Mobile audible data services

• US 8,055,247 B1
• Filed: 12/21/2006
• Issued: 11/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Micklavzina, Charles L., Biere, Devon Leon, Gailloux, Michael A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Thier; Michael
• Application Number:
  US11/614,183
• Time in Patent Office: 1,783 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/414.3, 455/414.4, 455/412.1, 455/412.2
• US Class Current: 455/414.4
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1059 End-user terminal functionalities specially adapted for real-time communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast

Abstract

A method, system, and media provide audio services for mobile users. The system includes a mobile computing device, a content management server and a network over which the mobile device and server communicate. The method includes receiving a voice-based and/or gesture-based request for playback of content from the user of a mobile device and searching a local data store on the mobile device for the requested content. If the requested content is contained in the local data store, the method renders the requested content in a format for audible reception at the mobile device for the mobile user. If the requested content is not contained in the local data store, then the method queries a remote data service for the requested content. Upon receiving the requested content from the remote data service, the method audibly plays back the requested content at the mobile device for the mobile user.

Claims

1. One or more non-transitory computer-storage media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of receiving at a mobile device content specified by a user for subsequent playback, wherein the user-specified content is grouped into a plurality of topic-based channels and received over a network from a remote data service and stored in a local data store in the mobile device, the method comprising:

receiving, from the user of the mobile device, a request for playback of at least a portion of user-specified data content from one of said plurality of topic-based channels, wherein the request is at least one of a voice-based request and a gesture-based request;

processing the request;

storing an identifier associated with the requested content in the local data store;

updating a set of adaptively learned preferences of the user based at least in part on the identifier associated with the requested content, wherein the preferences can be used to determine the user'"'"'s preferred content; and

transmitting the requested content to the mobile device, wherein the requested content is converted by at least one of the remote data service or the mobile device from text-based data to a format for audible playback.

2. The media of claim 1, wherein one or more of the topic-based channels are configured by the user at a computer using a graphical user interface.

3. The media of claim 1, wherein the user-specified content comprises one or more data feeds.

4. The media of claim 3, wherein at least one of the data feeds is an RSS feed.

5. The media of claim 3, wherein at least one of the data feeds comprises converting text-based content stored in the local data store to audio-based content in response to receiving a request for playback of the text-based content.

6. The media of claim 1, wherein the user-specified content received from the data service is text-based content.

7. A consumer electronics product utilizing the computer-useable instructions of claim 1.

8. The media of claim 1, wherein the user-specified data content includes at least one of:

(A) calendar information;

(B) banking information; and

(C) email messages.

9. The media of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the step of allowing the user to take action based on the user-specified data content.

10. The media of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the step of proactively obtaining the user'"'"'s preferred content based on the learned preferences.

11. One or more non-transitory computer-storage media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of locating text-based content for playback to a mobile user, the method comprising:

receiving a request for playback of text-based content from the user of a mobile device, wherein the request is at least one of a voice-based request and a gesture-based request;

determining whether the requested text-based content is contained in a local data store on the mobile device and, if not, querying a remote data service for the requested text-based content and upon receiving the requested text-based content from the remote data service caching the requested text-based content in the local data store;

if a determination is made that the requested text-based content was already in the data store, determining in response to said determination whether an update is available for the requested text-based content, and if so, obtaining a text-based delta representing the update for the requested text-based content;

converting the requested text-based content to audio-based content; and

audibly playing back the audio-based content at the mobile device for the mobile user.

12. A consumer electronics product utilizing the computer-useable instructions of claim 11.

13. One or more non-transitory computer-storage media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of providing audio services to a mobile user, the method comprising:

receiving a request from a mobile user over a network for delivery of text-based content, wherein the request is at least one of a voice-based request and a gesture-based request;

obtaining the requested content from a data source;

transmitting the requested content to the mobile user over the network;

searching for updates to the user-requested content, wherein it is determined in near real-time that an update is available for the requested content without having received a request from the user to do so;

obtaining a text-based delta representing the update for the requested content; and

providing the update to the mobile device in near real-time, wherein the text-based delta is converted from text-based data to an audio format at the mobile device or prior to transmitting the update to the mobile device.