METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR APPLIANCE RECONFIGURATION

摘要

A novel method and apparatus are disclosed for reconfiguring a device after manufacture. The reconfiguration may be performed through physical manipulation of the device and/or by remote communication with the device using communications networks such as the Internet. In an exemplary use of an apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention, a processor receives a configuration string from an input device, verifies the configuration string, and stores configuration information based at least in part on the configuration string. In a particular implementation, a software (or firmware) application allows a user of a cellular telephone to reconfigure vocoder options be entering a numeric or alphanumeric configuration string into the cellular phone. By applying a method or apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention as disclosed herein, an appliance manufacturer may gain a competitive advantage in a changing marketplace while minimizing associated costs.