Making calls using an additional terminal

A mixer client application comprising code embodied on a computer-readable storage medium and configured so as when executed on a first terminal to:

• operate the first terminal to establish the call with a remote, third terminal using a packet-based communication system implemented over a wide-area packet-based communication network, based on a user credential identifying the mixer client as an endpoint of the call within the packet-based communication system from the perspective of the third terminal;
• simultaneously receive over a local wireless link a respective audio and/or video stream each associated with a different respective near-end user a plurality of second terminals coupled to the first terminal via a local wireless link, each from a respective instance of a lightweight sub-client running on a respective second terminal having reduced functionality relative to the mixer client;
• switch between a multi-terminal state of operation in which the call uses the streams received from the sub-clients and a same-terminal state of operation in which the call uses a stream generated by the first terminal without the streams from the sub-clients;
• and
• in said multi-terminal state of operation, mix the simultaneous streams received from the sub-clients at the first terminal, to encode the mixed stream at the first terminal, and transmit the mixed stream to the third terminal as part of said call over the packet-based communication system under identification by said user credential, wherein the reduced functionality of the sub-client comprises being configured only to communicate on the local wireless link and not using the packet-based communication system implemented over said packet-based communication network, and using only a reduced compression of the audio and/or video stream sent to the mixer client over the local link, relative to compression used by the mixer client to compress the mixed stream to the third terminal over the packet-based communication system.

A sub-client application for participating in a call via a first client on a first terminal but having reduced functionality relative to the first client, the sub-client comprising code embodied on a computer-readable storage medium and configured so as when executed on a second terminal to:

• generate a respective audio and/or video stream associated with a respective near-end user;
• and
• transmit the respective stream to the first client over a local wireless link, to be used in a call established by the first client with a remote, third terminal using a packet-based communication system implemented over a wide-area packet-based communication network based on a user credential identifying the first client as an endpoint of the call within the packet-based communication system from the perspective of the third terminal;
• thereby participating in the call via the first client, in which the first client is enabled by said generation and transmission of said stream to switch between a second state of operation in which the call uses the one or more stream received from one or more sub-clients, including at least the stream from said sub client, and a first state of operation in which the call uses a stream generated by the first terminal without the streams from the sub-clients, wherein in said second state of operation the first client encodes the one or more streams from the one or more sub-clients into an encoded stream at the first terminal and transmits the encoded stream to the third terminal as part of said call over the packet-based communication system under identification by said user credential, wherein the reduced functionality of the sub-client comprises being configured only to communicate on the local wireless link and not using the packet-based communication system implemented over said packet-based communication network, and using only a reduced compression of the audio and/or video stream sent to the mixer client over the local link, relative to compression used by the mixer client to compress the mixed stream to the third terminal over the packet-based communication system.