摘要 |
A communications device, such as a mobile telephone, fixed line telephone, computer with network access, or any other similar device which is equipped to communicate using network and/or telephony protocols, is provided, wherein before a call or other communications sessions is set up and made, a determination of the present time at the intended recipient of the call or session is made. In some embodiments, this determination of the time at the intended recipient's location is displayed to a user of the calling device to allow the user to decide whether to proceed with a call to the intended recipient. In other embodiments the determined time is compared with a set of one or more predetermined time bands during which calls to a recipient should not be made. Depending on the results of the comparison, the operation of the communications device is altered, for example, in one embodiment the call is not made, and the user preferably informed. In another embodiment, the user (caller) is advised that the call is being made at an inappropriate time for the intended recipient, and prompted to indicate whether the call should proceed. With such techniques, the problems noted above of unwanted calls being set up unnecessarily can be addressed.
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