Patent ID: 8365096

Claim:
A method of customizing at least one preference for an external device of a plurality of devices using custom menus, the method comprising: receiving, in a first device, over a short range communication channel between the first device and the external device of the plurality of devices, identifier information from the external device representing a request to register the at least one preference for the external device, wherein the external device has at least one capability that is different from other registered devices of the plurality of devices; storing the received identifier information in a storage device of the first device, the storage device storing a feature list for each of a plurality of registered devices of the plurality of devices, wherein the feature list comprises settings and range for parameter settings; generating in the first device a custom alert settings menu for the external device of the plurality of devices based on the at least one capability, the custom alert settings menu including settings corresponding to the capabilities and parameter settings of the external device; displaying the custom alert settings menu on a user interface; receiving alert preferences for the at least one external device of the plurality of devices, wherein the alert preferences are selected from the custom alert settings menu and are stored in the storage device; creating a map of alert capabilities and parameters from the feature list and the received alert preferences; and providing the map to at least one device of the plurality of devices.