EP1041502A2 - Real time auction bidding using wireless communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an on-line auction system (100) supporting wireless network users (108) and wired network users (104, 106) as bidders. The auction system has an auction server (102) that conducts on-line auctions for items by allowing bidders to electronically submit bids, and a proxy server (116) that supports the wireless network users, receives auction update messages from the auction server, and stores auction information pertaining to the on-line auctions for which the wireless network users are participating. The wireless network users can access the stored auction information, can be alerted when a prior bid has been out-bid, and can increase the bid. <IMAGE>

Description

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to electronic commerce and, moreparticularly, to on-line auctions from anywhere at anytime.

2. Description of the Related Art

Recently, auctions have been made available on the Internet. Theseauctions are carried out by auction websites. Examples of current auctionwebsites include eBay Inc. (http://www.ebay.com) and Onsale, Inc.(http://www.onsale.com). These auction websites enable sellers to auction off awide range of products or services. Bidders from anywhere in the worldconnected to the Internet merely need to access an auction website to submitbids.

Encouraging participation in auctions is important because the moreparticipation the more the prices tend to be bid up as the auctions proceed. Theauction websites also benefit from the higher prices because the auctionwebsites typically receive a percentage of the selling price. Currently, bothproxy bidding on your behalf by auction websites and out-bid electronic mail(email) notifications are used to encourage user participation.

The eBay auction website allows proxy bidding in which a bidderauthorizes the eBay auctioneer (i.e., eBay auction server) to automaticallyincrease a bidder's bid in predetermined increments up to a maximum bidamount if any of the bidder's lower bids are out bid by another. Onedisadvantage of proxy bidding by the auction website on one's behalf is thatmany bidders are reluctant to permit proxy bidding or, if permitted, tend to keepthe maximum bid relatively low because they believe that the automated proxybidding results in a higher final sales price. Instead, these bidders believe thatthey can yield a lower sales price by monitoring the bidding process andmanually increasing one's bid as needed. However, it is not easy to always monitor the bidding process, particularly when the bidder is not stationed at theirdesktop computer having a network connection to the Internet or when thebidder is mobile and using a laptop computer that is often not connectable to theInternet. Further, laptop computers are also often either not able to connect tothe Internet or not able to interact with the auction websites if Internet access isnot available.

Both eBay and On-Sale, Inc. provide email messages to bidders (potentialbuyers) when their last bid has been out-bid by another (as referred to as out-bidemail notifications). These email messages are supposed to encourage thebidders to increase their bid for the particular product or service. One particulardisadvantage with such emails is that the emails are often not able to be timelydelivered to recipient bidders. For example, often a bidder is not stationed attheir desktop computer for significant periods of time. As another example,bidders that use laptop computers often have their laptop computers powered-offor not connected to the Internet (which typically requires laptop computersto be within a range of a wireless carrier or to have a telephone line available).Even if the emails are managed to be delivered timely, a bidder would have tohave an immediate access to a computer coupled to the Internet to updatehis/her maximum bid if the bidder still desires the product or server, which is notoften feasible to bidders on the go. In such cases, the bidders are not able tomonitor the bidding process. As a result, bidder participation suffers becausebidders are often unaware that they were out-bid by another bidder and unableto increase their bids in a timely manner.

Thus, there is a need for improved techniques to increase participation inon-line auctions from anywhere at anytime.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Broadly speaking, the invention relates to techniques that provide forincreased participation in on-line auctions. One aspect of the invention allowsusers of mobile devices to actively participate in on-line auctions from anywhereat anytime. Another aspect of the invention allows for remote proxy bidding controlled by bidders themselves (or agents independent of an auction server)and in real time.

The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as amethod, an apparatus, a device, a computer readable medium, and a computersystem. Several embodiments of the invention are discussed below.

As a method for increasing a bid for an item being auctioned at an on-lineauction using a mobile computing device, one embodiment of the inventionincludes the acts of: receiving a notification from a wireless network at themobile computing device that a prior bid by a particular bidder has been out-bid;obtaining auction information pertaining to the item being auctioned; anddisplaying the auction information on a display screen of the mobile computingdevice. Additionally, the method may further includes the acts of receiving anincreased bid for the item being auctioned; and sending the increased bid via thewireless network to the on-line auction.

As a method for participating in an on-line auction using a mobile devicehaving a display screen, one embodiment of the invention includes the acts of:receiving an auction message pertaining to the on-line auction at the mobiledevice; notifying a user of the mobile device of the receipt of the auctionmessage; determining whether the user of the mobile device requests auctioninformation pertaining to the auction message; displaying the auctioninformation on the display device when the determining has determined that theauction information has been requested; and submitting a bid with respect to theon-line auction.

As a method for automatically increasing a bid for an item beingauctioned at an on-line auction, one embodiment of the invention includes theacts of: receiving, at an intermediate server, an auction update messagepertaining to the on-line auction of the item, the intermediate server operating asa gateway between a mobile computing device and an auction server thatperforms the on-line auction; obtaining, at the intermediate server, proxy biddinginformation pertaining to the mobile computing device and the on-line auctionof the item; automatically preparing an increased bid for the item being auctioned based on the auction proxy information, the increased bid beingprepared on behalf of the mobile computing device; and sending the increasedbid to the on-line auction.

As an on-line auction system supporting wireless network users and wirednetwork users as bidders, one embodiment of the invention includes: an auctionserver that conducts on-line auctions for items by allowing bidders toelectronically submit bids; and a proxy server that supports the wireless networkusers. The proxy server receives auction update messages from the auctionserver and stores auction information pertaining to the on-line auctions for whichthe wireless network users are participating, and the proxy server thereafterpermits the wireless network users to access the stored auction information.

As a computer readable medium including computer program code forincreasing a bid for an item being auctioned at an on-line auction using a mobilecomputing device, one embodiment of the invention includes: computerprogram code for receiving a notification at the mobile computing device that aprior bid by a particular bidder has been out-bid; computer program code forobtaining auction information pertaining to the item being auctioned; computerprogram code for displaying the auction information on a display screen of themobile computing device; computer program code for determining an increasedbid for the item being auctioned; and computer program code for sending theincreased bid to the on-line auction.

As a computer readable medium for participating in an on-line auctionusing a mobile device having a display screen, one embodiment of the inventionincludes: computer program code for receiving an auction message pertaining tothe on-line auction at the mobile device; computer program code for notifying auser of the mobile device of the receipt of the auction message; computerprogram code for determining whether the user of the mobile device requestsauction information pertaining to the auction message; computer program codefor displaying the auction information on the display device when the computerprogram code for determining has determined that the auction information has been requested; and computer program code for submitting a bid with respect tothe on-line auction.

As a computer readable medium for automatically increasing a bid for anitem being auctioned at an on-line auction, one embodiment of the inventionincludes: computer program code for receiving, at an intermediate server, anauction update message pertaining to the on-line auction of the item, theintermediate server operating as a gateway between a mobile computing deviceand an auction server that performs the on-line auction; computer program codefor obtaining, at the intermediate server, proxy bidding information pertaining tothe mobile computing device and the on-line auction of the item; computerprogram code for automatically preparing an increased bid for the item beingauctioned based on the auction proxy information, the increased bid beingprepared on behalf of the mobile computing device; and computer programcode for sending the increased bid to the on-line auction.

The advantages of the invention are numerous. Different embodiments orimplementations may yield one or more of the following advantages. Oneadvantage of the invention is that bidders can keep better apprised of thebidding process. Another advantage of the invention is that mobile bidders caneasily increase their bids as desired. Still another potential advantage of theinvention is that sellers and auctioneers benefit from increased participation andperhaps greater sales prices.

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be readily understood by the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals designate like structural elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an on-line auction system according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of client bid increase processing according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of server message delivery processing accordingto one embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of server bid increase processing according toone embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to techniques that provide for increasedparticipation in on-line auctions. One aspect of the invention allows users ofmobile devices to actively participate in on-line auctions from anywhere atanytime. Another aspect of the invention allows for remote proxy biddingcontrolled by bidders themselves and in real time from anywhere at anytime.

Today, various types of mobile devices capable of data communicationsare commonly used. Examples of the mobile devices include pagers, mobilephones (including cellular phones), personal digital assistants (PDAs), palm-topcomputers and electronic schedulers. Due to size and mobility requirements,mobile devices typically have substantially less computing resources than adesktop or laptop computer does. The mobile devices also typically have asmall display screen and a limited input mechanism (e.g., keyboard, buttons, aphone keypad, or active soft keys and icons) for a user to interact with.Embodiments of the invention are discussed below with reference to FIGs. 1-4.However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the detaileddescription given herein with respect to these figures is for explanatory purposesas the invention extends beyond these limited embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an on-line auction system 100 according toone embodiment of the invention. The on-line auction system 100 includes anauction server 102 that conducts one or more auctions for the purchase of oneor more products or services.

The on-line auction system 100 enables computing devices of both wiredand wireless types to participate in the one or more auctions being managed by theauction server 102. In particular, the on-line auction system 100 illustratedin FIG. 1 includes acomputer A 104 and acomputer B 106 at which users areable to participate in the on-line auctions. In addition, a wirelessmobile device108 is also included in the on-line auction system 100 and represents a wirelessstation at which a user can participate in the on-line auctions. Although FIG. 1illustrates only threedevices 104, 106 and 108, it should be understood thatthe on-line auction system 100 can support a large number of computingdevices or users thereof.

Theauction server 102 couples to awired network 110, typically througha high-speed connection. Thewired network 110 is preferably the Internet butcould also be other networks such as an Intranet, Local Area Network (LAN) orwide area network (WAN). Additionally, Internet Service Providers (ISP) A 112andISP B 114 also couple to thewired network 110 through high speedconnections. Examples of the high-speed connections include leased lines (e.g.,T1 - T4 lines). Thecomputer A 104 couples to theISP A 112 through a link,which may a dial-up connection over a telephone line or a dedicate line. Thecomputer B 106 also couples to theISP B 114, typically through a dial-upconnection over a telephone line or a dedicate line. The links between thecomputers 104 and 106 and theISPs 112 and 114, respectively, are initiated bynetwork browsers operating on therespective computers 104 and 106.

The on-line-auction system 100 also includes aproxy server 116 thatserves as a gateway between thewired network 110 and a wirelessnetwork118. Thewired network 110 couples to theproxy server 116 through ahigh-speed connection, and theproxy server 116 couples to thewirelessnetwork 118 through a wireless infrastructure that enables the transmission andreception of radio frequency signals with thewireless communication device 108such that data can be transmitted between thewireless network 118 and thewireless communication device 108. Examples of thewireless network 118may include Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD), Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and TimeDivision Multiple Access (TDMA), to name a few.

Theauction server 102 operates to manage one or more auctions for thepurchase of one or more products or services. During a live on-line auction,users are able to bid for products or services by use of a network browseroperating on thecomputer A 104, thecomputer B 106, or thewirelesscomputing device 108. With respect to a user at thecomputer A 104 or at thecomputer B 106, through the network browser, the user would access theauction server 102 to identify a particular product or service on which he/shedesires to bid. The user is then able to submit a bid to theauction server 102through use of the network browser. Examples of the network browser suitablefor use on thecomputer A 104 and thecomputer B 106 include NetscapeNavigator from Netscape Communications, Inc. or Microsoft Explorer fromMicrosoft Corporation.

Additionally, the user of themobile device 108 can participate in the on-lineauction even though themobile device 108 is mobile and often notpowered-on or in use. In one embodiment, theproxy server 116 is able tomanage the interaction with theauction server 102 for the user of themobiledevice 108. As such, theauction server 102 can treat the users of themobiledevice 108 in the same manner as the users of thecomputers 104 and 106(wired computing devices) are treated. In one embodiment, a micro networkbrowser operates on themobile device 108 to enable a user to access theauction server 102 for identifying a particular product or service and forsubmitting a bid. One suitable micro network browser is a micro-browseravailable from Unwired Planet, Inc. of Redwood City, CA. The micro-browserallows the user of a mobile device, like users of the wired devices, to interactwith directly or indirectly withauction server 102 but, as described below,provides numerous advantages and benefits that are generally not available tothe users of the wired devices. Additional details on the operation of theproxyserver 116 are provided below with respect to FIGs. 3 and 4.

Once theauction server 102 receives a user's bid, the bid is processed inaccordance with the auction rules. Initially, the incoming bid must beassociated with the auctioning of a particular item (i.e., product or services).Then, the incoming bid is processed with respect to the associated auction. Usually, the processing of the incoming bid involves comparing the incomingbid a current high bid and establishing the incoming bid as a new current highbid when the incoming bid exceeds the current high bid. The bids are alsotypically time-stamped so that they are considered in the order received. Insome auctions, the bidder knows the current high bid and is thus able to becomethe new current high bidder unless another bidder bids higher beforehand.

Typically, theauction server 102 desires to notify those bidders who havepreviously submitted bids that have been outbid by another subsequent bidder.Such notifications are typically provided to the prior bidders through anelectronic mail message. For example, if a user at thecomputer A 104 hassubmitted a bid to theauction server 102 that is subsequently outbid by a bidsubmitted by a user at thecomputer B 106, then theauction server 102 wouldsend an electronic mail message to the computer A 104 (destined for the user ofthe computer A 104) informing the user that another bidder has outbid him/her.At this point, the user of thecomputer A 104 would be offered the ability tosubmit an increased bid to outbid that bid provided by the user of thecomputerB 106. One of the problems with the example is that both of the users mustconstantly have access to the computers otherwise the users mayunintentionally lose a bidding opportunity. The invention enables suchnotifications to be provided to users of mobile devices. With dedicatedapplications embedded in the mobile device, the users can monitor andparticipate in the auction in near real-time from anywhere at anytime.

The notifications are typically expressed in a format of a markup languagethat may be Handhand Device Markup Language (HDML), Hypertext MarkupLanguage (HTML), compact HTML, Wireless Markup Language (WML) andExtensible Markup Language (XML), or optionally in a compressed, converted ordistilled version thereof. When a notification is received, it is caused to bedisplayed on a screen of a mobile device if powered on so that a user may seethe status of his/her bidding and decide what to proceed with next. If the mobiledevice is powered off or beyond service coverage, such notifications aretypically buffered in theproxy server 116 and delivered once the mobile devicebecomes available for the delivery. Additionally the notifications may comprises an alert that can cause the mobile device to react accordingly upon beingreceived. The common alert types for the notifications can vary widely. Asexamples, the alert types can cause the mobile device to produce a sequence ofhigh pitch sounds, vibrate the mobile device, or produce flashing message sothat a user of the device immediately becomes aware of the arrival ofnotifications from an auction server.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of clientbid increase processing 200 accordingto one embodiment of the invention. The clientbid increase processing 200enables a mobile device to participate in an auction by receiving notificationsand submit an increased bid if desired. The clientbid increase processing 200is, for example, performed with respect to themobile device 108 illustrated inFIG. 1.

The clientbid increase processing 200 initially begins with adecision202 determines whether a notification has been received. Until a notificationhas been received, the clientbid increase processing 200 is effectively inactive.Once thedecision 202 determines that a notification has been received, theclientbid increase processing 200 is effectively invoked.

Once invoked, a user is notified 204 of the notification. Depending onthe particular mobile device and the alert type in the notification, the user can benotified in a variety of ways. Typically, the mobile computing device having asmall display screen displays a notification for the user. The notification cansimply indicate that there is new auction information or provide more particularinformation about the auction. As an example, when the auction server providesemail notifications, the mobile computing device can display the sender andsubject of the notification message in an email in box provided on the mobilecomputing device.

Next, adecision 206 determines whether detailed auction information isrequested. Sometimes, a notification provides a hyperlink to a resource thatcomprises detailed auction information and the user decides whether and whento retrieve or request the auction information. In the above example, the emailbody can be retrieved according to a linkage provided in the email headerincluding the sender and subject of the notification message. The user is able to obtain the auction information by any of a variety of means, for example,through an email to the mobile device/a fax machine/a wired device bydepressing a predefined button (or soft button) on the mobile computing deviceor activating a graphical icon being displayed.

When thedecision 206 determines that the auction information has notbeen requested, adecision 208 determines whether a request to quit the clientbid increase processing 200 has been received. When thedecision 208determines that a request to quit has been received, the clientbid increaseprocessing 200 is complete and ends. On the other hand, when thedecision208 determines that a request to quit has not been received, then the clientbidincrease processing 200 returns to repeat thedecision 206.

Alternatively, when thedecision 206 determines that the auctioninformation request has been received, the auction information pertaining to thenotification is retrieved 210 (from a proxy server or an auction server dependingon an actual implementation preference). The auction information is originallysupplied from the auction server, such as theauction server 102 illustrated inFIG. 2, and to the mobile computing device through a proxy server (or gatewayserver). The proxy server needs only temporarily to store the auctioninformation being passed on from the auction server to the mobile computingdevice. However, for increased performance and monitoring, the proxy servercan further operate to store information pertaining to the auction for use by themobile device. This would allow the proxy server to provide enhanced auctionfeatures not offered by the auction server or more controlled features even ifoffered by the auction server. An example of a more controlled feature is proxybidding managed by the proxy server. The information pertaining to the auctioncan be "push" or "pulled" to/from the auction server to the proxy server atpredetermined times or otherwise. Examples of the information that might bestored at the proxy server, include an auction website identifier, a user identifierfor the bidder, a password, an item number for the items being bid on, last bid, aremote proxy bid enable flag, current bid, bid history, remaining bid time.

In any case, once the auction information is retrieved 210 and thusprovided to the mobile device, the auction information that has been retrieved is displayed 212. In this embodiment, themobile device 108 includes a displayscreen on which the auction information can be displayed. In one embodiment,the auction information is provided in a markup language, such as HTML,HDML or WML, and displayed on the display screen using a network browseroperating on the mobile device. In one embodiment, the auction information isdisplayed together with a bid increase form that enables a user of the clientdevice to submit an increased bid for the particular auction. In anotherembodiment, the bid increase form is a separate screen (or document in themarkup language).

In any case, thereafter, adecision 214 determines whether the bidincrease form has been submitted. The submission of a form to a server isachieved through use of the network browser when the form is a markuplanguage document displayed by the network browser. A user of the mobiledevice can complete the form and cause the bid increase form to be submittedusing one or more buttons (or soft buttons) on the mobile device.

When the bid increase form has not yet been submitted, adecision 218determines whether a quit request has been made. When thedecision 218determines that a request to quit has not yet been received, the clientbidincrease processing 200 returns to repeat thedecision 214 to again determinewhether the bid increase form has been submitted. On the other hand, whenthedecision 218 determines that a request to quit has been received, the clientbid increase processing 200 is complete and ends.

Alternatively, when thedecision 214 determines that the bid increaseform has been submitted, the bid increase information pertaining to the bidincrease form is sent 216 to an auction manager. With respect to the on-lineauction system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1, the bid increase information is sent totheauction server 102 by theproxy server 116. The proxy server can also storethe bid increase information in case the proxy server performs additionalmanagement to provide enhanced auction features not offered by the auctionserver or more controlled features even if offered by the auction server. After thebid increase information is sent 216, the clientbid increase processing 200 iscomplete and ends.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of servermessage delivery processing 300according to one embodiment of the invention. The servermessage deliveryprocessing 300 is, for example, performed by theproxy server 116 illustrated inFIG. 1.

The servermessage delivery processing 300 begins with adecision 302as to whether an auction update message has been received. Here, the auctionupdate message would be received from an auction server, such as theauctionserver 102 illustrated in FIG. 1. If an auction update message has not yet beenreceived, the servermessage delivery processing 300 simply awaits thereception of an auction update message.

Once thedecision 302 determines that an auction update message hasbeen received, adecision 304 determines whether a proxy bid is enabled. As anexample, in one embodiment, thedecision 304 can make use of the remoteproxy bid enable flag stored by the proxy server. When thedecision 304determines that a proxy bid is not enabled, then the auction update message forthe wireless computing device is reformatted 306. In one embodiment, theauction update message that has been received is in a standard Internet emailprotocol, such as Simple Message Transport Protocol (SMTP), and thenreformatted into a format more suitable for the mobile device, such as HDML orWML, for example. In another embodiment, the auction update message couldbe received in a HTML format and then converted to HDML or WML.

Next, the reformatted auction update message is placed 308 in a messagedelivery queue. From the message delivery queue, the reformatted auctionupdate message is, thereafter, distributed or forwarded to the wirelesscomputing device as are other electronic messages destined for the wirelesscomputing device. Following theplacement 308 of the reformatted auctionupdate message in the message delivery queue, the servermessage deliveryprocessing 300 is complete and ends.

Alternatively, when thedecision 304 determines that a proxy bid isenabled, the servermessage delivery processing 300 operates differently toallow for a proxy bid to occur without user interaction. In other words, theproxy server, e.g., theproxy server 116, performing the servermessage delivery processing 300 is able to submit an increased bid to the ongoing auction onbehalf of the user of the mobile device. In particular, a bid increase replymessage is prepared 310 based on proxy bidding information. As an example,the proxy bidding information can be pre-stored on the proxy server or madeavailable to the proxy server and can contain information such as a biddingincrement, a maximum bid, and a timing for the bidding. After the bid increasereply message is prepared 310, the bid increase reply message is sent 312 tothe auction manager (or auction server). After sending the bid increase replymessage, the servermessage delivery processing 300 is complete and ends. Inthe case in which the server is not performing a proxy bid on behalf of themobile computing device, the user of the mobile computing device can submit abid increase form as the discussed above with respect to FIG. 2. It should bealso noted that even with proxy bidding enabled, the server can also provideauction update information to the mobile computing device such as to inform auser of the mobile computing device that of the auction status or a bid increase.It should also be noted that other embodiments of the server message deliveryprocessing need not to provide any proxy bidding.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of serverbid increase processing 400 accordingto one embodiment of the invention. The serverbid increase processing 400concerns the processing performed by the server, e.g., theproxy server 116,when a user of the mobile device has submitted a bid increase form to increasetheir bid with respect to an on-line auction. Thebid increase processing 400explains how the server processes the bid increase form.

The serverbid increase processing 400 begins with adecision 402 thatdetermines whether a bid increase form has been received. If a bid increaseform has not yet been received, the serverbid increase processing 400 awaitsthe reception of such a bid increase form. Once thedecision 402 determinesthat a bid increase form has been received, the bid increase form is associated404 with an auction update message. Here, the auction update message waspreviously received by the proxy server and used to present auction informationto the user of the mobile device. Next, a bid increase reply message is prepared406 based on the auction update message and the bid increase form. Then, the bid increase reply message is sent 408 to the auction manager. After the bidincrease reply message is sent 408, the serverbid increase processing 400 iscomplete and ends. In one embodiment, the bid increase reply message isstructured in a manner such that it has a format the same as would a replymessage to the auction update message. As such, in such an embodiment, thebit increase reply message would look to the auction manager like any otherreply messages (to increase bids) that would be received from a user of acomputer (e.g.,computers 104 and 106) interacting with the auction serverthrough a wired network using electronic mail.

The invention can also be embodied as computer readable code on acomputer readable medium. The computer readable medium is any data storagedevice that can store data which can be thereafter be read by a computersystem. Examples of the computer readable medium include read-only memory,random-access memory, CD-ROMs, magnetic tape, optical data storage devices,carrier waves. The computer readable medium can also be distributed over anetwork coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is storedand executed in a distributed fashion.

The advantages of the invention are numerous. Different embodiments orimplementations may yield one or more of the following advantages. Oneadvantage of the invention is that bidders can keep better apprised of thebidding process. Another advantage of the invention is that mobile bidders caneasily increase their bids as desired. Still another potential advantage of theinvention is that sellers and auctioneers benefit from increased participation andperhaps greater sales prices.

The many features and advantages of the present invention are apparentfrom the written description, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims tocover all such features and advantages of the invention. Further, sincenumerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art,it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation asillustrated and described. Hence, all suitable modifications and equivalents maybe resorted to as falling within the scope of the invention.

Claims (13)

1. A method for increasing a bid for an item being auctioned at an on-lineauction using a mobile telephone, said method comprising:-

   (a) receiving a notification from a wireless network at the mobiletelephone that a prior bid by a particular bidder has been out-bid;

   (b) obtaining auction information pertaining to the item being auctioned;and

   (c) displaying the auction information on a display screen of the mobiletelephone.
2. A method as recited in claim 1, said method further comprising:-

   (d) receiving an increased bid for the item being auctioned if the particularbidder determines to place the increased bid; and

   (e) sending the increased bid to the on-line auction via the wirelessnetwork.
3. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein said receiving step (d) comprises:

   (d1) displaying a bid increase form on the display screen of the mobiledevice; and

   (d2) forming the increased bid after the particular bidder completes the bidincrease form on the display screen.
4. A method as recited in any preceding claim wherein the auctioninformation is obtained from a proxy server supporting the mobile computingdevice and coupled to an auction server performing the on-line auction.
5. A method as recited in any preceding claim wherein the mobile telephoneexecutes a micro-browser for providing at least said obtaining step (b) and saiddisplaying step (c).
6. A method for participating in an on-line auction using a mobile device having a display screen, said method comprising:

   (a) receiving an auction message pertaining to the on-line auction at themobile device; wherein the auction message comprises an alert type;

   (b) notifying a user of the mobile device of the receipt of the auctionmessage according to said alert type;

   (c) determining whether the user of the mobile device requests auctioninformation pertaining to the auction message;

   (d) displaying the auction information on the display screen when saiddetermining step (c) has determined that the auction information has beenrequested; and

   (e) submitting a bid with respect to the on-line auction.
7. A method for automatically increasing a bid for an item being auctioned atan on-line auction, said method comprising:-

   (a) receiving, at an intermediate server, an auction update messagepertaining to the on-line auction of the item, the intermediate server operating asa gateway between a mobile device and an auction server that performs the on-lineauction;

   (b) obtaining, at the intermediate server, auction proxy bidding informationpertaining to the mobile device and the on-line auction of the item;

   (c) automatically preparing an increased bid for the item being auctionedbased on the auction proxy bidding information, the increased bid being preparedon behalf of the mobile device; and

   (d) sending the increased bid to the on-line auction.
8. An on-line auction system supporting wireless network users and wirednetwork users as bidders, said on-line auction system comprising:-

   an auction server that conducts on-line auctions for items by allowingbidders to electronically submit bids; and

   a proxy server that supports the wireless network users;
   wherein said proxy server receives auction update messages from saidauction server and stores auction information pertaining to the on-line auctions for which the wireless network users are participating, and said proxy serverthereafter permits the wireless network users to access the stored auctioninformation.
9. An on-line auction system as recited in claim 8 wherein said proxy serverforwards the auction update messages to the appropriate wireless network users
10. An on-line auction system as recited in claim 8 or 9 wherein said proxyserver reformats the auction update messages before forwarding them to theappropriate wireless network users.
11. A computer readable medium including computer program code forincreasing a bid for an item being auctioned at an on-line auction using a mobiledevice, said computer readable medium comprising:-

    computer program code for receiving a notification at the mobile devicethat a prior bid by a particular bidder has been out-bid;

    computer program code for obtaining auction information pertaining to theitem being auctioned;

    computer program code for displaying the auction information on a displayscreen of the mobile device;

    computer program code for determining an increased bid for the item beingauctioned; and

    computer program code for sending the increased bid to the on-lineauction.
12. A computer readable medium for participating in an on-line auction using amobile device having a display screen, said computer readable mediumcomprising:-

    computer program code for receiving an auction message pertaining to theon-line auction at the mobile device;

    computer program code for notifying a user of the mobile device of thereceipt of the auction message;

    computer program code for determining whether the user of the mobiledevice requests auction information pertaining to the auction message;

    computer program code for displaying the auction information on thedisplay device when said computer program code for determining has determinedthat the auction information has been requested; and

    computer program code for submitting a bid with respect to the on-lineauction.
13. A computer readable medium for automatically increasing a bid for an itembeing auctioned at an on-line auction, said computer readable mediumcomprising:-

    computer program code for receiving, at an intermediate server, anauction update message pertaining to the on-line auction of the item, theintermediate server operating as a gateway between a mobile device and anauction server that performs the on-line auction;

    computer program code for obtaining, at the intermediate server, proxybidding information pertaining to the mobile device and the on-line auction of theitem;

    computer program code for automatically preparing an increased bid forthe item being auctioned based on the auction proxy information, the increasedbid being prepared on behalf of the mobile device; and

    computer program code for sending the increased bid to the on-lineauction.

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