Patent ID: 8712383

Claim:
A method comprising: wirelessly receiving, by an alert device, a notification signal communicated by a computing device, wherein: the notification signal is indicative of an event and a level of urgency associated with the event, the alert device is external to the computing device, and the alert device is wirelessly and communicatively coupled with the computing device; determining, by the alert device and based on one of a plurality of applications executable by the computing device, a type associated with the notification signal; responsive to receiving the notification signal, selecting, by the alert device and based on the level of urgency associated with the event indicated by the notification signal and on the type associated with the notification signal, a tactile signal having at least a specified level of intensity, wherein the tactile signal is selected from a plurality of tactile signals each having a respective level of intensity, and wherein the specified level of intensity of the tactile signal differs from the respective level of intensity of another tactile signal from the plurality of tactile signals; and outputting, by the alert device, the tactile signal at the specified level of intensity, wherein the tactile signal is detectable by a user of the computing device.