AUDIO SAMPLING AND ACQUISITION SYSTEM

• US 20100121741A1
• Filed: 01/19/2010
• Published: 05/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Schubert, Emily Clark, Bell, Chris, Dorogusker, Jesse L., Hotelling, Steve, Hodge, Andrew Bert, Borchers, Robert Edward
• Application Number:
  US12/690,073
• Publication Number:
  US 20100121741A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering

Abstract

Techniques for facilitating purchase of media items, such as digital media assets, are disclosed. A computing device, e.g., a portable media device, can save media indicia pertaining to one or media items of interest to a user. The media indicia can thereafter be use to purchase the one or more media items or other products associated therewith.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a media commerce server, media content identifying information from a client;

identifying, by the media commerce server, one or more media assets corresponding to the media content identifying information;

generating, by the media commerce server, a media access response including information enabling retrieval of the one or more identified media assets; and

sending, by the media commerce server, the media access response to the client.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the media content identifying information includes an audio sample and wherein identifying the one or more media assets includes using an audio recognition algorithm.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the media content identifying information includes at least one of a title, an artist name, or an album name.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the media content identifying information includes at least one of a time when the media content was played or a radio frequency of a broadcaster that played the media content.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more media assets include one or more of a song, an album, a music video, a motion picture, an electronic book, or a digital graphic.

6. A computer readable storage medium encoded with program instructions which, when executed by a media commerce server cause the media commerce server to execute a method comprising:

receiving descriptive media information from a client;

identifying a media asset associated with the descriptive media information;

generating a media access response including a link to download the identified media asset; and

sending the media access response to the client.

7. The computer readable storage medium of claim 6 wherein the media access response further includes a link to download a preview of the identified media asset.

8. The computer readable storage medium of claim 6 wherein the media access response further includes a preview of the identified media asset.

9. The computer readable storage medium of claim 6 wherein the descriptive media information corresponds to a song and wherein the media asset associated with the descriptive media information includes a television show or motion picture in which the song was featured.

10. The computer readable storage medium of claim 6 wherein the identified media asset includes a ringtone.

11. A method comprising:

sending, by an electronic device connected to a network, media content identifying information to a media commerce server connected to the network;

receiving, by the electronic device, a media access response including information enabling retrieval of one or more media assets associated with the media content identifying information; and

displaying, by the electronic device, a graphical user interface based on the media access response, wherein the graphical user interface includes a control operable by a user to purchase each of the one or more media assets.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the electronic device is a portable media device.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the electronic device is a personal computer that synchronizes with a portable media device and wherein the method further comprises:

obtaining, by the electronic device, the media content identifying information from the portable media device prior to sending the media content identifying information to the media commerce server.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the media content identifying information includes an audio sample.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein the media content identifying information includes at least one of a title, an artist name, or an album name.

16. A computer readable storage medium encoded with program instructions which, when executed cause an electronic device to execute a method comprising:

sending descriptive media information to a media commerce server via a network;

receiving a media access response from the media commerce server, the media access response including a listing of one or more media assets associated with the descriptive media information and one or more links, each link being usable to download one of the media assets; and

displaying, by the electronic device, a graphical user interface based on the media access response, wherein the graphical user interface includes the listing of the one or more media assets and a control operable by a user to purchase each of the one or more media assets.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16 wherein the method further comprises:

in response to user operation of the graphical user interface control, sending a purchase request to the media commerce server; and

receiving the media asset from the media commerce server.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16 wherein the method further comprises:

determining whether a preview request has been made by a user; and

in the event that a preview request has been made by the user, presenting the preview to the user.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 18 wherein the preview is embedded in the media access response received from the media commerce server.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 18 wherein the media access response received from the media commerce server includes a link to the preview and presenting the preview to the user includes using the link to retrieve the preview.