How would you like access to certain media based on your current location? According to a new patent (number 20120021773) at the U.S. Patent & Trade Association, Apple is working on such technology.

Per the patent, media can be presented based on location associated with presentation of media (e.g., physical location of a device that is to present media). Presentation of media can be effectively controlled in order to automatically present a first media content (e.g., a list of songs, an album) in accordance with a first set of media presentation attributes or parameters (e.g., volume associated with presentation of audible media) at a first location, while a second media content is automatically presented in accordance with a second set of media presentation attributes or parameters when the current location is changed to a second location. Michael M. Lee is the inventor.

Here's Apple's background and summary of the invention: "Traditional electronic devices (e.g., cassette players, analog television receivers) have been used to present media for some time now. More recently, digital media players (e.g., portable music players, MP3 players) have become especially popular partly because they can store media as digital data.

"Generally, media stored as digital data ('media') can be presented in numerous forms including audible, visual, and audio-visual forms. Digital data can be transported electronically, for example, as a digital file stream of data that is accessible by a variety of computing devices available today (e.g., personal computers, media players, personal assistants, wireless phones). Typically, digital media includes at least digital content (or 'content') that represents that actual content of information stored in a digital form.

"Digital content can, for example, be the content of a printed book, a song in audible form or in an audio-visual form (e.g., a video), movies, sports broadcasts, or news in a variety of forms including text, audio, or audio-visual. As such, digital media players can present one or more forms of media (e.g., audio, video, audio-visual) via various audio (e.g., speakers, headphones) and video output devices (e.g., LCD, CRT displays). Given the popularity and extended use of digital media, improved techniques for presentation of digital data would be useful.

"Broadly speaking, the invention related to techniques for presentation of digital media. It will be appreciated that the techniques can be used to present media based on a location associated with the presentation of media (e.g., a physical, virtual, or assigned location of a device that presents media). In other words, the improved techniques can be used to effectively control presentation of media based on location (e.g., physical location of a device that is to present media).

"As such, presentation of digital media can, for example, be effectively controlled in order to present a first media content (e.g., a list of songs, an album) in accordance with a first set of media presentation attributes or parameters (e.g., volume associated with presentation of audible media) at a first location, while a second media content is presented in accordance with a second set of media presentation attributes or parameters at a second location, and so on.

"In accordance with one aspect of the invention, Media Presentation Environment (MPE) can be effectively defined for a location (e.g., geographical location, area, or region, a virtual or assigned location on real-geographical or virtual map). The Media Presentation Environment (MPE) can effectively define what to present (or media content) for the location and/or how to present media (or media presentation information) for the location.

"As such, Media Presentation Environment (MPE) can effectively define: (a) digital media content ('content') to be presented and/or (b) media presentation information effectively defining how to present the media content defined by the Media Presentation Environment (MPE), other media content (e.g., default, whatever is being presented), or generally any media content to be presented for that location.

"In one embodiment, Media Presentation Environment (MPE) is provided as data for a computing device that can present media (e.g., a digital media player). Media Presentation Environment (MPE) data can be effectively assigned to or defined for presentation of media at a particular physical location, region, area, space, etc. Media Presentation Environment (MPE) data can include media content data that effectively specifies, describes, identifies, includes, or references particular media content (e.g., a song, a list of songs, a directory) to be presented at a particular physical location, region, area, space, etc.

"Alternatively, or in addition to the media content data, the Media Presentation Environment (MPE) data can include media presentation data that effectively specifies or describes how to present content at that particular physical location, region, area, space, etc. The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including a method, an apparatus, a computer readable medium, a computing device, or a signal embodied in a carrier wave."