Blackberry Corporation

Research in Motion Corporation

Palm, Incorporated

Francis Thomas Riddle

John Bennett Parrett

Leonid Leon Vymenets

Henry Yao-Tsu Chen

Frank Judge

Sidd Goyal

Methods and apparatus for use in communicating messages from a communication device are described. The device receives, via its user interface, an input request for creating a new message. The device also receives, via its user interface, one or more input requests for selecting one or more message recipient identifiers for the new message. In response to receiving the one or more input requests, the device identifies whether a stored conversation thread is associated with conversation participant identifiers that match the conversation participant identifiers for the new message. If so, the device displays the identified conversation thread together with a message body input field of the new message, prior to entry of message body contents in the message body input field. The device then receives, via the user interface, the message body contents in the message body input field, and causes the new message to be transmitted to one or more communication devices identified by the one or more message recipient identifiers.

User interface methods and apparatus for use in communicating messages

A communication device provides a message composition interface. In the message composition interface, the communication device presents a maximum allowable remaining number of characters allowable for further entry in the message only when a character count of the number of character inputs received in the message is greater than or equal to a warning count value. The warning count value is less than a maximum allowable number of characters of the message.

Methods and apparatus for providing presentations for the composition of messages having size limitations

A system and method are provided for managing messages in conversational-type messaging applications. To provide continuity across all conversations with a particular recipient, an existing or not-yet-created 1:1 conversation can be populated with 1:Many messages that include the same recipient in the list of addressees. In this way, any 1:1 chat or conversation with a particular recipient will contain all correspondences with that recipient, regardless of whether the message was sent or received in a 1:1 or 1:Many context. As such, the user has access to all information that has been exchanged with that recipient in one messaging screen to avoid the need to traverse multiple messaging screens to obtain the context or information related to the recipient that the user requires.

System and method for managing messages in conversational-type messaging applications

Methods and apparatus for use in providing presentations for the composition of messages having size limitations are described. A communication device receives, via its user interface, one or more character inputs in a message composition field for a new message being composed. While a character count of the message is less than a warning count value, the device refrains from presenting the number of allowed characters remaining for entry in the message. On the other hand, while the character count is greater than or equal to the warning count value, the device causes the number of allowed characters remaining for entry in the message to be presented. The message may be transmitted via a wireless network via a short message service (SMS). In one example, the number of remaining characters is provided in an alert bar, which is presented by being set in motion from an initial hidden position behind the message composition field to a final revealed position, with intermediate positions therebetween.

A method of synchronizing data elements between devices can include receiving at a first device, from only one of multiple peer devices with which the first device is configured to synchronize, a request to synchronize data between the first device and the only one peer device; identifying data elements stored in the first device that have changed since a previous synchronization operation between the first device and the only one peer device; and transmitting, directly and solely to the only one peer device, for each of the identified data elements, a local data identifier and a corresponding change to be applied to a data element in the only one peer device that corresponds to the local data identifier. In some implementations, each local data identifier is transmitted in a format in which it is maintained in the first device.

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Andover, MA, United States of America

Francis Thomas Riddle