Expedited acquisition of a digital item following a sample presentation of the item

• US 9,292,873 B1
• Filed: 03/17/2014
• Issued: 03/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ryan, Thomas A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Calvin
• Application Number:
  US14/216,596
• Time in Patent Office: 736 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0271 Personalized advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing

Abstract

An electronic service provides a sample of a media item to a user, along with a prompt. The prompt gives the user the opportunity to receive an additional part of the item substantially without further interaction with the user. The streamlined acquisition of the additional part of the media item is enabled by the user'"'"'s establishment, in advance, of user identification information, payment information, and so on.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, from a content provider, a sample of content on a media device,

the sample of the content comprising at least

(i) a descriptor identifying the content and

(ii) a portion of a body of the content, the body including at least some text,

wherein the sample of the content is received without transmitting a request for the sample of the content;

causing display of a prompt on the media device in association with the sample of the content,

wherein receipt of a user input corresponding to the prompt initiates access to an additional part of the content;

in response to the receipt of the user input corresponding to the prompt, transmitting, to the content provider by the media device, a message to access the additional part of the content; and

receiving, by the media device, access to the additional part of the content in response to at least the transmitting the message to access the additional part of the content.

2. The method as recited in claim 1,

wherein receiving the sample of the content comprises receiving an item that is part of a subscription to content, and

wherein receiving access to the additional part of the content comprises receiving access to remaining items in the subscription to the content.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising

transmitting, to the content provider by the media device, an additional message to authorize a payment for the additional part of the content;

and

wherein receiving access to the additional part of the content is based at least in part on transmitting the additional message to authorize the payment.

4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein the transmitting the message to authorize the payment includes at least one of:

transmitting an account identifier (ID) identifying a user account that authorizes the payment of the additional part of the content;

or

transmitting payment information for the payment of the additional part of the content.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the message to access the additional part of the content includes payment information to purchase the additional part of the content.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising presenting at least one additional descriptor that includes (i) text, imagery, audio, or video from the body of the content, or (ii) text, imagery, audio, or video describing the body of the content.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the prompt is an audible prompt;

and further comprising;

prior to transmitting the user input corresponding to the prompt, audibly receiving, via the media device, the user input corresponding to the prompt by a microphone on the media device; and

interpreting the user input corresponding to the prompt using voice recognition.

8. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media that store computer instructions that, when executed, causes one or more processors to:

receive, from a content provider, a sample of content that comprises at least

a title,

a name of an artist or an author of the content, and

one additional textual descriptor of the content,

wherein the sample of the content is received without transmitting a request for the sample of the content;

receive, from the content provider, a prompt, wherein a user input that corresponds to the prompt transmits a request to the content provider for access to an additional part of the content; and

receive, from the content provider, access to the additional part of the content based at least in part on transmitting the request to the content provider for access to the additional part of the content.

9. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 8, wherein the computer instructions, when executed, further cause the one or more processors to, in response to the user input that corresponds to the prompt,

transmit to the content provider an additional message to authorize payment for the additional part of the content;

and

receive access to the additional part of the content based at least in part on transmitting the message to authorize the payment.

10. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 8,

wherein the computer instructions, when executed, further cause the one or more processors to transmit user account information associated with a media device, and

wherein the user account information includes payment information that authorizes a purchase of the additional part of the content.

11. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 8, wherein the content comprises an electronic book in a collection of related electronic books.

12. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 8, wherein the sample of the content comprises an item of a subscription to content, and the additional part of the content comprises remaining items in the subscription to content.

13. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 8, wherein the sample of the content is associated with a collection of related electronic books that pertain to at least one of a series of books, a particular author or a particular publisher.

14. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the one additional textual descriptor of the content comprises user comments associated with the content.

15. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the sample of the content is based at least in part on prior user selections of associated content.

16. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media as recited in claim 8, wherein the one additional textual descriptor comprises one of (i) text from a body of the content, or (ii) text describing the body of the content.

17. A system comprising:

memory;

one or more processors; and

a plurality of modules stored in the memory and executable by the one or more processors, the plurality of modules comprising;

a sample selection module to send to a media device, a sample of an electronic book (eBook) and a prompt to initiate access to an additional part of the eBook, the sample of the eBook comprising at least

(i) a descriptor that identifies the eBook and

(ii) a portion of a body of the eBook,

wherein the sample of the eBook is received without transmitting a request for the sample of the eBook;

a content acquisition module to receive, in response to at least receipt of a user input that corresponds to the prompt from the media device, a message requesting access to the additional part of the eBook; and

a content download module to initiate access to the additional part of the eBook, in response to at least the content acquisition module receiving the message to access the additional part of the eBook.

18. The system as recited in claim 17, further comprising a registration module to establish a user account that authorizes acquiring the additional part of the eBook, the user account comprising user identification information, payment information, and one or more media devices associated with the user account.

19. The system as recited in claim 17, wherein the content acquisition module is further executable by the one or more processors to:

receive payment information authorizing a purchase of the additional part of the eBook from at least one of a registration module, the message requesting access to the additional part of the eBook, or an additional message that includes the payment information authorizing the purchase of the additional part of the eBook; and

wherein the content download module is further executable by the one or more processors to initiate access to the additional part of the eBook in response to the receipt of the payment information authorizing the purchase of the additional part of the eBook.

20. The system as recited in claim 17,

wherein the sample selection module further operates to send an additional prompt to the media device, and

wherein the content acquisition module further operates to process receipt of a user input corresponding to the additional prompt to determine a selection of an alternate media device to receive the additional part of the eBook.