Patent ID: 7212811

Claim:
For use in a mobile data network environment comprising a packet switched data network, one or more network servers, a plurality of mobile units, and a plurality of wireless packet access stations coupled to the packet switched data network, wherein each wireless packet access station provides wireless access services, wherein a particular one of the mobile units comprises a processor, a memory, a user interface, and at least one wireless air interface comprising a wireless transmitter, a wireless receiver, and a protocol stack adapted to process wireless packet data transactions using a wireless packet data network protocol, wherein a particular user operates the particular mobile unit, and the particular mobile unit is in communication with at least a particular wireless packet access station when the particular mobile unit is located in a coverage area of the particular wireless packet access station, a method comprising: receiving a user interest indication associated with the particular user, wherein the user interest indication identifies one or more user preferences used to identify information that comports with the user interest indication; receiving via the packet switched data network a location indication, wherein the location indication identifies at least an approximate geographical location of the particular mobile unit; identifying an information item that comports with the user interest indication and is associated with the location identified in the location indication; and causing information relating to the information item to be coupled from a network server of the one or more network servers via the packet switched data network to the particular wireless packet access station so that the particular wireless packet access station can wirelessly transmit the information relating to the information item via one or more data packets without the need to continuously maintain an active user-interactive client-server application layer session between the network server and the particular mobile unit between a first time when the user interest indication is received to a second time when the particular mobile unit receives the one or more data packets; wherein the one or more data packets are coupled at least partially via a virtual communication session implemented at one or more layers below the application layer, wherein the virtual communication session is configured to be transitioned from an initial active state to an inactive state, and later to be transitioned from the inactive state back to the active state, wherein when the virtual communication session is in the active state, data related to the active user-interactive client-server application layer session and the one or more data packets can be coupled to the mobile unit via the virtual communication session.