Patent ID: 8620265

Claim:
A portable electronic device that promotes user awareness of approaching a usage limit, comprising: a processor; a memory; and an application, that, when executed by the processor, installs a file in the memory that describes a subscription plan documenting availability of at least one of wireless voice services or data services, wherein the subscription plan is associated with a telecommunications service provider and comprises a usage limit, and wherein the file documenting the subscription plan presently under contract additionally comprises at least one of the subscription plan or pricing information for products or features available under the subscription plan but not presently contracted for under the subscription plan, records a usage of a unit of a service provided under the subscription plan, increments a count of units of usage of the service during a usage period based on the record of the usage, detects the count of units of usage reaching a predetermined threshold, wherein the predetermined threshold is less than the usage limit, presents a message, wherein the message provides notification of the count of units of usage reaching the predetermined threshold, and based on the detection that the count of units of usage has reached the predetermined threshold, locally executes a transaction to add at least one of the products or features under the subscription plan but not presently contracted for under the subscription plan based on the file without immediately contacting the telecommunications service provider.