Patent ID: 8590036

Claim:
A media player comprising: a processor; and an accessory interface coupled to the processor and configured to communicate with an accessory according to a media player accessory protocol that defines a plurality of application commands to invoke a plurality of media player application functions, wherein the processor in conjunction with the accessory interface is configured to: initiate an authentication operation to authenticate the accessory; receive first authentication information from the accessory; validate the first authentication information; receive one of the plurality of application commands of the media player accessory protocol from the accessory based on validation of the first authentication information; in response to the received application command, invoke one of the plurality of media player application functions; receive second authentication information from the accessory, the second authentication information being different from the first authentication information; validate the second authentication information to determine that authentication operation completed successfully; and receive a subsequent one of the plurality of application commands from the accessory and, in response to the subsequent application command, invoke a subsequent one of the plurality of media player application functions.