Abstract:
A method of providing a location-based comparative shopping service ( 30 ) to a subscriber includes: receiving a request to conduct a search for a product from the subscriber via a mobile station ( 20 ) being served by a wireless telecommunications network ( 10 ); determining a location of the mobile station ( 20 ); generating a query from at least one of the received request and the determined location; submitting the query to a shopping engine ( 42 ), the shopping engine ( 42 ) generating results in response thereto, the results including a number of entries satisfying the query; receiving the result entries generated by the shopping engine ( 42 ); and, forwarding selected result entries to the mobile station ( 20 ) via the wireless telecommunications network ( 10 ).

Description:
FIELD  
       [0001]     The present inventive subject matter relates to the telecommunication arts. One particular application is found in conjunction with comparative shopping via a wireless telecommunications network, and the specification makes particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that aspects of the present inventive subject matter are also amenable to other like applications.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     Generally, when shopping for products and/or services, a consumer often desires to compare and/or consider various factors before determining if they are actually going to make a purchase, what brand and/or model they are going to purchase, where they are going to make the purchase and/or from whom they are going to purchase the products and/or services. For example, such factors may typically include any one or more of the following: the price of the product, the identity of the merchant selling the goods and/or services, the location of the merchant, the quality of the product, warranties on the product, financing options, related sales incentives (i.e., free bonuses or gifts, cash back, frequent shopper points, etc.), and other like factors. However, traveling from merchant to merchant to collect the relevant information so as to be able to make an informed decision and/or comparison regarding a contemplated purchase can be burdensome and/or impractical.  
         [0003]     To facilitate comparison shopping for consumers, there has been developed a number of Internet shopping engines and/or websites. Such Internet shopping engines and/or websites include, e.g., Froogle, Yahoo!® Shopping, PriceGrabber.com, BizRate, GasBuddy.com, GasPriceWatch.com, as well as many others. The typical shopping engine is traditionally accessed over the Internet from a consumer&#39;s desktop computer using an appropriate web-browser or other like application. In the usual manner, the consumer enters and/or otherwise submits the name, description and/or other identifying characteristic of the product they are searching for, and in response, the shopping engine returns a list of results that satisfy the criteria. Depending on the particular shopping engine, the results often include a list of various merchants where the product or products matching the criteria are available for purchase along with the purchase price at each of the various merchants. In his manner, the consumer&#39;s comparison shopping experience is facilitated. However, the conventional Internet shopping engines have some limitations that in certain circumstances may be disadvantageous.  
         [0004]     While generally acceptable for preplanned shopping experiences, conventional Internet shopping engines alone are often less helpful for impromptu shopping experiences. For example, in a typical preplanned shopping experience, the consumer can use the shopping engine of their choice to shop from their home or office over the Internet (i.e., to compare product offerings from different merchants) and then travel directly to a selected merchant to complete their purchase after they have decide where and/or from whom they are making the purchase. On the contrary, impromptu shoppers are typically already away from their homes and/or offices when they decide to do their shopping. Accordingly, they may not have convenient access to the conventional Internet shopping engines. Additionally, impromptu shoppers may only want to shop in and/or around their current vicinity and the conventional Internet shopping engines typically have no way of determining the shoppers current location. Moreover, if the impromptu shopper is in an unfamiliar location or area (e.g., while traveling on an Interstate), they may not be able to readily provide the shopping engine with a suitable identification of their current location, i.e., one that would be recognized by the shopping engine. For example, Internet shopping engines commonly call for the user to manually enter and/or submit a zip code in order for a search to be narrowed to that particular geographic location. However, shoppers traveling abroad or outside their otherwise common or familiar neighborhoods often will not know the zip code in which they are currently located, and accordingly they cannot readily supply it to a traditional Internet shopping engine, even if they had access thereto. While it may be argued that impromptu shopping is a frivolous or unimportant diversion when a person is outside his or her familiar neighborhoods, this argument fails to appreciate that the comparison shopping may be for products such as gasoline or food. For such occasions, impromptu comparison shopping has the potential to save the consumer money on products that will otherwise be used or needed before the consumer has an opportunity to return to more familiar surroundings.  
         [0005]     Accordingly, a new and improved method and/or system for comparison shopping via a wireless telecommunications network is disclosed that overcomes the above-referenced problems and others.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0006]     In accordance with one embodiment, a method of providing a location-based comparative shopping service to a subscriber includes: receiving a request to conduct a search for a product from the subscriber via a mobile station being served by a wireless telecommunications network; determining a location of the mobile station; generating a query from at least one of the received request and the determined location; submitting the query to a shopping engine, the shopping engine generating results in response thereto, the results including a number of entries satisfying the query; receiving the result entries generated by the shopping engine; and, forwarding selected result entries to the mobile station via the wireless telecommunications network and/or its associated packet data network.  
         [0007]     In accordance with another embodiment, a system for providing a location-based comparative shopping service includes: request receiving means for receiving a request to conduct a search for a product from the subscriber via a mobile station being served by a wireless telecommunications network; location determining means for determining a location of the mobile station; query generating means for generating a query from at least one of the received request and the determined location; query submitting means for submitting the query to a shopping engine, the shopping engine generating results in response thereto, the results including a number of entries satisfying the query; result receiving means for receiving the result entries generated by the shopping engine; and, forwarding means for forwarding selected result entries to the mobile station via the wireless telecommunications network and/or its associated packet data network.  
         [0008]     Numerous advantages and benefits of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]     The inventive subject matter may take form in various components and arrangements of components, and in various steps and arrangements of steps. The drawings are only for purposes of illustrating preferred embodiments and are not to be construed as limiting. Further, it is to be appreciated that the drawings are not to scale.  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic illustration of an exemplary telecommunications network including a location-based comparison shopping service suitable for practicing aspects of the present inventive subject matter.  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is a flow chart showing an exemplary operation of a location-based comparison shopping service embodying aspects of the present inventive subject matter. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0012]     For clarity and simplicity, the present specification shall refer to structural and/or functional elements, entities and/or facilities, relevant communication standards, protocols and/or services, and other components and features that are commonly known in the art without further detailed explanation as to their configuration or operation except to the extent they have been modified or altered in accordance with and/or to accommodate the embodiment(s) presented herein.  
         [0013]     With reference to  FIG. 1 , a wireless telecommunications network  10  includes, in the usual manner, a plurality of base stations (BS)  12 . As is understood in the art, each BS  12  provides an over-the-air radio frequency interface for a respective geographic area or cell  14 . Selectively, a mobile station (MS)  20  (e.g., in the form of a mobile telephone or any other suitable wireless end user terminal) is provided telecommunication services and/or otherwise accesses the network  10  via the interface and/or BS  12  serving the cell  14  in which the MS  20  is located. While only three BS  12  and three corresponding cells  14  are illustrated in  FIG. 1  for purposes of simplification and clarity, it is to be appreciated that the network  10  in practice includes any number of one or more BS and/or cells that are similarly situated and/or arranged. Additionally, while only one exemplary MS is illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the network  10  optionally serves any number of one or more mobile stations similarly situated and/or arranged in any of the one or more cells  14 .  
         [0014]     As illustrated, a location-based comparative shopping (LBCS) service  30  is provided to and/or accessible by the MS  20  via the wireless network  10 . Suitably, access to LBCS service  30  by the MS  20  is via the usual packet session establishment procedures. For instance, in a CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) network, the MS  20  establishes a PPP (Peer-to-Peer Protocol) session with the help of a PDSN (Packet Data Service Node). Similarly, in a GPRS/UMTS (General Packet Radio Service/Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) network, the MS  20  establishes a PDP (Packet Data Protocol) session with the help of SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node) and GGSN (Gateway GPRS Support Node). These additional network elements are not shown separately in the figure for the sake of clarity and/or brevity; nevertheless, the illustrated wireless network  10  subsumes the related functionality. Suitably, the packet data session itself is established prior to the MS  20  connecting to the LBCS service  30 . The LBCS service  30  is suitably implemented as a web service accessible from the MS  20 . Alternately, the LBCS service  30  resides at any other convenient network facility and/or node. Suitably, the LBCS service  30  is implemented via a program and/or other appropriate software running on an application server, however, it may alternately be implemented in any suitable fashion and/or on another suitable platform or equipment. Optionally, the service  30  is only made available to a user of the MS  20  if they have a proper subscription thereto. Accordingly, subscription information is maintained in a subscriber database (DB) or register which is queried to determine the subscription status prior to actual implementation of the service  30 . For example, the subscriber DB optionally has a list stored therein, and/or otherwise maintains data or information that indicates, which MS and/or users accessing the wireless network  10  (e.g., identified by their telephone numbers or other like identifiers) do and/or do not subscribe to the service  30 .  
         [0015]     In general terms, the LBCS service  30  provides a subscriber the ability to use their MS  20  to comparison shop on an impromptu and/or essentially real-time basis for desired goods and/or services within a selected geographic vicinity or proximity of their current location. More specifically, with reference to  FIG. 2 , an exemplary process  100  illustrates the operation of the LBCS service  30 . For example, at step  102  of process  100 , the LBCS service  30  obtains a search request for a desired item or product. That is to say, a subscriber uses their MS  20  to submit a search request for a desired item or product, and the request is sent via the wireless network  10  to the LBCS service  30 .  
         [0016]     Suitably, the MS  20  includes and/or provides a user-interface for the user to specify the item or product of interest. Optionally, in the simplest form, the user employs a keypad of the MS  20  to enter the item or product. Suitably, the item or product is specified by any one or more of the following: its name, key word or other descriptions, part number, brand, model number, SKU number, etc. To permit an alternate form of user input, the LBCS service  30  is optionally equipped or provisioned with or has access to voice and/or speech recognition capabilities, e.g., so that the user input maybe simply spoken into a microphone or the like equipped on the MS  20 . In yet another alternative, the MS  20  is equipped and/or provisioned with a bar code reader. Accordingly, when the user is already at a particular merchant&#39;s location, the user may simply scan the bar code of an item or product for which they wish to comparison shop. Suitably, upon receiving the bar code from the MS  20 , the LBCS service  30  accesses a database or the like to identify the item corresponding to the bar code. In yet another embodiment, the MS  20  is optionally equipped and/or provisioned with a digital camera or video capture equipment, e.g., as in the case of a mobile camera phone or video phone. Accordingly, the user merely takes a picture or video of the item or its bar code or its SKU number and transmits the same to the LBCS service  30  over the packet data network associated with the wireless network  10 . The LBCS service  30  then employs a suitable picture recognition program, bar code reader, optical character recognition program or other suitable device or technique to identify the object.  
         [0017]     Optionally, along with the search request or in another message similarly submitted and/or sent to the LBCS service  30  from the MS  20  over the wireless network  10 , a selected radius is also specified or designated by the subscriber. In response to receiving the request and/or radius, at step  104 , the LBCS service  30  obtains and/or identifies the current location of the MS  20 . For example, the location of the MS  20  is obtained by the LBCS service  30  from a location service  32  that operates in the usual manner to monitor and/or find the location of the MS  20  within the wireless network  10 . Suitably, the location of the MS  20  is established in accordance with and/or by any one or more known methods and/or approaches. That is to say, in practice, the location service  32  uses any one or more of various known techniques to measure or detect the current location of the MS  20 . For example, the MS  20  is optionally equipped with a global positioning system (GPS) receiver or other like device from which the location of the MS  20  is obtained by the location service  32 . Alternately, a network or MS-based technique is employed by the location service  32  to determine or measure the location of the MS  20 , e.g., using the over-the-air interfaces and/or signals exchanged between the MS  20  and one or more of the BS  30 . For example, suitable known network and/or MS-based solutions for determining the location of the MS  20  include, without limitation: observed time difference (OTD); time of arrival (TOA); time difference of arrival (TDOA); angle of arrival (AOA); multipath fingerprinting; timing advance (TA); enhanced forward link triangulation (E-FLT); received signal strength (RSS); etc. Optionally, a hybrid location determination solution combining one or more of the aforementioned techniques is employed or so-called assisted-GPS may also be employed.  
         [0018]     In a suitable embodiment, the location information communicated by the location service  32  to the LBCS service  30  is optionally in the form of latitude and longitude coordinates corresponding to the current location of the MS  20 . Accordingly, at step  106 , the LBCS service  30  identifies, determines or otherwise obtains the corresponding geographic designation or position (e.g., zip code and/or street address) for the received latitude and longitude coordinates. For example, the LBCS service  30  optionally submits the latitude and longitude coordinates for the MS  20  (i.e., the coordinates received from the location service  32 ) to a content provider  34  or other like entity or service for translation and/or reverse geo-coding. In response, the content provider  34  returns to the LBCS service  30  the corresponding geographic designation or position, e.g., in the form of a zip code and/or street address.  
         [0019]     At step  108 , the LBCS service  30  generates an appropriate query from the obtained request (i.e., the specified item or product indicated in the request received from the subscriber in step  102 ) and the determined geographic location of the MS  20  (i.e., the zip code and/or address obtained in step  106 ). The formulated query is in turn submitted and/or sent over the Internet  40  or another similar and/or suitable network to one or more traditional shopping engines and/or websites  42 , e.g., such as Froogle, Yahoo!® Shopping, PriceGrabber.com, BizRate, GasBuddy.com, GasPriceWatch.com, or other like shopping engines and/or websites as are commonly known in the art. Suitably, the LBCS service  30  forms and/or formats each query for the particular shopping engine  42  to which it is being submitted, i.e., in the form and/or format expected and/or designated by the respective shopping engines  42 . The query, for example, identifies and/or describes the item or product for which the subscriber is searching and optionally includes the geographic designation (i.e., zip code or the like) in which the search is to be performed.  
         [0020]     The shopping engines  42 , having received the query from the LBCS service  30 , perform the designated searches in their usual fashion and return the results to the LBCS service  30 . For example, the results from each shopping engine  42  include a list of items or products matching or satisfying the search criteria, along with the identity of the merchants that are offering them for sale. Each entry in the results also optionally includes the price at which the item or product is being offered for sale and/or the location of the merchant offering the item or product for sale. Optionally, where the query includes a specific geographic designation (e.g., a specific zip code) and the particular shopping engine  42  is so enabled, the returned results include only those entries wherein the item or product is available for purchase within that geographic designation.  
         [0021]     At step  110 , the results returned from the shopping engines  42  (e.g., via the Internet  40 ) are optionally filtered and/or sorted by the LBCS service  30 , before being forwarded via the wireless network  10  back to the MS  20 , as shown at step  112 . For example, suitably, the results or entries corresponding to items or products for sale by merchants outside the radius specified by the subscriber are filtered out. That is to say, for example, the LBCS service  30  compares the location of a merchant identified in a given result entry returned from one of the shopping engines  42  to the current location of the MS  20  (i.e., the location obtained by the LBCS service  30  from the location service  32  and/or the content provider  34 ), and if the distance between the two locations is greater than the radius specified by the user (i.e., the radius obtained by the LBCS  30  in step  102 ), then that result entry is filtered out and/or omitted from those result entries that are ultimately forwarded or otherwise sent back to the MS  20  in step  112 . Suitably, the results are also sort by the LBCS service  30  according to their corresponding price, or alternately according to distance, e.g., as measure or calculated from the current location of the MS  20 . In step  112 , the results are then provided to the subscriber in accordance with the sorted order, e.g., with the closest and/or lowest priced entries or results being provided before the farther and/or higher price entries or results. At this stage, the user or subscriber has sufficient information to make a knowledgeable and/or informed decision about their contemplated purchase. In addition, the LBCS service  30  also optionally provides other auxiliary and/or complementary information to the MS  20 , e.g., such as telephone numbers and/or links to driving directions from the current location of the MS  20  to each of the entries in the returned results. In this manner, the subscriber can use the telephone number to call the merchant to make relevant inquiries (e.g., to determine if the item or product of interest is currently in stock), and/or use the supplied link to obtain driving directions to assist their travel to the merchant&#39;s location.  
         [0022]     It is to be appreciated that in connection with the particular exemplary embodiments presented herein certain structural and/or function features are described as being incorporated in defined elements and/or components. However, it is contemplated that these features may, to the same or similar benefit, also likewise be incorporated in other elements and/or components where appropriate. It is also to be appreciated that different aspects of the exemplary embodiments may be selectively employed as appropriate to achieve other alternate embodiments suited for desired applications, the other alternate embodiments thereby realizing the respective advantages of the aspects incorporated therein.  
         [0023]     It is also to be appreciated that particular elements or components described herein may have their functionality suitably implemented via hardware, software, firmware or a combination thereof. Additionally, it is to be appreciated that certain elements described herein as incorporated together may under suitable circumstances be stand-alone elements or otherwise divided. Similarly, a plurality of particular functions described as being carried out by one particular element may be carried out by a plurality of distinct elements acting independently to carry out individual functions, or certain individual functions may be split-up and carried out by a plurality of distinct elements acting in concert. Alternately, some elements or components otherwise described and/or shown herein as distinct from one another may be physically or functionally combined where appropriate.  
         [0024]     In short, the present specification has been set forth with reference to preferred embodiments. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the present specification. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.