Sprint Spectrum L.p.

Sprint Communications Comapny L.p.

Jesse Michael Kates

Balaji S Thenthiruperai

Michael E Daley

Jonathan C Ochenas

Vytas A Gaizutis

Kristen Elizabeth Miller

Jason Delker

Elizabeth Roche

Brian R Landers

Christine Denise Schumaker

John Michael Everson

Robert H Miller

Harry Lai

Clyde Heppner

Randy S Ulvenes

Jeffery Mau

Robert Brian Landers

Tony A Stewart

Robert R Moritz

Jeffrey A Mau

Lauriann Lowe Hebb

Jennifer A Fridy

Narin Jaroensubphayanont

Thenthiruperai Srinivasan Balaji

A wireless device includes a self-activation client that allows a user to activate a communication service for that wireless device and for one or more other wireless devices. The communication service may use a long-range type of wireless communication, such as 1&#xd7;RTT CDMA, EV-DO, GSM, or IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX) communication. During the activation process, the wireless device communicates with a device management server using the long-range type of wireless communication but communicates with the one or more other wireless devices using a short-range type of wireless communication, such as IEEE 802.11 (WiFi), Bluetooth, or infrared communication. After the communication service has been activated, the wireless device may subsequently communicate with the device management server in order to manage the communication service for itself and/or for one or more other wireless devices (e.g., to receive updates or to make changes).

Method and system for managing wireless devices using short-range wireless communication

A system and method for user interface screen presentation prioritization is provided. The display of a plurality of panes may be determined based on either priorities of each pane received in messages or based on combined weightings of each pane based on a weighting provided by a user and a weighting provided by a content source. The display of the panes may relocate the panes and/or change the size of the panes based on changed priorities of each pane or based on changed combined weighting of each pane. The panes may comprise selectable items.

User interface screen presentation prioritization

In a shared communication service plan in which multiple subscribers operate under a common billing account, a method and system is provided for more equitably allocating service costs among the subscribers in the group, by allocating overage costs based on the extent to which each subscriber used base services available to the group. For instance, if the group plan includes a designated number of base minutes of service per month and defines a per-minute overage cost for minutes used beyond the base number, the method and system may allocate to a given subscriber a portion of the group's overage cost, with the portion being determined based on the portion of the group's base minutes used by the subscriber. Advantageously, an invoice may then be generated setting forth the equitable allocation among the subscribers in the group, thus allowing the group to more readily determine how much each subscriber should pay.

Method and system for suggesting individual payments for a common billing account

Tags, such as XML tags, are inserted into email to separate email content from signature blocks, privacy notices and confidentiality notices, and to separate original email messages from replies and replies from further replies. The tags are detected by a system that renders email as speech, such as voice command platform or network-based virtual assistant or message center. The system can render an original email message in one voice mode and the reply in a different voice mode. The tags can be inserted to identify a voice memo in which a user responds to a particular portion of an email message.

Voice rendering of E-mail with tags for improved user experience

Systems, products, and methods are disclosed for performing a method of intelligently providing notification of an occurrence of an event in an environment in which potentially multiple devices might provide notification of the event; thereby reducing the number of devices that will provide the notification if those devices are nearby each other.

Strategically providing event notifications in light of multiple nearby devices

A system for predictive electronic mail addressing is provided. The system comprises a computer system and an application, that when executed on the computer system, observes the instantiation of a draft electronic mail message on a client device. The system also analyzes at least one of an entry of a first addressee, an entry of text in the subject line, and an entry of text in the body of the draft electronic mail message. The system also identifies at least one list comprising a plurality of proposed addressees based on the analyzed entries. The system also displays the at least one list in a selection pane on the client device and enters the list into the addressee entry space of the draft electronic mail message when selected.

Predictive electronic mail addressing

Tags, such as XML tags, are inserted into email to separate email content from signature blocks, privacy notices and confidentiality notices, and to separate original email messages from replies and replies from further replies. The tags are detected by a system that renders email as speech, such as voice command platform or network-based virtual assistant or message center. For example, the system can detect the signature block or privacy notice tags and not render the signature block or privacy notice as speech. The system can render an original email message in one voice mode and the reply in a different voice mode. The tags can be inserted to identify a voice memo in which a user responds to a particular portion of an email message. Preferably, an email server that receives and stored the email message inserts the tags into the email. Alternatively, the tags could be inserted by an email client application. The tags are detected by an email parser, which can be incorporated into the system rendering email as speech, or, alternatively implemented in a separate logical entity.

A speech recognition engine monitors live call center calls between live callers and live operators and detects that certain key words are spoken. The detected key words can then be used as a basis to identify issues that are raised in the call, so as to facilitate (i) generation of statistical reports regarding call center call issues and (ii) real-time assistance of the call center operator, such as directing the call center operator to ask certain questions or take certain other actions.

Use of speech recognition engine to track and manage live call center calls

A computer-operated method for dynamically laying out content in a document, so as to thereby establish a resulting document. A computer first virtually lays out primary content portions in a virtual document space within computer memory. The computer then lays out secondary content portions in spatial correlation with associated primary content portions, to the extent space permits. And the computer then lays out tertiary content portions in spatial correlation with areas of the document, such as groups of primary content portions, to the extent space permits, while giving layout preference to tertiary content portions that have higher priority than already-placed secondary content portions. The invention can be used to dynamically generate invoices for telecommunication subscribers or in other scenarios.

Computerized method for dynamic content placement in a document

Methods and systems are provided for determining and presenting a current likelihood of a mobile station successfully engaging in a communication session. In an embodiment, the mobile station (or a network entity) records call data that is indicative of successful and unsuccessful attempts by the mobile station to engage in communication sessions over a period of time. The mobile station (or the network entity) determines, based at least in part on the recorded call data, a current likelihood of the mobile station successfully engaging in a communication session. The mobile station presents a forecast indication to a user of the mobile station, the forecast indication reflecting the determined current likelihood.

Method and system for determining and presenting a current likelihood of a mobile station successfully engaging in a communication session

A method and system for managing subscriber payments is disclosed. When a subscriber account reaches a threshold state, the subscriber may be directed to a payment platform that requests the subscriber to make a payment in order to continue using telecom service. As described, a billing system determines the subscriber's rate of usage of telecom service so far in a current billing period and then applies the determined rate of usage to predict a quantity of telecom service that the subscriber will use in the remainder of the billing period. The billing system then computes an overage charge for at least a portion of the predicted quantity of telecom service and conveys at least that overage charge to the payment platform. The payment platform then requests the subscriber to pay at least the computed overage charge, preferably as a condition to the subscriber using further telecom service.

Predictive payment suggestion in a telecommunication system

An improved billing system for communication service is disclosed. A printed and/or online invoice will be generated for a subscriber's account and will be structured to include a visual gauge that depicts the extent of use for the billing period at issue. More particularly, the visual gauge will take the form of a table or listing that shows a continuum of possible time-increment or data-increment-ranges and that shows, for each range, the associated cost. The visual gauge will then include a visual marker that highlights or otherwise points out the increment-range into which the subscriber's use fell in the billing period at issue. Conveniently, the invention thus enables a subscriber to readily visualize where the subscriber's use fell within the continuum of possible increment-ranges.

Banded billing and associated invoice generation for communication service

A method and system for providing an audible calling party identification and/or an audible calling/called party ringback services ('services') is disclosed. The system may include (and the method may perform the services in) a network having source, network, and destination nodes. The source and destination nodes may be equipped with ringtone-generation engines to generate ringtones. Each of the ringtones includes at least one audible tone. The method may include the source and/or destination node receiving from the network node information for producing a ringtone ('ringtone information'). The ringtone information is originated toward the destination node in response to the source node initiating a call to the destination node. After receipt, the source and/or destination nodes may generate the ringtone using their ringtone-generation engines and the ringtone information. After generating the ringtones, the source and/or destination ringtone-generation engines may provide them to users of the respective source and/or destination nodes.

Growing community of inventors

Kansas City, MO, United States of America

Jesse Michael Kates