Patent ID: 8009194

Claim:
A method for automatically establishing a user account and for configuring a handheld portable device, which includes an integral digital camera, for accessing a website on a public network using the user account, the method comprising: establishing, by the handheld portable device, a connection to a server, the server being responsible for establishing and maintaining user accounts; automatically sending, by the handheld portable device, device information uniquely identifying the handheld portable device and a user of the handheld portable device to the server so that the server can at least partially set up a user account for accessing a website on a public network based on the device information; receiving, via the handheld portable device, user account information associated with the at least partially set-up user account from the server; and storing the user account information on the handheld portable device, wherein the user does not have to enter the stored account information to establish a connection with the public network or, if the user account is not completely set up, to establish the user account a next time the handheld portable device connects to the server.