Methods, devices and computer program products for presenting screen content

#The present disclosure relates generally to telecommunications, and, more particularly, to presenting screen content cast wirelessly from one device on a virtual screen of at least one other device.

#Today's smart wireless cellular telephones (“smartphones”) are typically equipped with memory and processing capabilities that allow this category of devices to provide significant functionality. For instance, today's smartphones typically provide functionality for sending and receiving electronic mail messages (“e-mail”), browsing the World Wide Web (“the Web”), interacting with social networking services, capturing and viewing digital photographs, and for performing other functions. Some devices are also configured with functionality for viewing slide presentations such as those created with the MICROSOFT POWERPOINT slide presentation application.

#Although smartphones may provide functionality for viewing visual content like digital photographs and slide presentations, these devices are generally not utilized to share content or to present this type of content to groups of people. Smartphones typically have small display screens that make sharing visual content with more than a few other people inconvenient at best. Moreover, smartphones are typically not equipped with an external video output for connection to a projector or other type of external display device. As a result, smartphone users that want to share visual content with a group of people are typically required to use another device that is equipped with an external video output, such as a desktop or laptop computer, to output the content to an external display device. This can be inconvenient and impractical in some situations, such as for users that travel significantly and do not want to carry multiple devices.

#FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary environment in which a screen cast may be provided for presentation on one or more telcommunications devices.

#FIG. 2 illustrates a detailed example of how a screen cast is presented on a virtual screen of a telcommunications device.

#FIG. 3 illustrates a telcommunications device for presenting a screencast received from another telcommunications device, according to an exemplary environment.

#Detailed exemplary embodiments are disclosed herein. It must be understood that the embodiments described and illustrated are merely examples that may be embodied in various and alternative forms, and combinations thereof. As used herein, the word “exemplary” is used expansively to refer to embodiments that serve as examples or illustrations. The figures are not necessarily to scale and some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting.

#FIG. 1 illustrates an environment in which screen content of a telecommunication device may be presented according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, screen content presented on a telecommunication device, e.g., a smartphone 110, is cast wirelessly to other telecommunication devices, such as smartphones 120a, 120c, and 120b and personal computer 130. The screen content may include static and/or dynamic content including video and/or audio content. The screen content may be encoded based on whether the content is static or dynamic. Also, the screen content may be encrypted, e.g., via real-time encryption or zip encryption, for security.

#According to an exemplary embodiment, the encoded and encrypted screen content is cast wirelessly via wireless connections, 105a, 105b, 105c, and 105d. These connections may include, e.g., Bluetooth, WIFI connections, Internet over cellular network connections, such as GPRS, 3G, LTE, etc., or any other wireless connections suitable for transfer of screen content. To provide for casting outside of WIFI range, Wireless Access Point (WAP) mode may be supported.