Method for sorting and displaying data on a portable electronic device
A method of sorting and displaying data on a portable electronic device includes: determining geographical coordinates of the portable electronic device, providing search criteria to the portable electronic device, performing a search in a database based on the search criteria resulting in a list of database records, determining a search area of the portable electronic device and displaying selected records from the list of database records on a display screen of the portable electronic device. Each of the selected records is located within a search radius, which originates at the geographical coordinates of the portable electronic device, and within the search area, which is determined based on a pointing direction of the portable electronic device.
1. A method of sorting and displaying data on a portable electronic device comprising:
determining geographical coordinates of said portable electronic device;
providing search criteria to said portable electronic device, said search criteria including a search radius, wherein said search area is a sector of a circle that is defined by said search radius, said search radius originating at said geographical coordinates of said portable electronic device;
sending said search criteria to a server to cause said server to perform a search in a database on said server based on said search criteria, said search resulting in a list of database records;
receiving, at said portable electronic device, said list of database records from said server;
determining a pointing direction of said portable electronic device, wherein said pointing direction is a pointing direction of a forward end of said portable electronic device;
determining a search area based on the pointing direction of said portable electronic device; and
displaying selected records from said list of database records on a display screen of said portable electronic device, said selected database records having geographic coordinates located within said search area.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said search criteria further include at least one search parameter.
3. The method as claimed in claim 2 , wherein said search parameter is a category of said database records.
4. A method of sorting and displaying data on a portable electronic device comprising:
determining geographical coordinates of said portable electronic device;
determining a pointing direction of said portable electronic device, wherein said pointing direction is a pointing direction of a forward end of said portable electronic device;
calculating a search area based on said pointing direction and a search radius, wherein said search area is a sector of a circle that is defined by said search radius, said search radius originating at said geographical coordinates of said portable electronic device;
sending search criteria including said search area to a server to cause said server to perform a search in a records database on said server based on said search criteria;
receiving, at said portable electronic device, records meeting said search criteria from said server; and
displaying said records on a display screen of said portable electronic device.
5. The method as claimed in claim 4 , wherein said search criteria further include at least one search parameter.
6. The method as claimed in claim 5 , wherein said search parameter is a category of said database records.
7. A portable electronic device comprising:
positioning system hardware for determining geographical coordinates of said portable electronic device;
magnetic sensor hardware for determining a pointing direction of said portable electronic device, wherein said pointing direction is a pointing direction of a forward end of said portable electronic device;
a processor for:
sending said search criteria to a server to cause said server to perform a search in a database on said server based on said search criteria, said search resulting in a list of database records;
receiving said list of database records from said server; and
determining a search area based on the pointing direction of said portable electronic device, wherein said search area is a sector of a circle that is defined by a search radius; and
a screen for displaying records from said list of database records having geographic coordinates located within said search area.
8. The portable electronic device as claimed in claim 7 , wherein said processor is included in said portable electronic device.
9. The portable electronic device as claimed in claim 7 , wherein said sector is bisected by said pointing direction.
10. The portable electronic device as claimed in claim 7 , wherein said search criteria further include at least one search parameter.
11. The portable electronic device as claimed in claim 10 , wherein said search parameter is a category of said records database.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein said search area is a rectangle.
13. The method of claim 3 , wherein said category includes: residences, businesses, government offices, or landmarks.
14. The method of claim 6 , wherein said category includes: residences, businesses, government offices, or landmarks.
15. The method of claim 1 wherein the displaying comprises displaying said selected records on a map.
16. The method of claim 4 wherein the displaying comprises displaying said records on a map.
17. The portable electronic device of claim 7 wherein the displaying comprises displaying the records on a map.