Patent ID: 8274966

Claim:
A mobile communications device comprising: means for sending and receiving signals via a circuit-switched telecommunications network; and means for initiating communications over an Internet Protocol network via each of a plurality of separate communication services; a data storage unit for storing data associated with each of the separate communication services; means for merging the data that is stored in the data storage unit for a first one of the plurality of separate communication services with data that is stored in the data storage unit for a second one of the plurality of separate communication services, said means for merging comprising means for comparing data entries within corresponding data fields or a plurality of contact lists, which contact lists are each associated with one of a plurality of separate client programs installed on the device for managing separate communication services, thereby to identify potential matching data entries; and means for displaying identified potential matching data entries to a device user and enabling user confirmation or rejection of the identified potential match; a storage means for storing the merged contact list entries as a single entry on the mobile communication device so that this single entry is accessed for communication; and a common graphical user interface (GUI) for displaying the data in the storage means and providing an integrated user access mechanism for the sending and/or receiving of communications over the Internet Protocol network via each of the plurality of separate communication services.