Internet protocol enabled multimedia mail system with reduced bandwidth requirements
View Patent ↗In a multimedia communications system ( 100 ), a multimedia-based answering system ( 200 ) lowers the amount of air interface bandwidth used to send multimedia mail messages. When a called party is unavailable, a user of a user terminal ( 102 ) is given an option to send a multimedia mail message for the unavailable called party ( 300, 302, 304 ). If the user wants to send a multimedia mail message, the bandwidth requirements for the call are renegotiated to reduce bandwidth for sending the multimedia mail message ( 306 ). The multimedia mail message is then transmitted over-the-air to a multimedia mail system ( 208 ), where the multimedia mail message is buffered, transcoded (if necessary) and stored until the called party retrieves it ( 308, 310 ).
1. A method for storing messages in a multimedia mail system to save air interface bandwidth, the method comprising the steps of:
receiving a call from a first user of a first device to a second user of a second device;
making a determination as to whether the second user is available;
providing the first user with an option to send a multimedia mail message if the second user is not available;
changing bandwidth requirements for the call if the first user elects to send a multimedia mail message;
sending the multimedia mail message to the multimedia mail system; and
storing the multimedia mail message in the multimedia mail system until the multimedia mail message is retrieved by the second user.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first device is one of a wireless telephone, a computer and a personal digital assistant.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the second device is one of a wireless telephone, a computer and a personal digital assistant.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the second user retrieves the multimedia mail message from the multimedia mail system by one of streaming and downloading.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the option to send a multimedia mail message is provided to the first user in an HTML (HyperText Markup Language) menu.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein prior to the step of storing, the method comprises the steps of:
recording the multimedia mail message with a camera coupled to the first device.
7. In a wireless system that couples users of wireless devices for voice and multimedia communications over-the-air, a multimedia-based answering system for lowering the amount of air interface bandwidth used to send multimedia mail messages comprising:
a processor-based apparatus that:
provides a first user of a first device with an option to send a multimedia mail message when a second user of a second device is not available; and
changes bandwidth requirements for the call if the first user elects to send a multimedia mail message; and
a multimedia mail system that:
stores the multimedia mail message until the multimedia mail message is retrieved by the second user.
8. The multimedia-based answering system of claim 7 wherein the first device is one of a wireless telephone, a computer and a personal digital assistant.
9. The multimedia-based answering system of claim 7 wherein the second device is one of a wireless telephone, a computer and a personal digital assistant.
10. The multimedia-based answering system of claim 7 wherein the first device records the multimedia mail message with a camera that is coupled to the first device.
11. The multimedia-based answering system of claim 7 wherein the second user retrieves the multimedia mail message by one of streaming and downloading.
12. The multimedia-based answering system of claim 7 wherein the option to send a multimedia mail message is provided to the user of the first device in an HTML (HyperText Markup Language) menu.