Abstract: A system and method for accessing a data network telephony account using a wireless personal information device (PID). The user may connect over the wireless cellular infrastructure to a telephony control server via a data network for access to the user's telephony account, which indicates the user's telephone number in a telephone number entry. Once the connection is made, the user issues a command to set the telephone number entry in the user's data network telephony account to a specific telephone number. The user may then invoke a contacts application in the wireless PID and select a person to call from the contacts list. The user selects the entry to send a command to initiate a telephone connection between the party selected and the user at the telephone designated by the user at the telephony control server.

Abstract: A system and method for providing advertising and advertising services using a telephone system. A data network telephony system includes a commercial message server that communicates with a telephony connection server to communicate commercial messages to display devices on data network telephones. A caller uses the data network telephone to make a telephone call to a callee. The commercial message server receives information about the connection and retrieves commercial messages, or advertisements to communicate to either the caller, the callee or both.

Abstract: A system and method of accessing radio programming from radio stations that communicate radio programming on a data network. The radio programming is accessed as radio or audio signals formatted in radio-over-data packets to a data network telephone. The data network telephone is a telephone that uses voice-over-data communications channels over a data network to make telephone connections with other data network telephones. The data network telephone includes a display, a keypad, a handset and an optional speaker output. The data network telephone advantageously permits simultaneous access to radio programming and communication on a telephone connection. The data network telephone also includes an interface to a portable information device. A radio control application may be used on the portable information device that communicates control information to a radio application on the data network telephone.

Abstract: A system and method for providing telephone service to a user of a telecommunications device using a data network service provider. The data network service provider has a local service host that is accessible by a local access identifier. A caller uses a telecommunications device to dial the local access identifier to connect to the local service host. In response to a prompt, the caller dials a telephone extension that identifies the callee's telecommunications device. The local service host receives the telephone extension and verifies that the callee is a subscriber. The local service host then retrieves the gateway nearest the callee telecommunications device and opens a voice-over-data channel between the callee and caller gateways. The telephone conversation then proceeds between the callee and caller telecommunications devices over a public switched telephone network connection to the caller gateway, the voice-over-data channel and the PSTN connection to the callee telecommunications device.

Abstract: A system and method for providing user-configured telephone service to a user of a data network telephone. The user connects a data network telephone to the data network. The data network telephone registers with a telephone connection server to have basic calling service. The user accesses a service provider server to enter feature selections. The service provider server may use a web page to query the user for feature selections The service provider server uses the user's selections to update the user's account and to activate the selected features.

Abstract: A system and method for communicating screen display images on a computer to another computer using a telephony network. A screen share button on a data network telephone initiates a screen shot request to a first computer associated with the data network telephone. The first computer uses a screen shot application to retrieve the image on the computer display and send it to the data network telephone. The data network telephone receives the screen shot image and sends the image to another data network telephone which is a party to a telephone conversation with the first data network telephone. The first data network telephone preferably uses the SIP invite with a session description protocol that permits the transfer of image data on SIP messages. The second data network telephone implements the image data session description protocol and communicates the screen shot image to the second computer.

Abstract: A dial plan for a data network telephony system is provided. A variable-length-code scheme is used to assign communication numeral strings to user identifiers and/or device identifiers, such as SIP URIs (Universal Resource Identifier). The dial plan enables a user to enter a user identifier (or device identifier) into a conventional keypad of a data network telephone, such as an Internet telephony phone. Additionally, embodiments of the disclosed dial plan include techniques for dialing from one data network telephone to another data network telephone utilizing the same service provider, dialing from one data network telephone utilizing a first service provider to a second data network telephone utilizing a second service provider, and dialing from a data network telephone to a PSTN phone and vice versa.

Abstract: A personal information device (PID) is coupled to an IP Telephony phone in order to provide end-to-end connectivity to another PID through a network. The architecture disclosed includes a pair of internet-enabled phones that are able to establish a call session using a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and a Session Description Protocol (SDP). Each phone is also provided with an interface configured to communicate with a PID. Each PID is registered to a corresponding internet-enabled phone using each PID user's SIP URL. The user of a first PID connected to a first phone requests a call to a SIP URL corresponding to the user of the second PID that is connected to a second phone. The SIP URL for the user of the second PID is resolved to the network address of the second phone and connection is established between the first and second phones. The connection includes a media stream for transferring data between each of the PIDs.

Abstract: A system and method for providing call handling services on a data network telephony system. A portable information device, such as a PDA, associated with a user contains the user's address and/or appointment book information. The address and/or appointment book information includes priority information comprising one or more address/appointment entries having associated priority levels. The priority information is transmitted from the portable information device across a link to a data network telephone or other voice communication device, where it is stored in a call handling database. When an incoming call request is received at the data network telephone, the call is handled according to the priority information contained in the call handling database.

Abstract: A video bitstrean error resilient transcoder (100), method (300), video-phone, and video-communicator are provided wherein error resilience is implemented by verifying a syntax of a video bitstream and replacing the video bitstream between resynchronization markers with a valid syntax that is used by a decoder to produce a video sequence.

Abstract: A system and method for providing user mobility services on a data network telephony system. User attributes may be transmitted from a portable information device, such as a personal digital assistant, to a voice communication device, such as an Ethernet-based telephone. The voice communication device receives the user attributes from the portable information device and may transmit a registration request to a registration server. The registration request may include the user attributes, and is used by the registration server to register the user to the voice communication device in a registration data base. When a call is placed to the user, the registration server may reference the registration data base to direct the call to the voice communication device.