APPARATUS WITH AN AUDIO EQUALIZER AND ASSOCIATED METHOD

1 - 30 . (canceled)

31 . An apparatus comprising:

an electronic display configured to display a user interface for an audio equalizer, the user interface comprising a predefined region associated with a category of audio equalization;

one or more processors configured to detect the position of a user input within the predefined region; and

so as to control the amplitude of one or more frequency bandwidths of an audio signal based on the detected position within the predefined region to produce an audio output having audio characteristics associated with the audio equalization category.

32 . The apparatus of claim 31 , wherein the user interface is configured such that the audio characteristics of the audio output vary in a continuous manner as the detected position is continuously varied.

33 . The apparatus of claim 31 , wherein the user interface is configured such that the audio characteristics of the audio output vary in a discrete stepwise manner as the detected position is continuously varied.

34 . The apparatus of claim 31 , wherein the user interface comprises a plurality of predefined regions associated with respective categories of audio equalization.

35 . The apparatus of claim 34 , wherein the plurality of predefined regions are arranged such that the audio characteristics associated with the respective categories of audio equalization vary incrementally from one predefined region to another predefined region.

36 . The apparatus of claim 31 , wherein the position of the user input is detected with respect to a reference position, and the amplitude of the one or more frequency bandwidth is controlled based on the detected position.

37 . The apparatus of claim 31 , wherein the user interface comprises a position indicator for indicating the detected position.

38 . The apparatus of claim 31 , wherein the user interface comprises a position indicator for indicating the current volume setting for the audio output.

39 . The apparatus of claim 38 , wherein the apparatus is configured to detect at least one of the size and shape of the position indicator, and control the amplitude of the audio output based on the detected at least one of the size and shape of the position indicator.

40 . The apparatus of claim 37 , wherein the predefined region is arranged to form a selection plane, and wherein the position indicator is configured to be positioned on the selection plane to enable control of the audio output.

41 . The apparatus of claim 40 , wherein the apparatus is configured to detect the selection plane, and control the audio output based on the detected selection plane.

42 . The apparatus of claim 41 , wherein the reference position is located at the centre of the selection plane.

43 . The apparatus of claim 36 , wherein the reference position corresponds to one of:

a default amplitude;

a previously selected amplitude; and

and a minimum amplitude.

44 . The apparatus of claim 31 , wherein the predefined region comprises an audio indicator for indicating the associated category of audio equalization.

45 . The apparatus of claim 31 , wherein the predefined region comprises one or more predefined sub-regions defining respective audio outputs in which the amplitude of one or more frequency bandwidths are predefined.

46 . The apparatus of claim 31 , wherein the apparatus is configured to prevent the amplitude from being increased beyond a predetermined safety limit.

47 . The apparatus of claim 46 , wherein the apparatus comprises a dynamic range compressor, and wherein the dynamic range compressor is configured to reduce the dynamic range of the audio signal to prevent the amplitude from being increased beyond the predetermined safety limit.

48 . The apparatus of claim 31 , wherein the apparatus is configured to enable a user of the apparatus to vary one or more of the following: the number of frequency bandwidths, the amplitudes of the relative frequency bandwidths, an audio indicator, the shape of a selection plane within the predefined region, and the amplitude associated with a reference position relative to the detected position of the user input.

49 . The apparatus of claim 31 , wherein the apparatus is a touch-user interface, a mouse interface, or a wand interface.

50 . A method comprising

displaying a user interface for an audio equalizer, the user interface comprising a predefined region associated with a category of audio equalization;

detecting the position of a user input within the predefined region; and

controlling the amplitude of one or more frequency bandwidths of an audio signal based on the detected position within the predefined region to produce an audio output having audio characteristics associated with the audio equalization category.