Patent ID: 7092498

Claim:
A calling device for communicating with a server to permit the server to establish a connection between a caller and a call recipient over a telephone network, wherein the server connects a preferred end unit of the caller to a preferred contact device of the call recipient by selecting a connection address for the preferred contact device, the calling device comprising: an input device including a keypad with alphanumeric characters configured to input an identifier corresponding to the call recipient, wherein the identifier is not the connection address of the preferred contact device; an output unit configured to connect the calling device to the network; a storage medium configured to store the identifier input by the input device and a predetermined connection code to connect with the server; a communication unit coupled to the output unit and configured to establish a communication link between the calling device and the server over the network; and a controller coupled to each of the input device, the storage medium and the communication unit, the controller being configured to control the communication unit to: transmit an initiation signal over the network to the server to establish the communication link between the calling device and the server, wherein the initiation signal is based on the connection code; and transmit a connection request signal over the network to the server in response to establishing the communication link, wherein the connection request signal includes the identifier; wherein transmission of the connection request signal facilitates an automatic connection between the preferred end unit of the caller and the preferred contact device of the call recipient over the telephone; and wherein the preferred end unit of the caller is a telephone, the output unit is coupled to the telephone, the calling device includes a connection switch coupled between the output unit and the telephone, and the controller is further configured to control the connection switch to connect the telephone to the network in response to transmission of the connection request signal by the communication unit.