AUDIO PREVIEW OF MUSIC

• US 20110234480A1
• Filed: 03/23/2010
• Published: 09/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Fino, Jorge, Rottler, Benjamin A.
• Granted Patent: US 9,749,709 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 46/2498 The honeycomb filter being defined by mathematical relationships
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 3/0218 the filtering elements being made from spirally-wound filtering material
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/005 Reproducing at a different information rate from the information rate of recording for television signals H04N5/783
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41422 located in transportation means, e.g. personal vehicle arrangements specially adapted for transportation systems in broadcast systems H04H20/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8113 comprising music, e.g. song in MP3 format

Abstract

Systems, methods, and machine-readable media are disclosed for providing an audio preview of songs and other audio elements. In some embodiments, an electronic device may operate in either a “play mode,” which allows a user to listen to songs in a normal fashion, or in a “preview mode,” which may be used to provide previews of songs to a user in succession. In some embodiments, the electronic device may seamlessly transition between play mode and preview mode. For example, the electronic device may pause a currently-playing song when the mode of operation switches from play mode to preview mode so that, if the user exits out of preview mode, the original song may be resumed from the pause point. In some embodiments, the electronic device may provide a multi-directional visual interface that allows a user to control the succession of previews provided in preview mode.

Claims

1. A method of seamlessly transitioning between a play mode and a preview mode in an electronic device, the method comprising:

playing an initial audio element in the play mode;

receiving a first user request to enter into the preview mode;

responsive to receiving the first user request;

providing, in succession, previews of a plurality of other audio elements in the preview mode;

receiving a second user request to exit the preview mode; and

resuming play of the initial audio element in the play mode.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, during the providing, a user selection of one of the other audio elements; and

responsive to receiving the user selection;

entering the play mode; and

continuing to play the one of the other audio elements in the play mode.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing comprises:

starting each of the other audio elements from the beginning; and

switching to a next audio element in the succession in response to a user input.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing comprises cross-fading between each of the other audio elements in the succession.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing comprises playing a voiceover when switching to a new audio element in the succession, wherein the voiceover provides metadata associated with the new audio element.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to receiving the first user request;

pausing the initial audio element.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the pausing comprises saving a time stamp of when the initial audio element is stopped, and wherein the resuming comprises starting the initial audio element at a point corresponding to the time stamp.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a now-playing display screen when operating in the play mode; and

providing a scan preview display screen when operating in the preview mode.

9. An electronic device for providing a preview of browsable items, the electronic device comprising an output, a user input interface, and control circuitry configured to:

play, using the output, previews of a first plurality of browsable items, wherein the first plurality of browsable items is associated with a first category of a first attribute;

receive a directional user input from the user input interface;

provide, when the directional user input is in a horizontal direction, previews of a second plurality of browsable items associated with a second category of the first attribute; and

provide, when the directional user input is in a vertical direction, previews of a third plurality of browsable items associated with a category of a second attribute.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, further comprising a display, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

present, on the display, a visual interface associated with a preview mode operation of the electronic device, wherein the visual interface provides metadata associated with a current category of a current attribute being previewed; and

update the visual interface in response to receiving the directional user input.

11. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the control circuitry is configured to update the visual interface by rotating the visual interface horizontally when the directional user input is in a horizontal direction.

12. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the control circuitry is configured to update the visual interface by rotating the visual interface vertically when the directional user input is in a horizontal direction.

13. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the first and the second attributes each comprises one of:

genre, artist, album, song speed, date released, date acquired, and podcast.

14. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to provide the previews of the second plurality of browsable items by:

selecting the second category of the first attribute based on whether the horizontal direction is left or right; and

playing the previews of the second plurality of browsable items in response to the selecting.

15. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to provide the previews of the third plurality of browsable items by:

selecting the second attribute based on whether the vertical direction is up or down;

choosing the category of the second attribute; and

playing the previews of the third plurality of browsable items in response to the selecting and the choosing.

16. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to provide previews of at least one of the first, second, and third plurality of browsable items by automatically cycling through the browsable items.

17. An electronic device for providing a user interface for previewing audio elements, wherein the audio elements are organized into different categories for a plurality of different attributes, the electronic device comprising:

a display for presenting a visual interface that graphically illustrates a category of an attribute;

an audio output for providing previews of audio elements associated with a currently-presented category; and

control circuitry configured to;

receive a horizontally-directed user input;

in response to receiving the horizontally-directed user input, update the visual interface to graphically illustrate a different category of the attribute;

receive a vertically-directed user input; and

in response to receiving the vertically-directed user input, change the visual interface to graphically illustrate a category of a different attribute.

18. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the category comprises one of a particular artist and a particular album, and wherein the visual interface comprises album cover art associated with the category.

19. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:

update the visual interface by rotating the visual interface in a horizontal direction; and

change the visual interface by rotating the visual interface in a vertical direction.

20. Machine-readable media for seamlessly transitioning between a play mode and a preview mode in an electronic device, the machine-readable media comprising machine-readable instructions recorded thereon for:

playing an initial audio element in the play mode;

receiving a first user request to enter into the preview mode;

responsive to receiving the first user request;

providing, in succession, previews of a plurality of other audio elements in the preview mode;

receiving a second user request to exit the preview mode; and

resuming play of the initial audio element in the play mode.

21. The machine-readable media of claim 20, the machine-readable media further comprising machine-readable instructions recorded thereon for:

receiving, during the providing, a user selection of one of the other audio elements; and

responsive to receiving the user selection;

entering the play mode; and

continuing to play the one of the other audio elements in the play mode.

22. The machine-readable media of claim 20, wherein the machine-readable instructions for the providing comprises machine-readable instructions for:

starting each of the other audio elements from the beginning; and

switching to a next audio element in the succession in response to a user input.