Patent ID: 8230466
Filing Date: 2012-07-24
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A portable personal media player, comprising: a first interface to communicate with a residential gateway via at least one of a wide area network and a local area network, wherein the residential gateway is communicatively coupled to a plurality of electronic devices of a home automation system; a second interface to communicate wireless commands from the portable personal media player directly to at least one of the plurality of electronic devices when the portable media player is proximate to the at least one of the plurality of electronic devices; a third interface to communicate wireless commands to one or more electronic devices of the plurality of electronic devices via the local area network connected to the residential gateway when the portable personal media player is within range of the local area network and not proximate to the one or more electronic devices; a display to display alphanumeric data and video content; an audio output; a keypad to receive user input, wherein the keypad comprises a plurality of dedicated controls, and wherein at least one dedicated control is associated with a control function of one of the plurality of electronic devices; a processor coupled to the first interface, the second interface, the third interface, the display, the audio output, and the keypad, wherein the processor is responsive to a selection received via the keypad to transmit a request for selected media content stored at a first electronic device of the home automation system, wherein the processor receives the selected media content from the first electronic device of the home automation system, processes the selected media content, provides video data from the selected media content to the display, and provides audio data from the selected media content to the audio output, and wherein the processor selectively transmits the request: directly to the first electronic device via the second interface when the portable personal media player is proximate to the first electronic device, to the first electronic device via the third interface when the portable personal media player is not proximate to the first electronic device and is within range of the local area network, and to the first electronic device via the first interface when the portable personal media player is outside the range of the local area network; and a memory to store the selected media content.