Claims
- 1. A method of providing a service to a first party using a telephony connection, the method comprising:
receiving indication from the first party that the first party desires to communicate with a second party who is using an instant communications client; and providing communications among the first party and the second party, wherein the first party engages in communication using audio information via the telephony connection and the second party engages in communication using textual information via the instant communications client.
- 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
providing indication to the first party as to whether the second party may be accessible via the instant communications client.
- 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the providing indication to the first party is responsive to a presence state pertaining to the second party.
- 4. The method of claim 2 wherein the providing indication to the first party is responsive to a capabilities profile pertaining to the second party.
- 5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
providing indication to the first party as to whether the second party will employ textual information to communicate via the instant communications client.
- 6. The method of claim 5 further comprising:
receiving indication from the first party as to whether the first party desires to proceed with communicating with the second party based on whether the second party will employ textual information to communicate via the instant communications client.
- 7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
providing to the first party a telephone number that, when called by the first party, signifies the desire of the first party to engage in communications via the instant communications client used by the second party.
- 8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
providing indication to the first party as to whether the second party is reachable by telephone.
- 9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
receiving information from the first party relating to how charges for the service are to be paid.
- 10. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
providing indication to the first party that communications will proceed with the second party via the instant communications client.
- 11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
providing to the first party audio information corresponding to textual information from the second party.
- 12. The method of claim 11 wherein an aspect of providing the audio information corresponding to the textual information is affected by preference information pertaining to at least one of the first party, the second party and the instant communications client.
- 13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:
receiving the preference information from the first party.
- 14. The method of claim 12 wherein the aspect relates to a language-related preference associated with the first party.
- 15. The method of claim 12 wherein the aspect relates to at least one of a language and a dialect used by the second party.
- 16. The method of claim 12 wherein the aspect relates to a voice characteristic imparted to synthesized speech in the audio information.
- 17. The method of claim 11 wherein the audio information selectively comprises a sound based upon the occurrence of a pattern of symbols provided in the textual information.
- 18. The method of claim 17 wherein an aspect of associating the sound in the audio information to the corresponding pattern of symbols in the textual information is affected by preference information pertaining to at least one of the first party, the second party and the instant communications client.
- 19. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
receiving from the first party audio information to be converted into corresponding textual information to be provided to the second party.
- 20. The method of claim 19 wherein an aspect of how the audio information is to be converted into corresponding textual information is affected by preference information pertaining to at least one of the first party, the second party and the instant communications client.
- 21. The method of claim 20 further comprising:
receiving the preference information from the first party.
- 22. The method of claim 20 wherein the aspect relates to a language-related preference associated with the first party.
- 23. The method of claim 20 wherein the aspect relates to at least one of a language and a dialect used by the second party.
- 24. The method of claim 20 wherein the aspect relates to an identifier to be presented in the textual information to the second party as a screen name identity representing the first party.
- 25. The method of claim 19 wherein the audio information comprises a sound to cause a pattern of symbols to selectively be provided in the textual information.
- 26. The method of claim 25 wherein an aspect of associating the sound in the audio information with the corresponding pattern of symbols in the textual information is affected by preference information pertaining to at least one of the first party, the second party and the instant communications client.
- 27. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
receiving billing information from the first party relating to how charges for the service are to be paid.
- 28. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
receiving from the first party an identifier to be presented in the textual information to the second party as a screen name identity representing the first party.
- 29. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
receiving from the first party an identifier corresponding to at least one of the second party and the instant communications client, wherein the providing communications among the first party and the second party is responsive to the identifier.
- 30. A method of providing a service to a first party using a telephone, the method comprising:
providing to the first party a telephone number that, when called by the first party, signifies the desire of the first party to engage in communications with a second party who is using an instant communications client; receiving a telephone call from the first party; and providing communications among the first party and the second party.
- 31. The method of claim 30 wherein the second party engages in communication using textual information via the instant communications client.
- 32. The method of claim 32 wherein the calling of the telephone number by the first party signifies the desire of the first party to engage in communications wherein the second party uses textual information to communicate via the instant communications client.
- 33. A method of providing a service to a first party using an instant communications client, the method comprising:
providing indication to the instant communications client that a second party using a telephony connection desires to communicate with the first party; and providing communications among the first party and the second party, wherein the first party engages in communication using textual information via the instant communications client and the second party engages in communication using audio information via the telephony connection.
- 34. The method of claim 33 wherein the providing indication to the instant communications client is responsive to a presence state pertaining to the first party.
- 35. The method of claim 33 wherein the providing indication to the instant communications client is responsive to a capabilities profile pertaining to the first party.
- 36. The method of claim 33 further comprising:
receiving indication from the instant communications client as to whether the first party desires to communicate with the second party via the instant communications client.
- 37. The method of claim 33 further comprising:
receiving indication from the instant communications client as to whether the first party prefers to engage in textual communications via the instant communications client.
- 38. The method of claim 33 further comprising:
providing indication to the first party that communications with the second party will be performed via the instant communications client.
- 39. The method of claim 33 further comprising:
receiving billing information from the first party relating to how charges for the service are to be paid.
- 40. The method of claim 33 further comprising:
providing to the instant communications client an identifier representing the identity of the second party.
- 41. The method of claim 33 further comprising:
receiving from the first party textual information to be converted into corresponding audio information to be provided to the second party.
- 42. The method of claim 41 wherein an aspect of how the textual information is converted into corresponding audio information is affected by preference information pertaining to at least one of the first party, the second party and the instant communications client.
- 43. The method of claim 42 further comprising:
receiving the preference information from the first party.
- 44. The method of claim 42 wherein the aspect relates to a language preference associated with the first party.
- 45. The method of claim 42 wherein the aspect relates to a language used by the second party.
- 46. The method of claim 42 wherein the aspect relates to a voice characteristic imparted to synthesized speech in the audio information.
- 47. The method of claim 41 wherein the audio information selectively comprises a sound based upon the occurrence of a pattern of symbols provided in the textual information.
- 48. The method of claim 47 wherein an aspect of associating the pattern of symbols in the textual information with the corresponding sound in the audio information is affected by preference information pertaining to at least one of the first party, the second party and the instant communications client.
- 49. The method of claim 33 further comprising:
providing to the first party textual information corresponding to audio information from the second party.
- 50. The method of claim 49 wherein an aspect of providing the textual information corresponding to the audio information is affected by preference information pertaining to at least one of the first party, the second party and the instant communications client.
- 51. The method of claim 50 further comprising:
receiving the preference information from the first party.
- 52. The method of claim 50 wherein the aspect relates to a language preference associated with the first party.
- 53. The method of claim 50 wherein the aspect relates to a language used by the second party.
- 54. The method of claim 50 wherein the aspect relates to a voice characteristic imparted to synthesized speech in the audio information.
- 55. The method of claim 49 wherein the audio information selectively comprises a sound based upon the occurrence of a pattern of symbols provided in the textual information.
- 56. The method of claim 55 wherein an aspect of associating the sound in the audio information with the corresponding pattern of symbols in the textual information is affected by preference information pertaining to at least one of the first party, the second party and the instant communications client.
PRIORITY CLAIM AND CROSS-REFERENCE
[0001] The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/404,330 filed Apr. 2, 2003, entitled “Call Completion via Instant Communications Client”, which in-turn claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/369,271 (Atty. Docket CDR-02-002PR), filed Apr. 2, 2002, entitled “Chat-Accessible Services in a Communication System,” assigned to the assignee of the present application and incorporated herein by reference its entirety.
[0002] The present application is also related to the following co-pending applications, which are assigned to the assignee of the present application and incorporated herein by reference in their entireties:
[0003] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/404,110, filed Apr. 2, 2003, entitled “Billing System for Services Provided via Instant Communications;”
[0004] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/404,111, filed Apr. 2, 2003, entitled “Messaging Response System;”
[0005] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/404,113 filed April 2, 2003, entitled Communications Gateway with Messaging Communications Interface;”
[0006] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/404,093 filed Apr. 2, 2003, entitled “Media Translator;”
[0007] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/404,104 filed Apr. 2, 2003, entitled “Billing System for Communications Services involving Telephony and Instant Communications;”
[0008] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/404,079 filed Apr. 2, 2003, entitled “Enhanced Services Call Completion;”
[0009] U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/404,541 filed Apr. 2, 2003, entitled “Providing of Presence Information to a Telephony Services System;” and
[0010] U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/404,094 filed Apr. 2, 2003, entitled “Telephony Services System with Instant Communications Enhancements.”
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60369271 |
Apr 2002 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10404330 |
Apr 2003 |
US |
Child |
10636789 |
Aug 2003 |
US |