User interface for selection from media collection

• US 8,230,360 B2
• Filed: 01/14/2008
• Issued: 07/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Ma, Jeffrey, Dudey, Gregory, Goldeen, Rachel Clare, Henzie, Justin, Brodersen, Rainer
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, TuyetLien
• Assistant Examiner(s): Levy, Amy M
• Application Number:
  US12/014,050
• Publication Number:
  US 20090177989A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,653 Days
• Field of Search: 715716-721, 715/730, 715/732, 715/229, 715/788, 715/810, 715/826
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739

Abstract

Among other things, techniques and systems are disclosed for providing a graphical user interface (GUI) to user. A system includes a content source and a GUI communicatively connected to the content source. The GUI includes a user input area to receive user input and a display area to display available content items from the content source based on the received user input. The display area includes a presentation of the available content arranged in one or more rows. Each row includes a user selectable area to display at least one visual indication that represents one or more of the available content items. Each row includes a holding area to display another visual indication that represents other available content items not displayed in the user selectable area. The display area includes highlighting positioned over one of the available content items.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, at a computing device, one or more content items from one or more resources, wherein content items include multimedia content, audio content, video content, image content, and user generated content;

displaying the content items, wherein the display includes a group of content items, wherein a pre-determined amount of two or more content items in the group are initially selectable, wherein the remaining content items in the group are initially non-selectable, wherein the group of content items is capable of having multiple states within the display, wherein the multiple states include a starting state, a middle state, and an ending state, wherein a starting state initially includes a flat content item on the left and one or more tilted content items on the right, wherein a middle state includes one or more tilted content items on the left and on the right, wherein an ending state initially includes one or more tilted content items on the left and a flat content item on the right, and wherein the state of the group of content items changes when a non-selectable content item in the group is selected;

receiving a selection corresponding to a content item in the group of content items, wherein the content item is associated with a type;

determining whether the selected content item is a shared content item, wherein shared content items are syncable among a plurality of devices;

associating one or more options with the selected content item, wherein the one or more options are based upon the type associated with the content item and whether the selected content item is a shared content item; and

displaying the one or more options associated with the selected content item.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selection is associated with a device, wherein associating includes determining the device associated with the selection when the selected content item is a shared content item, and wherein the one or more options are also based upon the associated device when the selected content item is a shared content item.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein content items in a starting state, a middle state, and an ending state overlap as they accumulate.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein content items within the group are individually highlighted when selected.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein shared content items are selectable on a plurality of devices.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein shared content items are displayable on a plurality of devices.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting a non-selectable content item in the group causes an initially selectable content item to become non-selectable and the selected non-selectable content item to becomes selectable.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the group of content items is displayable horizontally or vertically.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the display includes two or more groups of content items.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

navigating horizontally within a group of content items; and

navigating vertically between two or more groups of content items.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the state of the group of content items is saved for a pre-determined amount of time.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the state of the group of content items is reset when a content item in a different group of content items is selected.

13. A system, comprising:

one or more processors;

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium coupled to the one or more processors, and containing instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to perform operations, including;

receiving one or more content items from one or more resources, wherein content items include multimedia content, audio content, video content, image content, and user generated content;

displaying the content items at a display device, wherein the display includes a group of content items, wherein a pre-determined amount of two or more content items in the group are initially selectable, wherein the remaining content items in the group are initially non-selectable, wherein the group of content items is capable of having multiple states within the display, wherein the multiple states include a starting state, a middle state, and an ending state, wherein a starting state initially includes a flat content item on the left and one or more tilted content items on the right, wherein a middle state includes one or more tilted content items on the left and on the right, wherein an ending state initially includes one or more tilted content items on the left and a flat content item on the right, and wherein the state of the group of content items changes when a non-selectable content item in the group is selected;

receiving a selection at the display device or from an input device, wherein the selection corresponds to a content item in the group of content items, wherein the content item is associated with a type;

determining whether the selected content item is a shared content item, wherein shared content items are syncable among a plurality of devices;

associating one or more options with the selected content item, wherein the one or more options are based upon the type associated with the content item and whether the selected content item is a shared content item; and

displaying the one or more options associated with the selected content item.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the selection is associated with a device, wherein associating includes determining the device associated with the selection when the selected content item is a shared content item, and wherein the one or more options are also based upon the associated device when the selected content item is a shared content item.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein content items in a starting state, a middle state, and an ending state overlap as they accumulate.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein content items within the group are individually highlighted when selected.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein shared content items are selectable on a plurality of devices.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein shared content items are displayable on a plurality of devices.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein selecting a non-selectable content item in the group causes an initially selectable content item to become non-selectable and the selected non-selectable content item to becomes selectable.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein the group of content items is displayable horizontally or vertically.

21. The system of claim 13, wherein the display includes two or more groups of content items.

22. The system of claim 21, further comprising instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to perform operations, including:

navigating horizontally within a group of content items; and

navigating vertically between two or more groups of content items.

23. The system of claim 13, wherein the state of the group of content items is saved for a pre-determined amount of time.

24. The system of claim 13, wherein the state of the group of content items is reset when a content item in a different group of content items is selected.

25. A computer-program product, tangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, including instructions configured to cause a data processing apparatus to:

receive one or more content items from one or more resources, wherein content items include multimedia content, audio content, video content, image content, and user generated content;

display the content items, wherein the display includes a group of content items, wherein a pre-determined amount of two or more content items in the group are initially selectable, wherein the remaining content items in the group are initially non-selectable, wherein the group of content items is capable of having multiple states within the display, wherein the multiple states include a starting state, a middle state, and an ending state, wherein a starting state initially includes a flat content item on the left and one or more tilted content items on the right, wherein a middle state includes one or more tilted content items on the left and on the right, wherein an ending state initially includes one or more tilted content items on the left and a flat content item on the right, and wherein the state of the group of content items changes when a non-selectable content item in the group is selected;

receive a selection corresponding to a content item in the group of content items, wherein the content item is associated with a type;

determine whether the selected content item is a shared content item, wherein shared content items are syncable among a plurality of devices;

associate one or more options with the selected content item, wherein the one or more options are based upon the type associated with the content item and whether the selected content item is a shared content item; and

display the one or more options associated with the selected content item.

26. The computer-program product of claim 25, wherein the selection is associated with a device, wherein associating includes determining the device associated with the selection when the selected content item is a shared content item, and wherein the one or more options are also based upon the associated device when the selected content item is a shared content item.

27. The computer-program product of claim 25, wherein content items in a starting state, a middle state, and an ending state overlap as they accumulate.

28. The computer-program product of claim 25, wherein content items within the group are individually highlighted when selected.

29. The computer-program product of claim 25, wherein shared content items are selectable on a plurality of devices.

30. The computer-program product of claim 25, wherein shared content items are displayable on a plurality of devices.

31. The computer-program product of claim 25, wherein selecting a non-selectable content item in the group causes an initially selectable content item to become non-selectable and the selected non-selectable content item to becomes selectable.

32. The computer-program product of claim 25, wherein the group of content items is displayable horizontally or vertically.

33. The computer-program product of claim 25, wherein the display includes two or more groups of content items.

34. The computer-program product of claim 33, further comprising instructions configured to cause a data processing apparatus to:

navigate horizontally within a group of content items; and

navigate vertically between two or more groups of content items.

35. The computer-program product of claim 25, wherein the state of the group of content items is saved for a pre-determined amount of time.

36. The computer-program product of claim 25, wherein the state of the group of content items is reset when a content item in a different group of content items is selected.