Abstract: A system and method for establishing hybrid communications which establishes said communication with any one of a variety of different wireless communication devices enabled to receive satellite data transmissions such as satellite radio either directly via an over the air network or through the provision of a short range transceiver assembly so as to provide data communication from to the wireless communication device from a computer network, such as the Internet or a LAN connected to the Internet, utilizing a computer network access. The wireless communication device is structured to seamlessly auto switch its operation between either of at least two independent frequencies for communication with the computer network or with the over-the-air network, dependent on predetermined parameters including the acceptance of a unique identifier or code and/or the positioning of the wireless communication device within a predetermined vicinity range relative to the network access.

Abstract: A selective call receiver (10) for receiving and presenting messages comprises a receiver (12) for receiving the messages and a memory (14) for storing the received messages. A processor (13) calculates the length of certain types of stored messages, and, for those types of messages, the length of the message is displayed prior to presenting the message.