Method and system for supporting non-intrusive and effective voice communication among mobile users

A system for supporting non-intrusive and effective voice communication among mobile users, said system operable to:

• manage voice calls between mobile users based on callee availability, caller-callee relationships, and non-intrusive information exchange, including interactive exchange at the time of call setup but prior to the call being answered;
• and
• facilitate execution of a call-handling option, during the call setup and prior to the call being answered, according to a caller-callee relationship and the information exchange, said information exchange includes providing call handling options to said callee, wherein facilitating execution of the option comprises:
• providing at least two options for handling a voice call, wherein said call handling options include setting a callback alert that alerts said caller when said callee becomes available, asking said caller if said call is urgent, answering said call, diverting said caller to an options menu that allows said caller to send a callback message or leave a voice mail message, diverting said caller to an options menu that advises said caller to callback within a specified time frame and allows said caller to leave a voice mail message, and placing said call on hold;
• receiving a selection of an option;
• and
• facilitating execution of the selected option.

A call management server for supporting non-intrusive and effective voice communication among mobile users, said system having a call manager operable to:

• manage voice calls between mobile users based on callee availability and caller-callee relationships, and communication resources providing non-intrusive information exchange, including interactive exchange at the time of call setup but prior to the call being answered;
• facilitate execution of a call-handling option, during the call setup and prior to the call being answered, according to a caller-callee relationship and the information exchange, wherein facilitating execution of the option comprises:
• providing at least two options for handling a voice call;
• receiving a selection of an option;
• and
• facilitating execution of the selected option;
• said callee availability being determined by callee status indicators that include free, busy and away;
• said callee status indicators being based on one or more of callee mobile device status, callee calendar activities, callee location and past callee behavior;
• said caller-callee relationship being determined by caller status indicators that include available, unavailable or restricted availability;
• said information exchange including providing said caller with information regarding said callee's current and future availability and willingness to receive a voice call from said caller, and providing call handling options to said caller;
• said call handling options including sending a callback message to said callee, leaving a voice mail message and setting a callback alert that alerts said caller when said callee becomes available;
• said information exchange including providing call handling options to said callee;
• said call handling options including asking said caller if said call is urgent, answering said call, diverting said caller to an options menu that allows said caller to send a callback message or leave a voice mail message, diverting said caller to an options menu that advises said caller to callback within a specified time frame and allows said caller to leave a voice mail message, and placing said call on hold;
• said call handling options including allowing said callee to change said callee availability and said caller-callee relationship;
• and
• said information exchange including one or more of interactive voice response menus, graphical menus and text menus.

A method for supporting non-intrusive and effective voice communication among mobile users, comprising:

• receiving a call request to communicate with a callee;
• determining an availability status of the callee;
• determining a relationship status of a caller;
• facilitating an information exchange between the caller and the callee during call setup and before the call request is completed to determine an action to be executed on the call request;
• and
• facilitating execution of the action, during the call setup and before the call request is completed, according to the relationship status of the callee and the information exchange, wherein facilitating execution of the action comprises:
• providing at least two actions for handling the call request, wherein the at least two actions comprise setting an alert that informs the caller of the availability status of the callee, determining whether the call request is urgent, accepting the call request diverting the call request to an interactive voice response (IYR) system, diverting the call request to the IVR system that provides a callback time within a specified time frame, and placing the call request on hold;
• receiving a selection of an action;
• and
• facilitating execution of the selected action.