Patent ID: 7853939

Claim:
An apparatus for device-aware content delivery, the apparatus comprising: a transceiver system adapted for communication with a portable computing device having a device type defined by a plurality of functional characteristics specific to the portable computing device; a data repository storing information for a plurality of portable computing devices, for each portable computing device the information including the device type and known replies to interrogation signals, the known replies specifying at least one functional characteristic specific to the corresponding portable computing device; and a module for intelligent delivery of content coupled to the transceiver system for communication with the portable computing device and to the data repository, the module adapted to determine the device type of the portable computing device by: sending a first interrogation signal to the portable computing device, receiving a first response signal to the first interrogation signal from the portable computing device, the first response signal including at least one of the plurality of functional characteristics specific to the portable computing device, sending a second interrogation signal to the portable computing device, receiving a second response signal to the second interrogation signal from the portable computing device, the second response signal including at least one of the plurality of function characteristics of the portable computing device, empirically determining the device type of the portable computing device by comparing the first response signal and the second response signal to the known replies in the data repository and by determining whether there are additional branches in a decision tree, each branch of the decision tree differentiating a portable computing device into a sub-branch of possible devices or device classes and if there are additional branches in a decision tree, proceeding to a next branch in the decision tree and performing the step of sending, receiving and comparing for the next branch, and sending the portable computing device content specific to the device type of the portable computing device.