Method and apparatus for organizing a contact list by weighted service type for use by a communication device
First Claim
1. A method for automatically organizing a plurality of contacts for use by a communication device, the method comprising:
- storing a plurality of contact records, each contact record being associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of contacts and including one or more contact entries, each contact entry being associated with at least one service type;
assigning a respective weighting factor to each contact entry of each contact record to produce assigned weighting factors, each assigned weighting factor relating to communication activity involving a contact identified by the particular contact record and a service type associated with the contact entry; and
ordering the plurality of contacts into an ordered list based on the assigned weighting factors for a desired service type.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A communication device (104, 106) or communication system (100) employs a method for automatically organizing a contact list for use by the communication device (104, 106). A plurality of contact records are stored in a memory. Each contact record is associated with a corresponding contact and includes one or more contact entries. Each contact entry is further associated with at least one service type. A respective weighting factor is assigned to each contact entry of the contact record. Each weighting factor relates to communication activity involving a contact identified by the particular contact record and a service type (e.g., phone, text, etc.) associated with the contact entry. The contacts are ordered based on the weighting factors for a desired service type. In one embodiment, the ordered contact list is displayed to a user to facilitate communication with one or more of the contacts.
128 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for automatically organizing a plurality of contacts for use by a communication device, the method comprising:
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storing a plurality of contact records, each contact record being associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of contacts and including one or more contact entries, each contact entry being associated with at least one service type; assigning a respective weighting factor to each contact entry of each contact record to produce assigned weighting factors, each assigned weighting factor relating to communication activity involving a contact identified by the particular contact record and a service type associated with the contact entry; and ordering the plurality of contacts into an ordered list based on the assigned weighting factors for a desired service type. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for automatically organizing a plurality of contacts stored in a memory of a communication device, the method comprising:
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storing a plurality of contact records, each contact record being associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of contacts and including one or more contact entries, each contact entry being associated with at least one service type; assigning a respective weighting factor to each contact entry of each contact record to produce assigned weighting factors, each assigned weighting factor relating to communication activity involving a contact identified by the particular contact record and a service type associated with the contact entry; ordering the plurality of contacts into an ordered list based on the assigned weighting factors for a desired service type according to at least one of alphabetical order by contact name, time since last communication, quantity of communications, and length of communication; communicating with a first contact in the ordered list using the desired service type; assigning a new weighting factor to a contact entry in a contact record associated with the first contact, the new weighting factor being responsive to the step of communicating; and re-ordering the ordered list of contacts to take into account the new weighting factor assigned to the contact entry for the first contact.
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17. A communication device comprising:
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a memory for storing a plurality of contact records for a plurality of contacts, each contact record being associated with a corresponding contact and including one or more contact entries, each contact entry being associated with at least one service type; and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, the processor assigning a respective weighting factor to each contact entry of each contact record to produce assigned weighting factors, each assigned weighting factor relating to communication activity involving a contact identified by the particular contact record and a service type associated with the contact entry, and ordering the plurality of contacts into an ordered list based on the assigned weighting factors for a desired service type. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification