Patent ID: 7948356

Claim:
A mobile terminal to which an external memory can be inserted, said mobile terminal comprising: a terminal status detecting unit configured to detect a first terminal status and a second terminal status, the first terminal status being a status of an application program before a change occurs to the application program, and the second terminal status being a status of the application program after the change occurs to the application program, the application program being installed in said mobile terminal; an SD slot status detecting unit configured to detect that the external memory is inserted into said mobile terminal; a condition storing unit configured to store a condition which includes a combination of (i) pre-action terminal status information indicating a pre-action terminal status that is a status of the application program before an action is taken on the application program, (ii) post-action terminal status information indicating a post-action terminal status that is a status of the application program after the action is taken on the application program, and (iii) use possibility information indicating whether or not there is a possibility to use the external memory; a judging unit configured to (i) check from the use possibility information, based on the condition stored in said condition storing unit, whether or not there is a possibility to use the external memory when the first terminal status indicates the pre-action terminal status and the second terminal status indicates the post-action terminal status, said judging unit performing the check when said terminal status detecting unit detects the first terminal status and the second terminal status in a state where said SD slot status detecting unit detects that the external memory is inserted into said mobile terminal, (ii) judge that electric power supply to the external memory should start when it is checked that there is a possibility to use the external memory, and (iii) judge that the electric power supply to the external memory should not start when it is checked that there is no possibility to use the external memory; and an electric power supplying unit configured to start the electric power supply to the external memory when said judging unit judges that the electric power supply to the external memory should start, and to cancel the electric power supply to the external memory when said judging unit judges that the electric power supply to the external memory should not start.