Patent ID: 8590013
Filing Date: 2013-11-19
Classification: G05B,G06F,G07C,H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of managing and communicating data pertaining to software applications for processor-based devices comprising wireless communication circuitry, the method comprising: maintaining respective accounts for a plurality of different software application developers for a plurality of different software applications by a software use tracking system, wherein (i) the plurality of different software applications are not browser applications, (ii) the software use tracking system comprises computer server hardware and software, and (iii) each of the plurality of different software applications comprises code for interacting with the software use tracking system with the code for interacting comprising: (1) first code for performing one or more software operations to automatically obtain location information pertaining to a respective executing processor-based device comprising wireless communication circuitry without manual user entry of the location information during execution of the respective software application; (2) second code for performing one or more software operations to retrieve user, device, or hardware identifying information of a respective executing processor-based device comprising wireless communication circuitry; (3) third code for dynamically obtaining web resource addressing data from the software use tracking system without a respective user of a respective processor-based device comprising wireless communication circuitry engaging in web browsing operations; and (4) fourth code for controlling a separate browser application according to web resource addressing data obtained from the software use tracking system to communicate with one or more web servers; interacting with the plurality of different software applications, when executed on a plurality of different processor-based devices comprising wireless communication circuitry, by the software use tracking system to generate application use data, wherein the interacting comprises: (a) communicating a plurality of different web resource addressing data for receipt by the third code of the plurality of different software applications during respective execution of the plurality of different software applications; (b) receiving information pertaining to internet communication transactions, over one or more networks, originating from browser application operations initiated by the fourth code of the plurality of different software applications using the communicated plurality of different web resource addressing data; (c) storing records related to completed browser application operations initiated by the fourth code of the plurality of different software applications; (d) associating software use information in records of the software use tracking system with the location information obtained by the first code of the plurality of different software applications; (e) associating software use information in records of the software use tracking system with the user, device, or hardware identifying information obtained by the second code of the plurality of different software applications; processing, by the software use tracking system, application use data received from the plurality of software applications to generate application use analytic data, wherein the processing comprises (i) analyzing the application use data on a group basis of multiple applications and (ii) analyzing the application use data on a geographical region basis; selecting commercial offers for communication to users of the plurality of software applications in a manner that is at least dependent upon the location information and upon use of multiple software applications by different users of the respective processor-based devices comprising wireless communication circuitry; and communicating, by the software use tracking system, the commercial offers to users of the software applications.