T-mobile Usa, Inc.

Robert Buck

Winston Wang

Valerie Lynn Goulart

Patrick Carney

Paulo S T Chow

Georgiana Gormley

Jeff Gough

Barb Brindle

Joseph L Ungari

Anthony J Giardini

Mike Kemery

Ming Ligh

Paulo Chow

A user can initiate the transmission of data on a mobile device by making physical contact with another device. The physical contact can be any type of physical touch that is referred to as a 'tap' or 'tapping.' When a tap is detected by a device, the device may initiate near field communication (NFC) with the other tapping device. NFC may be used to communicate data between the two devices, or NFC may be used to exchange sufficient information to allow the devices to establish a communication channel via another communication link. In some embodiments, an NFC-enabled mobile device can be used to gather group data relating to users having mobile devices that are within NFC range of one another and which initiate the aggregation of group data by the tapping of three or more devices.

Data exchange initiated by tapping devices

A system and method for presenting an interface to a user of a mobile device, the interface allowing a user to identify and select data that is to be transmitted to another mobile device. In some embodiments, the interface generated by the system allows the user to select data for transmission based on relationship associations. The relationship associations, for example, may include pre-defined groupings of data that are tailored to a specific relationship between the user and another person. Accordingly, the user may employ the interface to quickly locate data that would be appropriate to transmit given the particular relationship between the user and the person to receive the data. In some embodiments, the interface generated by the system allows the user to select data for transmission based on context associations. Individual context associations may contain a smaller subset of data corresponding to a specific relationship association.

Relationship-based and context-based user interfaces for exchanging data

A charging station for mobile devices that acts as an intermediary device to facilitate communication between mobile devices and other proximate devices. The charging station may receive data with a mobile device via a first communication protocol (e.g., Bluetooth) or in a first data format and may transmit the received data to a proximate device via a second communication protocol (e.g., WiFi) or in a second data format. The charging station may then receive responsive data from the proximate device via the second communication protocol (e.g., WiFi) or second data format and transmit the responsive data the mobile device via the first communication protocol (e.g., Bluetooth) or first data format. In some embodiments, the charging station may communicate status data about a mobile device to other proximate devices.

Charging station that operates as an intermediary device between mobile devices and other devices

A charging station for mobile devices that allows a user to access mobile device services while a mobile device is contacting a charging pad or is otherwise being charged at the charging station. The charging station includes a charging pad where a mobile device is placed to initiate automatic charging without having to connect the mobile device to a charging cable. The charging station also includes a display and communication components for wirelessly linking the charging station with the mobile device. When the mobile device is within proximity of the charging station, the charging station establishes a connection with the mobile device to allow the services offered by the mobile device to be accessed via the charging station. The display on the charging station may be larger than the display of the mobile device or may be configured with different dimensions than the display on the mobile device.

Charging station for mobile devices that allows access to device services

Techniques for switching between communication modes on a telecommunications device are described. A telecommunications device creates a logical communication session between itself and another device. The logical communication session accommodates multiple communication modes and multiple communication protocols. The techniques described in this disclosure provide for ways to transition a communication from one communication mode to another communication mode with minimal user input and minimal connection delay.

Growing community of inventors

Bellevue, WA, United States of America

Robert Buck