Patent ID: 8417227

Claim:
A method comprising: storing, by a device, a profile that defines personal preference and usage information for a virtual handset associated with a user, the profile including a plurality of portions; identifying, by the device and from a physical handset of the user, physical characteristics of the physical handset based on a request for the profile; comparing, by the device, the physical characteristics with the profile; filtering, by the device and based on comparing the physical characteristics with the profile, the profile to obtain a filtered profile that includes one or more portions of the plurality of portions, filtering the profile including removing at least one portion, of the plurality of portions, that is not compatible with the physical handset to obtain the filtered profile, the one or more portions being less than the plurality of portions, and the one or more portions including at least one of: information relating to one or more call services associated with the user, information relating to one or more instant messaging services associated with the user, or information relating to one or more voicemail services associated with the user; and downloading, by the device, the filtered profile to the physical handset for implementation of the virtual handset at the physical handset to present the one or more portions to the user.