Wireless software upgrades with version control

Claim 1

A wireless communication system, comprising: a system backbone; a host computer coupled to the system backbone, the host computer having a host computer memory with mobile device operating software stored therein; at least one base station coupled to the system backbone and including a base station transceiver for conducting wireless communications, the at least one base station enabling communications between the host computer and mobile devices within the system by serving as an interface between wireless communications involving the mobile devices and hardwired communications involving the host computer via the system backbone; and at least one mobile device for conducting communications with the host computer by way of the at least one base station and the respective base station transceiver, the at least one mobile device including: a mobile device transceiver for communicating wirelessly with the base station transceiver; a programmable control circuit controlling the operation of the mobile device; a mobile device memory for storing mobile device operating software executed by the programmable control circuit; and wherein the programmable control circuit is operatively coupled to the mobile device transceiver to send at least one communication to the host computer which prompts the host computer to communicate to the mobile device indicia representing a version of mobile device operating software stored in the host computer memory, whereby the programmable control circuit compares the indicia to a version of mobile device operating software currently stored in the mobile device memory, and based on the comparison the mobile device selectively sends at least one other communication to the host computer which prompts the host computer to communicate to the mobile device at least a portion of the mobile device operating software stored in the host computer memory.