Dynamic Contact List Population via Network Query
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wireless communication devices (WCDs) often fail to display name data for incoming communications from unknown or uncontacted parties, leading to missed or ignored communications due to the absence of associated name data in the contacts list.
Innovation Solution
A method where the WCD dynamically populates its contacts list by querying a network server for name data associated with a received communication's user identifier, updating the list with additional communication-application user identifiers, and displaying the name data upon receipt of subsequent communications from the same or related identifiers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the WCD checks its contacts list for name data associated with the source identifier, then the device can identify the initiating party, but the WCD cannot display name data when the identifier is not in the contacts list
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by querying the network server for name data associated with the source identifier before displaying the incoming communication. This allows the WCD to proactively obtain and cache contact information, ensuring that name data is available even for identifiers not previously stored in the local contacts list.
Solution Approach 2:
The network server acts as an intermediary between the WCD and the contact information database. When the WCD receives an incoming communication from an unknown identifier, it queries the network server which retrieves and provides the associated name data, enabling the device to identify the initiating party without the identifier being pre-stored locally.
2Loss of information
If the WCD stores only locally available contact information, then the device maintains data privacy and reduces network dependency, but the contacts list becomes incomplete and users miss communications from unknown parties
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial action by querying the network server only when necessary - specifically when an incoming communication's source identifier is not found in the local contacts list. This selective querying approach obtains the necessary contact information to prevent missed communications while minimizing unnecessary network transactions and energy consumption.
3Loss of information
If the WCD queries the network server for every unknown identifier, then the device can obtain complete contact information, but the device complexity and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The name lookup process is segmented into two distinct stages: first, the WCD checks its local contacts list for the source identifier, and only if not found, second, does it query the network server. This segmentation allows the device to handle the majority of lookups locally with simple logic, reserving the more complex network query operation for only those cases where local data is insufficient.
Data Source
AI summary
A wireless communication device (WCD) may receive a communication from an initiating party. The communication may be associated with a communication application, and may include a communication-application identifier that identifies the initiating party. The WCD may check whether a contacts list for the WCD contains user name data associated in the contacts list with the communication-application identifier. Upon determining that the contacts list does not contain such user name data, the WCD may querying a network server (NS) to request user name data associated with the communication-application identifier, receive from the NS a reply containing particular name data associated with the communication-application identifier along with additional communication-application user identifiers, each of which is also associated with the particular name data. The WCD may update the contacts list such that the particular name data is associated with the communication-application identifier along with the received additional communication-application identifiers.