS  125 , a packet data network gateway (PGW)  130 , an Internet Protocol multimedia system (IPMS) core network  135 , a short messaging service center (SMSC)  145 , a short message peer-to-peer gateway (SMPP-GW)  150 , an open mobile alliance device management (OMA-DM) server  155 , and a call session control function (CSCF)  160 . 
     According to some implementations, the OMA-DM  155  receives a request for a device management session for the MS  105 . The request for the device management session for the MS  105  may be received from the MS  105  or from another device. The other device may be another end-user device (e.g., a laptop computer accessing a webpage for requesting the device management session) or a network device which periodically send requests for device management sessions when software update(s) are available. The OMA-DM  155  determines whether the MS  105  is connected to a cellular network by attempting, via the SMSC  145 , to send a SMS message to the MS  105 . The SMS message may instruct the MS  105  to initiate the device management session with the OMA-DM  155 . The SMS message instructing the MS  105  may be an automatic process that does not require the user&#39;s interaction with the SMS program or further steps by the user to initiate the device management session. The MS  105  may receive the SMS message if the MS  105  is connected to a cellular network and may not receive the SMS message if the MS  105  is not connected to the cellular network. 
     If the MS  105  receives and responds to the SMS message, the device management session may be initiated. However, if the MS  105  does not respond to the SMS message within a threshold time period (e.g., 1 minute, 10 minutes, 1 hour, etc.), the OMA-DM  155  may signal the HSS  125  to update a user equipment (UE) profile of the MS  105 , stored at the HSS  125 , to indicate that the MS  105  has a pending device management session. In some implementations of the subject technology, a Sh interface connection  140  exists between the HSS  125  and the OMA-DM  155 . The OMA-DM  155  may use the Sh interface to notify the HSS  125  of a pending device management sessions for the MS  105  and/or other mobile stations. 
     Upon connection of the MS  105  to a first network, which may be the E-UTRAN  110 , and after the failure of the OMA-DM  155  to receive the response of the MS  105  to the SMS message, the CSCF  160  signals the MS  105  to connect to the OMA-DM  155  for the device management session, for example, via a SIP message. The MS  105  may connect to the OMA-DM  155  for the device management session using the first network. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the HSS  125  is part of the IMS core network  135 , which may be provided by a cellular operator, for example, Verizon Wireless®. The HSS  125  and the PGW  130  are part of the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network according to the 3GPP specification. The SMSC  145  is a server that is connected to the IMS core network  135  but is not part of the IMS core network  135 . The SMSC  145  is an application server that connects to the EPC network. The E-UTRAN  110  may be any network that allows the MS  105  to access the MME  115  and the SGW  120  in order to communicate via the Internet. For example, the E-UTRAN  110  may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, a wired network, a wireless network, a dial-up network, etc. More details of the operations of the computing machines  105 ,  110 ,  115 ,  120 ,  125 ,  130 ,  145 ,  150 ,  155 , and  160  illustrated in  FIG. 1  are described in conjunction with  FIGS. 2-5 . 
       FIG. 2  is an exemplary data flow diagram  200  for initiating a device management session using a WAP push, where the mobile station is connected to the cellular network. In data flow diagram  200  data flows between the MS  105 , evolved packet core (EPC)  205 , PGW  130 , CSCF  160 , HSS  125 , SMSC  145 , SMPP-GW  150 , and OMA-DM  155 . The EPC  205  may be a packet network, such as a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, a wired network, a wireless network, a dial-up network, etc., to which the MS  105  may connect. The CSCF  160  may be used to process SIP signaling packets in the IMS core network  135 . The functions of the CSFC  160  described herein may be implemented at the HSS  125  or at other machine(s) connected to the IMS core network  135 . In other words, the CSCF  160  may be implemented as a separate machine or as a component of the HSS  125 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , in step  220 , the EPC  205  attaches to the MS  105  and the HSS  125 . This allows the MS  105  to communicate in the IMS core network  135 . In step  225 , a default packet data network (PDN) connection is established between the MS  105  and the PGW  130 , via the EPC  225 , allowing the MS  105  to communicate using packets. In step  230 , a provisioning event takes place and the OMA-DM  155  is notified that an update for the MS  105  is required. For example, the user of the MS  105  may request that the mobile operator&#39;s technical support repair or update the MS  105  remotely using the OMA-DM  155 . In step  235 , IMS registration takes place between the MS  105 , the EPC  205 , the PGW  130 , and the CSCF  160 , allowing each of the MS  105 , the EPC  205 , the PGW  130 , and the CSCF  160  to communicate with one another in the IMS core network  135 . 
     In step  240 , the OMA-DM  155  provides a WAP push to the SMPP-GW  245  to initiate the device management session with the MS  105 . In step  245 , the SMPP-GW  245  responds by sending a SMPP request to the SMSC  145 . In step  250 , the SMSC  145  queries the HSS  124  for the IMS registration status of the MS  105 . The IMS registration status may indicate whether the MS is connected to the IMS core network  135 . In step  255 , the HSS  125  notifies the SMSC  145  that the MS  105  is registered with the IMS core network  135 . In step  260 , an SMS message is delivered from the SMSC  145  to the MS  105  for initiating a device management session with the MS  105 . In step  265 , an on-demand PDN setup takes place between the MS  105  and the PGW  130 . In step  270 , the device management session is established and the OMA-DM client, the MS  105 , communicates with the OMA-DM server  155  for the device management session. 
       FIG. 3  is an exemplary data flow diagram  300  for attempting to initiate a device management session using a WAP push, where the mobile station is disconnected from the cellular network. In step  305 , the OMA-DM  155  receives a provisioning event, indicating that an update for the MS  105 , completed using the OMA-DM  155 , is required. For example, the user of the MS  105  may request that the mobile operator&#39;s technical support repair or update the MS  105  remotely using the OMA-DM  155 . In step  310   a , the OMA-DM  155  transmits a WAP push to the SMPP-GW  150  for transmitting an SMS message to the MS  105  to initiate the device management session. In step  315   a , a retry timer is started to retry the transmission of the SMS message at a later time (e.g., after 1 minute, 10 minutes, 1 hour, etc.) if the current attempt to transmit the SMS message to the MS  105  is unsuccessful. The amount of time associated with the retry timer may be dependent on the network speed, the processing speed of the mobile station, the MS  105 , the processing speed of the SMSC  145 , the priority of the session or the number of previous retries. In step  320   a , the SMPP-GW  150  sends a SMPP request to the SMSC  145  to transmit the SMS message to the MS  105 . In step  325   a , the SMSC  145  queries the IMS registration status of the MS  105  at the HSS  125 . In step  330   a , the SMSC  145  is notified that the SMSC  145  is not registered with the IMS. After the retry timer of step  315   a  completes, the steps  310   a - 330   a  are repeated as steps  310   b - 330   b . The steps  310   a - 330   a  may be repeated until the MS  105  reconnects to the cellular network and registers with the IMS, allowing the MS  105  to receive the SMS message from the SMSC  145 . 
       FIG. 4  is an exemplary data flow diagram  400  for initiating a notification triggered device management session, where the mobile station is disconnected from the cellular network. As shown, the steps  305 ,  310   a ,  320   a ,  325   a , and  330   a  are repeated from  FIG. 3 . However, in some cases, a retry timer  315   a  may not be used or may be terminated after a predetermined number (e.g., 2 or 3) tries, where the predetermined number is determined by a programmer of the OMA-DM  155  or the SMSC  145 , and the repeated steps  310   b - 330   b  may not be implemented. Instead, upon determining that the MS  105  is not registered with the IMS in step  330   a , the process continues to step  405 . In Step  405 , the SMSC  145  notifies the OMA-DM  155  of inability of the SMSC  145  to transmit the SMS message to the MS  105 . In step  410 , the OMA-DM  155  transmits to the HSS  125  a profile update request (PUR) for the MS  105  over the Sh interface connection  140 . The PUR causes the profile of the MS  105 , stored by the HSS  125 , to indicate that the MS  105  has a pending device management session. The HSS  125  updates the profile of the MS  105  accordingly. In step  420 , the MS  105  reconnects to network (e.g., the E-UTRAN  110 , which may be a cellular or Wi-Fi network) and completes IMS registration. Upon reconnection to the network, the MS  105  is notified via a SIP message transmitted from the CSCF  160  that there is a pending device management notification. The MS  105  may then initiate a device management client-initiated session with the OMA-DM  155  using an IP based connection, as described in detail below. In step  425 , the UE profile for the MS  105  is retrieved from the CSCF  160  and provided to the HSS  125 . In step  430 , the UE  105 , the EPC  205 , the PGW  130 , and the CSCF  160  subscribe to receive pending notifications for the MS  105 , for example, a pending notification that the MS  105  has pending device management session. In step  435 , the CSCF  160  notifies the MS  105  via a SIP message that it has a pending push notification from the OMA-DM  155 . In step  440 , the MS  105  opens the device management session with the OMA-DM  155  responsive to receiving the SIP message. The OMA-DM  155  may then initiate the device management session with the MS  105 . The device management session may include providing updates to the MS  105 , providing bug fixes to the MS  105 , or troubleshooting the MS  105 . 
       FIG. 5  is an exemplary flow chart  500  illustrating an exemplary process for initiating a device management session. The process  500  begins at step  510 , where a device management server (e.g., OMA-DM  155 ) receives a request for a device management session for a mobile station (e.g., MS  105 ). For example, a user of the mobile station may call a technical support center to report problems with the mobile station, and the technical support specialist may request the device management session for the mobile station. 
     In step  520 , the device management server determines whether the mobile station is connected to a cellular network. For example, the device management server may signal a SMSC to send an SMS message to the mobile station for initiating the device management session. If the mobile station receives the SMS message and initiates the device management session within a threshold time period (e.g., 10 seconds, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, etc.), then the mobile station is connected to the cellular network. Otherwise, it is not. If the mobile station is connected to the cellular network, the process  500  continues to step  525 . If the mobile station is not connected to the cellular network, the process  500  continues to step  530 . 
     In step  525 , if the mobile station is connected to the cellular network, the device management server initiates the device management session between the mobile station and the device management server over the cellular connection. For example, the mobile station may initiate the device management session in response to receiving the SMS message of step  520 . After step  525 , the process  500  ends. 
     In step  530 , if the mobile station is not connected to the cellular network, the device management server signals a HSS to update a user equipment profile for the mobile station to indicate that the mobile station has pending device management session. The user equipment profile may be stored at the HSS and/or in a CSCF. The user equipment profile of the mobile station may be accessible, to the mobile station, when the mobile station is connected to a network, such as the cellular network or a Wi-Fi network. 
     In step  540 , the HSS signals, upon connection of the mobile station to a first network, the mobile station to connect to the device management server for the device management session. The signaling is done using a SIP message from a CSCF. The mobile station is signaled to connect to the device management server based on the user equipment profile for the mobile station indicating that the mobile station has the pending device management session. In an alternative implementation, the device management server, or a single machine including both the HSS and the device management server, may signal the mobile station to connect to the device management server. 
     In step  550 , the device management server and the mobile station connect using the first network connection of the mobile station. The mobile station may connect to the device management server using an IP connection over the first network. In step  560 , the device management server runs the device management session with the mobile station using the first network connection of the mobile station. After step  560 , the process  500  ends. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates an exemplary system  600  for providing data to a mobile device. The system  600  may be implemented in a cellular network, for example, a 4G or Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. As shown, the system  600  includes a mobile device  605 , a mobile routing server  610 , a cellular Internet gateway  620 , an application server  630 , a billing server  635 , a cellular/landline Internet gateway  690 , and a non-mobile device  695 . The MS  105  may correspond to the mobile device  605 . The MME  115 , SGW  120 , HSS  125 , PGW  130 , SMSC  145 , SMPP-GW  150 , or OMA-DM  155  may correspond to the application server  630 . 
     The cellular Internet gateway  620  may correspond to a cellular access point name (APN) supporting data network traffic that may be charged to the user of the mobile device  605 . The cable/landline Internet gateway  690  may correspond to a cable/landline APN. As used herein, the phrase “Internet gateway” may refer to a gateway through which a user accesses data and through which a billing server  635  may be notified of the user&#39;s data access in order to charge the user&#39;s account. In some cases, the gateways  620  and/or  690  are APNs. 
     The mobile device  605  may be any mobile device capable of accessing a mobile network, for example, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or a laptop or desktop computer including an internal or external mobile network interface. Examples of the mobile device  605  are illustrated in  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 8 . The mobile routing server  610  and the billing server  635  are associated with a mobile operator that controls the gateway  620 . The application server  630  stores web content or application(s), which may be accessed via the mobile device  605  or via the non-mobile device  695 . The web content may include webpage(s) or page(s) within applications. 
     According to some implementations, the mobile routing server  610  receives, from the mobile device  605 , a request to access web content. For example, the request may be a request to view a webpage associated with a uniform resource locator (URL), such as www.example.com, using a browser of the mobile device  605  or to run an application, for example, an online banking application for accessing data stored at an application server  630  associated with a bank. The mobile routing server  610  may provide the data from the application server  630  to the mobile device  605  via the cellular Internet gateway  620 . The mobile routing server  610  may notify the billing server  635  of the amount of data accessed (e.g., 10 kilobytes) so that the user&#39;s account may be charged accordingly. 
     The mobile routing server  610  may measure the amount of data associated with the cellular Internet gateway  620  and forward this information to the billing server  135 . Alternatively, the amount of data accessed may be measured at the cellular Internet gateway  620 , and forwarded from the gateway  620  to the billing server  635 . The billing server  635  may then charge the account associated with the content provider or the account associated with the user of the mobile device for the access to the web content based on the measured amount of data accessed. 
     A user of the non-mobile device  695  may access the content of the application server  630  using a cable or landline connection to the cable/landline Internet gateway  690 . In some cases, as shown, the cable or landline connection may provide for unlimited data access and, thus, the cable or landline company may not need a billing server. Alternatively, a billing server may be associated with the cable/landline Internet gateway  690 . 
     The subject technology may be implemented in conjunction with touch screen type mobile stations as well as to non-touch type mobile stations. Hence, our simple example shows the mobile station (MS)  105   a  as a non-touch type mobile station and shows the mobile station (MS)  105   b  as a touch screen type mobile station. Some implementation may involve at least some execution of programming in the mobile stations as well as implementation of user input/output functions and data communications through the network systems  100  and  600 , from the mobile stations. Those skilled in the art presumably are familiar with the structure, programming and operations of the various types of mobile stations. However, for the sake of completeness two types of mobile stations are described below with respect to  FIGS. 7 and 8 . 
     As shown by the above discussion, functions relating to MMS communication may be implemented on computers connected for data communication via the components of a packet data network, as shown in  FIG. 6 . For example, the mobile station  105  may correspond to mobile device  605 . The MME  115 , SGW  120 , HSS  125 , PGW  130 , SMSC  145 , SMPP-GW  150 , or OMA-DM  155  may correspond to the application server  630 . Although special purpose devices may be used, such devices also may be implemented using one or more hardware platforms intended to represent a general class of data processing device commonly used to run “server” programming so as to implement the functions discussed above, albeit with an appropriate network connection for data communication. 
     As known in the data processing and communications arts, a general-purpose computer typically comprises a central processor or other processing device, an internal communication bus, various types of memory or storage media (RAM, ROM, EEPROM, cache memory, disk drives etc.) for code and data storage, and one or more network interface cards or ports for communication purposes. The software functionalities involve programming, including executable code as well as associated stored data. In operation, the code is stored within the general-purpose computer platform. At other times, however, the software may be stored at other locations and/or transported for loading into the appropriate general-purpose computer system. Execution of such code by a processor of the computer platform enables the platform to implement the methodology described herein. 
     The mobile stations of  FIGS. 7 and 8  may correspond to the mobile station  105 .  FIG. 7  illustrates exemplary non-touch type mobile station.  FIG. 8  illustrates an exemplary touch screen type mobile station. 
     As shown by the above discussion, functions relating to MMS communication may be implemented on computers connected for data communication via the components of a packet data network, as shown in  FIG. 6 . For example, the mobile station  105  may correspond to the mobile station  105   a  or the mobile station  105   b . Although special purpose devices may be used, such devices also may be implemented using one or more hardware platforms intended to represent a general class of data processing device commonly used to run “server” programming so as to implement the functions discussed above, albeit with an appropriate network connection for data communication. 
       FIG. 7  provides a block diagram illustration of an exemplary non-touch type mobile station  105   a , which may correspond to the mobile station  105 . Although the mobile station  105   b  may be a smart-phone or may be incorporated into another device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) or the like, for discussion purposes, the illustration shows the mobile station  105   a  is in the form of a handset. The handset embodiment of the mobile station  105   a  functions as a normal digital wireless telephone station. For that function, the mobile station  105   a  includes a microphone  702  for audio signal input and a speaker  704  for audio signal output. The microphone  702  and speaker  704  connect to voice coding and decoding circuitry (vocoder)  706 . For a voice telephone call, for example, the vocoder  706  provides two-way conversion between analog audio signals representing speech or other audio and digital samples at a compressed bit rate compatible with the digital protocol of wireless telephone network communications or voice over packet (Internet Protocol) communications. 
     For digital wireless communications, the mobile station  105   a  also includes at least one digital transceiver (XCVR)  708 . The mobile station  105   a  may be configured for digital wireless communications using one or more of the common network technology types. The concepts discussed here encompass embodiments of the mobile station utilizing any digital transceivers that conform to current or future developed digital wireless communication standards. The mobile station may also be capable of analog operation via a legacy network technology. 
     The transceiver  708  provides two-way wireless communication of information, such as vocoded speech samples and/or digital information, in accordance with the technology of the network  165 . The transceiver  708  also sends and receives a variety of signaling messages in support of the various voice and data services provided via the mobile station  105   a  and the communication network. Each transceiver  708  connects through RF send and receive amplifiers (not separately shown) to an antenna  710 . The transceiver may also support various types of mobile messaging services, such as short message service (SMS), enhanced messaging service (EMS) and/or multimedia messaging service (MMS). 
     The mobile station  105   a  includes a display  718  for displaying messages, menus or the like, call related information dialed by the user, calling party numbers, etc. A keypad  720  enables dialing digits for voice and/or data calls as well as generating selection inputs, for example, as may be keyed-in by the user based on a displayed menu or as a cursor control and selection of a highlighted item on a displayed screen. The display  718  and keypad  720  are the physical elements providing a textual or graphical user interface. Various combinations of the keypad  720 , display  718 , microphone  702  and speaker  704  may be used as the physical input output elements of the graphical user interface (GUI), for multimedia (e.g., audio and/or video) communications. Of course other user interface elements may be used, such as a trackball, as in some types of PDAs or smart phones. 
     In addition to normal telephone and data communication related input/output (including message input and message display functions), the user interface elements also may be used for display of menus and other information to the user and user input of selections. 
     A microprocessor  712  serves as a programmable controller for the mobile station  105   a , in that it controls all operations of the mobile station  105   a  in accordance with programming that it executes, for all normal operations, including those under consideration here. In the example, the mobile station  105   a  includes flash type program memory  714 , for storage of various “software” or “firmware” program routines and mobile configuration settings, such as mobile directory number (MDN) and/or mobile identification number (MIN), etc. The flash type program memory  714  stores programmed instructions, including those described herein. The mobile station  105   a  may include a non-volatile random access memory (RAM)  716  for a working data processing memory. Of course, other storage devices or configurations may be added to or substituted for those in the example. In a present implementation, the flash type program memory  714  stores firmware such as a boot routine, device driver software, an operating system, call processing software and vocoder control software, and any of a wide variety of other applications, such as client browser software and short message service software. The memories  714 ,  716  also store various data, such as telephone numbers and server addresses, downloaded data such as multimedia content, and various data input by the user. Programming stored in the flash type program memory  714 , sometimes referred to as “firmware,” is loaded into and executed by the microprocessor  712 . 
     As outlined above, the mobile station  105   a  includes a processor, and programming stored in the flash memory  714  configures the processor so that the mobile station is capable of performing various desired functions, including those described herein. 
     For purposes of such a discussion,  FIG. 8  provides a block diagram illustration of an exemplary touch screen type mobile station  105   b . Although possible configured somewhat differently, at least logically, a number of the elements of the exemplary touch screen type mobile station  105   b  are similar to the elements of mobile station  105   a , and are identified by like reference numbers in  FIG. 8 . For example, the touch screen type mobile station  105   b  includes a microphone  702 , speaker  704  and vocoder  706 , for audio input and output functions, much like in the earlier example. The mobile station  105   b  also includes at least one digital transceiver (XCVR)  708 , for digital wireless communications, although the mobile station  105   b  may include an additional digital or analog transceiver. The concepts discussed here encompass embodiments of the mobile station  105   b  utilizing any digital transceivers that conform to current or future developed digital wireless communication standards. As in the mobile station  105   a , the transceiver  708  provides two-way wireless communication of information, such as vocoded speech samples and/or digital information, in accordance with the technology of the network  165 . The transceiver  708  also sends and receives a variety of signaling messages in support of the various voice and data services provided via the mobile station  105   b  and the network  165 . Each transceiver  708  connects through RF send and receive amplifiers (not separately shown) to an antenna  710 . The transceiver may also support various types of mobile messaging services, such as short message service (SMS), enhanced messaging service (EMS) and/or multimedia messaging service (MMS). 
     As in the example of the mobile station  105   a , a microprocessor  712  serves as a programmable controller for the mobile station  105   b , in that it controls all operations of the mobile station  105   b  in accordance with programming that it executes, for all normal operations, and for operations described herein. In the example, the mobile station  105   b  includes flash type program memory  714 , for storage of various program routines and mobile configuration settings. The mobile station  105   b  may also include a non-volatile random access memory (RAM)  716  for a working data processing memory. Of course, other storage devices or configurations may be added to or substituted for those in the example. Hence, outlined above, the mobile station  105   b  includes a processor, and programming stored in the flash memory  714  configures the processor so that the mobile station is capable of performing various desired functions, including the functions described herein. 
     In the example of  FIG. 8 , the user interface elements included a display and a keypad. The mobile station  105   b  may have a limited number of key(s)  730 , but the user interface functions of the display and keypad are replaced by a touchscreen display arrangement. At a high level, a touchscreen display is a device that displays information to a user and can detect occurrence and location of a touch on the area of the display. The touch may be an actual touch of the display device with a finger, stylus or other object, although at least some touchscreens can also sense when the object is in close proximity to the screen. Use of a touchscreen display as part of the user interface enables a user to interact directly with the information presented on the display. 
     Hence, the exemplary mobile station  105   b  includes a display  722 , which the microprocessor  712  controls via a display driver  724 , to present visible outputs to the device user. The mobile station  105   b  also includes a touch/position sensor  726 . The sensor  726  is relatively transparent, so that the user may view the information presented on the display  722 . A sense circuit  728  sensing signals from elements of the touch/position sensor  726  and detects occurrence and position of each touch of the screen formed by the display  722  and sensor  726 . The sense circuit  728  provides touch position information to the microprocessor  712 , which can correlate that information to the information currently displayed via the display  722 , to determine the nature of user input via the screen. 
     The display  722  and touch sensor  726  (and possibly one or more keys  730 , if included) are the physical elements providing the textual and graphical user interface for the mobile station  105   b . The microphone  702  and speaker  704  may be used as user interface elements for audio input and output. 
     The structure and operation of the mobile stations  105   a  and  105   b , as outlined above, were described to by way of example, only. 
       FIGS. 9 and 10  provide functional block diagram illustrations of general purpose computer hardware platforms.  FIG. 9  illustrates a network or host computer platform, as may typically be used to implement a server.  FIG. 10  depicts a computer with user interface elements, as may be used to implement a personal computer or other type of work station or terminal device, although the computer of  FIG. 10  may also act as a server if appropriately programmed. It is believed that the general structure and general operation of such equipment as shown in  FIGS. 9 and 10  should be self-explanatory from the high-level illustrations. 
     A server, for example, includes a data communication interface for packet data communication. The server also includes a central processing unit (CPU), in the form of one or more processors, for executing program instructions. The server platform typically includes an internal communication bus, program storage and data storage for various data files to be processed and/or communicated by the server, although the server often receives programming and data via network communications. The hardware elements, operating systems and programming languages of such servers are conventional in nature. Of course, the server functions may be implemented in a distributed fashion on a number of similar platforms, to distribute the processing load. 
     A computer type user terminal device, such as a PC or tablet computer, similarly includes a data communication interface CPU, main memory and one or more mass storage devices for storing user data and the various executable programs (see  FIGS. 9 and 10 ). A mobile station type user terminal may include similar elements, but will typically use smaller components that also require less power, to facilitate implementation in a portable form factor. The various types of user terminal devices will also include various user input and output elements. A computer, for example, may include a keyboard and a cursor control/selection device such as a mouse, trackball, joystick or touchpad; and a display for visual outputs. A microphone and speaker enable audio input and output. Some smartphones include similar but smaller input and output elements. Tablets and other types of smartphones utilize touch sensitive display screens, instead of separate keyboard and cursor control elements. The hardware elements, operating systems and programming languages of such user terminal devices also are conventional in nature. 
     Hence, examples of the methods of determining an action plan with respect to a returned device outlined above may be embodied in programming. Program aspects of the technology may be thought of as “products” or “articles of manufacture” typically in the form of executable code and/or associated data that is carried on or embodied in a type of machine readable medium. “Storage” type media include any or all of the tangible memory of the computers, processors or the like, or associated modules thereof, such as various semiconductor memories, tape drives, disk drives and the like, which may provide non-transitory storage at any time for the software programming. All or portions of the software may at times be communicated through the Internet or various other telecommunication networks. Such communications, for example, may enable loading of the software from one computer or processor into another. Thus, another type of media that may bear the software elements includes optical, electrical and electromagnetic waves, such as used across physical interfaces between local devices, through wired and optical landline networks and over various air-links. The physical elements that carry such waves, such as wired or wireless links, optical links or the like, also may be considered as media bearing the software. As used herein, unless restricted to non-transitory, tangible “storage” media, terms such as computer or machine “readable medium” refer to any medium that participates in providing instructions to a processor for execution. 
     Hence, a machine readable medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, a tangible storage medium, a carrier wave medium or physical transmission medium. Non-volatile storage media include, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as any of the storage devices in any computer(s) or the like. Volatile storage media include dynamic memory, such as main memory of such a computer platform. Tangible transmission media include coaxial cables; copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise a bus within a computer system. Carrier-wave transmission media may take the form of electric or electromagnetic signals, or acoustic or light waves such as those generated during radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) data communications. Common forms of computer-readable media therefore include for example: a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a Blu-ray disc read-only memory (BD-ROM), CD-ROM, DVD or DVD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards paper tape, any other physical storage medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave transporting data or instructions, cables or links transporting such a carrier wave, or any other medium from which a computer may read programming code and/or data. Many of these forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to a processor for execution. 
     These general and specific aspects may be implemented using a system, a method, a computer program, a computer readable medium, or an apparatus or any combination of systems, methods, computer programs, computer readable mediums, and/or apparatuses. 
     While the foregoing has described what are considered to be the best mode and/or other examples, it is understood that various modifications may be made therein and that the subject matter disclosed herein may be implemented in various forms and examples, and that the teachings may be applied in numerous applications, only some of which have been described herein. It is intended by the following claims to claim any and all applications, modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the present teachings. 
     Unless otherwise stated, all measurements, values, ratings, positions, magnitudes, sizes, and other specifications that are set forth in this specification, including in the claims that follow, are approximate, not exact. They are intended to have a reasonable range that is consistent with the functions to which they relate and with what is customary in the art to which they pertain. 
     The scope of protection is limited solely by the claims that now follow. That scope is intended and may be interpreted to be as broad as is consistent with the ordinary meaning of the language that is used in the claims when interpreted in light of this specification and the prosecution history that follows and to encompass all structural and functional equivalents. Notwithstanding, none of the claims are intended to embrace subject matter that fails to satisfy the requirement of Sections 101, 102, or 103 of the Patent Act, should may they be interpreted in such a way. Any unintended embracement of such subject matter is hereby disclaimed. 
     Except as stated immediately above, nothing that has been stated or illustrated is intended or should be interpreted to cause a dedication of any component, step, feature, object, benefit, advantage, or equivalent to the public, regardless of whether it is or is not recited in the claims. 
     It will be understood that the terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions with respect to their corresponding respective areas of inquiry and study except where specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein. Relational terms such as first and second and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by “a” or “an” does not, without further constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element. 
     The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.