Techniques to modify content and view content on mobile devices

1. A computer-based method for rendering modified graphical content, the graphical content including a plurality of cells, the method comprising:

rendering the graphical content upon a screen according to metadata that modifies the graphical content;

defining, by a processor, polygonal overlay metadata for each cell in at least a subset of the plurality of cells, wherein the polygonal overlay metadata includes a sequence of polygons defining a surrounding area for said each cell;

rendering, under control of the processor, the sequence of polygons, in accordance with the polygonal overlay metadata, such that the defined surrounding area is adjusted in opacity and is de-emphasized with respect to salient features within said each cell;

receiving user input; and

in response to the user input, progressing through the at least a subset of the cells, wherein the progressing includes moving a camera view from cell to cell, each of the cells in the at least a subset being displayed as a focus point with the surrounding area being adjusted in opacity according to the polygonal overlay metadata, wherein the metadata specifies the polygonal overlay metadata;

wherein the rendering comprises:

receiving user input selecting a portion of the graphical content;

comparing the selected portion of the graphical content to the salient features in the metadata;

selecting a first cell of the plurality of cells based upon the comparing;

in response to selecting the first cell, displaying the first cell as a focus point by adjusting opacity of one or more other cells of the plurality of cells according to the polygonal overlay metadata;

receiving a second user input;

comparing information associated with the second user input to the salient features in the metadata;

selecting a second cell of the plurality of cells based upon the comparing; and

in response to selecting the second cell, displaying the second cell as a focus point by adjusting opacity of the other cells of the plurality of cells according to the polygonal overlay metadata, the other cells including at least the first cell.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the progressing further comprises:

applying a pan, a zoom, and a rotation to each of the cells in the at least a subset according to the metadata.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the progressing further comprises:

moving the camera view in response to a finger swipe on the screen.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein a direction of the finger swipe and a direction of movement of the camera view are not the same.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said user input includes finger swipes on the display screen, and wherein directions of finger swipes are adjusted according to orientations of the individual ones of the cells.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the progressing further comprises:

automatically switching from a landscape view of the graphical content to a portrait view of the graphical content when moving the camera view.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the progressing further comprises:

applying one or more magnifications and orientations to text within each of the cells according to the metadata.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

performing a zoom-out to show a plurality of cells in response to a selection of a control feature rendered upon the screen.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the graphical content includes comic book content.

10. The method of claim 1 performed upon a handheld device.

11. The method of claim 1 in which the metadata further specifies at least one of the following:

salient features for the cells;

center point, magnification, and rotation for each of the cells;

pixels corresponding to text within each cell; and

areas of each cell not to be obstructed by text.

12. The method of claim 1 performed by a handheld device with a touchscreen for receiving the user input.

13. A computer program product having a non-transitory computer readable medium having computer program logic recorded thereon for rendering modified graphical content, the graphical content including a plurality of cells, said computer program product comprising:

code for rendering the graphical content upon a screen according to metadata, the metadata modifying the graphical content, the metadata specifying a viewpoint for each of the cells and a polygonal overlay for each of the cells;

code for defining polygonal overlay metadata for each cell in at least a subset of the plurality of cells, wherein the polygonal overlay metadata includes a sequence of polygons defining a surrounding area for said each cell;

code for rendering the sequence of polygons, in accordance with the polygonal overlay metadata, such that the defined surrounding area is adjusted in opacity and is de-emphasized with respect to salient features within said each cell;

code for receiving user input; and

code for progressing through the at least a subset of the cells, in response to the user input, wherein the progressing includes moving a camera view from cell to cell, each of the cells in the at least a subset being displayed as a focus point with the surrounding area being adjusted in opacity according to the metadata, wherein the metadata specifies the polygonal overlay metadata;

wherein the rendering comprises:

receiving user input selecting a portion of the graphical content;

comparing the selected portion of the graphical content to the salient features in the metadata;

selecting a first cell of the plurality of cells based upon the comparing;

in response to selecting the first cell, displaying the first cell as a focus point by adjusting opacity of one or more other cells of the plurality of cells according to the polygonal overlay metadata;

receiving a second user input;

comparing information associated with the second user input to the salient features in the metadata;

selecting a second cell of the plurality of cells based upon the comparing; and

in response to selecting the second cell, displaying the second cell as a focus point by adjusting opacity of the other cells of the plurality of cells according to the polygonal overlay metadata, the other cells including at least the first cell.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the metadata further specifies:

pixels corresponding to text within each cell; and

areas of each cell not to be obstructed by text.

15. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the metadata further specifies a salient feature for each of the cells, the method further comprising code for receiving user input selecting a particular cell by selecting a salient feature associated with the particular cell.

16. The computer program product of claim 13 in which the polygonal overlay comprises polygonal masks for adjusting opacity of areas around each of the cells.

17. The computer program product of claim 13 in which the viewpoint comprises:

center point, magnification, and rotation for each of the cells.

18. A computer system for rendering modified graphical content, the graphical content including a plurality of cells, the computer system comprising a central processing unit to perform the following functions:

defining polygonal overlay metadata for each cell in at least a subset of the plurality of cells, wherein the polygonal overlay metadata includes a sequence of polygons defining a surrounding area for said each cell;

rendering the graphical content upon a screen according to metadata, the metadata modifying the graphical content by specifying a viewpoint and the polygonal overlay for each of the cells, said rendering the graphical content comprising:

rendering the sequence of polygons, in accordance with the polygonal overlay metadata, such that the defined surrounding area is adjusted in opacity and is de-emphasized with respect to salient features within said each cell;

receiving user input; and

in response to the user input, moving a rendered view from cell to cell, each of the cells in the at least a subset being displayed as a focus point with the surrounding area being adjusted in opacity according to the metadata;

wherein the rendering comprises:

receiving user input selecting a portion of the graphical content;

comparing the selected portion of the graphical content to the salient features in the metadata;

selecting a first cell of the plurality of cells based upon the comparing;

in response to selecting the first cell, displaying the first cell as a focus point by adjusting opacity of one or more other cells of the plurality of cells according to the polygonal overlay metadata;

receiving a second user input;

comparing information associated with the second user input to the salient features in the metadata;

selecting a second cell of the plurality of cells based upon the comparing; and

in response to selecting the second cell, displaying the second cell as a focus point by adjusting opacity of the other cells of the plurality of cells according to the polygonal overlay metadata, the other cells including at least the first cell.

19. The computer system of claim 18 wherein the metadata specifies salient features for the cells, and wherein the functional units further perform the following functions:

receiving user input selecting a portion of the graphical content;

comparing the selected portion of the graphical content to the salient features in the metadata; and

selecting one of the cells based upon the comparing.

20. The computer system of claim 18 comprising:

a handheld device with a touchscreen for receiving the user input.