Importance

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Abstract

The present technology generally concerns cell phones and other portable devices, and more particularly concerns use of such devices in connection with media content (electronic and physical) and with other systems (e.g., televisions, digital video recorders, and electronic content directories). Some aspects of the technology involve program-centric (as opposed to channel-centric) content directories. Such directories allow users to identify the diversity of sources from which desired content can be obtained—some available on a scheduled basis, others available on-demand; some available from free sources, others from paid sources; some from streaming sources and others from file-download sources; etc. Depending on the application, the directory information may be transparent to the user—serving to identify sources for desired content from which application software can pick based, e.g., on context and stored preference data. A great number of other features and arrangements are also detailed.

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First Claim