Systems and methods for saving internet content into a handheld internet appliance

Abstract

Systems and methods for transferring Internet content displayed on a web site in a handheld Internet appliance to a local database in the handheld Internet appliance are provided. The systems and methods of the present invention consist of a software solution that enables users of handheld Internet appliances to automatically transfer information displayed on web sites to local databases associated with handheld Internet appliance applications. A user interface is provided in the web sites for enabling users to automatically transfer the information displayed on the web sites into the handheld Internet appliance.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates generally to systems and methods for saving Internet content into a handheld Internet appliance. More specifically, the present invention provides systems and methods for loading Internet content into a local database associated with a handheld Internet appliance application. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The Internet and the World Wide Web (hereinafter “the web”) have revolutionized the ways in which information is disseminated and shared. At any given time, the Internet enables millions of users worldwide to simultaneously access a wide variety of information and engage in activities as diverse as shopping, playing games, financial trading, among others. [0003] At present, users can access Internet information through various “Internet appliances”, which are electronic devices configured with an Internet access system. Internet appliances include, but are not limited to, microprocessor based devices such as personal and por...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0020] It is another object of the present invention to provide systems and methods for automatically transferring information from a web site into a handheld Internet appliance without requiring a user to synchronize the handheld Internet appliance with a personal computer.

[0022] These and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by providing systems and methods for automatically transferring Internet content into a handheld Internet appliance. The systems and methods consist of a software solution that enables web site content to be “active” when displayed on a handheld Internet appliance. The active content can be automatically loaded into local databases associated with handheld Internet appliance applications, or it can be posted to another web site displayed on the handheld Internet appliance. The web sites are formatted for display on the handheld Internet appliance and include user interfaces to enable users to transfer information from a web site into the handheld Internet appliance applications or into another web site. The information is transferred automatically, without having to wait for users to synchronize the handheld Internet appliance with a personal computer prior to having access to the information.

[0025] Advantageously, the present invention enables users to automatically transfer information from web sites into local handheld Internet appliance databases without requiring users to synchronize the handheld Internet appliance with a personal computer prior to having access to the information.

[0026] In addition, the present invention inserts user interfaces on web sites displayed on a handheld Internet appliance to enable users to automatically transfer information from the web site into the handheld Internet appliance.

Problems solved by technology

However, accessing the Internet using a PDA has several drawbacks.

First, the wireless Internet connection may be unreliable, and the user may have to wait a significant amount of time to receive the requested information.

Second, it can be a very time consuming process, requiring users to work through many options in order to access the desired information.

Lastly, it can be extremely cumbersome for the user to save the desired information into the PDA.

There are currently no mechanisms in place for the user to automatically load Internet content into a handheld Internet appliance and to automatically post Internet content displayed on a web site into another web site.

In short, it can be inordinately difficult and time consuming for the PDA user to transfer information from the Internet into local applications in a handheld Internet appliance.

While this solution enables users to easily transfer information from web sites into their PDAs, it has the drawback of requiring the user to first synchronize the PDA with a personal computer before the information is transferred into the PDA.

In this case, the user does not have access to the personal computer and cannot easily transfer the information into the PDA.

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