IMAGE COLLECTION ANNOTATION USING A MOBILE COMMUNICATOR

1 . A method for forming a multi-media image product, comprising:

using a processor to provide a storage location for a multi-media image collection in a digital storage system;

associating an identifier with the storage location, wherein the identifier is adapted to be transmitted from or with a mobile communication device;

providing the identifier for distribution to a plurality of individuals;

receiving a plurality of multi-media content from two or more of the plurality of individuals, the multi-media content being transmitted from one or more mobile communication devices operated by the respective individuals employing the identifier, wherein the multi-media content includes one or more images, audio annotations, or text annotations captured by the mobile communication device;

storing the multi-media content in the storage location and associating the multi-media content with the multi-media collection;

providing rules for associating the multi-media content with the images or the multi-media image collection; and

making a multi-media image product using at least a portion of the multi-media content stored in the multi-media collection wherein the multi-media content is associated with the images or multi-media image collection in accordance with the rules.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifier is a universal resource locater, a universal resource identifier, a telephone number, an identification number, a collection name, an electronic code, an optically recognizable code, an instant message address, or an E-mail address.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further including an individual who established the image collection different from the plurality of individuals.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a third individual different from the plurality of individuals specifies the multi-media image product.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further including initializing the image collection with an initial set of images, the initial set of images being provided by a third individual different from the plurality of individuals.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further including making the multi-media image product with one or more images from the image collection other than the one or more images received from the plurality of individuals.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the image collection includes still images or video images.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifier is a telephone call to an identified telephone number.

9 . The method of claim 1 , further including electronically receiving the one or more images from the one of the plurality of individuals by E-mail, land-line telephony, or cellular telephony.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the multi-media product is a hardcopy image product, photo-book, or a photo collage having an audio playback or reference capability or the multi-media image product is a digital multi-media image product stored in a digital storage medium.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the digital multi-media image product is a digital slide show, a digital photo album, or a digital collage.

12 . The method of claim 1 , further including communicating the identifier to the plurality of individuals.

13 . The method of claim 1 , further including providing a user-interface mechanism in a computing system for recording one or more audio annotations.

14 . The method of claim 1 , further including providing a user interface mechanism in a computing system for presenting one or more of the images in the image collection to a viewer.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of individuals who was provided the identifier shares the identifier with one or more additional individuals.

16 . The method of claim 15 , further including receiving one or more additional images from the one or more additional individuals, and associating the additional images with the image collection.

17 . The method of claim 15 , further including receiving one or more additional audio annotations from the one or more additional individuals.

18 . The method of claim 1 , further including receiving an audio annotation as an electronic audio file, a voice recording provided by an individual, or a selection of a pre-recorded audio message,

19 . The method of claim 1 , further including receiving an audio annotation as an E-mail, an audio file recorded on a physical medium, by recording a telephonic message, through a web browser executing on a computer, or from a software application executing on a processor.

20 . The method of claim 1 , further including receiving an audio annotation from a software application installed on a client computer that interacts with a remote server connected to the client computer through a computer network.

21 . The method of claim 1 , further including receiving an audio annotation from a web browser executing on a client computer that presents information provided from a remote server connected to the client computer through a computer network.

22 . The method of claim 1 , further including providing a digital memory for storing the audio annotation, rules for associating images and collections, and a control for activating circuits to play the audio annotation from the digital memory in accordance with rules.

23 . The method of claim 1 , further including editing one or more of the annotations, images, associations, or rules.

24 . A system for annotation of an image collection, comprising:

a digital storage system for storing a multi-media image collection in a storage location, the multi-media image collection having an associated identifier, wherein the identifier is adapted to be transmitted from or with a mobile communication device;

communication means for distributing the identifier to a plurality of individuals;

communication means for receiving a plurality of multi-media content from two or more of the plurality of individuals, the multi-media content being transmitted from one or more mobile communication devices operated by the respective individuals employing the identifier, wherein the multi-media content includes one or more images, audio messages, or text messages captured by the mobile communication device;

a processor for storing the multi-media content in the storage location and associating the multi-media content with the multi-media collection;

a processor for storing and applying rules for associating the multi-media content with the images or the multi-media image collection; and

means for making a multi-media image product using at least a portion of the multi-media content stored in the multi-media collection wherein the multi-media content is associated with the images or multi-media image collection in accordance with the rules.

25 . The system of claim 24 , further including means for editing one or more of the annotations, images, associations, or rules.

26 . A computer program product for audio annotation of a multi-media image collection using the method of claim 1 .