Patent ID: 7769409

Claim:
A wireless device, comprising: an antenna; a wireless communication interface connected to said antenna and supporting wireless communication across a wireless connection provided by said antenna; a memory supporting storing data; and a controller connected to said wireless interface and to said memory, supporting an application service and a network evaluation service; wherein said application service provides execution and management of at least one application program accessible by said controller using application data stored in said memory, wherein said network evaluation service manages a transfer of data between the wireless device and a second wireless device by: 1) sending out a beacon signal identifying the wireless device and providing connection information, polling an area for responsive wireless devices, and determining whether to build a new list or update an existing list of the responsive devices; 2) receiving a signal from the second wireless device that identifies the second wireless device and provides connection information; 3) specifying status information and sending a status query to each device on a list of responsive devices requesting the specified status information; and 4) responding to a status query from the second wireless device with a specific combination of status information as a function of a requested combination of status information, and wherein the status information provided by said network evaluation service includes information indicating at least one application program for which application data is stored in said memory.