Proximal Advertising Using Hand-Held Communication Devices

Abstract

A system for commercial promotion has a first computerized appliance enabled for data reception on a close-proximity wireless local area network (LAN) having a limited effective range, and for providing received data in a human-understandable form to a user of the first appliance, and a second computerized appliance enabled for data transmission on the close-proximity wireless LAN and having access to a data repository storing promotional material. The first and the second computerized appliances establish a connection on the wireless LAN by virtue of proximity within the limited effective range, the second appliance transmits promotional material to the first appliance in response to the connection, and the first appliance renders the promotional material in human-understandable form for the user in response to receiving the promotional material.

1 - 26 . (canceled)  
   
   
       27 . A proximal advertising system, comprising: 
 a server connected to a wireless local area network;    a data repository accessible to the server; and    a proximity sensing mechanism coupled to the server and enabled to sense presence of a wireless device within a specific range;    wherein the server, sensing presence of a wireless device, initiates a communication session with that device, and upon successful connection communicates data from the data repository to the wireless device.