At&t Intellectual Property I, L.p.

R Tyler Wallis, Sr

William Stanley Robbins

Anup D Karnalkar

Susan S Steele

Mark Ryan

Larry B Pearson

David Dudley

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a communication device having a controller to present a plurality of selectable commodity items, detect one or more selections from the plurality of commodity items, generate a list from the one or more commodity items selected, and transmit the list to a system. The system can be adapted to receive the list from the communication device, determine a selection order for the items in the list based on a location of each item in a store and at least one characteristic of at least one of the items, update the list according to the selection order, and transmit the updated list to a device for conducting commodity shopping according to the adjusted list. Other embodiments are disclosed.

System and apparatus for managing tasks

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a communication device having a controller to retrieve from an address book a communication identifier for each of a plurality of participants, determine from the address book a conferencing type for each of the plurality of participants, and initiate according to the conference type and the communication identifier of each participant a Voice over Internet Protocol conference call directed to communication devices of the plurality of participants. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Method and apparatus for managing conference calls

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a voicemail device having a controller to detect a recording of a voicemail message, generate a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message, wherein the SIP message contains visual voicemail data associated with the recorded voicemail message, and transmit the SIP message to a cordless phone system, wherein the SIP message is received by the cordless phone system over a data port of the cordless phone system, wherein the cordless phone system comprises a base station and at least one cordless communications device, wherein the visual voicemail data is retrieved by the base station, and wherein the visual voicemail data is transmitted by the based station to the at least one cordless communications device by utilizing a cordless wireless access protocol. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Apparatus and method for providing messaging services

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a communication device having a tablet with a touch-sensitive display. The tablet can be adapted to present a user interface (UI), receive a UI policy from a service provider of a communication system communicatively couplable to the tablet to manage operations of the UI, detect a request from a user of the tablet to adapt the UI, and manage the adaptation of the UI according to the UI policy. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Method and apparatus for managing user interfaces

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a communication device having a controller to detect a media device operating externally to the communication device actively engaged in presenting media content, detect an incoming communication session initiated by another communication device, present a notice identifying the media device and the media content being presented by the media device, detect a directive to modify an operation of the media device to mitigate interrupting a communication session with the other communication device, and instruct the media device to modify its operation according to the directive. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Apparatus and method for managing a presentation of media content

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a communication device having a controller adapted to present a task toolbar by way of a display of the communication device, create an entry in the task toolbar, identify a party responsible for one or more tasks associated with the entry, associate the party with the entry and update the task toolbar to show by way of the display the association of the party to the entry, create one or more tasks, associate the one or more tasks with the entry of the party in the task toolbar, and synchronize one or more communication resources of the party according to the entry associated with the party and the associated one or more tasks. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Method and apparatus for managing activities

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a communication device having a controller to detect by way of an input device an entry of a communication identifier without contact information of a party associated with the communication identifier, retrieve from a database operating externally to the communication device contact information of the party according to the communication identifier, initiate a communication session according to the communication identifier, present at least a portion of the retrieved contact information and the communication identifier, and store the communication identifier in a communication log with the retrieved contact information. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Apparatus and method for retrieving contact information associated with a party

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a communication device having a controller to detect a selection of an image from a graphical user interface, identify an entry in a contact book responsive to the detected selection of the image, and retrieve one or more communication identifiers associated with the party from the entry of the contact book for initiating a communication session. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Method and apparatus for managing communications

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, utilizing a first communication device for identifying a user interface adaptation according to operating characteristics of a second display of a second communication device, identifying first and second user interface portions according to the user interface adaptation, presenting the first user interface portion at a first display of the first communication device, transmitting the second user interface portion to the second communication device for presentation at the second display of the second communication device, and enabling user interface navigation that includes the first and second user interface portions as a single user interface based on user inputs received at the first communication device. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Method and apparatus for presenting a user interface

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a communication device having a controller to present a new contact book entry of a contact book, detect an entry of a communication identifier of a party in one of a plurality of fields of the new contact book entry, search for contact information associated with the party in a reverse directory lookup database operating externally to the communication device using the communication identifier of the party, detect an entry in the reverse directory lookup database with additional contact information of the party, receive from the reverse directory lookup database the additional contact information of the party, and populate one or more additional fields of the new contact book entry with one or more portions of additional contact information according to their corresponding one or more tags. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Apparatus and method for entering contact information in a contact book

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a cordless phone operating in an establishment with a plurality of cordless phone handsets having a controller adapted to monitor a source for weather alerts, detect a weather alert, determine from the weather alert a weather alert type, retrieve a user profile, identify from the user profile and the weather alert type one or more of the plurality of cordless phone handsets to be notified of the weather alert, select from the user profile a ringtone type for each of the identified cordless phone handsets, wherein the ringtone type identifies the weather alert type, and transmit a message to cause each of the identified cordless phone handsets to assert the ringtone type identified therefor. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Method and apparatus for distributing alerts

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, at a base station, communicating with a mobile phone where the base station comprises a premises wireless access point, at the base station, communicating with a mobile communication system by way of a broadband connection, and instructing a landline phone communicatively coupled to the base station to communicate with a remote end user device via the mobile communication system utilizing identification information of the mobile phone and responsive to communications between the base station and the mobile phone. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Growing community of inventors

Dallas, TX, United States of America

R Tyler Wallis, Sr