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Apple Awarded Patent That Lets Users Share Content With Others While on Hold

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,481
30,718



Apple was awarded a U.S. patent on Tuesday that appears to covers a way for iPhone users to share content with each other when phone calls are placed on hold.

The patent, number 8,494,123, is for an "on-hold visual menu from a user's communication device" and describes a system that shares a variety of content like pictures, music, videos, upcoming calendar events, and location information to the person that is being put on hold. For example, someone put on hold could look through the other caller's public Photo Stream.

Patent-Filing-1.png
The device determines that the party has been placed on hold and that the user has enabled sharing of personal content with the party. The device then transmits a visual menu to a communications device of the party via a data network, to allow the party to select a type of personal content to receive from the device while the party is on hold. When the device receives a selection from the party's device indicating the type of personal content, it transmits a personal information asset to the party's device according to the type of personal content indicated by the selection. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.
Click to expand...
Additionally, privacy settings allow certain types of data, such as location or photos, to be limited within a specific group of people (for example, family members) while automatically sharing other content with all users placed on hold. Content can also be personalized to each specific caller.

When an iPhone owner is ready to continue a call, an on screen message, audible tone, or vibration will occur, alerting the on-hold user that the call will be resumed.

Patent-Filing-2.png
As with all Apple patents, there is no guarantee that the on-hold sharing feature will make it into a final product.

Article Link: Apple Awarded Patent That Lets Users Share Content With Others While on Hold
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2013/07/23/apple-awarded-patent-that-lets-users-share-content-with-others-while-on-hold/
I

iPhoneApple

macrumors 6502
Jan 24, 2011
417
0
This needs to be added to iOS 7. Awesome feature that would be very helpful for when you need to put someone on hold and don't want them to hang up.
 
Z

Zodiac.mj

macrumors member
Mar 10, 2013
85
10
Oh my god, patents are the most stupid thing on earth. I don't know how you can breath easily in US - there is no patent for TAKING A BREATH? You're not paying, so you can't use that feature...
 
H

HenryDJP

Suspended
Nov 25, 2012
5,084
843
United States
Zodiac.mj said:
Oh my god, patents are the most stupid thing on earth. I don't know how you can breath easily in US - there is no patent for TAKING A BREATH? You're not paying, so you can't use that feature...
Click to expand...

Just my guess but I'm thinking that the patent is for the way the feature is implemented, not the actual idea itself. I'm sure every cell company has thought of this.
 
S

samcraig

macrumors P6
Jun 22, 2009
16,779
41,982
USA
You know what else works. Having patience until the party can resume the call. Or call back.

Also I've heard that iMessage, WhatsApp, Email and other such apps can send pictures, video, audio, etc while you're not only on hold - but during the call as well. AMAZING!
 
Porco

Porco

macrumors 68040
Mar 28, 2005
3,315
6,909
This makes me want to gouge my eyes out with a pencil… brb,

agghghghhhh... Yhar wss a misrake! Stipod patemwts!
 
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iLilana

iLilana

macrumors 6502a
May 5, 2003
807
300
Alberta, Canada
Well

I'm sure that it will be a wonderful feature they will get sued over yet again because Samsung....I mean some patent troll will claim they did it first.
 
D

donutbagel

macrumors 6502a
Jun 9, 2013
932
1
Since they're going into the home and office phone system here... why not give the AirPort Express the ability to plug into a landline with a regular phone jack and give the iPhone/iPod/iPad an AirPlay-facilitated phone connection at home or in the office?

Oh yeah, and if we can do this while putting others on hold, why not let us do it over Facetime?
 
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L

lighthouse_man

macrumors 6502a
Mar 13, 2005
611
10
When someone puts me on a hold, I'm expecting to have to wait less than 30 seconds before hanging up. If someone starts streaming a picture slideshow or a video to me, I'm probably hanging up as soon as it starts.
 
M

macUser2007

macrumors 68000
May 30, 2007
1,506
203
Why is this "patent" awarded?

The USPTO is basically a joke nowadays, filled with little nerds who couldn't get a high paying job out of school, so they try to curry favors by approving such nonsense in the hope that after a few of these approvals they can make the jump to a corporation like Apple.

And yes, "patents" like this (many would actually fail in court) are stifling innovation and Apple has become one of the worst patent trolls.
 
B

bobenhaus

macrumors 65816
Mar 2, 2011
1,025
487
MacRumors said:
[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]


Apple was awarded a U.S. patent on Tuesday that appears to covers a way for iPhone users to share content with each other when phone calls are placed on hold.

The patent, number 8,494,123, is for an "on-hold visual menu from a user's communication device" and describes a system that shares a variety of content like pictures, music, videos, upcoming calendar events, and location information to the person that is being put on hold. For example, someone put on hold could look through the other caller's public Photo Stream.

Additionally, privacy settings allow certain types of data, such as location or photos, to be limited within a specific group of people (for example, family members) while automatically sharing other content with all users placed on hold. Content can also be personalized to each specific caller.

When an iPhone owner is ready to continue a call, an on screen message, audible tone, or vibration will occur, alerting the on-hold user that the call will be resumed.

As with all Apple patents, there is no guarantee that the on-hold sharing feature will make it into a final product.

Article Link: Apple Awarded Patent That Lets Users Share Content With Others While on Hold
Click to expand...

Umm dont smart phones already have the abilities to share data/pics etc.. when in a phone conversation on hold or not? Whats the big deal?
 
F

FireWall0400

macrumors newbie
Aug 23, 2011
16
16
This is awesome, now when your talking, driving, and texting and the person puts you on hold, you can now scroll thru their pictures... Have we really become that impatient that we need to be entertained while on hold, and who really puts anyone on hold anymore.
 
deannnnn

deannnnn

macrumors 68020
Jun 4, 2007
2,090
625
New York City & South Florida
Zodiac.mj said:
Oh my god, patents are the most stupid thing on earth. I don't know how you can breath easily in US - there is no patent for TAKING A BREATH? You're not paying, so you can't use that feature...
Click to expand...

Content sharing while on hold is a pretty specific idea and is one that isn't implemented anywhere right now. Sounds like a pretty legit patent to me.
 
0

0x0x0x0

macrumors 6502
Jul 10, 2013
259
75
Down in the Ether, looking at your bits...
deannnnn said:
Content sharing while on hold is a pretty specific idea and is one that isn't implemented anywhere right now. Sounds like a pretty legit patent to me.
Click to expand...

Really? I've got a Lumia 920, I can put someone on hold and send whatever to them (or anyone else for that matter) by MMS. Thinking about it, I'm fairly sure my old N95 could do it too... There's absolutely no innovative step here so far as I can see...
 
M

mwebb

macrumors member
Jan 18, 2011
50
9
This is awfully trivial to patent. In hindsight, it was pretty trivial to bar MS from using Windows based on Apple getting there first with the Mac. I mean imagine if English had been the first and only language in the garden of eden and French got banned as a patent infringement? Apple should get market share for putting everything together in the best possible way on the best possible hardware, not because they are blocking everybody else from doing stuff that seems pretty obvious once you hear about it. And yeah, Apple is far from the worst offender - the worst being patent trolls.

I am also feeling less and less sorry for Apple in the vs. Samsung case. For all of Samsung's obvious "copying" their products still won't be confused with Apples and can't hold a candle to them. So Apple doesn't have the 80% market share they crave - get over it.
 
K

koban4max

macrumors 68000
Aug 23, 2011
1,582
0
nothing new...samsung could do that and plus share pictures or music by having two phones touch each other.
 
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