FR3068855A1 - METHOD FOR INFORMING THE CONDITIONS FOR UPDATING AN APPLICATION - Google Patents

Abstract

This method of information on the conditions for updating an application stored in a first version by a terminal comprises: a step (E10) for receiving a notification message sent by a remote site, said message comprising: - availability information representative of the fact that a second version of said application, subsequent to the first version, can be downloaded from the remote site; and - information of the size of this second version of the application; a step (E20) for obtaining at least one datum making it possible to determine, from said size, an effective condition for downloading said second version of the application; and a display step (E30) of at least one graphical element representative of this effective downloading condition on an icon of the application.

Description

Invention background

The invention lies in the field of mobile terminals, and more particularly in that of updating software applications that can be used by these terminals.

FIG. 1 represents a terminal 10 of the prior art, this terminal comprising a memory 11 in which a certain number of APP applications have been installed, all associated with an ICO icon, displayed on a man-machine interface 17 of this terminal.

These applications may have been downloaded via a NET telecommunications network from a remote STR site which hosts APPi applications compatible with the terminal's operating system.

10.

When a new version of an APPi application is made available on the remote site STR, it is desirable that the user of the terminal 10 be informed, so that he can possibly make the decision to download the second version of the application on his terminal.

In the current state of the art, the user of the terminal 10 must, to read this information, either go to the remote site STR or perform a certain number of operations to access a list of applications including a setting is available, for example in the system tray or the notification center of the terminal.

The invention relates to a method of notification of the availability of a new version of an application which does not have these drawbacks.

Subject and summary of the invention

More specifically, the invention relates to a method of informing about the conditions for updating an application stored, in a first version, by a terminal, this method being executed by said terminal and comprising:

a step of receiving a notification message sent by a remote site, said message comprising at least:

- availability information representative of the fact that a second version of said application, subsequent to said first version, can be downloaded from said remote site; and

- size information representative of the size of said second version of the application;

- At least one step of obtaining at least one piece of data making it possible to determine, from said size, an effective condition for downloading said second version of the application by said terminal, substantially at the time of said step of obtaining ; and

a step of displaying, on a man-machine interface of the terminal, at least one graphical element representative of said actual download condition on an icon allowing a user to trigger the execution of said first version of the application through said terminal.

Correlatively, the invention relates to a terminal comprising a storage module capable of storing at least one application in a first version, the terminal being characterized in that it comprises:

a communication module configured to receive a notification message sent by a remote site, said message comprising at least:

- availability information representative of the fact that a second version of said application, subsequent to said first version, can be downloaded from said remote site; and

- size information representative of the size of said second version of the application;

a data processing module configured to obtain at least one piece of data making it possible to determine, from said size, an effective condition for downloading said second version of the application by said terminal, substantially at the time of obtaining said at least one piece of data; and

a display module, on a man-machine interface of the terminal, of at least one graphical element representative of said actual download condition on an icon allowing a user to trigger the execution of said first version of the application through said terminal.

Thus, and advantageously, the invention proposes, when a new version of an application is available from a remote site, to display a graphic element on the icon associated with the current version of the installed application in the terminal.

Thus, and advantageously, the user becomes directly aware of the availability of this new version of the application, in other words, without having to access a list of applications for which an update is available, whether at level of a system bar or notification center of the terminal for example.

In addition, and very advantageously, this graphic element represents an effective condition for downloading the new version of the application. This information helps to inform the user as to the advisability of undertaking, delaying or giving up downloading the new version of the application.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the above-mentioned data is a quality parameter of the communication link between the terminal and said remote site. This data is used to estimate the download time for the new version of the application. In this embodiment, an effective download condition within the meaning of the invention is determined as a function of the speed available on the communication link between the terminal and the remote site.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the aforementioned data is a size of the memory of the terminal available for storing said second version of the application. This data is used to estimate whether the terminal has enough memory to store the new version of the application. In this embodiment, an effective download condition within the meaning of the invention is determined as a function of the size of the second version of the application and of the memory of the terminal available for storing this second version.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the above data is information on the state of the terminal battery. This data is used to estimate whether the terminal has enough autonomy to download the new version of the application. In this embodiment, an effective download condition within the meaning of the invention is determined according to the autonomy of the battery and the estimated time to download said second version of the application.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the aforementioned data item is information relating to a history of use of said terminal. This data makes it possible to estimate whether the user package allows the download of the new version of the application, possibly at additional cost. In this embodiment, an effective download condition within the meaning of the invention is determined as a function of a history of use of the terminal and of a communication credit associated with the terminal.

In one embodiment of the invention, a single graphic element is displayed on the icon associated with the application, this graphic element to be displayed being chosen as a function of a priority level associated with the actual download conditions. As a variant, several graphic elements can be displayed on the icon, for example at its different corners.

In a particular embodiment, the different steps of the method for informing about the conditions for updating an application are determined by instructions from computer programs.

Consequently, the invention also relates to a computer program, on an information medium, this program comprising instructions adapted to the implementation of the steps of an information method on the conditions for updating an application according to the invention.

This program can use any programming language, and be in the form of source code, object code, or intermediate code between source code and object code, such as in a partially compiled form, or in any other desirable form.

The invention also relates to an information medium readable by a computer, and comprising instructions of a computer program as mentioned above.

The information medium can be any entity or device capable of storing the program. For example, the support may include a storage means, such as a ROM, for example a CD ROM or a microelectronic circuit ROM, or also a magnetic recording means, for example a hard disk.

On the other hand, the information medium can be a transmissible medium such as an electrical or optical signal, which can be routed via an electrical or optical cable, by radio or by other means. The program according to the invention can in particular be downloaded from a network of the Internet type.

Alternatively, the information medium can be an integrated circuit in which the program is incorporated, the circuit being adapted to execute or to be used in the execution of the process in question.

Brief description of the drawings

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge from the description given below, with reference to the appended drawings which illustrate an embodiment thereof devoid of any limiting character. In the figures:

Figure 1 already described shows a mobile terminal of the prior art;

FIG. 2 represents a terminal 10 according to a particular embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 represents, in the form of a flowchart, the main steps of an information method in accordance with a particular embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 4A to 4F represent examples of implementation of the invention; and FIG. 5 illustrates a priority mechanism in accordance with a particular embodiment of the invention.

Detailed description of an embodiment of the invention

FIG. 2 represents a terminal 10 according to the invention. In the embodiment described here, this terminal has the conventional architecture of a computer.

The terminal 10 comprises in particular a data processing module 12, a ROM type ROM 13, a RAM type RAM 14, communication means 15, a display module 16, a man-machine interface 17 and a battery not shown.

The ROM 13 type ROM constitutes a recording medium according to the invention. It stores a computer program PG according to the invention and able to implement the main steps of an information method according to the invention are shown in FIG. 3.

The terminal 10 also comprises a storage module 11, for example a rewritable non-volatile memory, in which it stores applications, some of which may have been downloaded from a remote site STR via the telecommunications network NET.

The APP applications, ¹ are associated with ICO icons, displayed on the man-machine interface 17, the activation of one of these icons by the user allowing the execution of the associated application by the processing module. data 12.

In accordance with the invention, the communication module 15 is configured to receive notification messages NOT sent by the remote site STR, when a new version of an application stored by the storage module 11 is available from the site STR.

In the example of FIG. 2, it has been considered that a first version of an APP application, ¹ was stored by the storage module 11 of the terminal 10 and that a second APP version ² of this application, subsequent to the first APP version, ¹ could be downloaded from the remote STR site.

Under these conditions, the remote site STR sends to the terminal 10, if the latter has subscribed to the remote site STR to be notified of such an event, a notification message NOT comprising:

- availability information representative of the fact that the second version of the application APP ² , subsequent to the first version can be downloaded from the remote site STR; and

- size information representative of the size SIZ, ² of this second version of the application.

This notification message is received by the communication means 15 of the terminal during a step E10 of the information method according to the invention.

The terminal data processing module 12 is configured to obtain, during a step E20, at least one datum DAT _k allowing the module 12 to determine, from said size SIZ ² of the second version of the APP ² application, at least one effective condition for downloading CETk of this second version of the APP ² application by the terminal 10, substantially at the time of obtaining this dat DAT _k .

Different examples of data DATk and of effective downloading conditions CET _k will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4F.

According to the invention, the display module 16 of the terminal 10 is configured to display, during a step E30, on the man-machine interface 17 of the terminal, a graphic element G _k representative of an effective condition CET _k download of the second version of the APP ² application, on the ICO icon, ¹ associated with the first version of the APP application, ¹ .

FIG. 4A represents a first embodiment of the invention.

In this embodiment, the datum DAT _k obtained in step E20 is information on the state of the battery of the terminal 10. This information can be obtained via an API specific to the operating system of the terminal. For the Android system, the skilled person can refer to the document available at the URL [URL1].

In this embodiment, the data processing module 12 of the terminal 10:

- estimates, from size SIZ, ² of the second version of the APP ² application, the time required to download this second version of the application; and

- if the battery life is sufficient to allow the terminal 10 to download the second version of the APP ² application in its entirety.

If the autonomy of the battery is judged insufficient, the display module 16 displays, on the icon ICO, ¹ , a graphic element G2 indicating to the user an effective download condition "Insufficient autonomy" according to which the battery life is insufficient to download the second version of the APP app, ² in its entirety. This graphic element G2 can be a logo representing a battery, red in color.

FIG. 4B represents a second embodiment of the invention.

In this embodiment, the datum DAT _k obtained in step E20 is information on the size available in the memory 11 of the terminal 10 for storing said second version APP ² of the application. This information can be obtained via an API specific to the terminal's operating system. For the Android system, the skilled person can refer to the document available at the URL [URL2].

In this embodiment, the data processing module 12 of the terminal 10 estimates whether this available space is sufficient in the memory 11, to store the second version of the application APP ² , of size SIZ ² .

If the size of the available memory is judged insufficient, the display module 16 displays, on the icon ICO, ¹ , a graphic element G _x indicating to the user an effective download condition "Insufficient storage" according to which, the There is not enough memory available to download the second version of APP ² in its entirety. This graphic element Gi can be a logo representing a memory card, red in color.

FIG. 4C represents a third embodiment of the invention.

In this embodiment, the data DAT _k obtained in step E20 is information relating to a history of use of the terminal 10. In this embodiment, the data processing module 12 of the terminal 10 estimates, as a function the terminal usage history and a communication credit associated with the terminal, if this communication credit makes it possible to download the second version of the APP ² application, of size SIZ ² , in its entirety, possibly with a overhead.

In the embodiment described here, the display module 16 displays, on the ICO icon, ¹ , a graphical element G ₃ in the form of a counter,

- red in color indicating to the user an effective download condition "Insufficient credit" if the communication credit is insufficient to allow the download of the second version of the APP application, ² in its entirety (for example in the case of a flat rate blocked);

- orange in color indicating to the user an effective download condition "Out of package" if the download of the second version of the APP ² application in its entirety is possible but entails an additional cost for the user.

Figures 4D to 4F show a fourth embodiment of the invention.

In this embodiment, the datum DAT _k obtained in step E20 is a quality parameter of the communication link between the terminal 10 and the remote site STR, more precisely information relating to the bit rate available on this link. This information can be obtained via an API specific to the terminal's operating system. For the Android system, the skilled person can use the APIs "connectivityManager" or "connectivity-monitoring".

In the embodiment described here, the display module 16 displays, on the ICO icon, ¹ :

- a graphic element G4 representative of a speed of green color indicating to the user an effective download condition "Optimal condition" if the estimated speed is greater than a first predetermined threshold, for example 40 Mbit / s;

- a graphic element G5 representative of a red colored bit rate indicating to the user an effective download condition “Degraded bit rate” if the estimated bit rate is less than a second predetermined threshold, for example 400 kbit / s;

- a graphic element G6 representative of an orange-colored speed indicating to the user an actual download condition "Good condition" if the estimated speed is between said first and second predetermined thresholds.

In a particular embodiment described here, only one of the graphic elements Gi to G ₆ is displayed on the icon ICOr ¹ , said graphic element to be displayed being chosen as a function of a priority level associated with the actual download conditions.

FIG. 5 represents an example of implementation of this particular embodiment.

In step E10 already described with reference to FIG. 3, the terminal 10 receives a notification message NOT sent by the remote site STR, said message comprising information of availability of a new version of an application and the size of this new version.

During a step F10, the data processing module 12 checks whether the size of the available memory is sufficient to download the second version of the application in its entirety, otherwise if the actual download condition "Insufficient storage" occurs. present. If this is the case, the display module 16 displays, on the icon associated with the current version of the application, the graphic element Gi. If this is not the case, a step F20 is implemented.

During step F20, the data processing module 12 checks whether the battery life is sufficient to download the new version of the application in its entirety, otherwise if the actual download condition "Insufficient autonomy" occurs. present. If this is the case, the display module 16 displays, on the icon associated with the current version of the application, the graphic element G2. If this is not the case, a step F30 is implemented.

During step F30, the data processing module 12 verifies (i) if the communication credit is insufficient to allow the download of the new version of the application in its entirety (actual download condition "Insufficient credit" ) or (ii) if the download of the second version of the application in its entirety involves an additional cost for the user (actual download condition "Except package"). If either of these conditions occurs, the display module 16 displays, on the icon associated with the current version of the application, the graphic element G3 with a red or orange color. If this is not the case, a step F40 is implemented.

During step F40, the data processing module 12 checks whether the communication speed on the link between the remote site STR and the terminal is less than 400 kbits / s, otherwise if the actual download condition "Degraded speed »» Presents itself. If this is the case, the display module 16 displays, on the icon associated with the current version of the application, the graphic element G4. If this is not the case, a step F50 is implemented.

During step F50, the data processing module 12 checks whether the communication speed on the link between the remote site STR and the terminal is less than 40 Mbits / s, otherwise if the actual download condition "Good conditions Presents itself. If this is the case, the display module 16 displays, on the icon associated with the current version of the application, the graphic element G ₅ . If this is not the case, the effective download conditions are considered to be optimal and the display module 16 displays, on the icon associated with the current version of the application, the graphic element G ₆ .

[URL1]: httDs: //develODer.android.com/training/monitorinq-devicestate/batterv-monitorinq.html#MonitorLevel rURL21: httD: //stackoverflow.com/auestions/8133417/android-get-freesize-of-internal -external-memorv

Claims (10)

1, Method for informing about the conditions for updating a stored application, in a first version (APP, ¹ ), by a terminal (10), this method being executed by said terminal (10) and comprising: a step (E10) of receiving a notification message (NOT) sent by a remote site (STR), said message comprising at least: - availability information representative of the fact that a second version of said application (APP ² ), subsequent to said first version (APP, ¹ ), can be downloaded from said remote site (STR); and - size information representative of the size (SIZ ² ) of said second version of the application (APP ² ); - at least one step (E20) of obtaining at least one datum (DAT _k ) making it possible to determine, from said size (SIZ ² ), an effective download condition (CET _k ) of said second version of l application (APP ² ) by said terminal (10), substantially at the time (E20) of said obtaining step; and a step (E30) of displaying, on a man-machine interface (17) of the terminal, at least one graphic element (G _k ) representative of said effective download condition (CET _k ) on an icon (ICO, ¹ ) allowing a user to trigger the execution of said first version of the application (APP, ¹ ) by said terminal (10). 2. Information method on the conditions for updating an application according to claim 1, in which said at least given (DAT _k ) is chosen from: - a quality parameter of the communication link between said terminal (10) and said remote site (STR); - a size of the terminal memory (10) available to store said second version of the application; - information on the state of the terminal battery (10); - information relating to a history of use of said terminal (10). 3. Information method on the conditions for updating an application according to claim 2, in which an effective download condition is determined as a function of the battery life and of the estimated time to download said second version of the application. 4. Information method on the conditions for updating an application according to claim 2 or 3, in which an effective download condition is determined according to the size of the second version of the application and of the memory. of the terminal (10) available to store this second version. 5. Information method on the conditions for updating an application according to any one of claims 2 to 4, in which an effective download condition is determined according to a history of use of said terminal (10 ) and a communication credit associated with said terminal. 6. Information method on the conditions for updating an application according to any one of claims 2 to 5, in which an actual download condition is determined as a function of the speed available on the communication link between said terminal. (10) and said remote site (STR). 7. Information method on the conditions for updating an application according to any one of claims 1 to 6, in which only one of said graphic elements is displayed on said icon, said graphic element to be displayed being chosen as a function a priority level associated with the actual download conditions. 8. Terminal (10) comprising a storage module (11) capable of storing at least one application in a first version (APPj ¹ ), the terminal being characterized in that it comprises: - a communication module (15) configured to receive a notification message sent by a remote site (STR), said message comprising at least: - availability information representative of the fact that a second version of said application (APPj ² ), subsequent to said first version (APPj ¹ ), can be downloaded from said remote site (STR); and - size information representative of the size (SIZ, ² ) of said second version of the application (APPj ² ); - a data processing module (12) configured to obtain at least one data (DATk) making it possible to determine, from said size (SIZj ² ), an effective download condition (CETk) of said second version of the application (APP, ² ) by said terminal (10), substantially at the time (E20) of obtaining said at least one datum (DATk); and a module (16) for displaying, on a man-machine interface (17) of the terminal, at least one graphic element (G _k ) representative of said actual download condition (CET _k ) on an icon (ICO, ¹ ) allowing a user to trigger the execution of said first version of the application (APPj ¹ ) by said terminal (10). 9. Computer program on an information medium, said program being capable of being implemented by a computer, this program comprising instructions adapted to the implementation of an information method according to any one of claims 1 to 7. 10. Computer-readable recording medium (30) on which a computer program is recorded comprising instructions for the execution of the steps of the information method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.