Filtering and promoting application store applications

• US 9,424,018 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2011
• Issued: 08/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Wong, Karen K., Patel, Ankur, Pang, Swee Chee, Wang, Jonathan J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bates, Kevin
• Assistant Examiner(s): MCCRAY, CLARENCE D
• Application Number:
  US13/052,983
• Publication Number:
  US 20120246291A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,982 Days
• Field of Search: 709/225, 709/224, 709/203
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0625 Directed, with specific intent or strategy

Abstract

Techniques for filtering and promoting application store applications are described that can be employed to provide filtered application information and/or application promotions to client devices. The filtering and promoting can be based at least in part upon system information that describes configurations and capabilities of the client devices. In one or more embodiments, various system information for a client device is detected. The detected system information for the client device is used to filter application data in an application catalog. Page information to be provided to the client device for interaction with the application catalog is then ascertained using the filtered application data. The page information is sufficient to enable the client device to render targeted application store pages having filtered application information and/or promotions that are selected based on the detected system information.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable storage media comprising instructions stored thereon, that responsive to execution by a computing device, cause the computing device to implement a resource manager module configured to perform acts comprising:

detecting system information regarding a device class assigned to a client device or at least one of a hardware configuration for the client device or one or more capabilities of the client device, the system information detected responsive to the client device accessing an application catalog;

determining the device class directly from the system information if the device class is included with the system information;

if the system information does not include the device class of the client device, dynamically determining the device class of the client device based on the at least one of the hardware configuration for the client device or the one or more capabilities of the client device;

filtering application data in the application catalog based on the device class of the client device to identify different filter groups of applications, the different filter groups comprising;

a first filter group that includes targeted applications that are targeted to the device class of the client device, a second filter group that includes general applications that are configured for use with multiple different device classes, a third filter group that includes installed applications that are already installed on the client device, and a fourth filter group that includes incompatible applications that are incompatible with the device class of the client device;

ascertaining information for interaction with the application catalog using the filtered application data; and

communicating the ascertained information to the client device sufficient to enable the client device to render one or more filtered views of the application catalog, the one or more filtered views of the application catalog configured to display the targeted applications and prevent display of the installed applications and the incompatible applications.

2. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 1, wherein the system information comprises information regarding the hardware configuration of the client device.

3. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 1, wherein the system information comprises information regarding the device class assigned to the client device.

4. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 3, wherein the device class assigned to the client device is configured to indicate a type of device for the client device.

5. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 3, wherein the device class assigned to the client device is configured to indicate one or more hardware components of the client device.

6. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 1, wherein detecting system information for the client device comprises collecting system information provided by the client device over a network to a service provider in conjunction with a request, from the client device, to access resources from the service provider.

7. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 1, wherein detecting system information for the client device comprises referencing a client account associated with the client device to obtain the system information.

8. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 1, wherein the one or more filtered views of the application catalog is further configured to display the general applications such that the targeted applications are differentiated from the general applications.

9. A computer implemented method comprising:

obtaining system information regarding a device class assigned to a client device or one or more hardware components and one or more capabilities of the client device, the system information obtained responsive to the client device accessing an application catalog;

determining the device class directly from the system information if the device class is included with the system information;

if the system information does not include the device class of the client device, dynamically ascertaining the device class of the client device based on the one or more hardware components and the one or more capabilities of the client device;

filtering the application catalog based on the device class by;

identifying targeted applications that are targeted to the device class of the client device;

determining general applications that are configured for use with multiple different device classes;

ascertaining installed applications that are already installed on the client device; and

finding incompatible applications that are incompatible with the device class of the client device; and

returning filtered application catalog information to the client device, the filtered application catalog information configured to differentiate the targeted applications from the installed applications and the incompatible applications.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 9, wherein the device class assigned to the client device is configured to classify the client device according to a device type.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 9, wherein the filtered application catalog information is further configured to differentiate the targeted applications from the general applications.

12. The computer implemented method of claim 9, wherein the filtered application catalog information is configured to differentiate the targeted applications from the installed applications and the incompatible applications by preventing the display of the installed applications and the incompatible applications.

13. A client device comprising:

a processor to implement an application store module configured to;

collect system information regarding a hardware configuration and capabilities of the client device, the system information collected via interaction with an operating system of the client device; and

monitor for changes to the system information of the client device;

a transmitter to;

communicate a device class assigned to the client device to a service provider to facilitate targeted access to the application catalog responsive to the client device accessing the application catalog;

or

if the device class is not assigned to the client device, communicate the collected system information to the service provider to facilitate targeted access to the application catalog responsive to the client device accessing the application catalog;

a receiver to obtain information returned by the service provider that reflects filtering of the application catalog based on the communicated device class or system information regarding the hardware configuration and capabilities of the client device to dynamically identify one or more applications targeted to the device class or the hardware configuration and capabilities of the client device; and

a display to display identifiers of the one or more applications targeted to the device class or the hardware configuration and capabilities of the client device in the application catalog using the information that is returned, wherein the display is further configured to prevent display of incompatible applications that are incompatible with the device class or the hardware configuration and capabilities of the client device.

14. The client device of claim 13, wherein the display is further configured to display, in the application catalog, a portion promoting one or more applications that match the device class or the hardware configuration and capabilities of the client device.