Patent ID: 7949707

Claim:
A device, comprising: a housing; a memory disposed within the housing, wherein the memory is configured to store information that associates at least one of a plurality of audio content sources with a corresponding URL of a provider from which the audio content source originates, wherein the plurality of audio content sources includes at least two audio content sources originating from providers that are located remote from the device and that are different from one another; an input device disposed at an exterior surface of the housing, wherein the input device is controllable by a user to select one of the plurality audio content sources; a processor disposed within the housing; a network interface; and an audio output; wherein the device is configured to, in response to the user selecting a first audio content source: access the memory to obtain a URL of a first provider from which the first audio content source originates; send a request to the first provider via the network interface to access the first audio content source; receive, from the first provider via the network interface, data representative of audio information corresponding to the first audio content source; play the received audio information through the audio output; and prefetch, via the network interface, audio information corresponding to a second audio content source that originates from a second provider, wherein the second provider is remote from the device and is different from the first provider, and wherein prefetching the audio information corresponding to the second audio content source includes: sending, in response to the user selecting the first audio content source at a time when the second audio content source is not being accessed by the device, a request to the second provider to access the second audio content source; receiving, from the second provider via the network interface, data representative of audio information corresponding to the second audio content source; and storing the received audio information corresponding to the second audio content source.