Messaging device for delivering messages to recipients based on availability and preferences of recipients
First Claim
1. A method of automatically selecting a delivery method for delivery of an electronic message to a recipient based on availability information associated with the recipient, the method comprising:
- displaying a plurality of icons, each of the plurality of icons corresponding to one or more recipients, wherein at least one of the plurality of icons is a group icon corresponding to a group of two or more recipients;
receiving a composition of an electronic message;
receiving a user'"'"'s selection of group icon indicating that the two or more recipients in the group corresponding to the selected group icon are intended recipients of the electronic message;
retrieving availability information associated with at least one recipient in the group corresponding to the selected group icon, wherein the availability information is retrieved from at least one electronic device or service of the at least one recipient;
analyzing the retrieved availability information to determine an availability of the at least one recipient;
selecting a delivery method from a plurality of delivery methods for delivering the electronic message to the at least one recipient, wherein the selection is made based at least in part on the determined availability of the at least one recipient;
transmitting the electronic message to the at least one recipient in the group via the selected delivery method; and
transmitting the electronic message to the other recipients in the group via a delivery method that is different than the selected delivery method.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A messaging device facilitates delivery of messages to recipients based on availability and preferences associated with recipients. In some embodiments, messages are composed by a user via a touchscreen display. Icons representing potential message recipients are displayed, and the user may deliver a message to a recipient by associating the message with the icon that represents the desired recipient. The facility uses availability information—which reflects recipients'"'"' availability and willingness to communicate—and system- and recipient-defined preferences to determine the best method(s) of delivery for a message and other features of message delivery. Recipients'"'"' availability and preferences may be displayed to users on an interface. Users may make decisions regarding delivery method, timing, and other details of message delivery based on the displayed availability and preference information.
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Citations
44 Claims
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1. A method of automatically selecting a delivery method for delivery of an electronic message to a recipient based on availability information associated with the recipient, the method comprising:
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displaying a plurality of icons, each of the plurality of icons corresponding to one or more recipients, wherein at least one of the plurality of icons is a group icon corresponding to a group of two or more recipients;
receiving a composition of an electronic message;receiving a user'"'"'s selection of group icon indicating that the two or more recipients in the group corresponding to the selected group icon are intended recipients of the electronic message; retrieving availability information associated with at least one recipient in the group corresponding to the selected group icon, wherein the availability information is retrieved from at least one electronic device or service of the at least one recipient; analyzing the retrieved availability information to determine an availability of the at least one recipient; selecting a delivery method from a plurality of delivery methods for delivering the electronic message to the at least one recipient, wherein the selection is made based at least in part on the determined availability of the at least one recipient; transmitting the electronic message to the at least one recipient in the group via the selected delivery method; and transmitting the electronic message to the other recipients in the group via a delivery method that is different than the selected delivery method. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing instructions that,when executed by a processor, perform a method for automatically selecting a delivery method for delivery of an electronic message to a recipient based on availability information associated with the recipient, the method comprising:
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displaying a plurality of icons, each of the plurality of icons corresponding to one or more recipients, wherein at least one of the plurality of icons is a group icon corresponding to a group of two or more recipients; receiving a composition of an electronic message; receiving a user'"'"'s selection of the group icon indicating that the two or more recipients in the group corresponding to the selected group icon are intended recipients of the electronic message; retrieving availability information associated with at least one recipient in the group corresponding to the selected group icon, wherein the availability information is retrieved from at least one electronic device or service of the at least one recipient; analyzing the retrieved availability information to determine an availability of the at least one recipient; selecting a delivery method from a plurality of delivery methods for delivering the electronic message to the at least one recipient, wherein the selection is made based at least in part on the determined availability of the at least one recipient; transmitting the electronic message to the at least one recipient in the group via the selected delivery method; and transmitting the electronic message to the other recipients in the group corresponding to the selected group icon via a delivery method that is different than the selected delivery method. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A system for displaying availability of recipients via a messaging device with a touchscreen display, the system comprising:
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a storage component for storing a plurality of recipients and one or more delivery methods associated with each of the plurality of recipients; a retrieval component for accessing availability information associated with at least one of the plurality of recipients; an analysis component coupled to the storage component and retrieval component for analyzing the availability information associated with the at least one recipient to determine an availability of the at least one recipient; a touchscreen display coupled to the analysis component for; displaying a plurality of icons, each of the plurality of icons being associated with one or more of the plurality of recipients, wherein at least one of the plurality of icons is a group icon associated with a group of two or more recipients; displaying an indication of the determined availability of the at least one recipient; and receiving a user'"'"'s selection of the group icon indicating that the two or more recipients in the group associated with the selected group icon are intended recipients of an electronic message; and a message delivery component for transmitting the electronic message to a recipient in the group via a selected delivery method and transmitting the electronic message to the other recipients in the group via a delivery method that is different than the selected delivery method. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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Specification