Continuous application execution between multiple devices

Abstract

In one example, a device includes a display, an interface configured to exchange data with external devices, a control unit configured to execute an application to cause the display to display a current visual representation of the application, determine a current application state of the application, wherein the current application state includes at least a portion of the current visual representation of the application, and means for sending, without user intervention, an indication of the determined current application state from the device to a second, different device via the interface, wherein the indication of the determined current application state comprises information for recreating at least the portion of the current visual representation of the application, wherein the control unit is configured to prevent subsequent indications of the current application state from being sent to the second device in response to an indication that a third device is executing the application.

1 . A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a processor of a first client device to:
 execute an application at the first client device that is communicatively coupled to a second client device;   periodically determine a current application state of the application, wherein the current application state includes information for recreating at least a portion of a current visual representation of the application;   after determining a respective current application state, send an indication of the respective determined current application state from the first client device to the second client device, wherein the indication comprises information for recreating at least the portion of the current visual representation of the application as executed by the first client device;   responsive to receiving an indication that the second client device has begun execution of the application, stop transmission of subsequent indications of the determined current application states to the second client device; and   after stopping transmission of the subsequent indications of the determined current application states, continue to execute the application at the first client device.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions that cause the processor to send the indication of the respective determined current application state comprise instructions that cause the processor to:
 determine that the first client device is within communication range of a wireless access point; and   in response to the determination, send the indication of the respective determined current application state to the second client device via the wireless access point.   
     
     
         3 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein the application comprises a multimedia application presenting multimedia data, the multimedia data comprising at least one of audio and video data, and wherein the current application state comprises a temporal location within the multimedia data that was being played when the current application state was determined. 
     
     
         4 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein the application comprises a web browser displaying a web page, and wherein the current application state further comprises a uniform resource locator (URL) of the web page being displayed. 
     
     
         5 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 4 , wherein the web browser maintains a plurality of windows, each of the plurality of windows corresponding to a respective web page, and wherein the current application state comprises URLs for each of the respective web pages for the plurality of windows. 
     
     
         6 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 4 , wherein the at least portion of the current visual representation comprises a position of the web page being displayed by the web browser. 
     
     
         7 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein the application comprises an e-mail application displaying an e-mail document, and wherein the current application state comprises an indication of the displayed e-mail document. 
     
     
         8 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 7 , wherein the at least portion of the current visual representation comprises a position of the e-mail document being displayed by the e-mail application. 
     
     
         9 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions that cause the processor to send the indication of the respective determined current application state comprise instructions that cause the processor to send the indication of the current application state without user intervention. 
     
     
         10 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 1 , wherein the current application state comprises a second application state and wherein a most recently sent indication comprises a second indication associated with the second application state, further comprising instructions that cause the processor to:
 prior to determining the second application state, determine a first application state and send, to the second client device, a first indication of the sent indications, wherein the first indication is associated with the first application state; and   after sending the first indication of the sent indications, execute a timer,   wherein the instructions that cause the processor to determine the second application state comprise instructions that cause the processor to determine the second application state after expiration of the timer.   
     
     
         11 . A method comprising:
 executing an application at a first client device that is communicatively coupled to a second client device;   periodically determining a current application state of the application, wherein the current application state includes information for recreating at least a portion of a current visual representation of the application;   after determining a respective current application state, sending an indication of the determined current application state from the first client device to the second client device, wherein the sent indication of the respective current application state comprises information for recreating at least the portion of the current visual representation of the application as executed by the first client device;   responsive to receiving an indication that the second client device has resumed execution of the application, stopping transmission of subsequent indications of the determined current application states to the second client device; and   after stopping transmission of the subsequent indications of the determined current application state, continuing to execute the application at the first client device.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 determining that the first client device is within communication range of a wireless access point; and   in response to the determination, sending the indication of the respective determined current application state to the second client device via the wireless access point.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the application comprises a multimedia application presenting multimedia data, the multimedia data comprising at least one of audio and video data, and wherein the current application state comprises a temporal location within the multimedia data that was being played when the current application state was determined. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the application comprises a multimedia application presenting multimedia data, the multimedia data comprising at least one of audio and video data, and wherein the current application state comprises a temporal location within the multimedia data that was being played when the current application state was determined. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the application comprises a web browser displaying a web page, and wherein the current application state further comprises a uniform resource locator (URL) of the web page being displayed. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the at least portion of the current visual representation comprises a position of the web page being displayed by the web browser. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein sending the indication of the current application state to the second client device comprises sending, by the first client device without user intervention, the current application state to the second client device. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 prior to determining the second application state, determining a first application state and sending, to the second client device, a first indication of the sent indications, wherein the first indication is associated with the first application state; and   after sending the first indication of the sent indications, executing a timer,   wherein determining the second application state comprises determining the second application state after expiration of the timer.   
     
     
         19 . A first client device comprising:
 a display;   an interface configured to exchange data with external devices;   a control unit configured to execute an application to cause the display to display a current visual representation of the application, periodically determine a current application state of the application, wherein the current application state includes at least a portion of the current visual representation of the application; and   means for sending, after the control unit determines a respective current application state, an indication of the respective determined current application state from the device to a second client device via the interface, wherein the indication of the respective determined current application state comprises information for recreating at least the portion of the current visual representation of the application,   wherein the control unit is configured to stop transmission of subsequent indications of the current application state from being sent to the server device, in response to an indication that the second client device has begun execution of the application, and   wherein the control unit is configured to continue to execute the application at the first client device after stopping transmission of the subsequent indications of the determined application states to the second client device.   
     
     
         20 . The first client device of  claim 19 , wherein the application comprises a web browser displaying a web page, and wherein the current application state further comprises a uniform resource locator (URL) of the web page being displayed.