Importance

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Abstract

A method and apparatus for providing streaming content over telephones is described. The creation of a voice portal is supported by the invention. Embodiments of the invention use allows users to place a telephone call to access the voice portal. The user can access many different types of content. This content can include text based content which is read to the user by a text to speech system (e.g., news reports, stock prices, text content of Internet sites), audio content which can be played to the user (e.g., voicemail messages, music), and streaming audio content (e.g., Internet broadcast radio shows, streaming news reports, and streaming live broadcasts). This content can be accessed from many different places. For example, the content can be retrieved from a news feed, a local streaming content server, an audio repository, and/or an Internet based streaming content server. The streaming content allows the user to access live web broadcasts even though the user may not have access to a computer. The system allows audio signals from multiple sources to be combined to enhance the user experience. Additionally, the user can control many aspects of the delivery of the streaming content. Personalization features of the voice portal allow for an improved user experience during streaming content delivery.

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First Claim