Reservation of digital media items

• US 7,739,151 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2004
• Issued: 06/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Hayashi, Joe, Saul, Kevin
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah; Amee A
• Application Number:
  US11/022,152
• Publication Number:
  US 20060095339A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,002 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27, 705/50, 705/52
• US Class Current: 705/26.8
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

Techniques for interacting with an online media store using a first device to identify a digital media item of interest to a user of the first device, using the first device to store an interest indicator for the digital media item of interest at the online media store, and subsequently interacting with the online media store using a second device to purchase or preview the digital media item of interest as identified by the interest indicator. Additionally, ring tones and graphics associated with the digital media item of interest can also be purchased.

Claims

1. A method for identifying a digital media item of interest that is one of a plurality of digital media items available for download from an online media store, said method comprising:

interacting with the online media store via a first device to identify a digital media item of interest to a user of the first device;

marking the digital media item of interest at the online media store with an interest indicator;

storing, at the online media store, the interest indicator for the marked digital media item of interest for subsequent downloading; and

subsequently downloading, to a second device when the second device interacts with the online media store, the digital media item of interest indicated by the interest indicator.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said interacting is over a low-bandwidth network, and said downloading is over a high-bandwidth network.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said marking is at the request of the user of the first device.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said method further comprises:

downloading, to the second device, an additional digital media item that is associated with the digital media item of interest as previously marked by the user of the first device.

5. A method as recited in claim 4, wherein the additional digital media item is a ring tone.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first device is a cellular phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA).

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the first device is a portable wireless device.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the first device operates a wireless browser to assist the user of the first device with said interacting with the online media store.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the second device operates a browser application to assist the user with said interacting with the online media store and said subsequent downloading of the digital media item of interest from the online media store to the second device.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the second device is a personal computer.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

determining, at the online media store, if a media management application is available for the first device;

downloading, from the online media store, a media management application;

installing the media management application on the first device; and

wherein said interacting comprises marking a digital media item for purchase using the media management application.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the digital media item is selected from the group consisting of a music single, a music video, an electronic book (eBook), and an art graphic.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the digital media item is a compilation of digital media items.

14. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the interacting further comprises connecting to a high-bandwidth network using a gateway after connecting to the low-bandwidth network.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein an online media server host the online media store, and wherein the interest indicator is stored at the online media server with reference to a user account associated with the user of the first device.

16. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the interest indicator is a review indicator or a purchase indicator.

17. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the subsequently downloading further comprises authenticating the user of the first device.

18. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the subsequently downloading further comprises authenticating the user of the second device.

19. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the interacting further comprises purchasing the digital media item of interest, and wherein the marking further comprises indicating the digital media item of interest is a purchased digital media item for subsequent downloading.

20. A method for identifying a digital media item of interest that is one of a plurality of digital media items available for download from an online media store, said method comprising:

interacting with the online media store over a low-bandwidth network via a first device to identify a digital media item of interest to a user of the first device;

marking the digital media item of interest at the online media store with an interest indicator;

storing, at the online media store, the interest indicator for the digital media item of interest for subsequent downloading;

subsequently downloading over a high-bandwidth network, to a second device when the second device interacts with the online media store, the digital media item of interest indicated by the interest indicator; and

downloading, to the second device, an additional digital media item that is associated with the digital media item of interest as previously marked by the user of the first device.

21. The method as recited in claim 20, wherein the first device is a portable wireless device.

22. The method as recited in claim 20, wherein the second device is a personal computer.

23. The method as recited in claim 20, wherein the digital media item is selected from the group consisting of a music single, a music video, an electronic book (eBook), and an art graphic.

24. The method as recited in claim 23, wherein the digital media item is a compilation of digital media items.

25. The method as recited in claim 20, wherein the interacting further comprises connecting to a high-bandwidth network using a gateway.

26. The method as recited in claim 20, wherein an online media server host the online media store, and wherein the interest indicator is stored at the online media server with reference to a user account associated with the user of the first device.

27. The method as recited in claim 20, wherein the marking further comprises indicating that the digital media item is for review or purchase.

28. The method as recited in claim 20, wherein the subsequently downloading further comprises authenticating the user of the first device.

29. The method as recited in claim 20, wherein the subsequently downloading further comprises authenticating the user of the second device.

30. A program storage device readable by a machine tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for identifying a digital media item of interest that is one of a plurality of digital media items available for download from an online media store, the method comprising:

interacting with the online media store via a first device to identify a digital media item of interest to a user of the first device;

marking the digital media item of interest at the online media store with an interest indicator;

storing, at the online media store, the interest indicator for the marked digital media item of interest for review at a later date; and

subsequently downloading, to a second device when the second device interacts with the online media store, the digital media item of interest indicated by the interest indicator.