Field of the Invention:
The invention relates to communication method. In particular, the invention relates to a deferred data communication method and to computing devices implementing the same.

Background of the Invention:
Messages which are communicated such as e-mails or chat messages or device-to-device transmission often have associated digital files or other content items including attachments such as images, audio, video, data files, etc. In the traditional communication methods, each time a new file or attachment is to be sent in respect of a previous communication, the sender is required to write up a new mail or initiate a new communication session and send the same to the recipient. This tends to generate unnecessary clutter in the system where the messages are received. Thus, where a number of attachments are to be sent to one or more recipient, and the attachments may be available only at a later time period or may have been inadvertently not sent, there is a need for an intuitive method for communicating such attachments.

Summary of the Invention:
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified format that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended for determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method for sending deferred files from a sender to a recipient. User A either sends or receives a first communication with regard to user B. The User A can now send one or more data units as a deferred data unit to user B. During the process of sending the one or more data units, User A selects a unique identifier which may be selected from a group comprising of a transaction identity, an application identity, a context identity, previously sent file name, previously sent file’s time stamp, a deferred folder name, or combination thereof. The Unique identifier is then associated to the one or more data units and sent to the recipient. User B receives the one or more data unit sent in the form of deferred data unit and based on the unique identifier, identifies the previous communication. The recipient then stores the one or more data units in association with the previous communication thus identified. In response to a request for rendering, the previous communication and the one or more data units received as deferred data units are bound together and rendered.

The method as described above allows for managing deferred data communication which is intuitive to multiple domains. In particular the method of deferred data transmission can be adopted in a wide range of communication modes including for example an e-mail communication mode, a short-range communication mode or an instant messaging communication mode, etc.

The present invention further provides a computing device adapted for deferred data transmission comprising an input unit for receiving one or more data units for deferred transmission to a recipient, a processor for associating a unique identifier (UID) with the one or more data units based on details of a previous communication with the recipient; and a transmitter unit for sending the one or more data units along with the unique identifier thus associated thereto to the recipient.

The present invention further provides a computing device adapted for deferred data reception comprising a receiver unit for receiving one or more data units along with a unique identifier from a sender, a processor for detecting a previous communication with the sender based on the unique identifier; and a memory unit for storing the one or more data units in association with the previous communication as detected.

To further clarify advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended figures. It is appreciated that these figures depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying figures.

Brief Description of Figures:
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying figures in which like characters represent like parts throughout the figures, wherein:
Figure 1 illustrates a schematic flow diagram of the deferred data communication method between a sender device and a recipient device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 2 illustrates a flow chart of a method of deferred data transmission corresponding to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 3 illustrates a flow chart of a method of deferred data transmission corresponding to another embodiment of the invention;
Figure 4 illustrates a flow chart of a method of deferred data transmission corresponding to yet another embodiment of the invention;
Figure 5 illustrates a schematic flow diagram of a method of deferred data transmission via e-mail system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 6 illustrates a schematic flow diagram of a method of deferred data transmission via e-mail system in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;
Figure 7 illustrates a schematic flow diagram of a method of deferred data communication in a deferment aware e-mail system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 8 illustrates an exemplary format of a header (800) which may be adopted to make a communication system a Deferment Aware system;
Figure 9 illustrates a detailed view of an e-mail header as may be adopted in a deferment aware e-mail system;
Figure 10 illustrates a method for marking an email as carrying a deferred attachment in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 11 illustrates shown an exemplary pop-up which may notify the user about an error in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 12 illustrates a schematic flow diagram of a method of deferred data communication in a deferment non-aware e-mail system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 13 illustrates a schematic flow diagram of a method of deferred data transmission via deferment non-aware e-mail system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 14 illustrates a schematic flow diagram of a method of deferred data transmission via an instant messaging system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 15 illustrates a schematic flow diagram of a method of deferred data transmission via an instant messaging system in accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention;
Figure 16 illustrates a schematic flow diagram of a method of deferred directory transmission via an instant messaging system in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 17 illustrates a schematic flow diagram of a method of deferred transmission of multiple directories via an instant messaging system in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;
Figure 18 illustrates a schematic flow diagram of adding comments to the data under deferred transmission and transmission of the same in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;
Figure 19 illustrates a schematic flow diagram of a method of deferred image transmission via short range communication mode in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 20 illustrates a schematic flow diagram of a method of deferred audio transmission via short range communication mode in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;
Figure 21 illustrates a flow chart of a method of deferred data reception in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 22 illustrates a flow chart of a method of deferred data reception in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;
Figure 23 illustrates a sample rendering of an e-mail along with the deferred attachment in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 24 illustrates a sample rendering of an e-mail along with the deferred attachment in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;
Figure 25 illustrates a sample notification as provided on the receiver device in response to receiving a deferred data via an instant messaging system in accordance with another embodiment of the invention;
Figure 26 illustrates a sample rendering of the deferred directory as received via a short range communication mode in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 27 illustrates a sample rendering of a reconstituted video file in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 28 illustrates a block diagram of a computing device adapted for implementing a deferred transmission method in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 29 illustrates a block diagram of a computing device adapted for implementing a deferred reception method in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 30 illustrates a block diagram of an e-mail system adapted for implementing a deferred communication method in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 31 illustrates a general storage entry in the receiver side email handling system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 32 illustrates storage entries of emails from a Deferment Aware System without any deferred attachment;
Figure 33 illustrates storage entries of emails from a Deferment Aware System with deferred attachments;
Figure 34 illustrates storage entries of emails from a Deferment Non-Aware System without any deferred attachment;
Figure 35 illustrates storage entries of emails from a Deferment Non-Aware System with deferred attachments;
Figure 36 illustrates a flow chart of the process as implemented by the view controller for detecting whether the e-mail comes from Deferment Aware System or a Deferment Non-Aware System;
Figure 37 illustrates a flow chart of the process as implemented by the view controller for detecting deferred attachments in case the e-mail comes from Deferment Aware System;
Figure 38 illustrates a flow chart of the process as implemented by the view controller for detecting deferred attachments in case the e-mail comes from Deferment Non-Aware System;
Figure 39 illustrates the pointer structure in emails with deferred attachment as coming from a Deferment Aware System;
Figure 40 illustrates the pointer structure in emails with deferred attachment as coming from a Deferment Non-Aware System;
Figure 41 illustrates the unique utilities that can be included while handling the email attachments in an e-mail system implementing the deferred communication method; and
Figure 42 illustrates a typical hardware configuration of the computing device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and may not have been necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flow charts illustrate the method in terms of the most prominent steps involved to help to improve understanding of aspects of the present invention. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the figures by conventional symbols, and the figures may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the figures with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

Detailed Description:
For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the figures and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory of the invention and are not intended to be restrictive thereof.

Reference throughout this specification to “an aspect”, “another aspect” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrase “in an embodiment”, “in another embodiment” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

The terms "comprises", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that comprises a list of steps does not include only those steps but may include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such process or method. Similarly, one or more devices or sub-systems or elements or structures or components proceeded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other devices or other sub-systems or other elements or other structures or other components or additional devices or additional sub-systems or additional elements or additional structures or additional components.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying figures.

Referring to figure 1, there is illustrated a schematic flow diagram of the deferred data communication method (100) between a sender device (101) and a recipient device (102). In the illustrated example, the sender device was initially rendering a set of selectable data units (1031 to 103n) and the method comprises receiving selection (104) of one or more data units. The sender device further receives an indication (105) that the selected one or more data units are to be transmitted using deferred transmission method. In the example, the indication of the deferred transmission method is illustrated as a touch input in the form of “D” character or an air-gesture input in the form of “D” character. In response to receiving the indication pertaining to the deferred transmission, a graphical user interface (GUI) (106) containing details of one or more communication modes as supported by the sender device is rendered. In the example, the GUI renders e-mail mode of communication (107), Bluetooth mode of communication (108), Wi-Fi Direct mode of communication (109) and instant messaging mode of communication (110). The sender device receives a selection (111) of any one of the supported communication mode for transmission of the selected one or more data units. Based on the communication mode thus selected, the sender device further receives details of a previous communication with the recipient from within the selected communication mode. Once the details of the past communication with the recipient has been received by the sender device, the same is used by the sender device for associating (112) a unique identifier corresponding to the past communication to the selected one or more data units. By way of example, in case the communication mode is chosen as e-mail, the details of the past communication can be received in the form of previous Email subject matter (113). On the other hand, if the communication mode is chosen as Wi-Fi Direct, the details of the past communication can be received in the form of Previous Video File Name and Time Stamp (114). Likewise, if the communication mode is chosen as Bluetooth (BT), the details of the past communication can be received in the form of Previous BT sent file name (115). Similarly, if the communication mode is chosen as instant messaging, the details of the past communication can be received in the form of Chat Topic (116). The sender device (101) then sends (117) the selected one or more data units along with the unique identifier to the recipient.

The recipient device (102) receives (118) the one or more data unit sent in the form of deferred data unit. The recipient device detects the unique identifier as contained in the one or more data units thus received and searches through the communication mode, as specified by the unique identifier, for the previous communication matching with the unique identifier (119). Once the previous communication matching with the unique identifier has been identified, the recipient device stores (120) the one or more data units in association with the previous communication. As and when there is a request for rendering, the one or more data units along with the previous communication are fetched and rendered together (121).

Now referring to figure 2, there is illustrated a flow chart of a method of deferred data transmission (200) corresponding to an embodiment of the invention. The deferred data transmission method (200) comprises receiving (201) one or more data units for deferred transmission to a recipient. In response to such receiving, a unique identifier (UID) is associated (202) with the one or more data units based on details of a previous communication with the recipient. The method further includes sending (203) the one or more data units along with the unique identifier thus associated thereto to the recipient.

The method as illustrated in figure 2 can be supplemented with additional steps as illustrated in figure 3.

By way of example, in one aspect, the step receiving one or more data units for deferred transmission to a recipient i.e. step 201 of figure 2 can further comprise of presenting (301) to a user a GUI including one or more selectable data units and receiving (302) a selection of one or more data units from said one or more selectable data units.

In another aspect of the invention, along with receiving the one or more data units for deferred transmission, the method may further include receiving (303) an indication corresponding to deferred data transmission, wherein the indication can be in the form of a gesture indication, a touch indication or a voice indication, etc. In an alternative embodiment, the indication corresponding to deferred transmission can be received separately instead of being received during the step of receiving the one or more data units.

In another aspect of the invention, along with receiving the one or more data units for deferred transmission, the method may further include receiving (304) a comment corresponding to the one or more data units. In an alternative embodiment, the step of receiving comments is separate and can either precede the step of receiving the one or more data units or follow the step of receiving the one or more data units.

Since the deferred data transmission pertains to a first communication which happened back in time with the recipient, the deferred transmission method further comprises receiving (305) details of the first communication with the recipient. It may be noted that since the deferred transmission pertains to a first communication which happened back in time, the same may not be currently active at the time of receiving the one or more data units for deferred transmission to the recipient.

Without wishing to be restricted, in one embodiment, the details of the first communication with the recipient can be received by presenting (306) to a user a GUI including one or more communication modes and receiving (307) a receiving selection of a communication mode. Post the selection of the communication mode is received, the system presents (308) to the user with a GUI including one or more communication as done within communication mode and receive (309) a selection of a previous communication as done with the recipient from within the communication mode.

In case the user is already within the communication mode (for example, if the user is already operating the e-mail), the steps 306 and 307 can be avoided and merely the remaining steps i.e. steps 308 and 309 may be performed.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the method may further comprise generating (310) header data. In a preferred aspect, the header data can be either of a first type, indicating the one or more data units being transmitted is having a link to a previous communication, or can be of a second type, indicating that the one or more data units being transmitted is not having any link to a previous communication. While the header data thus generated may not play any significant role at the sender device (101), it can be beneficially used by the receiving device (102). In one embodiment, the header data can be used by the receiving device for quickly identifying that the one or more data units thus transmitted pertain to a deferred transmission type. This enables for attaining time saving at the receiving device. Yet another advantage could be resource saving at the receiving device. Thus, in case the header data as described above is generated, the step of sending (311) now sends the one or more data units, the unique identifier and the header data to the recipient.

Since the deferred transmission method corresponds to a previous communication, figure 4 illustrates that the method (400) comprises establishing (401) a first communication with a recipient which is then followed by the steps of receiving (201) one or more data units for deferred transmission to the recipient; associating (202) a unique identifier (UID) to the one or more data units based on details of the first communication with the recipient; and sending (203) the one or more data units along with the unique identifier thus associated thereto to the recipient, as illustrated in figure 2.

In the following paragraphs different types of implementations of the deferred transmission method are described along with reference to the corresponding figures. The different implementations being described herein after are merely for illustration purposes and the same should not be construed to limit the scope of the claims in any manner.

One of the most common ways to share attachments is by using an e-mail communication mode.

Now referring to figure 5, there is illustrated one embodiment by which attachments can be sent via the deferred transmission method. Particularly, as shown in figure 5(a), the user can go to a library (501) which for example is illustrated as containing multiple digital contents (5021, 5022, 5023, 5024, 5025 and 5026). The user can select one or of the digital contents from the library (5031, 5032 and 5033). Thereafter, the user can select the “option” icon (504). Referring to figure 5(b), in response to selection of the option icon, plurality of options are presented to the user vide a GUI (505). One of the options that may be presented includes “Deferred Attach” (506). In response to detecting selection of the Deferred Attach option, the user may be directed to outbox (507) of an email communication mode as illustrated in figure 5(c). The outbox can be rendering one or more communications (5081, 5082, 5083, 5084, 5085 and 5086) which have already happened and the user can select (509) any of the communications. In response to receiving selection of a particular communication, the digital contents previously selected (5031, 5032 and 5033) are sent as deferred attachments to said selected communication. It is feasible that the user may wish to add some specific comment to the attachments and to cater to the same, a GUI (510) for allowing the user to add comment as shown in figure 5(d) can be presented. Using the GUI, the user can provide comments (511) which will be then sent along with the attachments.

Now referring to figure 6, there is illustrated another embodiment by which attachments can be sent via the deferred transmission method. Particularly, as shown in figure 6(a), the user is already viewing the outbox 601 of the e-mail communication mode which renders one or more past communications sent (6021 to 602n). In an embodiment, in respect of each sent communication, there can be presented a small icon (603), which upon actuating (604) will enable the user to select one or more attachments for sending using the deferred transmission method. Particularly, as shown in figure 6(b), upon detecting actuation (604), a graphical user interface (605) will be presented. Through the GUI (605), the user can select one or more attachments (6061, 6062 and 6063). Completion of the selection can be detected based on actuation of the “Done” icon (607). Similar to figure 5(d) figure 6(c) illustrates the feasibility of presenting a GUI (510) for allowing the user to add comment (511) and thereafter the digital contents previously selected (6061, 6062 and 6063) are sent as deferred attachments to said selected communication.

Under any of the above described method of deferred transmission, the E-Mailing systems can be divided in two broad categories:
1. Deferment Aware Systems; and
2. Deferment Non-Aware Systems.

Deferment Aware Systems: These are the E-Mail systems which are aware of the deferred attachment emailing. They support deferred attachment natively and can also provide an external option for user to mark an email as deferred attachment type before sending out the email. A block diagram of Deferment Aware email system (700) is illustrated in figure 7. It can be observed from figure 7 that the sender device (701) passes on the information about deferment to the server (702) at the time of sending out the email. In such case, the information about deferment is passed onto the receiver (703) by the mail server.

An E-Mail system can be made as a Deferment Aware system, by including a deferment indication in the outgoing e-mail. In an embodiment of the present invention, the deferment indication which is communicated in Deferment Aware Systems can be sent as a part of the email header. An exemplary format of a header (800) which may be adopted to make a communication system a Deferment Aware system is shown in figure 8. In the illustrated example, a header (800) comprises regular header information (801) and deferment indication (802). In an embodiment of the present invention, the deferment indication (802) can be adopted to carry information about two aspects namely Deferment Aware Domain (803) and Deferred Attachment (804). Information about Deferment Aware Domain (803) can be present in the form of one bit and likewise, information about Deferred Attachment (804) can be present in the form of one bit. Thus, compared to a normal header the header (800) as shown in figure 8 comprises two additional bits. A detailed view of the e-mail header is illustrated in figure 9, which includes the regular header information (901) and the deferment indication (902), which is adapted to carry information in relation to Deferment Aware Domain (903) and Deferred Attachment (904).

Information in relation to Deferment Aware Domain: This bit indicates whether the sending Email domain supports the deferred attachment mechanism. If the support is present, the bit is set to 1 i.e. TRUE, and if the support is not present, the bit is set to 0 i.e. FALSE.

Information in relation to Deferred Attachment: This bit indicates whether the email is carrying any deferred attachment along with the communicated email. If the attachment is present, the bit is set to 1 i.e. TRUE, else it is set to 0, i.e. FALSE.

Without wanting to be limited to the hypothesis, it is believed that a Deferment aware system would provide easy method for users to mark the email as carrying deferred attachment as illustrated in figure 10, i.e. each user replying to the communication shall be shown a UI control (1000) to mark (1001) the email as deferred attachment type. Other advantage of having such system could be the fact that the user will be shown error controlling checks and displays in order to further enhance and extend the system. For example, if the system has a limitation for text comment in a deferred email to be of 200 characters only. The user can be shown a pop-up (1100) an example of which is shown in figure 11, when the email’s new content is greater than 200 characters.

It may however be noted that the deferred transmission can be sent using any e-mail system (i.e. Deferment Non-Aware system).

Deferment Non-Aware Systems: These are the traditional E-Mail systems which have no information about deferred attachments. A block diagram of Deferment Non-Aware email system (1200) is illustrated in figure 12. It can be observed from figure 12 that in a deferment non-aware e-mailing system, the sender device (1201) does not have capability to explicitly mark the email as containing a deferred attachment before sending to the same to the server (1202), as a result of which no such information is passed onto the receiver (1203) by the mail server.

To provide backward compatibility with Deferment non-aware systems, a different method may be adopted, an example of which is illustrated in figure 13 and explained in detail herein below.

Referring to figure 13, there is illustrated an embodiment by which attachments can be sent via the deferment non-aware systems. Particularly, as shown in figure 13(a), the user is already viewing the outbox (1301) of the e-mail communication mode which renders one or more past communications sent (13021 to 1302n). In an embodiment, in respect of each sent communication, there can be presented a “reply all” icon (1303), which upon actuating (1304) will create a fresh e-mail (1305), as illustrated in figure 13(b). It may be noticed that the select matter of the fresh e-mail starts with “Re: …..” as indicated by 1306 in figure 13(b). The user amends this and replaces the “Re:…” by “[attach]:….” as shown by 1307 in figure 13(c). Thereafter, the user can attach one or more attachments using the “attachment” option (1308) as shown in figure 13(d) (which is substantially similar to figure 6(b) and hence, not described in detail), optionally add comments to the attachment, as shown in figure 13(e) (which is substantially similar to figure 6(c) and hence, not described in detail) and send the same. In the illustrated embodiment, based on the syntax of the subject i.e. the prefix “[attach]” the receiver can invoke special handling and more particularly identify and handle the received e-mail as containing deferred attachment type.

While in the above paragraphs, few methods of implementing the deferred transmission method in an e-mail communication system has been elaborated with reference to figures 5 to 13, the implementation details as provided above should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

In the recent years, sharing of attachments using instant messaging systems has become prevalent and hence, in the following paragraphs few methods of implementing the deferred transmission method in an instant messaging system are being elaborated.

Referring to figure 14, there is illustrated an embodiment for sharing deferred attachments via an instant messaging system. As illustrated in figure 14(a), the sender may provide a topic (1401) and establishes a previous communication (1402) with a recipient. In case the sender wishes to send one or more further attachments to the sender in the form of deferred attachments, as he can now select (1403) the attachments (14041-14044) as illustrated in figure 14(b). Thereafter, the user may select (1405) an option pertaining to “Deferred Sharing”. As illustrated in figure 14(c), from the various options which may be presented, the user may now select (1406) the instant messaging option. As illustrated in figure 14(d), a GUI may be presented for seeking from the user a chat topic. The chat topic shall indicate the relative contents of the deferred directory. The topic may be included by sending a special message within the Instant Messaging session indicating that subsequent X messages being sent by the sender will now be part of this topic. This special message may be initiated by either the sender or receiver. The special message may be interpreted by the Instant Messaging Server, and the topic is rendered in the GUI for easy user viewing. In an alternative, instead of seeking the chat topic from the user, the chat topic can be auto-generated (based on context parsing). In the alternative option, the GUI may seek the details of the recipient or any other information based on which the past communication can be identified. Once the past communication has been identified, as illustrated in figure 14(e), the selected attachments are sent in the form of deferred attachments.

Now referring to figures 15(a) to 15(e), there is illustrated another embodiment for sharing deferred attachments via an instant messaging system. The method illustrated in figures 15(a) to 15(e) is substantially similar to that in figures 14(a) to 14(e) except for figure 14(b). In light of the above, the features that are common to figures 14 and 15 are not being explained and reference may be made to the description as provided above with respect to figure 14 for the same. As illustrated in figure 15(b), the selection (1501) pertaining to “Deferred Sharing” may be received in the form of a pattern input in the form of “D”. It may however be noted that any other pattern can be configured either in the form of factory setting or in the form of user setting. In yet another alternative which is not illustrated, the selection pertaining to “Deferred Sharing” may be received in the form of over-the-air gesture.

Now referring to figure 16, there is illustrated yet another embodiment for sharing deferred attachments via an instant messaging system. In this embodiment, the user may initially create a “deferred directory” (1601) as illustrated in figure 16(a) and then send (1602) the deferred directory via the instant messaging system as illustrated in figure 16(b). When adopting this embodiment, subsequent to the sharing of the deferred directory, the user can add new contents to the deferred directory (1601). The sending of a deferred directory is implemented using the conventional methods for sharing a folder within a chat session.

Now referring to figure 17, it is feasible to send multiple deferred directories. In this regard, as illustrated in figure 17(a), the user can create a first deferred directory (1701), a second deferred directory (1702) and a third deferred directory (1703) and then send (1704) the first deferred directory (1701), send (1705) the second deferred directory (1702), and send (1706) the third deferred directory (1703) via the instant messaging system as illustrated in figure 17(b). When adopting this embodiment, the user can add new content subsequent to sharing of each of the first, second and the third deferred directory.

Now referring to figure 18, it is feasible to add comment (1801) to any of the attachment (1802) which is being sent as deferred transmission as specifically illustrated in figure 18(a). Once the comment is added to the attachment, as illustrated in figure 18(b), the comment (1801) will be automatically sent (1803) along with the deferred attachment (1802) via the instant messaging system.

While in the above paragraphs, few methods of implementing the deferred transmission method in an instant messaging system has been elaborated with reference to figures 14 to 18, the method can be implemented by other alternative methods and that the scope of the invention is not intended to the implementation details as provided above.

It is also a common practice to share digital content using short range communication modes. Such short range communication modes include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, RFID, etc. Thus, in the following paragraphs few methods of implementing the deferred transmission method by adopting the short range communication mode are being elaborated.

Referring to figure 19, there is illustrated an embodiment for sharing deferred attachments via an instant messaging system. As illustrated in figure 19(a), a content selection (1901) is received and as illustrated in figure 19(b) selection (1902) of a short range communication mode (Bluetooth in this case) is received. Based on the above selections and further inputs as may be conventionally needed to transmission (which are not specifically illustrated), an initial communication is sent to a recipient. In the initial communication, the selected content (1901) is shared. Referring to figure 19(c), at a later point in time one or more content selection (19031-19033) is received and as illustrated in figure 19(d) selection (1904) for deferred transmission along with selection of the short range communication mode (Bluetooth in this case) is received. In response to the above, as illustrated in figure 19(e), the user is presented with a GUI (1905). The GUI prompts the user to enter details of the file previously transferred (1906). In an alternative embodiment, the GUI may seek the details of the recipient or any other information based on which the past communication can be identified. Once the past communication has been identified, the selected attachments are sent in the form of deferred attachments.

It is possible to transfer different types of digital content using the deferred transmission method. By way of example, figure 20 shows deferred transmission of audio files. The method as illustrated in figure 20 is substantially similar to the method as illustrated in figure 19 except for the type of content thus chosen for deferred transmission, which in the present instance is audio file(s) (2001, 20031, 20032, 20033), and the communication mode chosen for the deferred transmission, which in this present instance is Wi-Fi Direct (2002, 2004).

It may be noted any type of media content, including audio files, image files, graphical files, video file, animation files, etc. can be sent using the deferred transmission method. The advantage of having such provision in place would be the fact that the new file will work as an extension to the previously exchanged file.

Additionally, it is possible to adopt the route of creating a deferred directory (as illustrated and described with reference to figures 16(a), 17(a) and 18(a) above and transmit the deferred directory using short range communication modes. Particularly, the traditional file exchange methods such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, WiFi-Direct etc., can be employed to pass a Deferred content such as a deferred directory to the other mobile phone. This deferred directory will serve to provide more features as compared to the traditional file exchanges and also will be intuitive and provide ease of use to the sender as well as the receiver.It is believed that sharing the files with other end through a deferred directory method would allow the sender to later on add a new file to the same directory on the receiver’s file system (provided it is not deleted by the user till then).

While in the above paragraphs, few methods of implementing the deferred transmission method using short range communication modes has been elaborated with reference to figures 19 to 20, the method can be implemented by other alternative methods and that the scope of the invention is not intended to the implementation details as provided above.

While in the above paragraphs, the method as performed for deferred transmission by the sender device has been described in detail, in the following paragraphs, the deferred data receiving method as performed by the recipient device will be described in detail in the following paragraphs.

Referring to figure 21, the present invention further provides a deferred data receiving method (2100) that comprises receiving one or more data units along with a unique identifier from a sender (2101). Based on the unique identifier, a previous communication with the sender is detected (2102) and the one or more data units is stored (2103) in associating with the previous communication thus detected. The unique identifier may be selected from a group comprising of a transaction identity, an application identity, a context identity, or combination thereof.

The method as illustrated in figure 21 can be supplemented with additional steps as illustrated in figure 22.

By way of example, referring to figure 22, the method (2200) may comprise receiving (2201) header data along with the one or more data units and the unique identifier, wherein the header data is either of a first type indicating the one or more data units being transmitted is having a link to a previous communication or a second type indicating the one or more data units being transmitted is not having any link to a previous communication.

In another embodiment, the method further comprises analysing the header (2202) and in case the header is of the first type (i.e. indicating the one or more data units being transmitted is having a link to a previous communication), then a process of detecting a previous communication with the sender (2205) is performed. In another embodiment, if the header is present and is of the second type (i.e. indicating the one or more data units being transmitted is not having a link to any previous communication), then the process is terminated and the normal processing (as per conventional method) is taken.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the method (2200) may further comprise parsing (2204) the unique identifier so as to obtain one or more of: a transaction identity, an application identity, a context identity, or combination thereof as contained in the unique identifier.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, wherein detecting (2205) may further comprise of searching (2206) through previously stored communications for one or more of transaction identity, application identity or context identity, as contained in the unique identifier and fetching (2207) the previously stored communication matching the transaction identity, application identity or context identity, as contained in the unique identifier.

In a further embodiment of the present invention the method (2200) may further comprise of rendering (2209) the one or more data units along with the previous communication. In one embodiment, the rendering (2209) may comprise of fetching (2210), in response to a request for rendering, the previous communication and the one or more data units in associating with the previous communication. The previous communication and the one or more data units may be then bound together (2211) and rendered (2212). If the one or more data units carry a comment therewith, the previous communication, the one or more data units and the comment associated with the one or more data units are bound together and rendered. In an embodiment, the comment may be associated with the data unit by embedding the comment as a metadata of the data unit. In an alternative, if the one or more data units carry a comment therewith, the previous communication, the one or more data units and the comment associated with the one or more data units are bound together and the rendering can be initially of the previous communication and the one or more data units while the comment may rendered in response to detecting a predetermined type of action.

In a further embodiment of the present invention the method (2200) may further comprise of detecting (2213) an action in association with a data unit as rendered along with the previous communication; and providing (2214) a functionality associated with the action to the data unit.

By way of a non-limiting example, the action is a right swipe on the data unit as rendered along with the previous communication and the functionality is a forward the data unit. By way of yet another non-limiting example, the action is a left swipe on the data unit as rendered along with the previous communication and the functionality is a reply to the sender with the data unit.

In the following paragraphs different types of implementations of the deferred receiving method are described along with reference to the corresponding figures. The different implementations being described herein after are merely for illustration purposes and the same should not be construed to limit the scope of the claims in any manner.

Referring to figure 23, there is illustrated a sample rendering of an e-mail along with the deferred attachment in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As particularly can be observed, the body of the previous e-mail communication is rendered in portion 2301. In case the previous e-mail contained any attachment the same is rendered in portion 2302. The attachments which are received vide the deferred transmission method are rendered as 2303, 2304 and so on, depending upon the time of receipt. By way of example, it can be seen that original e-mail is received at 10:00 AM, the first deferred attachment 2303 is received at time 10:10 AM and a second deferred attachment 2304 is received at time 10:20 AM. In the illustrated example, the second deferred attachment contains a comment and hence, a small indication 2305 is provided as against the second deferred attachment 2304. The indication may be in the form of a display of comment icon on the GUI. In response to detecting a specific type of pre-configured action by the user, the comment is rendered as 2306.

Referring to figure 24, there is illustrated a yet another sample rendering of an e-mail along with the deferred attachment in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. Similar to figure 23, the body of the previous e-mail communication is rendered in portion 2401, the attachment to the previous e-mail communication is rendered at portion 2402. The attachments which are received vide the deferred transmission method are rendered as 2403 and 2404. The difference between figure 23 and figure 24 is in terms of the rendering of the comments. In figure 24, the comment 2405 is automatically rendered as part of the e-mail body, without any further action.

Referring to figure 25, there is illustrated a sample notification as provided on the receiver device in response to receiving a deferred data via an instant messaging system in accordance with another embodiment of the invention. The notification 2501 is generated merely upon receipt of the deferred data unit and is not dependent upon receipt of any message or comment. However, in case the deferred data unit contains any comment, the notification can be configured to provide a pre-view of the same. Similarly, in case of an update of a deferred directory, the notification can be configured to mention the name of the directory hat has been updated.

Figure 26 illustrates a sample rendering of multiple deferred directories as received via a short range communication mode in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring particularly to figure 26(a), there is illustrated a GUI 2601 which renders details of the first directory 2602 and the details of the second directory 2603. Assuming that a first instance the first directory 2602 has been shared with 4 contents namely 26041 to 26044, details or preview of these contents is rendered. Now referring to figure 26(b), when the sender uploads a fresh content to any of the first or the second directory, the sharing can occur. Assuming that post addition of one content 26045 to the first directory 2602 the sharing occurred, it can be seen from figure 26(b) that the content 26045 now appears within the first directory at the recipient device.

Especially when it comes to media data files, at the time of rendering the deferred data units, it is possible to constructively add media files to a previously exchanged media data file. Once a file is marked as deferred, media is constructively added to a previously exchanged media file, then a deferment aware media player can play the files as belonging to a single entity and there would be no pause or delay between ending of first video to the start of the next video which is deferred to the previous one. In one embodiment as illustrated in figure 27, two video files namely 2702 and 2703 have been shown as been added to a previously exchanged media file 2701. It is possible to after the constructive addition, the previously exchanged media file and the media file which is exchanged as deferred media file can share a single progress bar, with indication as to beginning and end of each media file.

In terms of the system, the present invention provides a computing device 2800 as illustrated in figure 28, which is adapted for deferred data transmission. The computing device can include an input unit (2801) for receiving one or more data units for deferred transmission to a recipient; a processor (2802) for associating a unique identifier (UID) with the one or more data units based on details of a previous communication with the recipient; and a transmitter unit (2803) for sending the one or more data units along with the unique identifier thus associated thereto to the recipient.

Likewise, the present invention provides a computing device 2900 as illustrated in figure 29, which is adapted for deferred data reception. The computing device can include a receiver unit (2901) for receiving one or more data units along with a unique identifier from a sender; a processor (2902) for detecting a previous communication with the sender based on the unique identifier; and a memory unit (2903) for storing the one or more data units in association with the previous communication as detected. In addition to the above, the computing device can comprise a renderer for rendering the digital content.

Now specifically referring to figure 30, there is provided an e-mail system (3000) for implementing a deferred communication method in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The e-mail system comprises of an email receiver module (3001) for handling reception related tasks for e-mail. The e-mail system further comprises an e-mail delivery module (3002) for handling the email delivery related task for emails from networking perspective. There is further provided a display module (3003) for providing user visible display environment for user to be able to see the stored emails (sent/received etc.). There is also provided an e-mail composing module (3004) to support the user in writing of new e-mails. The email system further comprises a storage unit (3005) for storing the e-mails. The e-mail system further comprises a Preamble module (3006). The preamble module is responsible for pre-processing of the email in order to convert it to a format which complies with the format used by the storage media implementation. This module checks for the deferment indication bits and accordingly puts the entry in Storage. If the email is from a Deferment Non-Aware System, it assumes both the deferment indication bits to be zero. The e-mail system furthermore comprises a view controller (3007). The view controller provides the display instructions to the display module. This controller has the information about the deferment emails and accordingly can ask the display module to indicate an attachment as a deferred item to a previous communicated message.

Figure 31 shows a general storage entry in the receiver side email handling system. In respect of each communication message, the Message ID (3101) functions as the unique identity. The message storage entry further comprises deferment indication bits (3102). Based on the contents (or presence) of the deferment indication bits, the preamble module and the view controller can take a decision of the nature of processing. The message storage entry may further store indication of the subject (3103), details of the sender (3104), time of reception of the e-mail (3105) and any other parameters (3106). The preamble module will handle incoming Emails from a Deferment Aware as well as a Deferment Non-Aware System. Accordingly the handled cases are described below.

Email from a Deferment Aware System without any deferred attachment:
In this case, the contents of the storage will be as shown in figure 32. As shown in the figure 32, the emails are grouped in the form of chunks, with each chunk having one unique message ID for all its communicated messages. The example shows three email chunks – Chunk 1, Chunk 2 and Chunk 3. None of the chunk has any particular email that carries the deferred attachment. Hence the Deferred Attachment field 3202 is set to 0, while the Deferment Aware System 3201 bit is set to 1.

Email from a Deferment Aware System carrying a deferred attachment:
In this case, the Deferred Attachment bit for all the emails which were marked by the sender as carrying a deferred attachment are set to 1. Figure 33 show two emails (3301 and 3302) in first chunk to be carrying a deferred attachment, while one email (3303) in the second chunk to be carrying a deferred attachment. In light of the above, the deferred attachment field corresponding to the e-mails 3301, 3302 and 3303 are set as 1.

Email from a Deferment Non-Aware System without any deferred attachment:
In this case, the Deferment Aware System bit is set to zero, as well as the Deferred Attachment bit is set to zero. This is done by the Preamble module because the email didn’t carry any such bits in the message header, hence the Deferment Aware System field (3401) are given the default value of zero, as shown in figure 34. Additionally, the Deferred Attachment field (3402) is also set to zero.

Email from a Deferment Non-Aware System carrying a deferred attachment:
In the case of e-mail from a Deferment Non-Aware System carrying a deferred attachment, the Deferment Aware System bit along with the Deferred Attachment bit is set to zero, as none of the two indications was present in the message header, so they are given their default value of zero. Now to provide backward compatibility the emails can be distinguished, as shown in figure 35, on the basis of their subject text, i.e. any subject with special prefix “[attach]” is handled as a deferred attachment type email. Thus, the e-mails 3501, 3502 and 3503 can be distinguished on the basis of the special prefix “[attach]” as contained in the subject field (3504). This handling can be done either by the preamble module or at View Controller level.

In terms of the processing of the view controller, referring to figure 36, the view Controller picks up each chunk from storage (3601) and for each email to be displayed, it is verified (3602) if the email is from deferment aware systems by checking the Deferment Aware Domain bit in the storage entry. If the sender domain is Deferment Aware then the processing proceeds as shown in figure 37, wherein the email is checked (3701) for carrying any deferred attachments. In case the e-mail is found to be carrying deferred attachment(s), as marked by Deferred Attachment bit in the storage, special handling instructions are generated (3702) and the controller passes (3703) on special handling instructions to Display module. The special handling instruction pertains to display instructions.

If however, in figure 36 it is determined that the sender domain is Deferment Non-Aware then the processing proceeds as shown in figure in figure 38, wherein the mail subjected is checked (3801) for containing the special syntax (prefix, “[attach]”). In case the e-mail is found to be carrying the special syntax, special handling instructions are generated (3802) and the controller passes (3803) on special handling instructions to Display module. The special handling instruction pertains to display instructions.

Pointers for Mail from Deferment Aware Systems carrying Deferred Attachment: As illustrated in figure 39, the new mail (3901, 3902 and 3903) which contains deferred attachments carries pointer entity (3904, 3905 and 3906) to the previous email entity to which new attachment is being added. This pointer is based on the deferred attachment field.

Pointers for Mail from Deferment Non-Aware Systems carrying Deferred Attachment: As illustrated in figure 40, the new mail (4001, 4002 and 4003) which contains deferred attachments carries pointer entity (4004, 4005 and 4006) to the previous email entity to which new attachment is being added. In this case, the pointer is however based on the special syntax as contained in the subject field.

Without wanting to be restricted provided an e-mail system as described above implementing the deferred communication method in accordance with an embodiment of the invention can provide a few unique utilities in regard to handling the email attachments. By way of an example, as illustrated in figure 41, in response to detecting a swiping right action or gesture (4101) on an attachment a new email composition can be created a with the swiped attachment added to the newly composed mail as attachment. This provides for ease of use to the user when the user wants to send only one attachment out of number of attachments to some other users. By way of another example, in response to detecting a swiping left action or gesture (4102) on an attachment an email reply to the original sender of the email in the recipients section including the swiped attachment can be created. This provides ease of use to the user when the user wants to reply to the user keeping a particular attachment in context while replying.

Referring to figure 42, a typical hardware configuration of the computing device in the form of a computer system 4200 is shown. The computer system 4200 can include a set of instructions that can be executed to cause the computer system 4200 to perform any one or more of the methods disclosed. The computer system 4200 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected, e.g., using a network, to other computer systems or peripheral devices.

In a networked deployment, the computer system 4200 may operate in the capacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-client user network environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The computer system 4200 can also be implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wireless telephone, a land-line telephone, a control system, a camera, a scanner, a facsimile machine, a printer, a pager, a personal trusted device, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any other machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while a single computer system 4200 is illustrated, the term "system" shall also be taken to include any collection of systems or sub-systems that individually or jointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructions to perform one or more computer functions.

The computer system 4200 may include a processor 4202, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both. The processor 4202 may be a component in a variety of systems. For example, the processor 4202 may be part of a standard personal computer or a workstation. The processor 4202 may be one or more general processors, digital signal processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, servers, networks, digital circuits, analog circuits, combinations thereof, or other now known or later developed devices for analysing and processing data The processor 4202 may implement a software program, such as code generated manually (i.e., programmed).

The computer system 4200 may include a memory 4204, such as a memory 4204 that can communicate via a bus 4208. The memory 4204 may be a main memory, a static memory, or a dynamic memory. The memory 4204 may include, but is not limited to computer readable storage media such as various types of volatile and non-volatile storage media, including but not limited to random access memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable read-only memory, flash memory, magnetic tape or disk, optical media and the like. In one example, the memory 4204 includes a cache or random access memory for the processor 4202. In alternative examples, the memory 4204 is separate from the processor 4202, such as a cache memory of a processor, the system memory, or other memory. The memory 4204 may be an external storage device or database for storing data. Examples include a hard drive, compact disc ("CD"), digital video disc ("DVD"), memory card, memory stick, floppy disc, universal serial bus ("USB") memory device, or any other device operative to store data. The memory 4204 is operable to store instructions executable by the processor 4202. The functions, acts or tasks illustrated in the figures or described may be performed by the programmed processor 4202 executing the instructions stored in the memory 4204. The functions, acts or tasks are independent of the particular type of instructions set, storage media, processor or processing strategy and may be performed by software, hardware, integrated circuits, firm-ware, micro-code and the like, operating alone or in combination. Likewise, processing strategies may include multiprocessing, multitasking, parallel processing and the like.

As shown, the computer system 4200 may or may not further include a display unit 4210, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a flat panel display, a solid state display, a cathode ray tube (CRT), a projector, a printer or other now known or later developed display device for outputting determined information. The display 4210 may act as an interface for the user to see the functioning of the processor 4202, or specifically as an interface with the software stored in the memory 4204 or in the drive unit 4216.

Additionally, the computer system 4200 may include an input device 4212 configured to allow a user to interact with any of the components of system 4200. The input device 4212 may be a number pad, a keyboard, or a cursor control device, such as a mouse, or a joystick, touch screen display, remote control or any other device operative to interact with the computer system 4200.

The computer system 4200 may also include a disk or optical drive unit 4216. The disk drive unit 4216 may include a computer-readable medium 4222 in which one or more sets of instructions 4224, e.g. software, can be embedded. Further, the instructions 4224 may embody one or more of the methods or logic as described. In a particular example, the instructions 4224 may reside completely, or at least partially, within the memory 4204 or within the processor 4202 during execution by the computer system 4200. The memory 4204 and the processor 4202 also may include computer-readable media as discussed above.

The present invention contemplates a computer-readable medium that includes instructions 4224 or receives and executes instructions 4224 responsive to a propagated signal so that a device connected to a network 4226 can communicate voice, video, audio, images or any other data over the network 4226. Further, the instructions 4224 may be transmitted or received over the network 4226 via a communication port or interface 4220 or using a bus 4208. The communication port or interface 4220 may be a part of the processor 402 or may be a separate component. The communication port 4220 may be created in software or may be a physical connection in hardware. The communication port 4220 may be configured to connect with a network 4226, external media, the display 4210, or any other components in system 4200, or combinations thereof. The connection with the network 4226 may be a physical connection, such as a wired Ethernet connection or may be established wirelessly as discussed later. Likewise, the additional connections with other components of the system 4200 may be physical connections or may be established wirelessly. The network 4226 may alternatively be directly connected to the bus 4208.

The network 4226 may include wired networks, wireless networks, Ethernet AVB networks, or combinations thereof. The wireless network may be a cellular telephone network, an 802.11, 802.16, 802.20, 802.1Q or WiMax network. Further, the network 426 may be a public network, such as the Internet, a private network, such as an intranet, or combinations thereof, and may utilize a variety of networking protocols now available or later developed including, but not limited to TCP/IP based networking protocols.

In an alternative example, dedicated hardware implementations, such as application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays and other hardware devices, can be constructed to implement various parts of the system 4200. Applications that may include the systems can broadly include a variety of electronic and computer systems. One or more examples described may implement functions using two or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and data signals that can be communicated between and through the modules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, the present system encompasses software, firmware, and hardware implementations.

The system described may be implemented by software programs executable by a computer system. Further, in a non-limited example, implementations can include distributed processing, component/object distributed processing, and parallel processing. Alternatively, virtual computer system processing can be constructed to implement various parts of the system.

The system is not limited to operation with any particular standards and protocols. For example, standards for Internet and other packet switched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) may be used. Such standards are periodically superseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentially the same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocols having the same or similar functions as those disclosed are considered equivalents thereof.

While specific language has been used to describe the disclosure, any limitations arising on account of the same are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein.

The figures and the forgoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. For example, orders of processes described herein may be changed and are not limited to the manner described herein. Moreover, the actions of any flow diagram need not be implemented in the order shown; nor do all of the acts necessarily need to be performed. Also, those acts that are not dependent on other acts may be performed in parallel with the other acts. The scope of embodiments is by no means limited by these specific examples. Numerous variations, whether explicitly given in the specification or not, such as differences in structure, dimension, and use of material, are possible. The scope of embodiments is at least as broad as given by the following claims.

CLIAMS:WE CLAIM:

1. A deferred data transmission method, comprising the steps of:
a. receiving one or more data units for deferred transmission to a recipient;
b. associating a unique identifier (UID) with the one or more data units based on details of a previous communication with the recipient;
c. sending the one or more data units along with the unique identifier thus associated thereto to the recipient.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising: receiving details of the previous communication with the recipient.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the unique identifier is selected from a group comprising of: a transaction identity, an application identity, a context identity, or combination thereof.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein receiving one or more data units for deferred transmission to a recipient comprises:
a. presenting to a user a graphical user interface including one or more selectable data units;
b. receiving selection of one or more data units from said one or more selectable data units; and
c. receiving an indication corresponding to deferred data transmission.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the indication corresponding to deferred data transmission includes a gesture indication, a touch indication, a voice indication or combination thereof.

6. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein receiving details of the previous communication with the recipient comprises:
a. presenting to a user a graphical user interface including one or more communication modes;
b. receiving selection of a communication mode;
c. presenting to a user a graphical user interface including one or more communication as done within communication mode;
d. receiving selection of a communication as done within the communication mode.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the communication mode includes: an e-mail communication mode, a short-range communication mode, an instant messaging communication mode.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein receiving one or more data units for deferred transmission to a recipient further comprises receiving a comment corresponding to the one or more data units.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising: generating header data and sending the header data along with the one or more data units and the unique identifier to the recipient.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the header is of:
• a first type indicating the one or more data units being transmitted is having a link to a previous communication; or
• a second type indicating the one or more data units being transmitted is not having any link to a previous communication.

11. A deferred data transmission method, comprising the steps of:
a. establishing a first communication with a recipient;
b. receiving one or more data units for deferred transmission to the recipient;
c. associating a unique identifier (UID) to the one or more data units based on details of the first communication with the recipient;
d. sending the one or more data units along with the unique identifier thus associated thereto to the recipient.

12. A deferred data receiving method comprising the steps of:
a. receiving one or more data units along with a unique identifier from a sender;
b. detecting a previous communication with the sender based on the unique identifier; and
c. storing the one or more data units in association with the previous communication as detected.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12 further comprising: parsing the unique identifier so as to obtain one or more of: a transaction identity, an application identity, a context identity, or combination thereof as contained in the unique identifier.

14. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein detecting comprises:
a. searching through previously stored communications for one or more of transaction identity, application identity or context identity, as contained in the unique identifier; and
b. fetching the previously stored communication matching the transaction identity, application identity or context identity, as contained in the unique identifier.

15. The method as claimed in claim 12 further comprising: rendering the one or more data units along with the previous communication.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15 further comprising:
a. fetching, in response to a request for rendering, the previous communication and the one or more data units in associating with the previous communication;
b. binding the previous communication and the one or more data units; and
c. rendering the previous communication and the one or more data units bound thereto.

17. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein in case the one or more data units includes an audio data unit, binding comprises generating a new audio data unit, which includes one or more previously communicated audio data units and one or more said received data unit communicated audio data units.

18. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein while rendering the new audio data unit, the same is visually represented as a combination of one or more previously communicated audio data units and one or more said received data unit communicated audio data units.

19. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein in case the one or more data units includes a video data unit, binding comprises generating a new video data unit, which includes one or more previously communicated video data units and one or more said received data unit communicated video data units.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein while rendering the new video data unit, the same is visually represented as a combination of one or more previously communicated video data units and one or more said received data unit communicated video data units.

21. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein in case the one or more data units includes digital content as present in a folder, binding comprises generating updating a previously stored folder containing one or more previously communicated digital content with one or more said received data unit communicated digital content.

22. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein in case the one or more data units carries a comment therewith, rendering comprises rendering the previous communication, the one or more data units bound thereto and the comment associated with the one or more data units.

23. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein the comment associated with the one or more data units is rendered in response to detecting a predetermined type of action.

24. The method as claimed in claim 15 further comprising:
a. detecting an action in association with a data unit as rendered along with the previous communication; and
b. providing a functionality associated with the action to the data unit.

25. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein the action is a right swipe on the data unit as rendered along with the previous communication and the functionality is forwarding of an email containing the data unit.

26. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein the action is a left swipe on the data unit as rendered along with the previous communication and the functionality is a reply email to the sender with the data unit.

27. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein receiving further comprises receiving header data along with the one or more data units and the unique identifier.

28. The method as claimed in claim 27, wherein the header data is of:
• a first type indicating the one or more data units being transmitted is having a link to a previous communication; or
• a second type indicating the one or more data units being transmitted is not having any link to a previous communication.

29. A computing device adapted for deferred data transmission, said device comprising:
a. an input unit for receiving one or more data units for deferred transmission to a recipient;
b. a processor for associating a unique identifier (UID) with the one or more data units based on details of a previous communication with the recipient;
c. a transmitter unit for sending the one or more data units along with the unique identifier thus associated thereto to the recipient.

30. A computing devices adapted for deferred data reception, said device comprising:
a. a receiver unit for receiving one or more data units along with a unique identifier from a sender;
b. a processor for detecting a previous communication with the sender based on the unique identifier; and
c. a memory unit for storing the one or more data units in association with the previous communication as detected.