Patent ID: 8401583

Claim:
A method performed on a communication network, the method comprising: progressively storing at a node located on a communication network PTT voice media exchanged during PTT transmissions between a first PTT communication device and a second PTT communication device as the PTT voice media is created and progressively transmitted by the first PTT communication device and the second PTT communication device respectively; supporting full-duplex PTT communication over the communication network when the first PTT communication device and the second PTT communication device are transmitting and rendering the PTT voice media exchanged between the two PTT communication devices at approximately the same time; supporting time-shifted PTT communication over the communication network when the first PTT communication device and the second PTT communication device render the PTT voice media exchanged between the two PTT communication devices some time after the exchanged PTT media was transmitted; and providing an application that is embedded in a non-transient computer readable medium to the first PTT communication device, the application configured to: (i) enable progressive storage on the first PTT communication device the PTT voice media progressively transmitted by the first PTT communication device as PTT voice media is created and progressively transmitted by the first PTT communication device, (ii) enable progressive storage on the first PTT communication device the PTT voice media received over the communication network from the second PTT communication device, (iii) enable organization of the PTT voice media stored on the first PTT communication device into a plurality of conversations, and (iv) enable participation in the plurality of conversations on the first PPT communication device by: (1) enabling selection of a first conversation among the plurality of conversations for participation, (2) enabling participation in the first conversation by (a) progressively transmitting PTT voice media created on the first PPT communication device pertaining to the first conversation, (b) selectively rendering received PTT voice media pertaining to the first conversation in a real-time mode as the PTT voice media is received, and (c) selectively rendering transmitted and received PTT voice media pertaining to the first conversation in a time-shifted mode by rendering the PTT voice media out of storage on the first PTT communication device, and (3) enabling a transition from the first conversation to a second conversation among the plurality of conversations and performing (2) for the second conversation.