WO2015101841A1

WO2015101841A1 - Electronic device and method for bookmarking shared content

Info

Publication number: WO2015101841A1
Application number: PCT/IB2014/058043
Authority: WO
Inventors: Linnea KIRCHNER
Original assignee: Sony Corporation
Priority date: 2014-01-03
Filing date: 2014-01-03
Publication date: 2015-07-09

Abstract

Bookmarking content in an electronic device includes determining that user action has been made to share content from an Internet website or social media service and entering a bookmarking operation. The bookmarking operation is automatically triggered by the user action to share the content and the bookmarking operation including conducting a bookmarking function to bookmark the shared content.

Description

TITLE: ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND METHOD FOR BOOKMARKING SHARED CONTENT

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The technology of the present disclosure relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to an electronic device that bookmarks content that is shared with others through social media.

BACKGROUND

Modern electronic devices support a variety of functions. An exemplary function includes browsing the Internet or a social media service (e.g., Facebook or Twitter). On occasion, a user may find content that he or she would like to share with another person. This may be accomplished by selecting a sharing function on a page containing the content or by using another sharing tool. The sharing operation includes selecting a recipient and optionally adding a user comment.

If the user wants to return to the content at a later time, the user also may bookmark the content by selecting a bookmarking function. The bookmarking function is typically a feature that forms part of a browser used to view the content. Bookmarking the content and sharing the content are separate operations and involve different user actions to carry out.

SUMMARY

Disclosed is an approach to facilitate the sharing and bookmarking of content found on the Internet or through a social media service. In one embodiment, if the user selects a sharing function for the content, the content is also bookmarked in an automated manner for ease of later access. A user option may include turning the automated booking function on or off. Another user option may include adding a query to the user to confirm that the user would like to bookmark the content.

According to one aspect of the disclosure, a method of bookmarking content in an electronic device includes determining that user action has been made to share content from an Internet website or social media service; and entering a bookmarking operation, the bookmarking operation automatically triggered by the user action to share the content and the bookmarking operation including conducting a bookmarking function to bookmark the shared content.

According to an embodiment of the method, the bookmarking operation includes determining that the bookmarking function is turned on before conducting the

bookmarking function to bookmark the shared content.

According to an embodiment of the method, the determining that the bookmarking function is turned on is made for a content type of the shared content.

According to an embodiment of the method, the bookmarking operation includes querying the user to determine that the shared content should be bookmarked before conducting the bookmarking function to bookmark the shared content.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, an electronic device includes a user input and a control circuit that controls the electronic device to carry out bookmarking content by executing logic to: determine that user action via the user input has been made to share content from an Internet website or social media service; and enter and carry out a bookmarking operation, the bookmarking operation automatically triggered by the user action to share the content and the bookmarking operation including carrying out a bookmarking function to bookmark the shared content.

According to an embodiment of the electronic device, the bookmarking operation includes determining that the bookmarking function is turned on before conducting the bookmarking function to bookmark the shared content.

According to an embodiment of the electronic device, the determining that the bookmarking function is turned on is made for a content type of the shared content. According to an embodiment of the electronic device, the bookmarking operation includes querying the user to determine that the shared content should be bookmarked before conducting the bookmarking function to bookmark the shared content.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a communication system that includes an electronic device.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the electronic device.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of bookmarking operations carried out by the electronic device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. It will be understood that the figures are not necessarily to scale. Features that are described and/or illustrated with respect to one embodiment may be used in the same way or in a similar way in one or more other embodiments and/or in combination with or instead of the features of the other embodiments.

Described below in conjunction with the appended figures are various

embodiments of an electronic device and method of controlling the electronic device. The electronic device is typically— but not necessarily— a portable electronic device, and may take any form factor including, but not limited to, a mobile telephone, a tablet computing device, a laptop computer, a gaming device, a camera, a television, or a media player. The electronic device shown in the appended figures is a mobile telephone, but applicability of aspects of the invention is not limited to mobile telephones. Referring to FIG. 1, schematically shown is a communications environment for an electronic device 10. In the communications environment, the electronic device 10 may carry out wireless communications. To conduct wireless communications, the electronic device 10 establishes network connectivity with one or more networks. Typically, the connection is made to a subscriber network 12 that services the physical geo-location of the electronic device 10. The network 12 may provide Internet access to the electronic device 10. In most cases, the network 12 is a cellular network operated by a respective cellular service telephone company. Exemplary network access technologies for the network 12 are typically cellular circuit-switched network technologies and include, but are not limited to, global system for mobile communications (GSM), code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), and advanced or alternative versions of these standards. The networks may support general packet radio service (GPRS), universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), 3G, 4G long-term evolution (LTE), or other standards.

The network 12 supports communications such as, but not limited to, voice communications (e.g., telephone calls), video communications (e.g., video telephony), messaging (e.g., instant messaging, text and multimedia messaging, and electronic mail messaging), data transfers, and Internet browsing. To support the communications activity of the electronic device 10, the network 12 may include a server 14 (or servers). The server 14 may be configured as a typical computer system used to carry out server functions and may include a processor configured to execute software containing logical instructions that embody the functions of the server 14 and a memory to store such software and related data.

The communications between the electronic device 10 and the subscriber network 12 may be established by way of a transmission medium (not specifically illustrated) of the subscriber network 12. The transmission medium may be any appropriate device or assembly, but is typically an arrangement of communications base stations (e.g., cellular service towers, also referred to as "cell" towers).

In some situations, the electronic device 10 may communicate with the Internet 16 via an access point 18 of a local area network (LAN) using a packet-switched protocol, such as IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.1 lb, IEEE 802.1 lg or IEEE 802.1 In (commonly referred to as WiFi). Other LAN-based protocols are possible, such as WiMax under IEEE 802.16. The access point 18 is typically, but not necessarily, a wireless router.

With additional reference to FIG. 2, a schematic block diagram of the electronic device 10 is illustrated. The electronic device 10 includes a control circuit 20 that is responsible for overall operation of the electronic device 10. For this purpose, the control circuit 10 includes a processor 22 that executes an operating system 24 and various applications 26. One of the applications may be a browser that is used to interact with webpages, including social media services, that are accessed via the Internet. In some cases, another application may be used to interact with a social media service in the event that the social media service is accessed with proprietary software.

The electronic device 10 may further include a bookmarking application 28 that embodies the bookmarking functions described in greater detail below. In other embodiments, the bookmarking functions are part of the operating system or part of another application, such as a browser. The operating system 24, the applications 26 and the bookmarking application 28, together with stored data 30 associated with the operating system 24, the applications 26, 28 and user files, are stored on a memory 32. The operating system 24 and applications 26, 28 are embodied in the form of executable logic routines (e.g., lines of code, software programs, etc.) that are stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium (e.g., the memory 32) of the electronic device 10 and are executed by the control circuit 20. The described operations may be thought of as a method that is carried out by the electronic device 10.

The processor 22 of the control circuit 20 may be a central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, or microprocessor. The processor 22 executes code stored in a memory (not shown) within the control circuit 22 and/or in a separate memory, such as the memory 32, in order to carry out operation of the electronic device 10. The memory 32 may be, for example, one or more of a buffer, a flash memory, a hard drive, a removable media, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, a random access memory (RAM), or other suitable device. In a typical arrangement, the memory 32 includes a non-volatile memory for long term data storage and a volatile memory that functions as system memory for the control circuit 20. The memory 32 may exchange data with the control circuit 20 over a data bus. Accompanying control lines and an address bus between the memory 32 and the control circuit 20 also may be present. The memory 32 is considered a non-transitory computer readable medium.

The electronic device 10 includes communications circuitry that enables the electronic device 10 to establish the communication connections that are described above. In the exemplary embodiment, the communications circuitry includes a radio circuit 34. The radio circuit 34 includes one or more radio frequency transceivers and an antenna assembly (or assemblies). In the case that the electronic device 10 is a multi-mode device capable of communicating using more than one standard and/or over more than one radio frequency band, the radio circuit 34 represents one or more than one radio transceiver, one or more than one antenna, tuners, impedance matching circuits, and any other components needed for the various supported frequency bands and radio access technologies. The radio circuit 34 further represents any radio transceivers and antennas used for local wireless communications directly with an electronic device, such as over a Bluetooth interface. The electronic device 10 further includes a display 36 for displaying information to a user. The display 36 may be coupled to the control circuit 20 by a video circuit 38 that converts video data to a video signal used to drive the display 36. The video circuit 38 may include any appropriate buffers, decoders, video data processors and so forth.

The electronic device 10 may include one or more user inputs 40 for receiving user input for controlling operation of the electronic device 10. Exemplary user inputs include, but are not limited to, a touch input that overlays the display 36 for touch screen functionality, one or more buttons, motion sensors (e.g., gyro sensors, accelerometers), and so forth.

The electronic device 10 may further include a sound circuit 42 for processing audio signals. Coupled to the sound circuit 42 are a speaker 44 and a microphone 46 that enable a user to listen and speak via the electronic device 10, and hear sounds generated in connection with other functions of the device 10. The sound circuit 42 may include any appropriate buffers, encoders, decoders, amplifiers and so forth. The electronic device 10 may further include one or more input/output (I/O) interface(s) 48. The I/O interface(s) 46 may be in the form of typical electronic device I/O interfaces and may include one or more electrical connectors for operatively connecting the electronic device 10 to another device (e.g., a computer) or an accessory (e.g., a personal handsfree (PHF) device) via a cable. Further, operating power may be received over the I/O interface(s) 48 and power to charge a battery of a power supply unit (PSU) 50 within the electronic device 10 may be received over the I/O interface(s) 48. The PSU 50 may supply power to operate the electronic device 10 in the absence of an external power source.

The electronic device 10 also may include various other components. For instance, a camera 52 may be present for taking digital pictures and/or movies. Image and/or video files corresponding to the pictures and/or movies may be stored in the memory 32. As another example, a position data receiver 54, such as a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, may be present to assist in determining the location of the electronic device 10.

The electronic device 10 also may include a SFM card slot 56 in which a SIM card 58 is received. The slot 56 includes any appropriate connectors and interface hardware to establish an operative connection between the electronic device 10 and the SFM card 58. The SIM card 56 may store items of information, such as one or more of a unique serial number (e.g., an integrated circuit card identifier or ICCID), an international mobile subscriber identity (FMSI), security authentication and ciphering information, temporary information related to a local network, a list of the services the user has access to, password data, etc. The uses and purposes of these items of information will be understood to those of ordinary skill in the art and will not be explained in detailed herein. In some cases, it is possible that no SIM card is present.

With additional reference to FIG. 3, illustrated is an exemplary flow diagram representing steps that may be carried out by the electronic device 10 to implement bookmarking of shared content. In one embodiment, the method is carried out by executing the bookmarking application 28. Although illustrated in a logical progression, the illustrated blocks may be carried out in other orders and/or with concurrence between two or more blocks. Therefore, the illustrated flow diagram may be altered (including omitting steps) and/or may be implemented in an object-oriented manner or in a state- oriented manner.

The logical flow may begin in block 60 where the user browses Internet content or content available through a social media service. The browsed content may include, but is not limited to, a news article, a blog or posting, an advertisement, a webpage, a video, etc. In block 62, a determination is made as to whether the user has taken action to share the browsed content. Typically, action to share content is made by selecting (e.g., "clicking on") a sharing link in the content or by selecting a sharing option from a tool provided by one of the applications 26, by the bookmarking application 28, or by the operating system 24. If the user does not take action to share the browsed content, the logical flow may return to block 60.

If it is determined in block 62 that the user takes action to share the content, the logical flow may proceed to block 64 where a bookmarking operation is entered into. Taking action to share the content may be considered a trigger to enter the bookmarking operation. Entry into the bookmarking operation may be automatic (i.e., without additional user action) when this triggering event occurs. In block 64, a determination is made as to whether an automated bookmarking function is turned on. For example, the automated bookmarking function may be turned on or off by a user-controllable setting or by a default setting. In one embodiment, the on or off state of the automated bookmarking function may be set individually for different types of content (e.g., a setting for news articles, a setting for videos, a setting for general webpages, etc.).

If the automated bookmarking function is determined to be turned off in block 64, the logical flow may proceed to block 66. In block 66, the content is shared. Sharing typically involves making the content itself or a link to the content available to another user or a group of users through a service such as text messaging, email, or a

commercially available social media service (e.g., Facebook or Twitter). The identity or identities of the user(s) with whom the content is to be shared is specified by the user of the electronic device 10.

If the automated bookmarking function is determined to be turned on in block 64, the logical flow may proceed to block 68. In block 68, a determination is made as to whether a query (also referred to as a prompt) should be presented to the user of the electronic device 10. The query would ask the user if the user would like the content bookmarked to facilitate returning to the content in the future. Querying of the user may be turned on or off by a user-controllable setting or by a default setting. In one

embodiment, the on or off state of the querying operation may be set individually for different types of content (e.g., a setting for news articles, a setting for videos, a setting for general webpages, etc.).

If no query is to be made (i.e., a bookmark for the content is to be set without first "asking" for user authorization), then the logical flow may proceed to block 70 where the content is bookmarked. Bookmarking the content may include storing a link to the content in a local file. The link may be in the form of a uniform resource locator (URL) associated with the content. The link may be selected in the future to return to the content. Following block 70, the logical flow may proceed to block 66 where the content is shared.

If it is determined in block 68 that a query is to be made to the user, the logical flow may proceed to block 72. In block 72, the query is made. In one embodiment, the query may be in the form of a displayed pop-up that asks the user if the user would like to bookmark the shared content. Yes and no (or similar) selection buttons may be included with the pop-up. In block 74, if the user approves the bookmarking of the content, then the logical flow will proceed to blocks 70 and 66 where the content is respectively bookmarked and shared. If the user declines to the bookmarking of the content in block 74, then the logical flow will proceed to block 66 where the content is shared (e.g., bypassing the bookmarking function). Following block 66, the logical flow may return to block 60 to allow the user to continue to browse content.

In a variation of the method, user selection of a bookmarking operation

independent of a sharing operation serves as a trigger to enter a sharing routine. In the sharing routine, the electronic device 10 may prompt the user to determine if the user would like to share the content in addition to bookmarking the content. If the user answers in the affirmative, then a sharing operation may be carried out to share the content in a conventional manner. Although certain embodiments have been shown and described, it is understood that equivalents and modifications falling within the scope of the appended claims will occur to others who are skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A method of bookmarking content in an electronic device (10), comprising: determining that user action has been made to share content from an Internet website or social media service; and

entering a bookmarking operation, the bookmarking operation automatically triggered by the user action to share the content and the bookmarking operation including conducting a bookmarking function to bookmark the shared content.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the bookmarking operation includes determining that the bookmarking function is turned on before conducting the

bookmarking function to bookmark the shared content.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining that the bookmarking function is turned on is made for a content type of the shared content.

4. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein the bookmarking operation includes querying the user to determine that the shared content should be bookmarked before conducting the bookmarking function to bookmark the shared content.

5. An electronic device (10), comprising:

a user input (38); and

a control circuit (20) that controls the electronic device to carry out bookmarking content by executing logic to:

determine that user action via the user input has been made to share content from an Internet website or social media service; and enter and carry out a bookmarking operation, the bookmarking operation automatically triggered by the user action to share the content and the bookmarking operation including carrying out a bookmarking function to bookmark the shared content.

6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the bookmarking operation includes determining that the bookmarking function is turned on before conducting the bookmarking function to bookmark the shared content.

7. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the determining that the bookmarking function is turned on is made for a content type of the shared content.

8. The electronic device of any of claims 5-7, wherein the bookmarking operation includes querying the user to determine that the shared content should be bookmarked before conducting the bookmarking function to bookmark the shared content.