WO2014201624A1

WO2014201624A1 - Message handling

Info

Publication number: WO2014201624A1
Application number: PCT/CN2013/077422
Authority: WO
Inventors: Christian Rossing Kraft
Original assignee: Nokia Corporation; Nokia (China) Investment Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2013-06-18
Filing date: 2013-06-18
Publication date: 2014-12-24

Abstract

Apparatus has at least one processor and at least one memory having computer- readable code stored thereon which when executed controls the at least one processor to perform a method comprising: presenting a list of one or more messages; responding to receiving a user selection of a message from the list one or more messages by opening the message; responding to receiving a user request to close the message by closing the message; determining an elapsed time between opening and closing the message; selecting, on the basis of the determined elapsed time, a subset of plural status options, the subset comprising some but not all status options from a set of possible status options; presenting the subset of status options to the user as a list of statuses; and responding to receiving a user selection of one status from the list of statuses by associating the message with the selected status.

Description

MESSAGE HANDLING

Field of the Invention

This specification relates generally to message handling.

Background to the Invention

Messaging application 110s for electronic devices are common. They are commonly included also in portable devices, such as mobile phones. Typically a messaging application 110 is configured to handle one type of message, such as emails, SMSs (short message service messages), IMs (instant messages) etc.

Summary of Embodiments of the Invention

A first aspect of the specification provides apparatus having at least one processor and at least one memory having computer-readable code stored thereon which when executed controls the at least one processor to perform a method comprising:

presenting a list of one or more messages;

responding to receiving a user selection of a message from the list one or more messages by opening the message;

responding to receiving a user request to close the message by closing the message;

determining an elapsed time between opening and closing the message;

selecting, on the basis of the determined elapsed time, a subset of plural status options, the subset comprising some but not all status options from a set of possible status options;

presenting the subset of status options to the user as a list of statuses; and responding to receiving a user selection of one status from the list of statuses by associating the message with the selected status.

The computer-readable code when executed may control the at least one processor to perform:

determining whether a reply to the message has been sent between opening the message and closing the message, and wherein selecting a subset comprises selecting a subset of status options from the set of status options based on whether a reply to the message is determined to have been sent. The computer-readable code when executed may control the at least one processor to perform :

determining a length of the message, and

selecting a subset by selecting a subset of status options from the set of status options based on the length of the message.

The computer-readable code when executed may control the at least one processor to perform :

opening the message by causing commencement of presentation of the message starting with a beginning of the message;

determining a proportion of the message that has been caused to be presented, and

selecting the subset by selecting a subset of status options from the set of status options based on the determined proportion of the message that is determined to have been presented.

presenting the list of one or more messages by causing display of the list of one or more messages.

The computer-readable code when executed may control the at least one processor to perform : opening the message by causing display of the message starting with a beginning of the message. Here, the computer-readable code when executed may control the at least one processor to perform :

determining a proportion of the message that has been caused to be displayed, and

selecting the subset by selecting a subset of status options from the set of status options based on the determined proportion of the message that is determined to have been displayed.

causing display of the selected status along with the message. The computer-readable code when executed may control the at least one processor to perform :

causing display of the selected status by causing display of an icon or other graphical element that is associated with the selected status, wherein there are different graphical elements for different statuses, or

causing display of the selected status by causing display of text that is associated with the selected status, wherein there is different text for different statuses, or

causing display of the selected status by including the message within a folder that is associated with the selected status, wherein there are different folders for different statuses, or

causing display of the selected status by causing display of an icon , other graphical element or text in a colour that is associated with the selected status, wherein there are different colours for different statuses. The computer-readable code when executed may control the at least one processor to perform :

opening the message by causing display of the message starting with a beginning of the message;

determining a proportion of the message th at has been caused to be displayed, and

causing display of an indication of the proportion of the message that has been caused to be displayed.

calculating a measure of the extent to which the message has been viewed by a user from the elapsed time between opening and closing the message and a length of the message, and

causing display of an indication of the measure of the extent to which the message has been viewed.

The message m ay be an e-mail.

A second aspect of the specification provides a method comprising:

presenting a list of one or more messages ; responding to receiving a user selection of a message from the list one or more messages by opening the message;

determining an elapsed time between opening and closing the message;

selecting, on the basis of the determined elapsed time, a subset of plural status options, the subset comprising some but not all status options from a set of possible status options ;

presenting the subset of status options to the user as a list of statuses ; and responding to receiving a user selection of one status from the list of statuses by associating the message with the selected status.

The method may comprise:

determining whether a reply to the message has been sent between opening the message and closing the message, and wherein selecting a subset comprises selecting a subset of status options from the set of status options based on whether a reply to the message is determined to have been sent.

The method may comprise:

determining a length of the message, and

The method may comprise:

determining a proportion of the message th at has been caused to be presented, and

selecting the subset by selecting a subset of status options from the set of status options based on the determined proportion of the message that is determined to have been presented .

The method may comprise:

presenting the list of one or more messages by causing display of the list of one or more messages. The method may comprise:

opening the message by causing display of the message starting with a beginning of the message.

The method may comprise:

causing display of the selected status along with the message.

The method may comprise:

causing display of the selected status by causing display of an icon or other graphical element that is associated with the selected status, wherein there are different graphical elements for different statuses.

The method may comprise:

causing display of the selected status by causing display of text that is associated with the selected status, wherein there is different text for different statuses

The method may comprise:

causing display of the selected status by including the message within a folder that is associated with the selected status, wherein there are different folders for different statuses.

The method may comprise:

causing display of the selected status by causing display of an icon , other graphical element or text in a colour that is associated with the selected status, wherein there are different colours for different statuses.

The method may comprise:

opening the message by causing display of the message starting with a beginning of the message; determining a proportion of the message th at has been caused to be displayed, and

The method may comprise:

The message m ay be an e-mail. A third aspect of the specification provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-readable code, which , when executed by computing apparatus, causes the computing apparatus to perform a method comprising:

presenting a list of one or more messages ;

determining an elapsed time between opening and closing the message;

The computer-readable code when executed may cause the computing apparatus to perform :

determining whether a reply to the message has been sent between opening th message and closing the message, and wherein selecting a subset comprises selecting subset of status options from the set of status options based on whether a reply to the message is determined to have been sent.

determining a length of the message, and

The computer-readable code when executed may cause the computing apparatus to perform : opening the message by causing display of the message starting with a beginning of the message. The computer-readable code when executed may cause the computing apparatus to perform : determining a proportion of the message that has been caused to be displayed, and selecting the subset by selecting a subset of status options from the set of status options based on the determined proportion of the message that is determined to have been displayed.

causing display of the selected status along with the message. The computer-readable code when executed may cause the computing apparatus to perform :

causing display of an indication of the measure of the extent to which the message has been viewed. The message m ay be an e-mail. A fourth aspect of the invention provides apparatus comprising:

means for presenting a list of one or more messages ;

means for responding to receiving a user selection of a message from the list one or more messages by opening the message;

means for responding to receiving a user request to close the message by closing the message ;

means for determining an elapsed time between opening and closing the message;

means for selecting, on the basis of the determined elapsed time, a subset of plural status options, the subset comprising some but not all status options from a set of possible status options ;

means for presenting the subset of status options to the user as a list of statuses ; and

means for responding to receiving a user selection of one status from the list of statuses by associating the message with the selected status.

A fifth aspect of the invention provides apparatus configured :

to present a list of one or more messages ;

to respond to receiving a user selection of a message from the list one or more messages by opening the message;

to respond to receiving a user request to close the message by closing the message;

to determine an elapsed time between opening and closing the message;

to select, on the basis of the determined elapsed time, a subset of plural status options, the subset comprising some but not all status options from a set of possible status options ;

to present the subset of status options to the user as a list of statuses ; and to respond to receiving a user selection of one status from the list of statuses by associating the message with the selected status.

Br ie f D e s cr ip t io n o f th e D r a w in gs

Embodiments will now be described , by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which :

Figure 1 is a block diagram of internal components of a terminal according to aspects of the invention ;

Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary operation of the terminal; Figures 3 and 4 show screen configurations which the terminal m ay be controlled to display; and

Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating further exemplary operation of the terminal. D e t a ile d D e s cr ip tio n o f Em b o d im e n t s o f th e In ve n tio n

Referring firstly to Figure 1, a block diagram illustrating internal components of a terminal 100 is shown . The termin al includes a processor 102. The processor 102 controls operation of the other hardware components of the terminal 100. The processor 102 and other hardware components m ay be connected via a system bus (not shown). Each hardware component may be connected to the system bus either directly or via an interface. The terminal comprises working or volatile memory, such as Random Access Memory (RAM), 104 and a non-volatile memory 106 , such as read only memory (ROM) or Flash memory. The non -volatile memory 106 stores an operating system 108 and various software applications including a messaging application 110 , which may or m ay not be a distinct application . The non-volatile memory 110 also stores data files and associated metadata. The terminal comprises a display 112. The display may be a touch sensitive display having a display part 113 and a tactile interface part 114. The terminal may comprise one or more examples of user input hardware 116 , such as hardware keys. The terminal 100 also houses a battery 118 to power the terminal 100.

The processor 102 is configured to send and receive signals to and from the other components in order to control operation of the other components. For example, the processor 102 controls the display of content on display 112 and receives signals as a result of user inputs from tactile interface 114. The display 112 may be a resistive touch screen or capacitive touch screen of any kind. The display m ay alternatively not be a touch screen . For instance it may be a liquid crystal display (LCD) or organic light emitting diode (OLED) display. It may alternatively be a near-eye display, such as is found in a wearable computer in the form of spectacles or glasses.

The user input hardware 116 m ay refer to hardware keys and may also include a QWERTY or numeric keypad , a trackpad, a movement or proximity detector, a remote control or a microphone. The user input hardware 116 m ay include accessory input hardware such as an input pen , external touchpad, etc. The user input hardware 116 functions in addition to the touch sensitive display 112, which also receives user inputs. The terminal 100 may be a mobile phone, PDA or tablet computer of any kind. Other standard or optional components of the terminal 100 , such as transceivers and cameras, are omitted from the Figure. The processor 102 may be an integrated circuit of any kind. The processor 102 may access volatile memory 104 in order to process data and may control the storage of data in memory 106. Memory 106 may be a non-volatile memory of any kind such as a Read Only Memory (ROM), a Flash memory or a magnetic drive memory. Other non-volatile memories may be included, but are omitted from the Figure. The volatile memory 104 may be a RAM of any type, for example Static RAM (SRAM), Dynamic RAM (DRAM), or it may be Flash memory. Multiple volatile memories 104 may be included, but are omitted from the Figure.

The processor 102 may for instance be a general purpose processor. It may be a single core device or a multiple core device. The processor 102 may be a central processing unit (CPU) or a general processing unit (GPU). Alternatively, it may be a more specialist unit, for instance a RISC processor or programmable hardware with embedded firmware. Multiple processors 102 may be included. The processor 102 may be termed processing means.

The processor 102 operates under control of the operating system 108. The operating system 108 may comprise code (i.e. drivers) relating to hardware such as the display 112 and user inputs 116, as well as code relating to the basic operation of the terminal 100. The operating system 108 may also cause activation of other software modules stored in the memory 106, such as the messaging application 110. Generally speaking, the processor 102 executes one or more applications 110 using the operating system 108 , both of which are stored permanently or semi-permanently in the non-volatile memory 106, using the volatile memory 104 temporarily to store software forming a whole or part of the operating system 108 and the applications 110 and also temporarily to store data generated during execution of the software. Operation of the terminal 100 will now be described with reference to the flow chart of Figure 2. In the following, actions said to be made by the terminal typically are made by the processor 102 operating according to instructions provided by the software of the messaging application 110 and/ or the operating system 108. The operation starts at step SI. At step S2, the terminal 100 displays a list of messages. This step involves the user interface provided by the messaging application 110. The list of messages is displayed in any suitable manner, for instance such as shown in the screenshot of Figure 3. At step S3 , the terminal 100 receives selection of a message. The selection of a message is received as a result of a user input provided by a user of the terminal 100. For instance, the user input can be a short press touch input on the tactile interface 114 at a location corresponding to a displayed of one of the messages 301 to 305 shown in Figure 3.

In response, the terminal 100 at step S4 opens the selected message and starts a timer. The timer can be implemented in software or hardware, and is not shown in Figure 1. In this particular example, the user has selected the first message 301. Opening the message involves moving from displaying the list of messages shown in the screenshot of Figure 3 to displaying the content of the selected message, which is illustrated in the screenshot of Figure 4. Here, the message includes text, and the quantity of text is too great to display at a reasonable font size on the display area provided by the display 112. As such, the wireless terminal 100 displays the first part of the message initially. Text that does not fit onto the initial display area is not displayed initially, but the user can access the remaining text of the email by scrolling the message.

At step S5, the terminal 100 effects scrolling and replying as appropriate, having regard to user inputs. These steps may be conventional. For instance, the terminal 100 may scroll the text of the message 301 upwards in response to the user providing a swipe input in an upwards direction. Such an input is one that begins as a touch input at a location and then translates along the screen area in an upwards direction before the input is released. In response to receiving a scrolling input in this way, the messaging application 110 causes the display of text that appears after the text in the initial display are shown in Figure 4. Scrolling may instead be effected automatically, having regards to an expected reading speed of the user, in response to receiving a voice command, in response to detecting movement of the user's eyes using gaze tracking, or in any other way. Scrolling may occur both upwards and downwards. As such, a user may scroll down a message and then scroll back up. A user may scroll only part way through a message. The extent to which the message is displayed on the display 112 is determined or detected by the mobile device 100.

For instance, if the user scrolls halfway down a message such that the first half of the message is displayed but does not scroll any further, or instead scrolls back up the message, the terminal 100 detects that half of the message has been presented on the display 112.

In another example, the user does not provide any scrolling input. Here, the terminal 100 detects that only the first page of the message has been presented on the display 112.

Step S5 also involves effecting replying to the message 301. The initiation of the preparation and sending of a reply message can occur for instance in response to the terminal 100 detecting a user input at the location of a reply icon 401 provided in the display area on the terminal 100. In response, the messaging application 110 provides a blank message having in the "To:" field the name of the sender of the first email 301 and/ or their messaging address, and including an icon for allowing the user to select sending of the reply email.

At step S6, the terminal 100 pauses the timer that was started at step S4 during the replying email process. For instance, the terminal 100 causes the timer to be paused from the time when the user provided the input at the reply icon 401 and causes the timer to begin running again at the time when the user selects the send option.

Subsequently, at step S7 the terminal receives a command from the user to close the message, in this case the first message 30 1. This may occur in any suitable way. For instance, this may involve the user selecting a delete option, as for instance is provided by a delete icon 402 provided on the display area. Alternatively, the command to close the message 301 may occur through the user pressing a hardware back key 403 provided by the mobile device 100. Alternatively, it may occur through the user selecting an option to close the email through a menu system provided by the terminal 100 , in any suitable way. In the example display shown in Figure 4, the menu system is accessible through the user provided a touch input at the location of the ellipsis 404 in line with the reply and delete icons 401 and 402. The message can be closed at step S7 alternatively by the user selecting a previous message icon 405 or a next message icon 406 provided in the display area, as shown in Figure 4. In response to receiving the user command to close the message 301, at step S8 the terminal 100 stops the timer that was started at step S4 and determines the elapsed time since step S4. This involves determining the difference in values between the timer when it was started at step S4 and when it was stopped at step S8. If the timer was initialised to zero at step S4, determining the elapsed time involves determining the value of the timer when stopped at step S8. If the timer was paused at step S6, then the time spent by the user preparing the reply message has no effect on the value of the timer.

At step S9, the length of the message is determined by the terminal 100. The length of the message may be determined in any suitable way. The length of the message may be determined as a measure of the number of lines of text or the number of pages that are needed to display the whole of the message having regard to the display area.

At step S10 , the terminal 100 determines the proportion of the message that has been viewed. This can be performed in any suitable way. The proportion of the message that has been viewed is determined from the length of the message that was determined at step S9 and from the amount of scrolling that was effected by the terminal at step S5.

The proportion of the message that has been displayed is a function of the length of the message. Where for instance the message constitutes four pages of text, where a page is equal to the amount of text that fits onto the display area at the display font size, only one of the four pages of the message is displayed if the user does not provide any scrolling input. As such, the proportion of the message that has been displayed is 25% (one quarter).

Generally speaking, the proportion of the message that has been displayed is calculated from the length of the message, in terms of the number of lines or alternatively the number of pages of text and/ or graphical images, and the maximum extent of the message that was provided in the display at step S5 are as a result of the user's scrolling input(s). Following step S10 , the terminal has a number of parameters relating to the viewing of the message by the user. These parameters include: the time for which the message was open, as indicated by the value of the timer that was started at step S4 and stopped at step S8 ; the length of the message, as determined at step S9 ; and the proportion of the message viewed, as determined at step S10. The terminal 100 then uses these parameters in order to select plural status options to provide to the user to allow the user to select the most suitable status for the message 301. The selection of appropriate status options from a set of available status options is performed at step Sll of Figure 2. The statuses that are available in respect of messages in these embodiments are as follows:

1. Unread

2. Glanced

3. Read, need to read again

4. Read, reply later

5. Replied, reply again later

6. Replied in full

7. Read, no reply needed

8. Spam

9. Deleted

The statuses can be explained as follows.

The first status is UnRead, that is the message has not been opened or alternatively it has been opened and subsequently marked again as unread.

The second status is Glanced. This status indicates that the user has looked at the message but that the message was displayed for such a short time that it cannot have been read in any detail by the user.

The third status is Read, need to read again. This status indicates that the message has been Read, in the sense that it has been presented for a time too great to indicate merely that the user Glanced at the message, but that the user wishes to read the message again. The fourth status is Read, reply later. This status is appropriate where the message has been read and where the user wishes to reply to it at a later time.

The fifth status is Replied, reply again later. This status indicates that a reply has been sent and that the user wishes to reply to the message again at a later time.

The sixth status is Replied in full. This status indicates to the user that a reply has been sent and that no further replies are needed.

The seventh status is Read, no reply needed. This status indicates that the message has been Read, not just Glanced at, and that no reply needs to be sent.

The eighth status is Spam, indicating a message that is unsolicited and/ or was sent by an entity not known to the user, and that the message is not of interest to the user.

The ninth status is Deleted, indicating that the message has been deleted.

One way in which the terminal 100 can select appropriate status options from the set of nine status options given above will now be described with reference to Figure 5.

The operation starts at step SO .

At step SI, the proportion of the message that has been displayed is calculated. The proportion is given the value P. The proportion of the message that has been displayed can be calculated as described above.

At step S2, the measure of the extent to which the message has been viewed is calculated. The extent is given the value E. This may be performed in any suitable way. For instance, it may be performed by dividing the value of the timer (which is a measure of the time for which the message was open) by the length of the message determined at step S9 of Figure 2. The result is a measure of the time that each page of the message was displayed in the display area shown in Figure 4. The unit of the viewing extent E may be seconds/page. It will be appreciated that the measure of viewing extent is the same for a three page message that was displayed for 30 seconds as it is for a one page message that was displayed for 10 seconds. Where the length of the message is less than one page, an accurate measure of the extent of viewing a message can be obtained in the same way.

At step S3 , it is determined whether the measure of viewing extent E is below a first threshold Ετι. In the event of a positive determin ation , the operation proceeds to step S4. The value of En has a relatively low value, such as to indicate that the message was displayed for a short period of time, considering the length of the message. For instance, the value of Ετι m ay be 2 seconds/ page, which is insufficient to consume the content of most messages.

At step S4, it is determined whether a reply to the message was sent at step S5 of Figure 2. On a negative determination , i.e. when a reply is determined not to have been sent, at step S5 the selected status options are the second option : Glanced, the eighth option : Spam and the first option : Unopened. On a positive determination from step S4, no options are provided. Instead, the status of the message is determined as status 5 , which is : Replied, reply again later.

Following a negative determination from step S3 , which occurs when the measure of viewing extent E exceeds the first threshold Ετι, the operation proceeds to step S7. Here it is determined whether the value of E is less than a second threshold Ετ₂. The value of ET2 is selected such that it can be assumed that a value of E between Ετι and Ετ2 indicates that the user has read the message in some detail but has not read the message thoroughly. For instance, the value of E_T2 may be 5 seconds/ page. On a positive determination from step S7, the operation proceeds to step S8 . Here it is determined whether a reply was sent at step S5 of Figure 2. On a negative

determination from step S8 , the options selected at step S ll of Figure 2 are the second option : Glanced, the eighth option : Spam , and the third option : Read, need to read again . On a positive determination from step S8 , the operation proceeds to step S10. Here, the options selected at step S ll of Figure 2 are the fifth option : Reply, reply again later, and the sixth status option : Replied in full.

It will be appreciated from the above that the options selected from the set of available options at step S ll of Figure 2 are dependent on the extent to which the message has been viewed, to the extent that this can be determined from the time for which the message was displayed (which itself is a function of the time for which the message was displayed) and the length of the message.

The operation of Figure 5 proceeds to provide the status options Glanced, Spam and Unopened when it is determined that the message has not been viewed to an extent greater than the threshold Ετ₂ and a reply has not been sent. If a reply has been sent, it is determined by the terminal 100 at step S6 that the correct status is Replied, reply again later. It can be determined reliably that this is the correct status for the message since the message has not been displayed for a time sufficient to allow the user to read all of the message, let alone for a time sufficient to allow the reader to read the message in detail.

Furthermore, the terminal 100 is able to determine when the user has viewed the message to a greater extent, but maybe not enough to have read the message in detail, to provide different status options. In particular, if a reply has not been sent and the measure of viewing extent E is between Ετι and Ετ₂, the Unopened option from step S5 is not included in the options calculated in step S9 and instead the third status option : Read, need to read again , is included. This can reasonably be determined as an option of likely interest to the user because the message has not been displayed for a time sufficient to allow the user to read it in detail although it can have been read to some extent.

The provision at step S10 of the options to indicate the status as: Replied, reply again later, or: Replied in full, prevents the terminal 100 making an incorrect assessment as to whether the user has read the message to their desired extent, and allows the user to indicate a status that indicates to the user that they intend to reply again later or that they intend not to reply again later.

On a negative determination from step S7, which occurs when the measure of viewing extent E indicates that the message has been read in detail, the operation proceeds to step S 11. Here it is determined whether the proportion P of the message that has been displayed exceeds a threshold PI. The threshold PI has a value selected to allow the terminal 100 to determine whether the user has viewed substantially all of the message. The value of PI may for instance be 0.8 , or some other value. On a negative determination from step S 11, indicating that the user has not viewed substantially all of the message, the operation proceeds to step S12. Here it is determined whether a reply to the message was sent at step S5 of Figure 2. On a positive determination , the operation proceeds to step S10 , which is as described above. On a negative determination, the operation proceeds from step S12 to step S9, which is as described above. Thus, the options that are selected at step Sll of Figure 2 are the same for the situations when the user is determined not to have read the message in detail as when the user may have read the message in detail but has not viewed substantially all of the message.

Following a negative determination from step Sll, the operation proceeds to step S13. Here it is determined whether a reply to the message has been sent at step S5 of Figure 2. On a positive determination, the operation proceeds to step S14. Here, the options selected from the set of available status options are option 5 : Replied, reply again later, option 6 : Replied in full and option 9 : Delete. Following a negative determination from step S13, the operation proceeds to step S15. Here, the option selected from the set of available options at step Sll of Figure 2 are option 4: Read, reply later, option 5: Read, need to read again, option 7: Read, no reply needed, and option 9 : Delete. Steps SB to S15 thus result in the selection of options that are likely to be of interest to a user who has viewed the email for a time sufficient to allow them to read it in detail and also has viewed substantially all of the message. The options provided take account of whether the user has sent a reply to the message. In either case, a Delete status option is provided. The other options depend on whether or not a reply was sent.

Unless the operation of Figure 5 results at step S6, the result of the operation of Figure 5 is the selection of plural options, the number of options being greater than one and less than the number of available options (the number of possible statuses), which in this case is nine. In the example given in Figure 5, the number of options selected varies between two and four, but it will be appreciated that this is merely illustrative and a greater number of options may be provided in other embodiments.

Referring back to Figure 2, at step S12, the selected status options are displayed. This can occur in any suitable way. For instance, the options may be displayed in an overlay or in a pop-up window. In either case, the options are displayed over the original message 301. This allows the user easily to ascertain that the provided options are in respect of the message 301 but the user has closed through issuing a command that was received at the terminal at step S7 of Figure 2. The selected status options may be indicated in any suitable way. For instance, they may be indicated in text. The text may take the form indicated above in respect of the nine status options, or it may take some other form. Alternatively or additionally, the status options may be presented in a graphical form , for instance with the use of a different icon for each of the possible status options. Suitable icons are shown in Figure 3 and are described below.

At step S13, the terminal 100 receives the user's selection of one of the status options that were displayed at step S12. A user may select a status option for instance by applying a touch input at a location on the display area that corresponds to the displayed status option. Alternatively, the status option may be selected by the user issuing a verbal command, which is received at the terminal 100 and interpreted through voice recognition software.

At step S14, the selected status is associated with the message. Step S14 involves the terminal 100 storing data along with the message that indicates the selected status. The status may take the form of a numerical value corresponding to the numbers given against the status options above, for instance.

The operation then ends at step S15.

In response to the user selecting the status Delete, the message is deleted. This results in the message no longer being provided in the list of messages shown in Figure 3.

After the status has been associated with the message, the status of the message can be presented to the user. There are a number of options for presenting the status of a message to a user, and some of these options will now be described. In a first option, different icons are used to illustrate different statuses. The icons may for instance be provided along with the messages when they are displayed in a list form . Some suitable icons are illustrated in Figure 3.

Here, it will be seen that the first message 30 1 is provided with the first icon 311 that indicates that the status of the message is Unread. The second message 302 is shown with an icon 312. This icon indicates that the message is associated with the status Replied in full. The third message 303 is provided with an icon 313, in this case indicating that the message is Read, no reply needed. The fourth message 304 is provided with an icon 314 that indicates that the message has a status of Glanced. In this example it is illustrated in the icon by a closed envelope with a faint or dotted line at the location where the flap of the opened envelope would fall, indicating that the message has been partly opened. The fifth message 305 is provided with an icon 315. The icon here indicates that the status of the message is Read, reply later. This is indicated by an icon showing an opened envelope and with a reply arrow shown in dotted form superimposed onto the envelope.

The particular icons shown here are merely for example, and alternative icons may be used to show the relevant statuses.

Alternatively, the statuses of messages can be illustrated using text. For instance, referring to the screenshot of Figure 3, the first to fifth icons 311 to 315 may be replaced with text boxes in which text indicating the status, for instance using the text provided above, is displayed. The text boxes may have visible borders, allowing them easily to be disambiguated with the rest of the parts of the messages 301 to 305 that are provided in the display area. Alternatively, the text boxes may be borderless, which may provide a more user-friendly user interface.

In the third option, colours are used to indicate different statuses of messages. For instance, the whole of the display are that is given over to a message, for instance the first message 301, may be coloured with a colour that is specific to the status of the message. As such, the first message 301 may be coloured yellow, indicating an Unread message, and the second message 302 may be coloured green, indicating a message with the status Replied in full. Alternatively, the use of colour to indicate the status of a message may apply only to a part of the display area that is allocated to a particular message. For instance, the colour may apply to the background of one or a small number of the components of a display area, for instance the title of the message and/ or the sender of the message. Alternatively, the colour may be represented in the text of a part of the message, rather than as a background. For instance, the text of the title of the message may be provided in the colour that indicates the status of the message. In a fourth alternative, different folders are provided for messages of different statuses. As such, one folder is provided for messages that are Unread, one folder is provided for messages that are Glanced, a third folder is provided for messages that are Read, need to read again etc. The user then is able to view messages that have a particular status by opening the folder relevant to that status. In this alternative, the indication status is provided to the user by the name of the folder in which the messages are located. The terminal 100 may in this alternative provide a single display in which all of the folders are provided in one display area. Here, each folder is provided with an indication of the number of messages that are included within that folder. This can allow the user easily to determine from viewing one screen provided by the terminal 100 what actions the user needs to take in respect of messages, in particular by showing the user how many messages need to be replied to, how many need to be read in more detail etc.

In another alternative, the terminal 100 is configured to provide an indication of the status of the message along with an indication of the extent to which the message has been displayed. For instance, the terminal 100 may be configured to provide an indication of the value of P, which is the proportion of the message that has been displayed. Display of the value of P may be provided in any suitable way. For instance, it might be provided in the form of a slider or status bar. For instance, in respect of a message for which 20 % has been displayed, the terminal 100 may display an icon in which the 20 % of the area of the icon, for instance at the left hand side of the icon, is coloured according to the status of the message, and the other 80 % of the icon is left uncoloured. In respect of a message for which 70 % has been displayed, the same icon would be provided with the left hand 70 % of the message coloured and the right hand 30 % uncoloured. An indication of the proportion of a message that has been displayed to the user can be indicated along with the status for messages of all statuses, or only for messages of certain statuses. For instance, this may be provided only for messages that have a status Glanced, or the status Read, need to read again. Similarly, the measure of viewing extent, indicated by the parameter E in the above, may be displayed to the user along with the status of the message. The measure of viewing extent may be indicated to the user in the same way as the proportion of the message that has been displayed as described above. The measure of viewing extent may be indicated for messages of all statuses, or alternatively may be provided only for messages of certain statuses. For instance, the measure of viewing extent may be indicated along with the status only for messages that have the status Read, need to read again, or Replied, reply again later.

The values of ET1 and ET2 may be predetermined. They may be changeable by a user, for instance through a settings menu. The same applies to the value of threshold PI Having settable thresholds allows the user to adjust behaviour of the terminal 100 to take account of their typical reading speed.

The terminal 100 may be configured to allow the user to change the status associated with a message at any time. For instance, the terminal 100 may be configured to provide the list of messages as shown in the display area of Figure 3. In response to receiving a certain user input, for instance a long press, at the location associated with one of the messages, for instance the third message 303 , the terminal 100 may provide a list of available statuses. In response to receiving a user input selecting one of the displayed statuses, the terminal 100 can associate the selected status with the message. When the list of messages, as shown in Figure 3, again is displayed, the new status associated with the message is indicated along with the message. This is advantageous since it allows the user to select any of the possible message statuses to associate with the message, so allowing the correct status to be associated with the message even if this status is not provided in the list of options when the message is closed.

In the above, the messages that are handled may take any form. For example, the messages may be emails, SMS messages, MMS messages, instant messages, etc. As described above, the user is prompted to select a status for a message when the message is closed. An example interaction with the terminal 100 will now be described with reference to Figure 3.

Assuming a scenario where the user opens the messaging application 110 and finds that there are a number of unread messages, the user may select the most recent message, for example the first message 30 1. Upon selecting the first message 301, the message is opened. This gives rise to the display shown in Figure 4. The user then interacts with the message, by scrolling and/ or sending a reply. When the user does not want to read any more of the first message 301, the user can select the next icon 406. This causes the message to be closed, and commences progressing to the next message, which is the second message 302. Since the first message 301 is to be closed in response to the user 's command to progress to the next message, at this time the timer is stopped and the elapsed time since the message was opened is determined , at step S8 of Figure 2. The proportion of the message that has been viewed is then determined at step S 10. The appropriate status options are then selected from the set of available status options at step S 11. The status options are then displayed to the user at step S 12. The status options may be presented in a list, for example. The user can then choose a suitable status for the message, and indicate this status by providing a touch input at the location of the status. In response, the termin al receives the selection of the status and associates the status with the message. The terminal 100 then causes the next message, which is the second message 302, to be displayed . The user may then interact with the second message 302 in the same way. When the user closes the message, for instance by providing a touch input at the next message icon 406 , the steps S8 to S 14 are provided also for the second message. As described above, the status options that are selected for display to the user take account of the amount of time for which the message has been displayed, the extent to which the message has been scrolled, whether a rely has been sent, etc. Different status options are provided for different messages, having regard to these various factors. As such , having progressed through all of the unread messages, the user has associated different statuses with different messages. Upon returning to a list of the messages, for instance as shown in Figure 3 , the user is able to see easily the status that has been associated with each message. As such , the user can easily see for which messages further action is required, for instance by reading in more detail and/ or replying (either replying for the first time or replying again) .

Numerous advantages of the above-described embodiments will be apparent, and some of the advantages will now be discussed.

Significantly, the embodiments allow a user easily (that is with little effort and with relatively few user inputs) to associate a status with a message. Moreover, a user does not need to browse through a list of all possible message statuses in order to select an appropriate one, because the likely appropriate statuses are provided directly to the user. This is particularly advantageous in the case of devices with relatively small displays and/ or limited user interface hardware, as with mobile phones, smart phones etc. The indication of the status of the messages when the messages are displayed in list form provides the advantage that the user can easily determine what further actions need to be taken by the user, and can easily identify the messages for which further action is needed. Whereas a similar function might be achieved through the use of the flagging feature that is sometimes provided for em ail system s, the embodiments described above are better than the use of conventional flagging because a subset of the set of available flags is provided to the user for selection of the appropriate status.

Also, the status m ay be indicated in a way that allows the user more easily to determine what action needs to be taken . For instance, where the status of a message is indicated through the use of an icon , the graphics of the icon itself m ay indicate what action needs to be taken , thereby removing the need for the user to remember which colour flags relate to which message statuses as m ay occur with the prior art system . It will be appreciated that the above described embodiments are purely illustrative and are not limiting on the scope of the claim s. Other variations and modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reading the present application , and some will now be described. Although in the above the options that are selected for presentation to the user take account of whether a reply to the message has been sent, in other embodiments this can be omitted . In these embodiments, there m ay be a sm aller set of statuses, for instance with statuses indicating that a reply has been sent being omitted from the set. Also, in some embodiments, the extent to which the message has been displayed m ay not be taken into account. Here, it may not be needed to determine the length of the message when performing the operation of Figure 2.

Although the embodiments have been described with the example of messages being displayed on the display 112, in other embodiments messages are provided in some other way. For instance, for a user interface for visually impaired users, the message may be presented in audio form , for instance using a text to speech converter software module or application . In these embodiments, the extent to which a message has been presented can be determined on the basis of the proportion of the message that has been converted into speech before the user provided a command to close the message. Moreover, the disclosure of the present application should be understood to include any novel features or any novel combination of features either explicitly or implicitly disclosed herein or any generalization thereof and during the prosecution of the present application or of any application derived therefrom , new claims may be formulated to cover any such features and/ or combination of such features.

Claims

W H AT I S CLAIMED IS :

1. Apparatus, the apparatus having at least one processor and at least one memory having computer-readable code stored thereon which when executed controls the at least one processor to perform a method comprising:

presenting a list of one or more messages;

determining an elapsed time between opening and closing the message;

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the computer-readable code when executed controls the at least one processor to perform :

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the computer-readable code when executed controls the at least one processor to perform :

determining a length of the message, and

4. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim , wherein the computer-readable code when executed controls the at least one processor to perform :

opening the message by causing commencement of presentation of the messa; starting with a beginning of the message; determining a proportion of the message that has been caused to be presented, and

5. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the computer-readable code when executed controls the at least one processor to perform :

6. Apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the computer-readable code when executed controls the at least one processor to perform :

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the computer-readable code when executed controls the at least one processor to perform :

8. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the computer-readable code when executed controls the at least one processor to perform :

causing display of the selected status along with the message.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the computer-readable code when executed controls the at least one processor to perform :

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the computer-readable code when executed controls the at least one processor to perform : causing display of the selected status by causing display of text that is associated with the selected status, wherein there is different text for different statuses.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the computer-readable code when executed controls the at least one processor to perform :

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the computer-readable code when executed controls the at least one processor to perform :

13. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim , wherein the computer-readable code when executed controls the at least one processor to perform :

14. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim , wherein the computer-readable code when executed controls the at least one processor to perform :

15. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim , wherein the message is an e-mail.

16. A method comprising:

determining an elapsed time between opening and closing the message;

17. A method as claimed in claim 16 , comprising:

18. Apparatus as claimed in claim 16 or claim 17, comprising:

determining a length of the message, and

19. A method as claimed in any of claims 16 to 18 , comprising:

20. A method as claimed in any of claims 16 to 19 , comprising:

21. A method as claimed in any of claims 16 to 18 , comprising:

22. A method as claimed in claim 21, comprising:

23. A method as claimed in any of claims 16 to 22, comprising:

causing display of the selected status along with the message.

24. A method as claimed in claim 23 , comprising:

25. A method as claimed in claim 23 , comprising:

causing display of the selected status by causing display of text that is associated with the selected status, wherein there is different text for different statuses.

26. A method as claimed in claim 23 , comprising:

27. A method as claimed in claim 23, comprising:

28. A method as claimed in any of claims 16 to 27, comprising:

opening the message by causing display of the message starting with a beginning of the message; determining a proportion of the message that has been caused to be displayed, and

29. A method as claimed in any of claims 16 to 28 , comprising:

30. A method as claimed in any of claims 16 to 29, wherein the message is an e-mail.

31. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-readable code, which, when executed by computing apparatus, causes the computing apparatus to perform a method comprising:

presenting a list of one or more messages;

determining an elapsed time between opening and closing the message;

32. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 31, wherein the computer-readable code when executed causes the computing apparatus to perform :

33. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 31, wherein the computer-readable code when executed causes the computing apparatus to perform :

determining a length of the message, and

34. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 31, wherein the computer-readable code when executed causes the computing apparatus to perform :

35. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 31, wherein the computer-readable code when executed causes the computing apparatus to perform :

36. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 31, wherein the computer-readable code when executed causes the computing apparatus to perform :

37. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 36, wherein the computer-readable code when executed causes the computing apparatus to perform : determining a proportion of the message that has been caused to be displayed, and

38. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 31, wherein the computer-readable code when executed causes the computing apparatus to perform :

causing display of the selected status along with the message.

39. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 38 , wherein the computer-readable code when executed causes the computing apparatus to perform :

40. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 38 , wherein the computer-readable code when executed causes the computing apparatus to perform :

41. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 38 , wherein the computer-readable code when executed causes the computing apparatus to perform :

42. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 38 , wherein the computer-readable code when executed causes the computing apparatus to perform : causing display of the selected status by causing display of an icon , other graphical element or text in a colour that is associated with the selected status, wherein there are different colours for different statuses.

43. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 3 1, wherein the computer-readable code when executed causes the computing apparatus to perform :

44. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 3 1, wherein the computer-readable code when executed causes the computing apparatus to perform :

45. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as claimed in claim 3 1, wherein the message is an e-m ail.

46. A computer program comprising m achine readable instructions that when executed by computing apparatus controls it to perform a method as claimed in any of claims 16 to 30.

47. Apparatus comprising:

means for presenting a list of one or more messages ;

means for responding to receiving a user request to close the message by closing the message ; means for determining an elapsed time between opening and closing the message;

48 . Apparatus configured :

to present a list of one or more messages ;

to determine an elapsed time between opening and closing the message;