Audio preview of music

• US 9,749,709 B2
• Filed: 03/23/2010
• Issued: 08/29/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Fino, Jorge, Rottler, Benjamin A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Li, Lin
• Application Number:
  US12/729,717
• Publication Number:
  US 20110234480A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,716 Days
• Field of Search: 345619, 345473, 345173, 348595, 707769, 709228, 725 37, 725 52, 725127, 725 29, 725 44, 725 92, 725112, 386201, 4555501, 381 80, 715210, 715730, 715738, 713 2
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 46/2498 The honeycomb filter being defined by mathematical relationships
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 3/0218 the filtering elements being made from spirally-wound filtering material
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/005 Reproducing at a different information rate from the information rate of recording for television signals H04N5/783
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41422 located in transportation means, e.g. personal vehicle arrangements specially adapted for transportation systems in broadcast systems H04H20/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8113 comprising music, e.g. song in MP3 format

Abstract

Systems, methods, and machine-readable media are disclosed for providing an audio preview of songs and other audio elements. In some embodiments, an electronic device may operate in either a “play mode,” which allows a user to listen to songs in a normal fashion, or in a “preview mode,” which may be used to provide previews of songs to a user in succession. In some embodiments, the electronic device may seamlessly transition between play mode and preview mode. For example, the electronic device may pause a currently-playing song when the mode of operation switches from play mode to preview mode so that, if the user exits out of preview mode, the original song may be resumed from the pause point. In some embodiments, the electronic device may provide a multi-directional visual interface that allows a user to control the succession of previews provided in preview mode.

Claims

1. A method of seamlessly transitioning between a play mode and a preview mode in an electronic device, the method comprising:

playing an initial audio element in the play mode;

while playing the initial audio element, receiving a first user request to enter into the preview mode;

responsive to receiving the first user request;

pausing the playing of the initial audio element;

automatically playing, in succession, a plurality of audio previews of a plurality of other audio elements in the preview mode, wherein each audio preview comprises an audio portion of a different one of the other audio elements;

receiving a second user request to exit the preview mode; and

responsive to receiving the second user request, resuming play of the initial audio element in the play mode.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, during the automatically playing, a user selection of a particular other audio element corresponding to a currently playing audio preview; and

responsive to receiving the user selection;

entering the play mode; and

continuing to play, without interruption, the selected other audio element in the play mode.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the automatically playing comprises:

starting each of the other audio elements from the beginning; and

switching to a next audio element in the succession after a predetermined amount of time has elapsed.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the automatically playing comprises cross-fading between each of the other audio elements in the succession.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the automatically playing comprises playing a voiceover when switching to a new audio element in the succession, wherein the voiceover provides metadata associated with the new audio element.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the pausing comprises saving a time stamp of when the initial audio element is stopped, and wherein the resuming comprises starting the initial audio element at a point corresponding to the time stamp.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a now-playing display screen when operating in the play mode; and

providing a scan preview display screen when operating in the preview mode.

8. A non-transitory machine-readable media for seamlessly transitioning between a play mode and a preview mode in an electronic device, the machine-readable media comprising machine-readable instructions recorded thereon for:

playing an initial audio element in the play mode;

while playing the initial audio element, receiving a first user request to enter into the preview mode;

responsive to receiving the first user request;

pausing the playing of the initial audio element;

automatically playing, in succession, a plurality of audio previews of a plurality of other audio elements in the preview mode, wherein each audio preview comprises an audio portion of a different one of the other audio elements;

receiving a second user request to exit the preview mode; and

responsive to receiving the second user request, resuming play of the initial audio element in the play mode.

9. The non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 8, the machine-readable media further comprising machine-readable instructions recorded thereon for:

receiving, during the automatically playing, a user selection of a particular other audio element corresponding to a currently playing audio preview; and

responsive to receiving the user selection;

entering the play mode; and

continuing to play, without interruption, the selected other audio element in its entirety in the play mode.

10. The non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 8, wherein the machine-readable instructions for the automatically presenting comprises machine-readable instructions for:

starting each of the other audio elements from the beginning; and

switching to a next audio element in the succession in response to a user input.