Method and apparatus for content presentation in association with a telephone call
A method and apparatus are provided for presenting multimedia content to a caller and/or a called party in association with a telephone call. Content may be presented pre-ring (before the called party's telephone rings), in-call, and/or post-call. Content presented to a party may be related to another party participating in the call or may be related to a third party (e.g., an advertiser that paid for the ability to have its content presented). Presented content may be actuable, to allow a caller to change the destination of a call, take advantage of an offer presented to him or her, redeem a coupon, schedule or queue a subsequent call, etc. To find a desired destination party, a caller may initiate a manual or automatic search of his or her local contacts (on his telephone) and/or a central or global directory or contact list.
1. A method of controlling presentation of content on one or more communication devices, the method comprising:
transmitting, from a first communication device to a call server, notification of initiation of a call from the first communication device to a second communication device;
receiving a first signal from the call server in response to the notification;
in response to the first signal, automatically delaying dialing the call without any action by an operator of the first communication device; and
dialing the call after termination of the delay.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, at the first communication device:
receiving pre-ring content; and
displaying the pre-ring content before the call rings at the second communication device.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, at the first communication device:
receiving in-call content; and
displaying the in-call content during the call.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, at the first communication device:
receiving post-call content; and
displaying the post-call content after the call.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, at the first communication device:
receiving from the call server content provided by the second communication device; and
displaying the content.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the content relates to a transaction between the operator of the first communication device and an organization associated with the second communication device.
7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the content is social content concerning an operator of the second communication device.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, at the first communication device:
receiving from the call server a request for content to be displayed on the second communication device; and
transmitting to the call server one or more of:
pre-ring content to be displayed on the second communication device before the call rings at the second communication device;
in-call content to be displayed on the second communication device during the call; and
post-call content to be displayed on the second communication device after the call.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein content transmitted to the call server includes one or more of:
a purpose of the call;
an identity of the first communication device; and
an identity of the operator of the first communication device.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein transmitting content to the call server comprises:
identifying a location of the first communication device.
11. The method of claim 8 , wherein content transmitted to the call server is selected based on an operator of the second communication device.
12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, at the first communication device:
prior to transmitting the notification, facilitating creation of a custom set of content by the operator of the first communication device; and
transmitting the custom set of content to the call server for delivery to and presentation on the second communication device.
13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, at the first communication device:
receiving notification that the second communication device is busy;
automatically cancelling the call before the call rings at the second communication device; and
displaying on a display screen of the first communication device a message indicating that the second communication device is busy.
14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, at the first communication device:
prior to termination of the call, receiving from the operator of the first communication device information identifying another communication device to call; and
upon termination of the call, automatically initiating a second call to the other communication device, without further action by the operator.
15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method of controlling presentation of content on one or more communication devices, the method comprising:
transmitting, from a first communication device to a call server, notification of initiation of a call from the first communication device to a second communication device;
receiving a first signal from the call server in response to the notification;
in response to the first signal, automatically delaying dialing the call without any action by an operator of the first communication device; and
dialing the call after termination of the delay.
16. A communication device, comprising:
at least one processor; and
memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the communication device to:
transmit, from the communication device to a call server, notification of initiation of a call from the communication device to a second communication device;
receive a first signal from the call server in response to the notification;
in response to the first signal, automatically delay dialing the call without any action by an operator of the communication device; and
dial the call after termination of the delay.
17. The communication device of claim 16 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the communication device to:
receive pre-ring content; and
display the pre-ring content before the call rings at the second communication device.
18. The communication device of claim 16 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the communication device to:
receive in-call content; and
display the in-call content during the call.
19. The communication device of claim 16 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the communication device to:
receive post-call content; and
display the post-call content after the call.
20. The communication device of claim 16 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the communication device to:
receive from the call server content provided by the second communication device; and
display the content.
21. The communication device of claim 20 , wherein the content relates to a transaction between the operator of the communication device and an organization associated with the second communication device.
22. The communication device of claim 20 , wherein the content is social content concerning an operator of the second communication device.
23. The communication device of claim 16 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the communication device to:
receive from the call server a request for content to be displayed on the second communication device; and
transmit to the call server one or more of:
pre-ring content to be displayed on the second communication device before the call rings at the second communication device;
in-call content to be displayed on the second communication device during the call; and
post-call content to be displayed on the second communication device after the call.
24. The communication device of claim 23 , wherein content transmitted to the call server includes one or more of:
a purpose of the call;
an identity of the communication device; and
an identity of the operator of the communication device.
25. The communication device of claim 23 , wherein transmitting content to the call server comprises:
identifying a location of the first communication device.
26. The communication device of claim 23 , wherein content transmitted to the call server is selected based on an operator of the second communication device.
27. The communication device of claim 16 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the communication device to:
prior to transmitting the notification, facilitate creation of a custom set of content by the operator of the communication device; and
transmit the custom set of content to the call server for delivery to and presentation on the second communication device.
28. The communication device of claim 16 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the communication device to:
receive notification that the second communication device is busy;
automatically cancel the call before the call rings at the second communication device; and
display on a display screen of the communication device a message indicating that the second communication device is busy.
29. The communication device of claim 16 , wherein the memory further stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the communication device to:
prior to termination of the call, receive from the operator of the communication device information identifying another communication device to call; and
upon termination of the call, automatically initiate a second call to the other communication device, without further action by the operator.