DYNAMIC ARRANGMENT OF AN APPLICATION CENTER BASED ON USAGE
An Intelligent TV can dynamically arrange applications in an application center based on usage. The application center provides contextual panels with detailed information about selected applications and provides recommended applications. The panels may be both interactive or informational. The Intelligent TV can receive a request to activate a panel through the reception of signals from a remote control or a user interface. The layout, information, and content of a panel may depend on the application with focus when a user activates the panel. An Intelligent TV may also provide a widget panel which simplifies selection, use, and display of widgets.
1 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that cause a processor to execute a method of organizing application icons on a television display, the method comprising the steps of:
receiving input to activate an application center;
retrieving application usage information from a storage medium;
determining which application icons to display based on the retrieved application usage information; and
displaying on the television display one or more application icons in the application center.
2 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the application usage information comprises at least one of:
a last used application; a second last used application; a most used application; a second most used application; a newest application; and a second newest application.
3 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving input to launch an application selected from the one or more application icons displayed in the application center; and
launching the application selected.
4 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving input for information about an application selected from the one or more application icons displayed in the application center;
retrieving application information about the selected application; and
displaying on the television display the retrieved application information in an information panel.
5 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 4 , further comprising:
receiving input to launch the application displayed in the information panel; and
launching the application.
6 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 4 , wherein the application information comprises at least one of:
a thumbnail; a name; a description; a version; a revision date; a developer name; a category name; a user rating; and a content rating.
7 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 4 , wherein the information panel includes a first list of one or more recommended applications.
8 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 7 , further comprising:
receiving a selection of a recommended application displayed in the first list; and
connecting to an application store to purchase or rent the selected recommended application.
9 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 7 , further comprising:
receiving input to list more recommended applications; and
displaying on the television display a second list of one or more recommended applications in a recommended application panel.
10 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 3 further comprising: if the selected application icon is a widget icon, retrieving widget information from a storage medium;
determining which widgets to display based on the retrieved widget information; and
displaying on the television display one or more widgets in a widget panel.
11 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 , further comprising:
identifying a user associated with the request;
wherein the retrieved application usage information is associated with the identified user.
12 . A television system, comprising:
a display;
a memory;
a processor in communication with the memory and the display, the processor operable to:
receive input to activate an application center;
retrieve application usage information from a storage medium;
determine which application icons to display based on the retrieved application usage information; and
display, on the display, one or more application icons in the application center,
wherein the application usage information comprises at least one of:
a last used application, a second last used application, a most used application, a second most used application, a newest application, and a second newest application.
13 . The television system of claim 12 , wherein the processor is further operable to:
receive input for information about an application selected from the one or more application icons displayed in the application center;
retrieve application information about the selected application from a storage medium; and
display, on the display, the retrieved application information in an information panel.
14 . The television system of claim 13 , wherein the information panel includes a first list of one or more recommended applications.
15 . The television system of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further operable to:
receive input to list more recommended applications; and
display, on the display, a second list of one or more recommended applications in a recommended application panel.
16 . The television system of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further operable to:
receive input to launch an application selected from the application icons displayed in the information panel; and
launch the selected application.
17 . A method for organizing application icons on a television, the method comprising:
receiving input to activate an application center;
retrieving application usage information from a storage medium;
determining which application icons to display based on the retrieved application usage information; and
displaying on the television display one or more application icons in the application center.
18 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising:
receiving input for information about an application selected from the one or more application icons displayed in the application center;
retrieving application information about the selected application from a storage medium; and
displaying on the television display the retrieved application information in an information panel.
19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the information panel includes a first list of one or more recommended applications.
20 . The method of claim 19 , further comprising:
receiving input to list more recommended applications; and
displaying on the television display a second list of one or more recommended applications in a recommended application panel.
21 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising:
receiving input to launch an application selected from the one or more application icons displayed in the application center; and
launching the selected application.