Every year mobile phone users pay wireless providers billions of dollars for their services. By personalizing the mobile phone via contact lists, pictures, calendars, and individual settings, mobile providers have made the users become personally attached to these electronic devices.
Due to these factors of convenience, familiarity and habit, it has been shown that users are more likely to use their mobile phones, even when given the choice of available free or low cost landline or voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) communications. Indeed, nearly 3 out of every 10 households in the United States are reliant or almost completely dependent on mobile phones, and are willing to pay expensive mobile phone rates at times when the use of a mobile phone is unnecessary. As with using VoIP services, just the task of manually adding the name and phone number of each contact into the address book is both tedious and time consuming and the VoIP interface application is generally not as personal or familiar to a user as his own mobile phone.
Another trend is that in recent years, people have increasingly been spending more time using computers. Computers are readily accessible to users at various locations throughout the day, such as at an office, within one's home, and at recreational facilities, e.g. lounges, bars and coffee shops.
It would therefore be desirable to combine the accessibility of computers and the familiarity and personalization of mobile phones in order to establish a VoIP communications session.
Skydeck, San Mateo, Calif., provides an application for accessing mobile phone data via a website. This application does not, however, generate images appearing similar to the mobile phone of the user, thereby making use of this application less personal and attractive than an actual mobile phone. Moreover, users of the Skydeck application need to interface with a fairly complex computer program, which can be confusing and challenging to many mobile phone users.
DeviceAnywhere, San Mateo, Calif., provides a real-time platform by which mobile phones can be remotely tested. A replica of a mobile phone is displayed, and every input and output thereof is accessible via the Internet, so that buttons can be remotely pressed, liquid crystal displays (LCD) can be viewed, and tones can be heard. The service for performing this function is relatively expensive.                Skype Technologies S.A., Luxembourg, provides an application for supporting VoIP communication by means of a mobile phone.Users of such an application incur data transmission charges associated with using an Internet based VoIP application that interfaces with their mobile phone. They also incur charges for a local mobile phone call through their carrier, as well as a call connection fee and a subscription fee. Another disadvantage associated with this VoIP communication method is that a call cannot be directly placed by accessing the contact list of the mobile phone. In order to place a call, the user needs to manually enter the number of the intended recipient of the call.        
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and system for establishing a computer assisted communications session.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a method and system for establishing a free or low cost communications session while interfacing with personalized settings and contact lists similar to those of the user's mobile phone.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.