LIFE ADVISOR APPLICATION FOR TASK COMPLETION

• US 20140304116A1
• Filed: 12/23/2011
• Published: 10/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Chan, Richard H, Huang, Haoweng
• Application Number:
  US13/395,631
• Publication Number:
  US 20140304116A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26.62
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0625 Directed, with specific intent or strategy
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/14 Travel agencies

Abstract

A life advisor application may provide unified user interface pages for acquiring products or services that are used to accomplish multiple life activity tasks. The application may present user interface items for accessing the application. The user interface items may correspond to unified user interface pages for requesting product or service information that are aggregated from multiple data providers. Each unified user interface page may facilitate the accomplishment of a category of life activity tasks or a specific life activity task. When a selection of a user interface item is received, the application may be launched to receive a query for products or services that facilitates a life activity task associated with the selected user interface item.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

storing an application that enables a user to accomplish multiple life activity tasks in a mobile device;

presenting user interface items for accessing the application on a display of the mobile device, the user interface items providing access to unified user interface pages for requesting product or service information that are aggregated from multiple data providers, each unified user interface page facilitating accomplishment of a category of life activity task or a specific life activity task;

receiving a selection of a user interface item presented on the display on the mobile device; and

launching the application to receive a query using a corresponding unified user interface page in response to the selection of the user interface item, the query being for products or services that facilitates a life activity task associated with the user interface item.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending the query to a server that retrieves relevant information on at least one item that matches the query, each item being a product or a service;

receiving the relevant information at the mobile device; and

presenting the relevant information on the display of the mobile device.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving a request from the user to acquire an item described in the relevant information, the request including a payment for the item; and

passing the request to a server that processes acquisition requests; and

indicating that a transaction to acquire the item is completed on the display of the mobile device after the server indicates acceptance of the payment; and

indicating that the request is denied on the display of the mobile device after the server disapproves the request.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the relevant information is filtered according to at least one of context information or a preference of the user.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the relevant information is modified to include a link to at least one of a map or a set of directions that show a location of the user in relation to a source of an item to assist the user in acquiring or using the item.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the unified user interface pages include user interface pages for performing life activity tasks in a travel category, a dinning category, a fashion category, and a living category.

7. A computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors to perform acts comprising:

gathering aggregated data about products or services offered by merchants from a plurality of data providers;

organizing the aggregated data according to at least one of multiple life activity task categories or life activity tasks in the multiple life activity categories;

collecting state data of a user, the state data received from an application on a mobile device of the user;

receiving a query for at least one item that facilitates completion of a life activity task in a life activity task category from the mobile device, each item being a product or a service;

obtaining relevant information on one or more items that match the query using organized aggregated data; and

customizing the relevant information according to the state data to generate customized information.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, further comprising sending the customized information to the application on the mobile device for display to the user.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving a request of the user to acquire an item described in the customized information, the request including a payment for the item;

approving the request to acquire the item when a service subscription level of the user permits the request; and

denying the request to acquire the item when the service subscription level of the user does not permit the request.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, further comprising passing the payment to a merchant to complete an acquisition of the item by the user when the request is approved.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, further comprising sending an service subscription level upgrade offer for the user to the application on the mobile device when the service subscription of the user does not permit the request.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, further comprising sending user feedback regarding a product or a service that is received from the application on the mobile device to a corresponding merchant.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the state data includes at least one of a merchant preference of the user, a merchant selection criterion of the user, or context information associated with the user.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the context information includes at least one of a geographical location of the user, a time zone and time at the geographical location of the user, weather information at the geographical location of the user, events occurring at the geographical location of the user, or appointments of the user.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the customizing includes at least one of filtering out details on an item offered by a merchant from the relevant information or modifying the relevant information to include additional instructions based at least on the state data.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein customizing includes offering a discount on at least one item described in the relevant information as provided by a service subscription level of the user.

17. A system, comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory that includes a plurality of computer-executable components executable by the one or more processors, the plurality of computer-executable components comprising;

a data aggregation component that obtains aggregated data on products or services offered by merchants from a plurality of data providers and organizes the aggregated data according to at least one of multiple life activity task categories or life activity tasks in the multiple life activity categories;

a user context component that collects context information about a user through an application on a mobile device of the user; and

a query component that receives a query for at least one item that facilitates completion of a life activity task in a life activity task category from the mobile device, in which each item is a product or a service, and customizes relevant information on one or more items that match the query according to the context information.

18. The computing device of claim 17, further comprising a user preference component that collects a user preference of the user through the application on the mobile device, wherein the query component customizes the relevant information according to the context information and the user preference.

19. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the query component further sends the relevant information that is customized to the application on the mobile device for display to the user.

20. The computing device of claim 17, further comprising at least one of:

an acquisition component that facilitates an acquisition of an item offered by a merchant by the user by receiving a payment of the user on behalf of the merchant and sending the payment to the merchant;

a review component that sends a received user feedback regarding the item to the merchant; and

a revenue component that receives a fee from the merchant for at least one of sending an advertisement of the merchant to the application on the mobile device for display on a user interface page or facilitating the acquisition of the item offered by the merchant by the user.