NETWORK-ACCESSIBLE VIRTUAL SHOPPING CART

• US 20100125512A1
• Filed: 11/19/2008
• Published: 05/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Leece, Mark John Sawrey, Temereanca, Ovidiu, Jones, David
• Application Number:
  US12/273,955
• Publication Number:
  US 20100125512A1
• 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

The network-accessible virtual shopping cart includes shopping for digital content with a portable device. The portable device receives an instruction to add a digital content item to a virtual shopping cart. If a network connection to a network-accessible virtual shopping cart is available, the digital content item is added to the network-accessible virtual shopping cart. If a network connection to the network-accessible virtual shopping cart is not available, the digital content item is added to a local virtual shopping cart. Upon the network-accessible virtual shopping cart becoming available, digital content items are moved from the local virtual shopping cart to the network-accessible virtual shopping cart.

Claims

1. A method of shopping for digital content with a portable device, the method comprising:

receiving an instruction to add a digital content item to a virtual shopping cart;

if a network connection to a network-accessible virtual shopping cart is available, adding the digital content item to the network-accessible virtual shopping cart;

if a network connection to the network-accessible virtual shopping cart is not available, adding the digital content item to a local virtual shopping cart; and

upon the network-accessible virtual shopping cart becoming available, moving digital content items from the local virtual shopping cart to the network-accessible virtual shopping cart.

2. The method of claim 1, where the network-accessible virtual shopping cart becomes available responsive to the portable device being docked to a personal computer.

3. The method of claim 2, where digital content items are moved from the local virtual shopping cart to the network-accessible virtual shopping cart via the personal computer.

4. The method of claim 1, where the network-accessible virtual shopping cart becomes available responsive to the portable device establishing a network connection to the network-accessible virtual shopping cart.

5. The method of claim 4, where digital content items are moved from the local virtual shopping cart to the network-accessible virtual shopping cart via the network connection.

6. The method of claim 1, where the instruction to add the digital content item to the virtual shopping cart includes receiving an instruction to add the digital content item when the network-accessible virtual shopping cart is not available.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising downloading the digital content item to a local content library.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising, upon the network-accessible virtual shopping cart becoming available, deleting digital content items from the local virtual shopping cart.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining if a network connection to the network-accessible virtual shopping cart is available.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising downloading a sample digital content item.

11. The method of claim 10, where the sample digital content item is downloaded peer-to-peer from another portable device.

12. The method of claim 10, where the sample digital content item is downloaded from an online service offering sample digital content items.

13. The method of claim 10, where receiving the instruction to add the digital content item to the virtual shopping cart includes receiving an instruction to add a full version of the digital content item corresponding to the sample digital content item.

14. A portable device, comprising:

a local content library;

a local virtual shopping cart; and

a content acquisition module configured to;

add a digital content item to a network-accessible virtual shopping cart if a network connection to the network-accessible virtual shopping cart is available;

add the digital content item to the local virtual shopping cart if the network connection to the network-accessible virtual shopping cart is not available; and

update the network-accessible virtual shopping cart with digital content items from the local virtual shopping cart upon the network-accessible virtual shopping cart becoming available.

15. A method of shopping for digital content with a portable device, the method comprising:

receiving an instruction to add a digital content item to a virtual shopping cart;

adding the digital content item to a local virtual shopping cart;

establishing a connection between the portable device and a personal computer; and

transferring the digital content item from the local virtual shopping cart to the personal computer.

16. The method of claim 15, where a network-accessible virtual shopping cart is accessible by the personal computer and configured to receive the digital content item from the portable device via the personal computer.

17. The method of claim 16, where the network-accessible virtual shopping cart becomes available responsive to the portable device establishing the connection to the personal computer.

18. The method of claim 16, where the digital content item is moved from the personal computer to the network-accessible virtual shopping cart via a network connection.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising downloading the digital content item to a local content library.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising downloading a sample digital content item.