Patent Application
20080288866
Mobile telephones are currently configured to provide audio and/or video presentations (e.g., music and/or music videos) to users. Mobile telephone menus for selecting audio and/or video presentations are currently not sufficiently descriptive of the corresponding audio and/or video items. For example, current menus are in the form of text lists. Therefore, using such mobile telephone menus can be unappealing to mobile telephone users.
Furthermore, with the expanding capabilities of mobile telephones, and the increasing need in the art to improve the safe operation of the same—especially while the user is operating heavy machinery—such as an automobile, there is a need in the art for improving the user interface of a mobile telephone for any user to mobile phone interaction. One of the big steps forward in meeting this need in the art is voice activated dialing. Such technology allows a user to dial a number without ever having to take his or her eyes off of the road. However, when the mobile telephone is presenting information back to the user, such as presenting menu selections, voice mail retrievals, email retrievals, etc., the user is often required to look at and navigate a text based menu interface. What is needed in the art is an interface that enables user to navigate through various interface functionalities without having to look at the display.
The present invention is directed towards a user interface for a mobile telephone or other mobile device that not only presents content in a safe manner, but that also takes advantage of the advanced technological capabilities of state of the art mobile devices. In general, one embodiment of the present invention provides a carrousel-like menu structure for navigating and/or accessing multimedia content or other content. Each carrousel includes one or more items that may be of uniform or varying content formats. For instance, the content could be audio, video, still frames, ring tones, wall paper, etc. or two or more of these and other formats. When the user accesses the carrousel, the items are presented in a cyclical fashion to the user until the user either makes a selection or performs some other action to alter the cyclical presentation, such as fast forwarding, going back, etc. The items in the carrousel may represent a vector or access point to another carrousel, or may represent an access to specific media content. For instance, an entry in the carrousel may be the name of a professional music artist. Selecting that artist may result in delivering the artist's latest hit or, may result in providing a second carrousel that includes various items associated with the artist, such as songs, ring tones, wallpapers, etc.
An embodiment of a method for providing media presentations includes: receiving a first plurality of media presentations; outputting the first plurality of media presentations to a user of a mobile telephone in a first sequential presentation of the first plurality of media presentations at least until the user selects one of the first plurality of media presentations; outputting a second sequential presentation of the first plurality of media presentations to the user if the user does not select a media presentation during the first sequential presentation of the first plurality of media presentations; receiving a first user input corresponding to a first selected media presentation among the first plurality of media presentations; outputting at least a first media item corresponding to the first selected media presentation responsive to receiving the first user input.
An embodiment of another method for providing media presentations includes: transmitting a first plurality of media presentations to a mobile telephone, wherein the first plurality of media presentations are presented by the mobile telephone to a user of the mobile telephone in a first sequential presentation of the first plurality of media presentations at least until the user selects one of the first plurality of media presentations via the mobile telephone, and wherein a second sequential presentation of the first plurality of media presentations is output by the mobile telephone to the user if the user does not select a media presentation via the mobile telephone during the first sequential presentation of the first plurality of media presentations; receiving from the mobile telephone a first selection signal corresponding to a first selected media presentation among the first plurality of media presentations, wherein the first selection signal is transmitted by the mobile telephone responsive to a first user input selecting the first selected media presentation; and transmitting to the mobile telephone at least a first media item corresponding to the first selected media presentation among the first plurality of media presentations responsive to receiving the first selection signal, wherein the mobile telephone receives the first media item and provides the first media item to the user.
An embodiment of system for providing media presentations includes: software and hardware configured to enable a mobile telephone to: receive a first plurality of media presentations; output the first plurality of media presentations to a user of the mobile telephone in a first sequential presentation of the first plurality of media presentations at least until the user selects one of the first plurality of media presentations; output a second sequential presentation of the first plurality of media presentations to the user if the user does not select a media presentation during the first sequential presentation of the first plurality of media presentations; receive a first user input corresponding to a first selected media presentation among the first plurality of media presentations; and output at least a first media item corresponding to the first selected media presentation responsive to receiving the first user input.
An embodiment of another system for providing media presentations includes software and hardware to enable at least one server to: transmit a first plurality of media presentations to a mobile telephone, wherein the first plurality of media presentations are presented by the mobile telephone to a user of the mobile telephone in a first sequential presentation of the first plurality of media presentations at least until the user selects one of the first plurality of media presentations via the mobile telephone, and wherein a second sequential presentation of the first plurality of media presentations is output by the mobile telephone to the user if the user does not select a media presentation via the mobile telephone during the first sequential presentation of the first plurality of media presentations; receive from the mobile telephone a first selection signal corresponding to a first selected media presentation among the first plurality of media presentations, wherein the first selection signal is transmitted by the mobile telephone responsive to a first user input selecting the first selected media presentation; and transmit to the mobile telephone at least a first media item corresponding to the first selected media presentation among the first plurality of media presentations responsive to receiving the first selection signal, wherein the mobile telephone receives the first media item and provides the first media item to the user.
Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present invention will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the present invention.
Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
According to one embodiment, audio and/or video presentations are provided to a mobile telephone user as a carrousel presentation. Each item in a carrousel presentation is played in sequential order until all items are played or until an item in the carrousel is selected by a user. If no item is selected by the user while the items are initially presented, then the carrousel application will replay the items, beginning with the first item, and so on, until a selection is made by a user.
The items displayed via a carrousel can include a wide variety of media, such as, for example:
A given carrousel can contain presentations corresponding to similar items, such as, for example, the songs for an artist's latest release, or dissimilar but related items, such as all the wallpapers, ring tones, video clips and/or MP3 songs for a particular artist. Because of this, a carrousel can provide multiple ways for selecting a given item, such as, for example, by type (e.g., MP3 song or ring tone), by artist, or by any category the item is listed under.
Within a carrousel presentation, a user is enabled to select one or more of the following exemplary options:
A portal 114 presents content previews to a mobile device user in a sequential loop, allowing the user to pick which content to view (e.g., by pressing a designated key when the preview appears, touching a specific spot on a touch sensitive screen embodiment, speaking a particular word for a voice activated menu embodiment, or otherwise providing a selection indicator). The portal 114 enables the playing of “static” content (e.g., movie clips) and external streams (e.g., web-camera and television feeds) as well as the delivery of other content such as ring tones, games, wallpapers, etc.
The portal 114 enables dynamically loading content and presenting it for browsing and selection by the user. An operator may modify the available content at the portal by loading new content, adding-to or replacing existing content, altering currently available content and/or removing content.
When presentations (video and/or audio) are provided to a user via a carrousel application, the user may select a particular item, skip to the next item, back-up to a previous item, or replay the current item. Selecting an item can lead to the purchase of the item, fulfillment of the item, or to other functionality, including, for example, another carrousel. An application developer can implement any desired number of carrousels to be provided by the portal 114.
The content of a carrousel is dynamic and flexible. A system operator can change all or part of the content of any specific carrousel, thereby increasing or decreasing the number of items in the carrousel. A carrousel application may provide multiple carrousels. Each carrousel can be independent of other carrousels, but can contain links to some of the same items presented by other carrousels. A carrousel is made up of the media items to be displayed in that carrousel. A carrousel configuration file lists the items in that carrousel as well as actions to be taken when a particular item is selected from the carrousel.
The content of a carrousel may also be controlled through an automated process by having a search engine or similar process feed items to or remove items from the carrousel. For instance, the automated process could constantly, periodically or occasionally search for or identify new content to be added to the carrousel or identify out of date or inapplicable items to be removed from the carrousel. Similarly, items in a carrousel may be given a life span and they may automatically be removed upon the expiration of that life span. In addition, the items in a carrousel may be monitored for activity and if the activity pertaining to a certain item does not meet certain parameters (e.g., selected a certain number of times over a period of time) it can be removed. Likewise, items that exceed other thresholds of activity may be used to augment the content of the carrousel. For instance, if a particular item is selected a threshold number of times over a given period of time, similar or related items may be identified and added to the carrousel.
To more specifically illustrate how the concept of the carrousel can be implemented, an exemplary embodiment of the invention is described; however, it should be appreciated that this is simply a non-limiting example. Each of the individual “items” in an exemplary carrousel is in a “ready-to-play” format described, for example, in a media format guide. Each carrousel item, whether it be an end “content” item or a navigational item, comprises a properly formatted video file (e.g., in a.glv format) and/or a corresponding audio file (e.g., in a.glu format). These two files can have the same filename, but with different extensions (e.g.,.glu or.glv) that indicate the respective format. For example, a media clip corresponding to the artist “Samson” is named “SamsonSong1” and has two corresponding media files: “SamsonSong1.glu” (the audio portion of the clip) and “SamsonSong1.glv” (the video portion of the clip). Therefore, a carrousel of 10 items can have 20 associated media files: 10 video files and 10 audio files.
Along with the media files for each exemplary carrousel, there may be a carrousel configuration file (CCF). The CCF has, for example, an XML format, and is used by the portal 114 to load the media into the specified carrousel and to define the behavior of the carrousel when a user is navigating the carrousel. The CCF contains, for example, a carrousel “name”, a space for a carrousel number, and entries for each of the media items in the carrousel.
A carrousel name is an alphanumeric string that is easily readable and understandable by an operator and describes the contents of the respective carrousel. A carrousel that contains movies available during a current week can be named, for example, “ThisWeekMovies.” As another example, a carrousel that contains a collection of items (e.g., wallpapers, songs, videos, etc.) corresponding to the artist “Samson” can be named “SamsonMediaItems.” Once a name is assigned to a carrousel, it can be used as the name of that carrousel indefinitely. A content provider can then update the contents of the carrousel and create a CCF for the carrousel using the assigned carrousel name.
For every item in the exemplary carrousel, there is a set of parameters that define how the item is to be used. Examples of parameters for each item are as follows:
An example of a carrousel Configuration File format is as follows:
In another embodiment of the present invention, intelligence can be applied to the operation of the carrousel. For instance, if the user takes no action, the carrousel may operate as described above. However, the carrousel software may be equipped to monitor responses by the user and then alter its operation accordingly. For instance, if the user takes an action to skip an entry in the carrousel, this action may provide useful feedback to the carrousel software for further operations. As a non-limiting example, if the user repeatedly skips or fast forwards through entries that have a certain characteristic, the carrousel software may automatically exclude similar entries from future presentment. More specifically, if the user consistently skips ring tones presentments or songs by a particular artist, the carrousel software may automatically filter such entries from presentment to the user. Likewise, if the user runs through all of the selectable options without making a selection, the carrousel may use alternative content to further solicit actions by the user. For instance, the content may be modified to include different entries or, the content may be expanded for the current entries to include more information.
The content carrousel 400 is typically provided at the end of a selection process where a user is presented with a collection of items related to their interests (e.g., items corresponding to a certain artist). Multiple content carrousels can be used in a carrousel application to group items according to desired categories.
The navigational carrousel 310 contains a list of selectable categories. When the user selects a particular category, another carrousel provides the user with another list of items corresponding to the selected category. For example, a navigational carrousel provides a list of artists. After a user selects an artist, then a content carrousel 400 provides the user with a list of audio and/or video content corresponding to the selected artist.
In this example, the navigational carrousel 310 includes a first presentation 311, a second presentation 312, and an Nth presentation 313. The first presentation 311, the second presentation 312, and the Nth presentation 313 are provided to the mobile device 112 (
The content carrousel 400 includes a first presentation 201, a second presentation 202, and an Nth presentation 203. The first presentation 201, the second presentation 202, and the Nth presentation 203 are provided to the mobile telephone 112 (
If in step 402, the user does not select the current media presentation, then the user is provided with the next presentation in the media carrousel, as indicated in step 404. After step 404, the method returns to step 402. Additional presentations are provided to the user in accordance with step 404 until the user makes a selection.
If in step 502, the user does not select a current media presentation, then the user is provided with the next presentation in the first media carrousel, as indicated in step 504. After step 504, the method returns to step 502. Additional presentations from the first carrousel are provided to the user in accordance with step 504 until the user makes a selection in step 502.
If in step 505 the user selects a current media presentation in the second media carrousel, then the user is provided with an item corresponding to the selected presentation in the second media carrousel, as indicated in step 506. If in step 505, the user does not select a current media presentation, then the user is provided with the next media presentation in the second media carrousel, as indicated in step 507. After step 507, the method returns to step 505. Additional presentations from the second carrousel are provided to the user in accordance with step 507 until the user makes a selection in step 505.
In an alternative embodiment, the user may be able to navigate back to the first carrousel by actuating a go-back action. It will be appreciated that the carrousel structure may have any number of levels and a user can navigate forward and backward through the various levels of carrousels.
Any process descriptions or blocks in the flow charts should be understood as representing modules, segments, or portions of code which include one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Alternative implementations are included within the scope of the embodiments of the invention in which functions are executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved, as would be understood by those reasonably skilled in the art of the present invention.
The local interface 608 can be, for example but is not limited to, one or more buses or other wired or wireless connections, as is known in the art. The local interface 608 might have additional elements, which are omitted for simplicity, such as controllers, buffers (caches), drivers, repeaters, and receivers, to enable communications. Further, the local interface 608 might include address, control, and/or data connections to enable appropriate communications among the aforementioned components.
The processor 602 is a hardware device for executing software, particularly that stored in memory 604. The processor 602 can be any custom made or commercially available processor, a central processing unit (CPU), an auxiliary processor among several processors associated with the underwriter system, a semiconductor based microprocessor (in the form of a microchip or chip set), or generally any device for executing software instructions.
The memory 604 can include any one or combination of volatile memory elements (e.g., RAM, such as DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, etc.) and nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, flash memory, etc.). Moreover, the memory 604 might incorporate electronic, magnetic, optical, and/or other types of storage media. Note that the memory 604 can have a distributed architecture, where various components are situated remote from one another, but can be accessed by the processor 602.
The user I/O device(s) 606 include input devices such as, for example but not limited to, a keyboard, mouse, scanner, microphone, a touch sensitive display etc. Furthermore, the user I/O device(s) 606 also include output devices such as, for example but not limited to, a printer, display, etc. The network interface device(s) 610 include, for example, a modem, a radio frequency (RF) or other transceiver, a telephonic interface, an Ethernet interface, a bridge, and/or a router.
Software stored in memory 604 may include one or more separate programs, each one of which comprises an ordered listing of executable instructions for implementing logical functions. In the example of
The server software 614 is used by the application server 124 to enable the provision of media carrousels to a mobile telephone 112 (
The server software 614 is a source program, executable program (object code), script, or any other entity comprising a set of instructions to be performed. When implemented as a source program, the server software 614 is translated via a compiler, assembler, interpreter, or the like, which may or may not be included within the memory 604, so as to operate properly in connection with the O/S 612. Furthermore, the server software 614 can be written in one or more object oriented programming languages, which have classes of data and methods, or procedure programming languages, which have routines, subroutines, and/or functions.
The local interface 708 can be, for example but is not limited to, one or more buses or other wired or wireless connections, as is known in the art. The local interface 708 might have additional elements, which are omitted for simplicity, such as controllers, buffers (caches), drivers, repeaters, and receivers, to enable communications. Further, the local interface 708 might include address, control, and/or data connections to enable appropriate communications among the aforementioned components.
The processor 702 is a hardware device for executing software, particularly that stored in memory 704. The processor 702 can be any custom made or commercially available processor, a central processing unit (CPU), an auxiliary processor among several processors associated with the underwriter system, a semiconductor based microprocessor (in the form of a microchip or chip set), or generally any device for executing software instructions.
The memory 704 can include any one or combination of volatile memory elements (e.g., RAM, such as DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, etc.) and nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, flash memory, etc.). Moreover, the memory 704 might incorporate electronic, magnetic, optical, and/or other types of storage media. Note that the memory 704 can have a distributed architecture, where various components are situated remote from one another, but can be accessed by the processor 702.
The user I/O device(s) 706 include input devices such as, for example but not limited to, a keyboard, mouse, scanner, microphone, a touch sensitive display etc. Furthermore, the user I/O device(s) 706 also include output devices such as, for example but not limited to, a printer, display, etc. The network interface device(s) 710 include, for example, a modem, a radio frequency (RF) or other transceiver, a telephonic interface, an Ethernet interface, a bridge, and/or a router.
Software stored in memory 704 may include one or more separate programs, each one of which comprises an ordered listing of executable instructions for implementing logical functions. In the example of
The server software 714 is used by the media server 122 to enable the provision of media carrousels to a mobile telephone 112 (
The server software 714 is a source program, executable program (object code), script, or any other entity comprising a set of instructions to be performed. When implemented as a source program, the server software 714 is translated via a compiler, assembler, interpreter, or the like, which may or may not be included within the memory 704, so as to operate properly in connection with the O/S 712. Furthermore, the server software 714 can be written in one or more object oriented programming languages, which have classes of data and methods, or procedure programming languages, which have routines, subroutines, and/or functions.
It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present invention, particularly, any “preferred” embodiments, are merely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) of the invention without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the invention. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure.
