Portable media device with list management tools

• US 20080155470A1
• Filed: 03/04/2008
• Published: 06/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: SanDisk Technologies LLC (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: MusicGremlin, Inc. (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Price, Harold E., Axelrod, Jonathan N., KHEDOURI, Robert K.
• Application Number:
  US12/041,937
• Publication Number:
  US 20080155470A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/4387 by the use of playlists
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/48 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/635 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/639 using playlists
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/64 Browsing; Visualisation therefor generation of a list or set of audio data G06F16/638
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/686 using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, title or artist information, time, location or usage information, user ratings
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2223 being a public access point, e.g. for downloading to or uploading from clients arrangements specially adapted to plural spots in a confined site in broadcast systems H04H20/63
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A portable wireless communications subscriber audio and/or video player apparatus and system and method for selecting, requesting, downloading, and playing audio and/or video data content files from an Internet-based database server. The wireless link is preferably implemented in accordance with the WiFi protocol, which allows connectivity to the Internet by being in proximity with a local base station or WiFi hotspot (i.e., publicly available local wireless access hub connected to the Internet). The portable wireless communications subscriber audio and/or video player apparatus and system preferably include a security means for monitoring and blocking unauthorized use of the player apparatus and system. The player apparatus further preferably has the capability to communicate with other neighboring player apparatus for the purpose of exchanging content data files, playlists and personal messages.

Claims

1. A networked portable media player device comprising:

a network interface for sending and receiving digital media segments;

a digital storage medium coupled to the network interface for storing the digital media segments;

a catalog of digital media segments available to the device from the network;

a media decoder coupled to the digital storage medium;

a media presentation element coupled to the media decoder for presenting the digital media segments to a user;

a user interface for interaction with the user;

a display; and

a controller cooperating with said user interface to selectively display a portion of said catalog on said display, and in response to commands from said user, generating a playlist of preferred segments from said catalog.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said controller and said user interface cooperate to provide browsing of said catalog by said user.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein said controller and said user interface cooperate to allow the user to rearrange and manipulate items from the catalog to the playlist.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein said display includes a touch screen receiving commands from the user.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein said controller and said user interface cooperate to present a rolling sequence of letters to the user for selection of entries to the playlist.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein said network interface is one of a wired, a wireless, an ad-hoc and a peer-to-peer network.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein said playlist is presented on the display in an order selected by the user, and the segments are rendered in the order displayed.

8. The device of claim 1 further comprising a DRM unit receiving DRM information associated with each segment and monitoring the rendering of the segment is performed in accordance with DRM information.

9. The device of claim 8 wherein said device shares segments with other devices and wherein said DRM unit monitors the segment sharing to insure that the DRM rules are followed.

10. The device of claim 1 further comprising a security unit monitoring communications with other devices to insure that the communications are protected.

11. The device of claim 10 wherein said communications follow SSL protocols.

12. The device of claim 1 wherein said network interface establishes network communications without a browser, said interface generating signals consistent with a browser.

13. The device of claim 1 further comprising a base used to provide external power to the device.

14. The device of claim 13 wherein said base further provides an alternate interface for interfacing with the network.

15. The device of claim 14 wherein said alternate interface is wired.

16. The device of claim 14 wherein said alternate interface is wireless.

17. The device of claim 1 wherein said network interface establishes network communications using a browser.

18. The device of claim 1 further comprises a messaging unit receiving messages from a remote location over the network, said messaging unit generating a flag on said display indicating the presence of a message.

19. The device of claim 18 wherein said message is selected from an audio, a voice, a text and a video message.

20. The device of claim 18 wherein said message pertains to one of billing for content rendering or sharing, availability of new segments, updates to software and the catalogs.

21. The device of claim 1 wherein said network interface manages intermittent communication with the network, wherein incomplete incoming and outgoing data is cached while the communication is interrupted and then data transfer is resumed when communication is resumed.

22. A wireless media player device comprising:

a network interface;

a digital storage media for storing data that is received; and

a controller that periodically polls available network connections and selects an optimal one or, upon certain conditions, scans in ad hoc device-to-device mode for other compatible devices.

23. The device of claim 22 wherein the user is given the option via a user interface on said device to control whether the device automatically seeks ad-hoc connections or not.

24. A networked portable media player comprising

a network interface for sending and receiving digital media segments;

a digital storage medium coupled to the network interface for storing the digital media segments;

a rights management system coupled to the network interface for limiting access to the digital media segments;

a media decoder coupled to the digital storage medium;

a media presentation means coupled to the media decoder for presenting the digital media segments to a user;

a user interface for interaction with the user; and

a controller for managing the transfer, storage, and presentation of the digital media segments.

25. The player of claim 24 wherein said digital media segments are obtained by one of a purchase, a rental, a lease and a barter.