Sprint Spectrum L.p.

Sprint Communications Comapny L.p.

Jonathan R Kindred

Geoff S Martin

Geoffrey Martin

Jay S Harmon

Kevin Edward Hunter

Brian R Landers

Baoquan Zhang

Boaquan Zhang

Woo Jae Lee

Charles Woodson

Jonathan Cooper Ochenas

Danny L Bowman

Srinivasan Balaji Thenthiruperai

Jennifer Kindred, Legal Representative

A method and system of providing custom background-downloads, where content is selected for background downloading to a subscriber based on an analysis of the current time, the subscriber's current location, and online transaction history records regarding a plurality of subscribers over time, each record indicating content that was a subject of the transaction. A custom content server may determine the subscriber's current location and the current time, and the server may then select transaction history records reflecting transactions that occurred in the past at a similar location and time (possibly just records for transactions involving the subscriber currently at issue). The server may then select one or more pieces of available content based on their similarity to the content indicated by the selected transaction records. And the server may background-download the selected content to the subscriber. The invention can be used to provide custom-channel definitions or custom content-catalogs, for instance.

Method and system for providing custom background-downloads

A method and system for conditioning grant of digital rights on receiving and validating content-distribution referrals is provided. A subscriber using a communication device may enter a request to use locked digital content, or request a content-use right. The user may be prompted to enter one or more referrals as potential other recipients of the content. An indication of the one or more referrals may be sent to a network entity, which may determine whether at least a threshold number of the entered referrals are valid. If so, a network entity may transmit to the communication device data that will facilitate use of the digital content. Additionally, a network entity may send a solicitation message to each of at least the threshold number of entered referrals. A network entity may also provide an award in return for the entered referrals.

Method and system for conditioning grant of digital rights on receiving and validating content-distribution referrals

A media system includes a content platform that provides an interface for browsing and/or purchase of ringback media content by a user of a communications device. The system includes a profiles database containing profile information for a multitude of users of communications devices. The media system further includes a memory storing instructions for execution by the platform which causes it to 1) obtain information from the device including assignment of ringback media content to contacts in an address book maintained on the device; and 2) update the profiles database in accordance with the information obtained from the device. The information obtained in 1) may be obtained automatically, each time the user accesses the content platform. The system may further include an analyzer module which is used to generate targeted promotional messages based on the contents of the profile database.

Method and system for offering a media content item

A method and system provides for monitoring access to particular network content and providing a summary of the rating of the content accessed. In one embodiment, a telecommunications network entity, such as a mobile access gateway, can identify one or more resources accessed by a wireless device. The gateway can then associate the one or more resources accessed by the wireless device with a rating for each of the resources, and the gateway can provide a summary of the ratings for the resources accessed by the wireless device.

Method and system for reporting a summary rating of accessed content

A method, system, and medium are provided for dynamically generating pricing information for digital content. In exemplary aspects, the technology includes receiving a request for digital content from a mobile device. In addition, attributes associated with the mobile device and digital content are identified, and a purchase-prediction score associated with the mobile device and request for digital content is received. The purchase-prediction score is used to dynamically generate pricing information of the digital content. The purchase-prediction score is derived from values assigned to the attributes, the values quantifying a correlation between purchase trends and the attributes.

Dynamically generating pricing information for digital content

A method, system, and medium are provided for ensuring usability of digital content on a mobile device. In exemplary aspects, digital content on a mobile device is rendered unusable, such as where a download is interrupted. The usability of the digital content is automatically restored to the mobile device without user intervention. In situations in which the mobile device is unavailable, digital content might be restored to an alternative mobile device and an advisory notification might be communicated.

Providing digital content usability for a mobile device user

A digital media distribution system has a wireless network serving a plurality of wireless subscribers wherein the wireless network supports digital media file transfer. A content server is coupled to the wireless network for distributing media items to wireless subscribers upon request. The media items each comprises a plurality of rated versions, wherein the rated versions of each particular media item depict the same media content customized to meet a respective rating from a plurality of ratings. The content server offers each media item for downloading as a single unit containing the plurality of rated versions. A subscriber terminal selects and downloads selected media items as respective single units to be stored in the subscriber terminal. The subscriber terminal includes a trigger stored in the subscriber terminal. The trigger has a value for identifying one of the plurality of ratings to be used by the subscriber terminal for accessing the downloaded media items. A media application on the subscriber terminal activates a downloaded media item according to the rated version specified by the trigger value for the subscriber terminal and ignoring the other rated versions.

Ratings-based digital media distribution and reproduction for a wireless network

A wireless network service delivers audio tracks to a user via a mobile wireless terminal. A server maintains a plurality of audio tracks, wherein each audio track is stored in conjunction with a respective cadence tag. A cadence evaluator identifies a substantially instantaneous user status and selects a cadence tag corresponding to the user status. The server streams a selected audio track having a cadence tag matching the selected cadence tag, and the mobile wireless terminal plays it back to the user. The cadence can be selected to match a desired pace of an athletic workout, a desired heart rate, or the particular geographic surroundings, for example.

Network media service with track delivery adapted to a user cadence

Systems, products, and methods are disclosed for providing an indication of unavailable media products. An illustrative method includes referencing one or more attributes of a currently present media file, based on the attributes, determining a set of absent media files that are related to the present media file but not currently available for presentation via the device, and presenting indications of at least a portion of the absent media files of the set. An indication of one or more absent media files may be presented to a user so that the user may recognize absent media files. In one embodiment, such an indication may include an identifier, such as text or a symbol, that is positioned adjacent a media attribute that describes the absent media file.

Indicating related but absent media content

A method and system for conserving battery power in a portable communication device. When a user puts the device into a media player mode such as by invoking a media player application on the device, the device will automatically reduce the extent to which it engages in background wireless transmissions, such as radio link control messaging, presence update messaging, and so forth, to help conserve battery power. In turn, when the device exits the media player mode, the device may then automatically revert to its normal extent of background wireless transmission.

Automatic reduction of background wireless communication in a media player mode

Methods and systems are disclosed for setting a volume level of ringback media presented to a calling party. The method may include receiving at a ringback server an indication of ambient noise at a client device, using the received indication as a basis to set a volume level of the ringback media, and transmitting the ringback media at the volume level, for receipt by the client device.

Methods and systems for setting a volume level of ringback media presented to a calling party

A method and apparatus for automatically adjusting the frequency of content background-downloading. An apparatus such as a cell phone, personal digital assistant, or computer, will be set to perform background-downloads of content at a particular frequency. The apparatus will then determine the frequency with which a user accesses background-downloaded content on the device, and the apparatus will use the determined frequency as a basis to automatically adjust the background-download frequency. For instance, if the user-access frequency is greater than the background-download frequency, then the apparatus may increase the background-download frequency, whereas, if the user-access frequency is less than the background-download frequency, then the apparatus may decrease the background-download frequency.

Method and apparatus for dynamically adjusting frequency of background-downloads

A method for causing a calling client station to obtain content from a network server in response to a trigger signal received by the client during the ringback period for a call. The trigger signal is transmitted from a ringback server to a calling client station during the ringback period of call setup, whereby the trigger signal, once received and recognized by the calling client station, causes the station to request and obtain content from a network server. In another aspect, a method for providing content to a calling client station by transmitting a trigger signal to the calling client station during call setup, thereafter receiving at a network-based content server a request from the calling client station, generated in response to the trigger, for a content-download, and providing the content-download in response to the request.

Growing community of inventors

Gardner, KS, United States of America

Jonathan R Kindred