Science & Technology
Science and Technology
Science and Technology
Tue, January 27, 2009
TeleCommunication Systems, Inc.: TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. Issued U.S. Patent for Deploying Content to Wireless Devices
ANNAPOLIS, MD--(Marketwire - January 27, 2009) - TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS) (
The Nielsen Company recently released a survey of U.S. mobile phone users that reported 17 percent, or 43 million subscribers, access the Internet. While users may access internet content through the web browser of their wireless device, most internet sites are currently configured to only display information on a standard computer screen -- not on the small screens of most mobile phones and wireless devices. Also, wireless devices that access the internet use different mobile browsers and protocols, and have different capabilities of displaying content. Thus, content and application providers are faced with the challenge of consistent delivery of content across a wide range of wireless devices. The TCS invention allows internet content to be displayed in a variety of formats, as determined by the device's web browser and type of display, and by the use of an intermediate gateway. The gateway provides functions to format the data from the wireless device and the content provider in order to eliminate either entity having to tailor their communications for each other. The formatting is supplemented with session management capabilities to facilitate communications between the device and the content provider.
Examples of the invention include:
-- A wireless user sends a request using a web browser for the stock price of Company ABC. TCS' invention receives that request and identifies the device type and web browser of that user. TCS' invention looks at data available from different content providers that have ABC's stock price in the format that fits the device type and browser, selects that content, and sends the formatted data back to the wireless device. -- A wireless user enters a particular URL address on their wireless device. TCS' invention receives that request and identifies the particular device and web browser of the user. TCS' invention applies appropriate style sheets to the web site's content based on the device and browser type, and sends the formatted data back to the device. For example, graphics may be stripped from the original web site and replaced with descriptive meta tags prior to sending it back to a wireless device that cannot accept or render graphics well. -- A content provider pushes data or an alert to a wireless user by sending the relevant data and the user's unique identifier to TCS' invention. TCS' invention associates the user with a particular device type and formats the data to the user's particular device. The transformed data is then sent to the wireless device.
"The increasing demand from today's mobile society to instantly access web sites and content presents the challenge of delivering legible content on the mobile device's smaller viewing screen," said Drew Morin, senior vice president and chief technical officer of TCS. "TCS' invention assists the content provider in accepting requests from a wireless device, and then translating the response for that particular wireless device. By knowing the type of Web browser on the specific phone, the provider can optimize the mobile web experience for that user."
TCS now holds 68 patents with 212 applications pending.
About the patent
The "Method and System for Deploying Content to Wireless Devices" patent describes a system and method for deploying content to wireless devices. A translator receives data sent from devices and translates the data into a standardized format. Requested content is sent back to the device in a standardized format for a particular device. A session manager keeps track of the type of device originating a request, a hypertext history and the content provider. The standardized format can be an XML page and can be based on XSL style sheets.
About TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS)
TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS) (
Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements as defined within Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and are based upon TCS' current expectations and assumptions that if incorrect would cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Risks include without limitation those detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including the report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2008.
Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances, or otherwise.
