Patent ID: 7251737

Claim:
A method for conserving power by controlling program execution in a convergence device comprising a power source and at least one processor configured to perform processing operations associated with voice call communication functions and to perform processing operations associated with data communication functions, the processor being operative to execute critical programs and noncritical programs, the method comprising the steps of: storing for at least a given one of a plurality of noncritical programs associated with the data communication functions an identifier of at least one alternate capacity program performing substantially the same function as the given program but having a different power source capacity associated therewith; and based at least in part on a power indicator representative of a characteristic of the power source, setting at least a subset of the plurality of noncritical programs in one of an executing state, a pending state and a sleeping state; and further based at least in part on the power indicator, replacing execution of the given program which is in the executing state only with execution of the alternate capacity program which is in a pending state, such that an amount of power source capacity utilizable for the voice call communication functions is increased.