APPARATUS, SYSTEM AND METHOD OF AGGREGATING MULTIPLE ADDRESS BOOK SOURCES
First Claim
1. A computing device comprising:
- contact entries that are received from a plurality of sources, wherein the contact entries includes a first contact entry and a second contact entry for a contact;
an accumulation engine that identifies the first contact entry and the second contact entry as being associated with the same contact and that generates a combined contact entry for the contact based on the identification; and
an aggregated address book that includes the combined contact entry for the contact, wherein the combined contact entry includes all data from across the first contact entry and the second contact entry.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments of the present invention are directed to an apparatus, system and method of aggregating address book sources. Contact entries from these sources are retrieved by a server. There can be multiple contact entries for the same contact. Without modifying the original contact entries, the server links together similar contact entries such that these similar contact entries are virtually aggregated but not physically merged. An aggregated address book at the server includes a distinct contact entry for each contact and can be viewed from one or more end-user devices either in a browser or in a client application. One or more address book sources are automatically updated based on changes made to the aggregated address book at the server from an end-user device. The aggregated address book is also automatically updated based on changes made at one or more of the address book sources.
23 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A computing device comprising:
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contact entries that are received from a plurality of sources, wherein the contact entries includes a first contact entry and a second contact entry for a contact; an accumulation engine that identifies the first contact entry and the second contact entry as being associated with the same contact and that generates a combined contact entry for the contact based on the identification; and an aggregated address book that includes the combined contact entry for the contact, wherein the combined contact entry includes all data from across the first contact entry and the second contact entry. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system comprising:
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a server configured to; receive contact entries from a plurality of sources via a network; identify from the contact entries a portion of the contact entries that is associated with the same contact to generate a combined contact entry for that contact, wherein the combined contact entry includes all data from across the portion of the contact entries, wherein the combined contact entry is a separate and distinct entry from the contact entries; and generate an aggregated address book that includes the combined contact entry for that contact and a distinct contact entry for each other contact; and an end-user device in communication with the server to access the aggregated address book. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method comprising:
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a server receiving contact entries from a plurality of sources via a network; the server identifying from the contact entries a portion of the contact entries that is associated with the same contact; the server generating a combined contact entry for that contact, comprising the server obtaining all data from across the portion of the contact entries, wherein the combined contact entry is a separate and distinct entry from the contact entries; the server generating an aggregated address book that includes the combined contact entry for that contact and a distinct contact entry for each other contact; and an end-user device communicating with the server to access the aggregated address book. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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Specification