MOBILE DEVICE INTERFACE FOR COMPARING UNIQUE ITEMS CHARACTERIZED BY A LARGE NUMBER OF ATTRIBUTES

1 . A computer-implemented method of generating an interface to enable a mobile device user to assess a plurality of unique items on a mobile device, the computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a dataset describing a plurality of unique items, each of the plurality of unique items having a plurality of attributes that characterize the corresponding unique item;

determining a size and a resolution of a display of a mobile device on which unique items are to be displayed;

determining a first number of the plurality of unique items that are to be presented on the display based on the size and the resolution of the display;

determining a second number of the plurality of attributes of the unique items that are to be presented on the display based on the size and the resolution of the display;

displaying, in a grid, the first number of unique items and the second number of attributes for each of the unique items;

receiving a designation of a fixed region of the displayed grid; and

in response to receiving a scrolling command from the mobile device user:

maintaining the fixed region of the grid on the display of the mobile device; and

selectively presenting additional portions of the dataset in the remainder of the grid that is not within the fixed region.

2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising determining the first number and the second number based on a value length for each of the attributes.

3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the unique items are gemstones and wherein the attributes are selected from a group consisting of a price, a shape, a cut, a color, clarity, a weight, a stock number, a polish condition, a symmetry condition, a depth percentage, a table percentage, a girdle description, a culet description, a fluorescence condition, measurements, a unit price, or a length/width ratio.

4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the fixed region is one or more rows within the grid or one or more columns within the grid.

5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the fixed region is defined by the mobile device user.

6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the fixed region is defined by a party associated with the received dataset.

7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the scrolling command is a horizontal or vertical action received on a touchscreen of the mobile device.

8 . A computer-implemented method of generating an interface to enable a mobile device user to assess a plurality of gemstones, the computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a dataset describing a plurality of gemstones, each of the plurality of gemstones having a plurality of attributes that characterize the corresponding gemstone;

determining a size and a resolution of a display of a mobile device on which gemstones are to be displayed;

determining a first number of the plurality of gemstones that are to be presented on the display based on the size and the resolution of the display;

determining a second number of the plurality of attributes of the gemstones that are to be presented on the display based on the size and the resolution of the display;

displaying, in a grid, the first number of gemstones and the second number of attributes for each of the gemstones;

dividing the displayed grid into a fixed region and a scrolling region;

in response to receiving a scrolling command from the mobile device user:

maintaining the fixed region of the grid on the display of the mobile device; and

selectively presenting additional portions of the dataset in the remainder of the grid that is not within the fixed region.

9 . The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , further comprising determining the first number and the second number based on a value length for each of the attributes.

10 . The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein the attributes are selected from a group consisting of a price, a shape, a cut, a color, clarity, a weight, a stock number, a polish condition, a symmetry condition, a depth percentage, a table percentage, a girdle description, a culet description, a fluorescence condition, measurements, a unit price, or a length/width ratio.

11 . The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein the fixed region is one or more rows within the grid or one or more columns within the grid.

12 . The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein the fixed region is defined by the mobile device user.

13 . The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein the fixed region is defined by a party associated with the received dataset.

14 . The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein the scrolling command is a horizontal or vertical action received on a touchscreen of the mobile device.

15 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to implement a method of assessing a dataset representing a plurality of gemstones, the method comprising:

formatting a received dataset into a grid, the grid having a first data dimension and a second data dimension, the first data dimension corresponding to a plurality of available gemstones, the second data dimension corresponding to a set of attributes that characterize the plurality of available gemstones;

partially displaying the grid on a display of a mobile device;

receiving a designation of a fixed region and a scrolling region of the displayed grid; and

in response to receiving a scrolling indication from a user:

constantly displaying the same gemstones or attribute values in the fixed region of the grid; and

selectively displaying different gemstones or attribute values in the scrolling region of the grid.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the attributes are selected from a group consisting of a price, a shape, a cut, a color, clarity, a weight, a stock number, a polish condition, a symmetry condition, a depth percentage, a table percentage, a girdle description, a culet description, a fluorescence condition, measurements, a unit price, or a length/width ratio of a gemstone.

17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the fixed region includes a column of the displayed grid.

18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the fixed region includes a row of the displayed grid.

19 . A system for generating an interface to enable a mobile device user to assess a plurality of unique items, the system comprising:

a data storage component configured to store a grid of unique items, each of the unique items characterized by two or more attributes;

a display component coupled to the data storage component, the display component configured to:

determine a size and a resolution of a display of a mobile device;

at least partially display the grid in the display, the amount of the grid being dependent on the size and the resolution of the mobile device display;

receive a user input designating a fixed region and a scrolling region in the displayed grid; and

in response to receiving a scrolling indication from a user:

constantly display a first portion of the grid in the fixed region; and

selectively display a second portion of the grid in the scrolling region.

20 . The system of claim 19 , further comprising an input component to receive an instruction regarding the user action.

21 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the fixed region includes a column of the displayed grid.

22 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the fixed region includes a row of the displayed grid.