JP7478717B2 - Terminal device, communication method, and communication program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a terminal device, a communication method, and a communication program.

Many new applications are registered in the application market every day. Users can access the application market, search for applications from the wide range of applications, and select the application they want.

JP 2012-181778 A

When users traveled abroad, they had to connect to an application market, search for multiple applications for that country from among the many available, and download them to their own terminal device. At that time, users had to select from the applications they found those with the same functions as the applications they had used in Japan, which involved a cumbersome process before the applications could be downloaded.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide a terminal device, a communication method, and a communication program that enable a user to easily use an application appropriate for the country to which the user is traveling when traveling abroad, on the terminal device.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the communication device of the present invention is a terminal device capable of communicating with other devices, and is characterized by having a detection unit that detects the position of the terminal device, a registration unit that registers a schedule including the destination, purpose of the movement, and movement date and time of the user of the terminal device, a determination unit that determines whether the user will move abroad based on at least one of the position and schedule of the terminal device, a download unit that downloads from a distribution server, when the determination unit determines that the user will move abroad, applications that have the same functions as the applications in the user's home country that the user has downloaded to the terminal device from among applications that can be used in the country to which the user is moving, and a switching unit that switches the home screen of the terminal device to a home screen on which icons of the downloaded applications are arranged.

The communication device according to the present invention is a terminal device capable of communicating with other devices, and is characterized by having a detection unit that detects the position of the terminal device, a registration unit that registers a schedule including the destination, purpose of the travel, and travel date and time of the user of the terminal device, a determination unit that determines whether the user will travel abroad based on at least one of the position and schedule of the terminal device, a download unit that downloads from a distribution server, when the determination unit determines that the user will travel abroad, an application that can be used in the country the user will travel to and corresponds to the purpose of the travel based on the position and schedule of the terminal device, and a switching unit that switches the home screen of the terminal device to a home screen on which icons of the downloaded applications are arranged.

According to the present invention, when a user travels abroad, the user can easily use an application that corresponds to the country to which the user travels on the terminal device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a communication system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the terminal device shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the terminal device. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the terminal device. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a processing procedure of the communication processing according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the terminal device. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the terminal device. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the terminal device. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the terminal device. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a terminal device according to the second modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a data configuration of the Singapore set shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the Singapore travel set shown in FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the Singapore business set shown in FIG. FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram illustrating a processing procedure of a communication process according to the second modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a terminal device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 16 is a sequence diagram showing a processing procedure of the communication processing according to the second embodiment. FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a terminal device according to Variation 2 of Embodiment 2. In FIG. FIG. 18 is a sequence diagram illustrating a processing procedure of a communication process according to the second modification of the second embodiment. FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a computer that executes a program.

Below, embodiments of the terminal device, communication method, and communication program according to the present application will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the terminal device, communication method, and communication program according to the present application are not limited to these embodiments.

[Embodiment]
In the following embodiments, the process flow of a terminal device, a communication method, and a communication program according to the embodiments will be described in order, and finally, the effects of the embodiments will be described.

[First embodiment]
First, a description will be given of embodiment 1. In embodiment 1, switching of a home screen according to a destination of a terminal device such as a smartphone will be described.

In the first embodiment, when a user travels to a country other than the user's own country (hereinafter referred to as "overseas") based on at least one of the location of the terminal device and the schedule registered in the terminal device, the home screen of the terminal device is switched to a home screen on which icons of applications that have the same functions as the applications in the user's own country that the user has downloaded to the terminal device are arranged, among the applications that can be used in the country the user is traveling to. In the first embodiment, when traveling overseas, the user does not need to perform the cumbersome process of searching for applications that can be used in that country, selecting and downloading the applications found. Therefore, according to the first embodiment, the user can easily use applications that correspond to the country to which the user is traveling on the terminal device 10.

[Configuration of communication system]
A configuration of a communication system according to the first embodiment will be described below. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a communication system according to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 1 according to the first embodiment includes a terminal device 10 used by a user, an application server 20 that searches for applications in response to a search request from the terminal device 10, and a distribution server 30 in which applications are stored.

The terminal device 10 is, for example, a smartphone, tablet, mobile phone, or other terminal device. The terminal device 10 can receive a presentation of an application by accessing an application server that searches for applications and requesting a search for the application. The terminal device 10 downloads the application by connecting to the distribution server 30 in response to the presentation of the application.

When the terminal device 10 determines that the user will travel abroad based on at least one of the location of the terminal device 10 and the schedule registered in the terminal device 10, it searches for applications that can be used in the country to which the user is traveling, and that have the same functions as the applications for the user's home country that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 10, and downloads them from the distribution server 30. The terminal device 10 switches the home screen of the terminal device 10 to a home screen on which icons of the downloaded applications are arranged.

[Terminal Device]
Next, a description will be given of the configuration of the terminal device 10. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the terminal device 10 shown in Fig. 1.

The communication unit 11 communicates wirelessly with other devices. The communication unit 11 is a communication interface that transmits and receives various information with other devices connected via a network or the like.

The input/output unit 12 accepts information input by user operation and displays and outputs the information to present it to the user. The input/output unit 12 is, for example, an input/output device such as a display, a speaker, a microphone, or a touch panel.

The storage unit 13 is a storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or an optical disk. The storage unit 13 may be a semiconductor memory capable of rewriting data, such as a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, or a non-volatile static random access memory (NVSRAM). The storage unit 13 has schedule data 131 in which the user's schedule, including the destination, purpose of travel, travel date and time, means of travel, accompanying persons, etc., is registered, and recommendation rules 132 which are recommendation rules for recommending candidate applications for download.

The recommendation rule 132 is set so that, when there are multiple applications that can be used in the destination country and have the same functions as an application for the user's home country that the user has already downloaded to the terminal device 10, among these applications, an application that has a similar usability to the application for the user's home country that the user has already downloaded to the terminal device 10 is recommended in preference to other applications.

For example, if the usage procedure of an application in the user's own country that has already been downloaded to the terminal device 10 by the user includes a predetermined number of the same usage procedures, the usage is determined to be similar. Alternatively, the layout of items on the display screen and input screen of the application in the user's own country that has already been downloaded to the terminal device 10 by the user is compared with the layout of items on the display screen and input screen of a recommendation candidate application using a predetermined similarity, and if the similarity is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the usage is determined to be similar.

In addition, the recommendation rule 132 may be set to recommend applications in order of the number of downloads by other users or the highest ratings, for example, when multiple applications are found that can be used in the destination country.

The control unit 14 controls the entire terminal device 10. The control unit 14 is, for example, an electronic circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). The control unit 14 also has an internal memory for storing programs that define various processing procedures and control data, and executes each process using the internal memory. The control unit 14 also functions as various processing units by running various programs.

The control unit 14 has a position detection unit 141 (detection unit), a registration unit 142, a recommendation unit 143 (determination unit, recommendation unit), a download unit 144, and a home screen switching unit 145 (switching unit).

The position detection unit 141 detects the position of the terminal device 10. The position detection unit 141 can acquire the position information of the terminal device 10, for example, by using a Global Positioning System (GPS) or the like. The position detection unit 141 acquires the position of the terminal device 10, for example, periodically or a predetermined time before a time registered in the schedule data.

The registration unit 142 registers the input user's schedule in the schedule data 131 according to the user's schedule registration operation in the schedule application.

The recommendation unit 143 determines whether the user will travel abroad based on at least one of the location of the terminal device 10 and the user's schedule. For example, if the terminal device 10 is located in another country, the recommendation unit 143 determines that the user has traveled abroad. Alternatively, the recommendation unit 143 refers to the schedule data 131 and, if the user has a schedule for traveling to another country, determines that the user will travel abroad on the date and time registered as that schedule. Furthermore, if the terminal device 10 is located at an international airport in the user's country and has a schedule for traveling to another country, the recommendation unit 143 determines that the user will travel abroad.

When the recommendation unit 143 determines that the user will travel abroad, it searches for applications that have the same functions as the applications for the user's home country that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 10, from among applications that can be used in the country to which the user is traveling. Then, the recommendation unit 143 displays recommendation information recommending the searched applications on the screen of the terminal device 10.

At this time, the recommendation unit 143 recommends applications by referring to the recommendation rules 132. For example, when the recommendation unit 143 searches for multiple applications with the same functions as the home country application downloaded to the terminal device 10 by the user, the recommendation unit 143 recommends an application that has a similar usability to the home country application downloaded to the terminal device 10 by the user in preference to other applications.

In addition, when the recommendation unit 143 searches for multiple applications with the same functions as the application for the user's own country that has been downloaded to the terminal device 10, the recommendation unit 143 may recommend the application that has been downloaded the most by other users or the application that has been most highly rated in preference to other applications, or may recommend them in a ranking format. In addition, the recommendation unit 143 may display the recommendation information so that the word-of-mouth and evaluation results of each application can also be viewed.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the terminal device 10. For example, a case where the user moves from his/her home country, Japan, to Singapore will be described. In this case, the recommendation unit 143 displays, as a list of recommended Singapore apps, applications that the user can use in Singapore and have the same functions as the Japanese applications that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 10.

For example, as shown in screen M1 of FIG. 3, the recommendation unit 143 recommends to a user traveling to Singapore applications related to taxis, train transfer information, maps, weather forecasts, shop searches, bus information, and railway-related electronic money that can be used in Singapore. These applications are recommended in order of the frequency of use of the corresponding applications in Japan, for example.

In addition, on screen M1, when multiple applications with the same functions as the Japanese application are searched for, the application that is most similar in usability to the application for the user's home country that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 10 is recommended. The user can easily select the application corresponding to Singapore by simply selecting the desired application from the applications displayed on the terminal device 10 and pressing the download button.

When the recommendation unit 143 determines that the user will travel abroad, the download unit 144 downloads from the distribution server 30 applications that can be used in the country to which the user is traveling and have the same functions as the applications in the user's home country that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 10. The download unit 144 downloads the application selected by the user from the applications displayed on the screen of the terminal device 10 by the recommendation unit 143.

The home screen switching unit 145 switches the home screen of the terminal device 10 to a home screen on which icons of the applications downloaded by the download unit 144 are arranged.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the terminal device 10. For example, when a user traveling to Singapore selects all applications in the list of recommended apps for Singapore shown in Fig. 3, the home screen switching unit 145 switches to a home screen in which icons of applications for taxi, train transfer information, maps, weather forecast, shop search, bus information, and railway-related electronic money are arranged within a frame W2, as shown in screen M2 in Fig. 4.

The timing for switching the home screen of the terminal device 10 can be set appropriately, for example, immediately after downloading an application that can be used in the destination country, when the location detection unit 141 detects arrival at an international airport in the destination country, or when the date and time of a business trip abroad is registered in the schedule data 131.

[Communication Processing Procedure]
Next, a description will be given of a procedure of communication processing in the communication system 100. Fig. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a procedure of communication processing according to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 5, the terminal device 10 performs a process of detecting the location of the terminal device 10 (step S1) and a process of referring to the schedule data 131 (step S2), and determines whether the user will travel abroad based on at least one of the location of the terminal device 10 and the user's schedule (step S3). If it is determined that the user will not travel abroad (step S3: No), the terminal device 10 returns to the process of step S1.

If it is determined that the user will travel abroad (step S3: Yes), the terminal device 10 accesses the application server 20 and requests a search for applications that have the same functions as the applications in the user's home country that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 10, from among applications that can be used in the country to which the user is traveling (step S4). At this time, the terminal device 10 may search for a combination of applications using a combination of the home country and the destination country as a key. The application server 20 searches for applications in response to the search request, and transmits information about the searched applications to the terminal device 10 as a search result (step S5).

Based on the search results, the terminal device 10 displays recommendation information on the screen of the terminal device 10 that recommends applications that have the same functions as the applications in the user's home country that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 10, from among the applications that can be used in the country in which the user is traveling (step S6).

Then, the terminal device 10 determines whether or not the user has selected an application and input an instruction to download it (step S7). If the user has not selected an application and input an instruction to download it (step S7: No), the terminal device 10 returns to the process of step S6.

If the user selects an application and inputs an instruction to download it (step S7: Yes), the terminal device 10 accesses the distribution server 30 and downloads the application selected by the user (step S8).

Then, the terminal device 10 switches the home screen of the terminal device 10 to a home screen on which the icons of the applications downloaded by the download unit 144 are arranged (step S9).

[Effects of the First Embodiment]
In this way, when a user travels abroad, the terminal device 10 of embodiment 1 downloads applications corresponding to the country to which the user is traveling that have the same functions as the applications for the user's home country that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 10, in accordance with the user's application selection and download instructions, based on at least one of the location of the terminal device 10 and the schedule registered in the terminal device, and switches to a home screen on which icons of the downloaded applications are arranged.

Therefore, in embodiment 1, when traveling abroad, the user does not need to go through the cumbersome process of searching for applications that can be used in the country to which the user is traveling, and selecting and downloading from the searched applications an application that has the same functions as the application used in the country. The user only needs to select the application and give an instruction to download it, and can use the application that can be used in the country to which the user is traveling as is by simply tapping the icon on the home screen that has been switched to match the country to which the user is traveling. Therefore, according to embodiment 1, the user can easily use applications that correspond to the country to which the user is traveling.

Furthermore, when the user travels abroad, the terminal device 10 recommends applications that can be used in the country to which the user travels and have the same functions as the applications in the user's home country that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 10 by displaying a selectable list. This allows the user to freely select a desired application from among the applications recommended by the terminal device 10. Furthermore, the user can efficiently determine which of the recommended applications to select by checking the recommended application information displayed in the list on the terminal device 10.

In addition, when the terminal device 10 searches for multiple applications with the same functions as the application for the user's home country that the user has already downloaded to the terminal device 10, the terminal device 10 recommends, among these applications, an application that has a similar feel to the application for the user's home country that the user has already downloaded to the terminal device 10, in preference to other applications. This allows the user to easily select an application that has the same functions and a similar feel to the application that the user actually uses in the home country, and allows the user to smoothly use the application in the country to which the user has traveled.

[First Modification of First Embodiment]
When the user travels abroad, the terminal device 10 may switch to a home screen on which icons of applications that can be used in the country to which the user travels and that correspond to the purpose of the travel are arranged.

In this case, when the recommendation unit 143 determines that the user will travel abroad, it determines the purpose of the travel based on the location and schedule of the terminal device 10. The recommendation unit 143 accesses the application server 20 and searches for applications that can be used in the country to which the user will travel and that correspond to the purpose of the travel. Then, the recommendation unit 143 displays recommendation information recommending the searched applications on the screen of the terminal device 10.

The recommendation unit 143 recommends applications by referring to the recommendation rules 132. For example, the recommendation unit 143 may recommend the application that has been downloaded the most by other users moving from their own country to the country or the application that has the highest rating in preference to other applications, or may recommend them in a ranking format. The recommendation unit 143 may also display recommendation information so that word-of-mouth and evaluation results for each application can also be viewed.

Furthermore, if there is an application with the same function as the home country application downloaded to the terminal device 10 by the user among the searched applications, the recommendation unit 143 may recommend the application with priority over other applications. And, if the recommendation unit 143 searches for multiple applications with the same function as the home country application downloaded to the terminal device 10 by the user, the recommendation unit 143 may recommend the application with the most similar usability to the home country application with priority.

Figures 6 and 7 are diagrams showing examples of the screens of the terminal device 10. For example, a case will be described in which a user travels to Singapore for the purpose of traveling. In this case, the recommendation unit 143 displays, from among the searched applications, applications that can be used in Singapore in order of the number of downloads by travelers to Singapore or the highest ratings, as a list of recommended apps for traveling to Singapore.

For example, as shown in screen M3 in FIG. 6, the recommendation unit 143 recommends applications related to tourist information, maps, shop searches, bus information, and weather forecasts to a user who is traveling. The user can easily select an application corresponding to a trip to Singapore by simply selecting a desired app displayed on the terminal device 10 and pressing a download button.

In addition, for example, a case will be described where a user travels to Singapore for business purposes. In this case, the recommendation unit 143 displays, from among the searched applications, applications that can be used in Singapore in order of the number of downloads by business travelers to Singapore or the highest ratings, as a list of recommended apps for Singapore business.

For example, as shown in screen M4 in FIG. 7, the recommendation unit 143 recommends applications related to taxi dispatch, train transfer information, maps, airport information, and weather forecasts to a user traveling for business purposes. The user can easily select an application corresponding to business in Singapore by simply selecting the desired app displayed on the terminal device 10 and pressing a download button. The recommendation unit 143 may further use user attributes, such as trading company employees, to display applications that can be used in Singapore in order of the number of downloads by trading company employees on business trips to Singapore or in order of highest ratings.

When the recommendation unit 143 determines that the user will travel abroad, the download unit 144 downloads from the distribution server 30 an application that can be used in the country to which the user will travel and that corresponds to the purpose of the travel. The download unit 144 downloads an application selected by the user from among the applications displayed on the screen of the terminal device 10 by the recommendation unit 143.

The home screen switching unit 145 switches the home screen of the terminal device 10 to a home screen on which icons of the applications downloaded by the download unit 144 are arranged.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are diagrams showing examples of screens of the terminal device 10. For example, when a user intending to travel selects all applications in the list of recommended apps for traveling to Singapore shown in FIG. 6, the home screen switching unit 145 switches to a home screen in which application icons for tourist information, maps, shop search, bus information, and weather forecast are arranged within a frame W5, as shown in screen M5 in FIG. 8.

For example, when a user for business purposes selects all applications in the list of recommended apps for business in Singapore shown in FIG. 7, the home screen switching unit 145 switches to a home screen in which application icons for taxi dispatch, train transfer information, maps, airport information, and weather forecast are arranged within a frame W6, as shown in screen M6 in FIG. 9.

[Effects of Modification 1 of Embodiment 1]
In this way, the terminal device 10 switches to a home screen that displays icons of applications that can be used in the country the user is traveling to and that correspond to the purpose of the travel, allowing the user to use the application that matches his or her purpose without having to go through complicated processing, and to use the application for useful activities in the country to which the user is traveling.

When the user travels abroad, the terminal device 10 recommends applications that can be used in the country to which the user travels and that correspond to the purpose of the travel by displaying a selectable list. This allows the user to freely select a desired application from among the applications recommended by the terminal device 10. Furthermore, the user can efficiently determine which of the recommended applications to select by checking the application recommendation information displayed in a ranking format on the terminal device 10.

The terminal device 10 may search for and recommend applications that have the same functions as the user's home country application downloaded to the terminal device 10 by the user and that correspond to the purpose of the travel, among applications that can be used in the country to which the user is traveling. When the terminal device 10 searches for multiple applications with the same functions as the home country application downloaded to the terminal device 10 by the user, the terminal device 10 recommends and downloads the application that has a similar feel to the home country application downloaded to the terminal device 10 by the user in preference to other applications, thereby supporting the smooth use of applications by the user abroad.

[Modification 2 of the First Embodiment]
Next, a second modification of the first embodiment will be described. In the second modification of the first embodiment, an application combination of identification information of a home country application downloaded to a terminal device by a user and identification information of an application of a foreign country having the same function as the application of the home country of the user is set in advance for each country or for each combination of a country and a purpose of travel. Then, when it is determined that the user will travel outside the country, the terminal device refers to an application combination corresponding to the country to which the user will travel or the country to which the user will travel and the purpose of travel, and recommends an application of a foreign country included in the referred application combination.

A mobile device according to Variation 2 of Embodiment 1 will be described. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a terminal device according to Variation 2 of Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. 10, terminal device 10A according to Variation 2 of Embodiment 1 has a control unit 14A having a recommendation unit 143A (recommendation unit) instead of the control unit 14 shown in FIG. 2.

Then, the storage unit 13 of the terminal device 10A stores application combination data 2133. The application combination data 2133 stores multiple application combinations of identification information of a home country application that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 10A and identification information of a foreign country application that has the same function as the user's home country application. The application combinations are preset for each country or for each combination of country and purpose.

The application combination data 2133 includes, for example, a Singapore set 2133a, a Singapore travel set 2133b, and a Singapore business set 2133c.

Figure 11 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the Singapore set 2133a shown in Figure 10. The Singapore set 2133a is data that associates identification information of applications in the user's own country (e.g., Japan) that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 10A with identification information of Singapore applications that have the same functions as the Japanese applications that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 10A. Specifically, the Singapore set 2133a is data that associates identification information of taxi, train transfer information, maps, weather forecasts, shop searches, bus information, and railway-related electronic money applications in Japan and Singapore, and is arranged in order of frequency of use.

Figure 12 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the Singapore travel set 2133b shown in Figure 10. The Singapore travel set 2133b shows the identification information of applications that are recommended when the user travels to Singapore for the purpose of traveling.

The Singapore travel set 2133b is data that associates identification information of travel-related applications that have the same functions as applications from the user's home country that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 10, among applications that can be used in Singapore, with identification information of Japanese applications that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 10A. Whether an application is travel-related or not is determined by the number of downloads and ratings by travelers from Japan to Singapore. The Singapore travel set 2133b is arranged, for example, in order of the number of downloads by travelers from Japan to Singapore or the highest ratings.

As shown in FIG. 12, for example, the Singapore travel set 2133b associates identification information of applications related to tourist information, maps, shop search, transfer information, and weather forecasts in Japan and Singapore.

Figure 13 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the Singapore business set 2133c shown in Figure 10. The Singapore business set 2133c shows the identification information of applications that are recommended when a user travels to Singapore for a business trip.

The Singapore business set 2133c is data that associates identification information of business-related applications that have the same functions as applications from the user's home country that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 10, among applications that can be used in Singapore, with identification information of Japanese applications that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 10A. Whether an application is business-related or not is determined based on the number of downloads and ratings by business travelers from Japan to Singapore. The Singapore business set 2133c is arranged, for example, in order of the number of downloads by business travelers from Japan to Singapore or the highest ratings.

As shown in FIG. 13, for example, the Singapore business set 2133c associates application identification information related to taxi dispatch, train transfer information, maps, airport information, and weather forecast applications in Japan and Singapore. The Singapore business set 2133c may be further configured as a set in which the application association is further subdivided according to the content of the business trip and the user's attributes (e.g., working for a trading company).

The storage unit 13 stores, not only for Singapore but also for other countries, application combinations of identification information of a home country application downloaded by the user to the terminal device 10 and identification information of a foreign country application having the same function as the user's home country application, for each country or for each combination of country and purpose.

Here, in any country, or any combination of country and purpose, if there are multiple foreign applications with the same functions as the user's home country application downloaded to the terminal device 10A by the user, an application that has a similar feel to the user's home country application is set as an application combination that corresponds to the user's home country application. Alternatively, in any country, or any combination of country and purpose, if there are multiple foreign applications with the same functions as the user's home country application downloaded to the user's terminal device 10A, an application combination is set in which the application that has been downloaded the most by other users and has the highest rating is set as the user's home country application.

The application combination data 2133 may be stored in the terminal device 10A or may be held by the application server 20. In this case, the terminal device 10A may access the application server 20 and refer to the application combination data 2133.

When the recommendation unit 143A determines that the user will travel abroad, it references from the memory unit 13 the country to which the user is traveling, or the application combination corresponding to the purpose of the travel in the country to which the user is traveling, and displays recommendation information recommending applications for other countries included in the referenced application combination on the screen of the terminal device 10A. For example, when the user is traveling to Singapore and the purpose is unknown, the recommendation unit 143A references the Singapore set 2133a. Furthermore, when the user is traveling to Singapore for travel, the recommendation unit 143A references the Singapore travel set 2133b.

The download unit 144 downloads an application selected by the user from among the applications recommended in the recommendation information on the screen of the terminal device 10A. The home screen switching unit 145 switches the home screen of the terminal device 10A to a home screen on which icons of the applications downloaded by the download unit 144 are arranged.

Figure 14 is a sequence diagram showing the processing procedure of communication processing related to Variation 2 of Embodiment 1. Steps S11 to S13 shown in Figure 14 are the same processing as steps S1 to S3 shown in Figure 5. If it is determined that the user will move abroad (step S13: Yes), terminal device 10A determines the country to which the user is moving, or the country to which the user is moving, and the purpose based on the location and schedule of terminal device 10A, and refers to an application combination that corresponds to the country to which the user is moving, or the country to which the user is moving and the purpose of the move (step S14).

The terminal device 10A displays recommendation information that recommends applications from other countries that are included in the referenced application combination on the screen of the terminal device 10A (step S15). Steps S16 to S18 shown in FIG. 14 are the same processes as steps S7 to S9 shown in FIG. 5.

In this way, the terminal device 10A can omit the application search process in embodiment 1 by setting application combinations in advance for each country or for each country and purpose.

The application combination does not necessarily have to be a combination with the identification information of the home country application downloaded to the terminal device by the user. For example, the application combination may be a combination of the identification information of the user's home country application and the identification information of an application in another country having the same function as the user's home country application, which is preset for each combination of country and purpose of travel. Among the application combinations, for an application with the same function as the home country application actually downloaded by the user to the terminal device 10, an application that has the most similar usability to the home country application actually downloaded to the terminal device 10 by the user is set.

For example, a Singapore travel set is data that associates identification information of Singapore applications up to a certain rank, in order of the number of downloads by travelers from Japan to Singapore or the highest rating, with identification information of Japanese applications that have the same function. Also, a Singapore business set is data that associates identification information of Singapore applications up to a certain rank, in order of the number of downloads by travelers from Japan to Singapore or the highest rating, with identification information of Japanese applications that have the same function.

In this case, when the recommendation unit 143A determines that the user will travel abroad, it references an application combination that corresponds to the country to which the user will travel and the purpose of the travel, based on the location and schedule of the terminal device 10A. For example, if the user travels to Singapore for the purpose of traveling, it references the Singapore travel set from among the application combinations. Then, the recommendation unit 143A displays recommendation information that recommends applications for other countries included in the referenced application combination on the screen of the terminal device.

The download unit 144 downloads an application selected by the user from among the applications displayed on the screen of the terminal device 10 by the recommendation unit 143. The home screen switching unit 145 switches the home screen of the terminal device 10 to a home screen on which icons of the applications downloaded by the download unit 144 are arranged.

[Embodiment 2]
Next, a description will be given of a second embodiment. In the second embodiment, a case will be described in which applications that are available in the country to which the user travels are automatically downloaded, and the home screen is switched to one on which icons of the downloaded applications are arranged.

[Terminal Device]
Fig. 15 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a terminal device according to embodiment 2. As shown in Fig. 15, a terminal device 210 according to embodiment 2 has a control unit 214 having a selection unit 2143 (determination unit, selection unit) instead of the control unit 14 shown in Fig. 2.

Then, the storage unit 13 of the terminal device 10A stores the application selection rule 2132. The application selection rule 2132 is set to select, among the searched applications, an application that has the same function as an application for the user's home country that has already been downloaded to the terminal device 210 by the user, from among these applications, the application that has the most similar usability to the application for the user's home country that has already been downloaded to the terminal device 210 by the user.

In addition, the application selection rule 2132 may be set to select the application that has been downloaded the most by other users or the application with the highest rating when multiple applications are found that can be used in the destination country.

When the selection unit 2143 determines that the user will travel abroad, it searches for applications that can be used in the country to which the user will travel, and have the same functions as the application for the user's home country that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 210. The selection unit 2143 then selects an application to be downloaded from the searched applications in accordance with the application selection rule 2132. For example, when there are multiple applications among the searched applications that have the same functions as the application for the user's home country that the user has already downloaded to the terminal device 210, the selection unit 2143 selects from these applications the application that has the most similar usability to the application for the user's home country that the user has already downloaded to the terminal device 210.

The download unit 144 downloads the application selected by the selection unit 2143. The home screen switching unit 145 switches the home screen of the terminal device 210 to a home screen on which the icon of the application downloaded by the download unit 144 is arranged.

[Communication Processing Procedure]
Fig. 16 is a sequence diagram showing a processing procedure of communication processing according to embodiment 2. Steps S201 to S205 shown in Fig. 16 are the same processes as steps S1 to S5 shown in Fig. 5.

The terminal device 210 selects an application to be downloaded from the searched applications in accordance with the application selection rule 2132 (step S206). The terminal device 210 then accesses the distribution server 30 and downloads the application selected in step S206 (step S207). Step S208 shown in FIG. 16 is the same process as step S9 shown in FIG. 5.

[Effects of the second embodiment]
When a user travels abroad, the terminal device 210 according to the second embodiment automatically downloads applications corresponding to the country to which the user travels that have the same functions as the applications for the user's home country that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 10, and switches to a home screen on which icons of the downloaded applications are arranged. This allows the user to more easily use applications corresponding to the country to which the user travels.

[First Modification of the Second Embodiment]
When the user travels abroad, the terminal device 210 may automatically switch to a home screen on which icons of applications that can be used in the country to which the user travels and that correspond to the purpose of the travel are arranged.

In this case, when the selection unit 2143 (determination unit, selection unit) determines that the user will travel abroad, it determines the purpose of the travel based on the location and schedule of the terminal device 210. Then, the selection unit 2143 accesses the application server 20 and searches for applications that can be used in the country to which the user will travel and that correspond to the purpose of the travel. The selection unit 2143 selects an application to be downloaded from the searched applications, for example, in accordance with the application selection rules 2132.

For example, the selection unit 2143 selects the application that has been downloaded most by other users who move from their own country to the country for the same purpose or the application that has been highly rated. Furthermore, when the user's attributes (e.g., working for a trading company) are known, the selection unit 2143 selects the application that has been downloaded most by other users who move from their own country to the country for the same purpose and who have the same attributes or the application that has been highly rated.

Furthermore, if there is an application with the same function as the home country application downloaded to the terminal device 210 by the user among the searched applications, the selection unit 2143 selects this application. Then, if the selection unit 2143 searches for multiple applications with the same function as the home country application downloaded to the terminal device 210 by the user, it selects the application that is most similar in usability to the home country application.

[Effects of Modification 1 of Second Embodiment]
In this way, the terminal device 210 automatically switches to a home screen that displays icons of applications that can be used in the country the user is traveling to and that correspond to the purpose of the travel, thereby enabling the user to easily use applications that match the country the user is traveling to and the purpose of the travel.

The terminal device 210 may search for and download an application that corresponds to the purpose of the travel and has the same function as the application for the user's home country that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 210, among applications that can be used in the country to which the user is traveling. In this case, when there are multiple applications with the same function as the application for the home country that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 210, the terminal device 210 downloads an application that has a similar feel to the application for the home country that the user has downloaded to the terminal device 210, thereby supporting the smooth use of applications by the user outside the country.

[Modification 2 of the Second Embodiment]
Next, a second modification of the second embodiment will be described. In the second modification of the second embodiment, an application combination of identification information of a home country application downloaded to the terminal device by the user and identification information of an application for another country having the same function as the application for the user's home country is set in advance for each country or for each combination of country and purpose. Then, when it is determined that the user will travel outside the country, the terminal device refers to the application combination of the country to which the user is traveling or the country to which the user is traveling and corresponding to the purpose of the travel, automatically downloads the application for the other country included in the referenced application combination, and switches the home screen.

A portable device according to Variation 2 of Embodiment 2 will be described. FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a terminal device according to Variation 2 of Embodiment 2. As shown in FIG. 17, terminal device 10A according to Variation 2 of Embodiment 1 has a control unit 214A having a selection unit 2143A (determination unit, third selection unit) instead of the control unit 214 shown in FIG. 15.

When the selection unit 2143A determines that the user will travel abroad, it references the country to which the user will travel, or the application combination corresponding to the purpose of the travel in the country to which the user will travel, from the storage unit 13. Then, the selection unit 2143A selects applications for other countries included in the referenced application combination.

The download unit 144 downloads the application selected by the selection unit 2143A. The home screen switching unit 145 switches the home screen of the terminal device 210 to a home screen on which the icon of the application downloaded by the download unit 144 is arranged.

Figure 18 is a sequence diagram showing the processing procedure of the communication processing related to the second variation of the second embodiment. Steps S211 to S214 shown in Figure 18 are the same processing as steps S11 to S14 shown in Figure 14.

The terminal device 210A selects an application for another country included in the referenced application combination (step S215). The terminal device 210A then accesses the distribution server 30 and downloads the application selected in step S215 (step S216). Step S217 shown in FIG. 18 is the same process as step S9 shown in FIG. 5.

In this way, the terminal device 210A can omit the application search process in embodiment 2 by setting application combinations in advance for each country or for each country and purpose.

As with the second variant of the first embodiment, the application combination does not necessarily have to be a combination with the identification information of the home country application that the user has downloaded to the terminal device.

In addition, if the user is accompanied by a person, a schedule may be shared between the user's terminal device 10 and the companion's terminal device, and when the home screen of the user's terminal device 10 switches, the companion's terminal device may also switch to a home screen similar to that of the user's terminal device 10. Communication may be performed between the user's terminal device 10 and the companion's terminal device, and in accordance with the timing of application download and home screen switching on the user's terminal device 10, the companion's terminal device may also download the same application as that downloaded by the user's terminal device 10 and switch to a home screen on which an icon of the downloaded application is arranged.

[System configuration, etc.]
In addition, each component of each device shown in the figure is a functional concept, and does not necessarily have to be physically configured as shown in the figure. In other words, the specific form of distribution and integration of each device is not limited to that shown in the figure, and all or a part of it can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in any unit depending on various loads, usage conditions, etc. Furthermore, each processing function performed by each device can be realized in whole or in part by a CPU or GPU and a program analyzed and executed by the CPU or GPU, or can be realized as hardware using wired logic.

Furthermore, among the processes described in this embodiment, all or part of the processes described as being performed automatically can be performed manually, or all or part of the processes described as being performed manually can be performed automatically using known methods. In addition, the information including the processing procedures, control procedures, specific names, various data, and parameters shown in the above documents and drawings can be changed as desired unless otherwise specified.

[program]
In addition, a program in which the processes executed by the terminal devices 10, 10A, 210, and 210A described in the above embodiment are written in a language executable by a computer can be created. For example, a program in which the processes executed by the terminal devices 10, 10A, 210, and 210A in the above embodiment are written in a language executable by a computer can be created. In this case, the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained by the computer executing the program. Furthermore, such a program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium may be read and executed by a computer to realize the same process as in the above embodiment.

Figure 19 is a diagram showing a computer that executes a program. As shown in Figure 19, the computer 1000 has, for example, a memory 1010, a CPU 1020, a hard disk drive interface 1030, a disk drive interface 1040, a serial port interface 1050, a video adapter 1060, and a network interface 1070, and these components are connected by a bus 1080.

The memory 1010 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 1011 and a RAM 1012, as exemplified in FIG. 19. The ROM 1011 stores a boot program such as a BIOS (Basic Input Output System). The hard disk drive interface 1030 is connected to a hard disk drive 1090, as exemplified in FIG. 19. The disk drive interface 1040 is connected to a disk drive 1100. A removable storage medium such as a magnetic disk or optical disk is inserted into the disk drive 1100. The serial port interface 1050 is connected to a mouse 1110 and a keyboard 1120, for example. The video adapter 1060 is connected to a display 1130, for example.

As shown in FIG. 19, the hard disk drive 1090 stores, for example, an OS 1091, an application program 1092, a program module 1093, and program data 1094. That is, the above programs are stored, for example, in the hard disk drive 1090 as program modules in which instructions to be executed by the computer 1000 are written.

The various data described in the above embodiment are stored as program data, for example, in memory 1010 or hard disk drive 1090. Then, the CPU 1020 reads out the program module 1093 and program data 1094 stored in the memory 1010 or hard disk drive 1090 into the RAM 1012 as necessary, and executes various processing procedures.

The program module 1093 and program data 1094 relating to the program are not limited to being stored in the hard disk drive 1090, but may be stored in, for example, a removable storage medium and read by the CPU 1020 via a disk drive or the like. Alternatively, the program module 1093 and program data 1094 relating to the program may be stored in another computer connected via a network (such as a LAN (Local Area Network), WAN (Wide Area Network)), and read by the CPU 1020 via the network interface 1070.

The above embodiments and their variations are included in the technology disclosed in this application, and are also included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Communication system 10, 10A, 210, 210A Terminal device 11 Communication unit 12 Input/output unit 13 Storage unit 14, 14A, 214, 214A Control unit 20 Application server 30 Distribution server 131 Schedule data 132 Recommendation rule 141 Position detection unit 142 Registration unit 143, 143A Recommendation unit 144 Download unit 145 Home screen switching unit 2133 Application combination data 2143, 2143A Selection unit

Claims (8)

A terminal device capable of communicating with other devices,
A detection unit that detects the position of the terminal device;
a registration unit for registering a schedule including a destination, a purpose of the travel, and a travel date and time of the user of the terminal device;
a determination unit that determines whether the user is going abroad based on at least one of a location of the terminal device and the schedule;
a download unit that, when it is determined by the determination unit that the user will travel abroad, downloads from a distribution server an application that can be used in the country to which the user will travel, the application corresponding to a purpose of the travel, based on a location of the terminal device and the schedule;
A switching unit for switching a home screen of the terminal device to a home screen on which icons of downloaded applications are arranged;
A terminal device comprising: a recommendation unit that, when it is determined by the determination unit that the user will travel abroad, searches for an application that can be used in the country where the user will travel and that corresponds to the purpose of the travel based on the location of the terminal device and the schedule, and displays recommendation information recommending the searched application on a screen of the terminal device;
2 . The terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein the download unit downloads an application selected by the user from among applications recommended in recommendation information on a screen of the terminal device. The terminal device according to claim 2, characterized in that when the recommendation unit searches for multiple applications with the same functions as the user's home country application that the user has downloaded to the terminal device, it recommends applications that have a similar usability to the user's home country application that the user has downloaded to the terminal device in preference to other applications. an application combination of identification information of an application in the user's home country and identification information of an application in another country having the same function as the application in the user's home country is preset for each combination of a country and a purpose of the movement;
a recommendation unit that, when it is determined by the determination unit that the user will travel abroad, refers to the application combination corresponding to the country to which the user will travel and the purpose of the travel based on the location and the schedule of the terminal device, and displays recommendation information recommending applications for other countries included in the referenced application combination on a screen of the terminal device;
2 . The terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein the download unit downloads an application selected by the user from among applications recommended in recommendation information on a screen of the terminal device. a selection unit that, when it is determined by the determination unit that the user will travel abroad, searches for applications that can be used in the country to which the user will travel and that correspond to the purpose of the travel, based on the location of the terminal device and the schedule, and selects an application to be downloaded from the searched applications in accordance with a predetermined rule;
2. The terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein the download section downloads the application selected by the selection section. The terminal device according to claim 5, characterized in that when the selection unit searches for multiple applications with the same functions as the application for the user's home country that the user has downloaded to the terminal device, it selects an application that has a similar usability to the application for the user's home country that the user has downloaded to the terminal device. A communication method executed by a terminal device capable of communicating with another device, comprising:
detecting a location of the terminal device;
A step of registering a schedule including a destination, a purpose of the travel, and a travel date and time of the user of the terminal device;
determining whether the user will travel abroad based on at least one of the location of the terminal device and the schedule;
downloading, from a distribution server, an application that can be used in the country to which the user is moving and that corresponds to a purpose of the move, based on the location of the terminal device and the schedule, when it is determined in the determining step that the user is moving outside the country;
switching a home screen of the terminal device to a home screen on which icons of the downloaded applications are arranged;
A communication method comprising: Detecting the location of a terminal device;
A step of registering a schedule including a destination, a purpose of the travel, and a travel date and time of the user of the terminal device;
determining whether the user will travel abroad based on at least one of the location of the terminal device and the schedule;
downloading, from a distribution server, an application that can be used in the country to which the user is moving and that corresponds to a purpose of the movement, based on the location of the terminal device and the schedule, when it is determined in the determining step that the user is moving outside the country;
switching a home screen of the terminal device to a home screen on which icons of the downloaded applications are arranged;
A communications program for causing a computer to execute the above.

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