Patent ID: 8774776

Claim:
An alert device for a mobile communications device, the alert device comprising: a housing that includes control circuitry, wherein the control circuitry is configured to: associate wirelessly with the mobile communications device; in response to associating with the mobile communications device, receive a plurality of mobile communications device settings associated with the mobile device, wherein the plurality of mobile communications device settings include a ringtone corresponding to incoming communications and a ring volume setting; detect an incoming communication to the mobile communications device; determine a status of the mobile communications device in response to detecting the incoming communication; and provide an alert to a user of the mobile communications device, wherein: in response to detecting that the incoming communication is a call and the status of the mobile communications device indicates that the mobile communications device is available, provide the alert that includes playing back the ringtone through a speaker connected to the control circuitry at the ring volume setting by determining whether the ring volume setting received from the mobile communications device is greater than a distortion volume setting associated with the speaker and playing back the ringtone through the speaker at the distortion volume setting in response to determining that the ring volume setting causes distortion in the speaker; in response to detecting that the incoming communication is a call and the status of the mobile communications device indicates that the mobile communications device is engaged on another call, provide the alert that includes flashing one or more light emitting diodes connected to the control circuitry; and in response to detecting that the status of the mobile communications device indicates that the mobile communications device is a distance away from the alert device, provide the alert that includes an audible alarm through the speaker and flashing the one or more light emitting diodes.