WO2016151600A1 - Method and system for processing device-owner information and accessing said processed information - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention describes a method and system of processing information related to device-owners. The method comprises forming at least one first type of group out of a plurality of device-owners based at least on a device-type. With respect to each owner in said at least one first type of group, at least one characteristic pertaining to the owner is determined through receiving information related to at least one of said owner's identity, at least one feature within said owner's device; and said owner's feedback to said device's operation. Each of said owner is associated with at least one second type of group based on said determined characteristic, and said device owners are represented through at least one of said first and second type of groups.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROCESSING DEVICE-OWNER INFORMATION AND ACCESSING SAID PROCESSED INFORMATION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [001] The present invention relates to processing and accessing of device related data, and in particular relates to handling and accessing the information pertaining to a device's specific characteristics.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [002] Users generally evaluate device in terms of its features or operations against their specific requirements. Likewise, device owners often require information regarding troubleshooting the device, learning optimal settings of the device, using the device in a best possible manner and so on. For obtaining either type of information, a person has to refer various sources of information such as social networking websites, web-blogs, online review, opinions polls, newspapers, gadget magazines etc. While recourse to multiple sources is necessary for a comprehensive analysis, there is very often observed either a contradiction among the sources of information (e.g. device ratings differing across sources) or uncertainty about the genuineness of information as extracted. Moreover, even if the information provided by online and print media appears to be originating from a genuine device user or a device owner, such persons may not be contactable unless the user spends the considerable time and effort.

[003] An only way to procure reliable information is to consult an acquaintance such as a family member, real-life friend, social-networking based friends or work-place colleague to procure authentic information pertaining to the device. However, considering today's world wherein a network of acquaintances for any person is generally found huge, procuring information itself may prove to be an arduous task as it may be difficult to locate one or more acquaintances possessing the device as desired by the user. Again, even if the user somehow manages to find a right acquaintance or two and obtains feedback, the same may be a highly biased opinion of a handful of people and may not be always in-line with the user's specific requirements from the device. [004] Overall, both the device-evaluating user as well as device-owner end up spending a lot of time, efforts and energy in their quest for receiving reliable and trustworthy device related information. [005] Moreover, the device-related information as accessed is usually not in-line with the specific needs and requirements of the information seekers such as device owners and device-evaluators .

[006] There lies a need of a mechanism that readily makes available a reliable device related information to a user without much hassles.

SUMMARY

[007] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified format that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended for determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[008] In accordance with one embodiment, the present invention provides a method and system of processing information related to device-owners. The method comprises forming at least one first type of group out of a plurality of device-owners based at least on a device- type. With respect to each owner in said at least one first type of group, at least one characteristic pertaining to the owner is determined through receiving information related to at least one of said owner's identity, at least one feature within said owner's device; and said owner's feedback to said device's operation. Each of said owner is associated with at least one second type of group based on said determined characteristic, and said device owners are represented through at least one of said first and second type of groups.

[009] In another embodiment, the present invention provides a method and system of registering a request for accessing a device related information. The method and system comprises connecting to least one group selected by a user, said at least one group comprising a plurality of owners of at least one device, receiving a user-selection of at least one section out of one or more sections depicted within said group; receiving at least one user input with respect to at least one user-selected section, said user input being in respect of at least one feature or operation of said device; updating said user-input at least based on automatically extracting information pertaining to a device of said user, wherein said information is extracted in accordance with said user-selected section; and registering said updated user-input within said at least one user-selected section.

[0010] In yet another embodiment, the present invention provides another method and system of handling a request for accessing a device related information. The method comprises connecting a user to least one group comprising a plurality of owners of at least one device; receiving a user- selection of at least one section out of one or more sections depicted within said group, wherein said selected section pertains to at least one feature or a type of operation within said device; identifying at least one relevant device owner pertaining to said user-selected section, said identifier device owner at least being a frequent user within said user-selected section; and grading said at least one device at least based on an evaluation of said at least one feature or operation by said at least one identified device- owner.

[0011] To further clarify advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0012] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

[0013] Figure 1 illustrates a method for processing information related to device-owners, in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0014] Figure 2 illustrates a system according to said first embodiment of the present invention; [0015] Figure 3 illustrates a method for registering a request for accessing device-related information, in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; [0016] Figure 4 illustrates a system according to said second embodiment of the present invention; [0017] Figure 5 illustrates a method for handling the request for accessing device-related information, in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 6 illustrates a system according to said third embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 7 illustrates an im lementation of the systems illustrated in Figure 2, 4 and 6 in a computing-environment.

[0020] Figure 8 illustrates an exemplary implementation of the present invention through a networking environment;

[0021] Figure 9 illustrates an exemplary representation of device-owner based groups in accordance with the aforesaid depicted embodiments of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 10 illustrates an exemplary user interface to access the device-owner groups in accordance with the present invention.

[0023] Further, skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the drawings are illustrated for simplicity and may not have been necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the flow charts illustrate the method in terms of the most prominent steps involved to help to improve understanding of aspects of the present invention. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the drawings by conventional symbols, and the drawings may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the drawings with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. [0025] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory of the invention and are not intended to be restrictive thereof.

[0026] Reference throughout this specification to "an aspect", "another aspect" or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrase "in an embodiment", "in another embodiment" and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

[0027] The terms "comprises", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that comprises a list of steps does not include only those steps but may include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such process or method. Similarly, one or more devices or sub-systems or elements or structures or components proceeded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other devices or other sub-systems or other elements or other structures or other components or additional devices or additional sub-systems or additional elements or additional structures or additional components.

[0028] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.

[0029] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0030] Figure 1 illustrates a method for processing information related to device-owners, in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. The method comprises forming (step 102) at least one first type of group out of a plurality of device-owners based at least on a device-type. With respect to each owner in said at least one first type of group, at least one characteristic pertaining to the owner is determined (step 104) through receiving information related to at least one of: said owner's identity, at least one feature within said owner's device; and said owner's feedback to said device's operation. Thereafter, each owner is associated (step 106) with at least one second type of group based on said determined characteristic, and said device owners are represented (step 108) through at least one of said first and second type of groups.

[0031] The device related parameter is extracted automatically from said at least one device; or received from said device owner as part of the device owner's triggered request to join the first and/or second type of groups. The parameter relates to at least one of a device manufacturer or a device model. Accordingly, the first group of device owners may be based on the Brand. Further, the first group may turn include a sub-group or category say a particular Model. Based on the type and make of the device, the device owner after having become a member of the first group automatically falls under any of the sub-group or category.

[0032] In addition to the first group, further groups such as second type of groups are allocated to the device owners that are based on interests or interaction of the device owner in respect of different aspects of a product. For example, various type of second type of groups may be Camera, Customization and applications, games and performance, new Launches and the like. The second type of group may also be referred to as the "extended connections" of a particular device owner belonging to the first group. The mechanism to calculate a similarity index among a plurality of users to form different second groups is based on a user-specific characteristics or "user persona".

[0033] For registering under a relevant second group, at least one characteristic pertaining to the owner is determined through receiving information related to said received owner's identity, wherein such information comprises information related to said owner's profession or any owner-centric information as has been shared through a social networking media. For example, information like profession and interests shared by the user in social networking website are automatically extracted.

[0034] Other characteristic, such as a feature within said owner's device, is extracted based on usage of the device through said feature or one or more corresponding sub-features. These parameters do not include any personal information of the user and rather include certain key aspects based on the usage of the product. For example, a smartphone-user, who is using a camera application multiple times or having multiple applications related to camera could be a right candidate for the 'camera' based second type of group. Further, sub- aspects may also be identified such as how frequently the user takes photos in low light, based on the time of the day, ISO value extracted from the metadata of the image taken and so on. Such sub-aspects help in registering the device owner in a particular category of the second type of group.

[0035] Further, another characteristic needed for registering under the second group may be the device owner's feedback to his/her device's operation. Such information may be received from an online opinion poll in which the device owner participated. For example: the participation of the device owner in responding to queries in the discussion forums with respect to a specific aspect of the product may provide useful information for grouping the device owner in a particular second type of group. Another type of information needed for registering under the second type of group may be a device rating provided by the owner in respect of the device's operation. In an example, this may involve extracting a rating and feedback shared by the device owner for a specific aspect of the product. Yet another type of extracted information may be feedback to one or more device owner's answers to queries related to one or more features of said device. Such information may be extracted through upvotes, downvotes provided by other users in the discussions initiated or replied to by the device owner for a specific aspect of the product. In case of a smartphone, the device owner's provided answers may be responses to the queries in relation to the brand and model, rating and feedback for camera or specifically low light performance of camera.

[0036] Based upon the fetched characteristics and information, the device owners already grouped under first type of groups are associated with one or more second type of groups. Accordingly, each of the device owner may be said to be belonging to a first type of group and optionally at least one second type of group.

[0037] The aforesaid characteristics and corresponding information may be extracted automatically from the device owner's device or voluntarily provided by said device itself as a part of a device owner's request to join the first and/or second type of groups. Further, once the device owner has been registered under the first and/or second group, it may be understood that device owner may be further linked to additional second type of groups may be created based on the continued usage of the device by the device owner, during the course of his membership with the first and second groups. [0038] In addition, to the aforesaid groups of the device owners, there may be one more group such as a group of socially-networked friends, wherein all of the resident members in this group may be mandatorily a first type of group member and optionally a second type of group member. Accordingly, such type of group may also be referred to as interest based group.

[0039] Based on the aforesaid device owner groups, a dynamic statistical information with respect to each group could assist the device owners to discover new trends in the group. For example, in case of a smartphone, a group based on the model name could show popular applications within the group, percentage of users who have the latest software version of the OS in the group etc. This information could serve as a source of information for owners of the group with similar interests to try out new applications, tweaks, customizations and the like in their smartphone.

[0040] The device-owner groups could be also used to show trivia within each group that could assist the users to uncover technological jargons about the product and its relevance and need in their usage of the product. For example, in case of a smartphone, a group based on the model name, could show information about "Pixel Magic technology used in display" and suggest its relevance for someone who is a frequent traveller.

[0041] The device owner groups may also facilitate identifying and inviting early adopters based on the user persona to join a particular sub-groups. These sub-groups would be used for FGDs, polls, launch event for a product and the like, which may be particular useful for the brand associated with the device-owner group.

[0042] Figure 2 illustrates a system 200 according to said first embodiment of the present invention. The system comprises a generation module 202 and a determination module 204 for executing the steps 102 and 104, respectively. Further, a mapping module 206 executes the steps 106 and 108 in that sequence.

[0043] Figure 3 illustrates a method for registering the request for accessing device-related information, in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. The method comprises connecting (step 302) to least one group selected by a user, said at least one group comprising a plurality of owners of at least one device; receiving (step 304) a user- selection of at least one section out of one or more sections depicted within said group; receiving (step 306) at least one user input with respect to at least one user-selected section, said user input being in respect of at least one feature or operation of said device; updating (step 308) said user-input at least based on automatically extracting information pertaining to a device of said user, wherein said information is extracted in accordance with said user- selected section; and registering (step 310) said updated user-input within said at least one user-selected section.

[0044] Upon having become a member of device owner groups such as the first and the second type of groups, a device owner may like to query all owners or only limited owners (e.g. socially networked owners) for the purposes of troubleshooting a specific issue within the device. Accordingly, the device owner logs on for connecting to his authorized groups through his mobile device.

[0045] In an example, various sub-groups or categories within the first type of groups may be battery, camera and the like. Within each category, there are sub-categories or sections based on the model of the device, a feature or sub-feature of the device; and one or more operations related to the device. In an example the sub-categories are low battery, slow launch, flash not triggering and the like. Such sub-categories or sections may also be depicted within the first type of group based on receiving one or more user-provided keywords pertaining to a specific operation or a feature of the device. Accordingly, the device owner is able to track a particular section and search or view all discussions associated with each sub-category and relevant discussions. However, in case the query envisaged by the device-owner is not present, then posting of a new query may be contemplated by the device-owner.

[0046] Prior to posting such query, the device owner may choose a particular sub-category (or section) out of one or more sub-categories so as to choose a right forum for posting the query. In an example, the query pertains to low battery related problems associated with the device and is accordingly suited for the sub-category "low battery backup" within the category "battery". In an example, the query may be, "the battery of the device discharges quickly and does not get charged at an optimum rate."

[0047] Further, said query provided as a user-input is further processed for value-addition, by automatically extracting parameters from the device and keeping in mind the user- selected category and sub- category. A device usage-history may be extracted in terms of one or more specific features or information related to the configuration of the device For example, the aforesaid exemplary query may be processed further by automatically extracting certain parameters from the mobile device in relation to 'a battery consumption variation' over the last 7 days, a software version of the mobile device, last used "significant battery draining" applications and so on. It may be understood that such value-additions to the query acquaints the other device owners with the specific device-usage of the querying device owner and accordingly increases an ease of troubleshooting of the query by other owners who frequently visit the sub-category related to the "low battery back-up". Once processed, the query gets registered

[0048] In response to that registered query, various replies may be received that may be categorized as a device owner's reply or a non-device owner's reply who is accessing the different device-owner group due his own will.

[0049] However, in other scenario, the device owner may not provide a query but rather provide a reply to an already posted query with respect with respect to any sub-category. In such scenario, the reply may be categorized as a reply from a genuine device owner or a device non-owner, in case the device-owner by his own will has provided a reply in another device-owner group.

[0050] In addition, instead of querying all the owners in a particular device-owner group, a particular device-owner may instead initiate private discussion among the device owners within his social network. In other words, the device owner may query or reply with respect to the particular second type of group that includes only social networked friends. Based upon mutual understanding, the device owner can request his socially networked owner- friends for detailed reports in respect of specific aspects of the device.

[0051] Figure 4 illustrates a system 400 according to said second embodiment of the present invention. The system comprises a communication module 402 for executing the step 302, and a receiving module 404 for executing the steps 304 and 306. Further, the system 400 includes a processing module 406 and a registration module 408 for executing the steps 308 and 310, respectively.

[0052] Based on the present invention as have been referred in the preceding embodiments so far, a device-owner is enabled to identify which socially networked friend or family member owns which product through observing their particular device-owner groups. Accordingly, the device owner as a user is enabled to connect to that individual who owns the same product as the user, and initiate private discussion threads, seek a help towards troubleshooting or, clarify any doubt regarding usage of the product.

[0053] In an example, let's consider that Brad is owning a device S4 and having some doubts about the power saving options in the device. Brad can easily identify any person in his circle having the same smartphone and accessing the system 200, 400. Then, Brad can initiate a private discussion thread with an identified owner and post queries on how to optimally configure the power management settings on his device S4. The other owner can reply to Brad's queries and help him to clarify his doubts. Brad can choose to invite multiple owners of device S4 from his circle using the system 200, 400 into this discussion thread, if he feels more people would increase the chances of him getting an answer.

[0054] The system 200, 400 provides a mechanism for owners of a product to troubleshoot within their group. The discussion forum is the place to do this and is in the form of hierarchical tags made of various categories specific to the device in question. The categories in turn have sub-categories to facilitate a streamlined discussion between owners. Owners can initiate discussion threads in the categories or sub-category levels and post the question or information which they want other owners to see and respond to.

[0055] While creating a new thread or replying to one, based on the category or subcategory in which the thread is posted, the system 200, 400 would also allow the user to retrieve certain parameters from the device and attach it along. This would make posting questions and answers or information, not only descriptive but also backed by relevant data. Such data could be helpful in debugging a certain situation, or could be a setting to be used to fix an issue or anything else. The data could be something that the systems 200, 400 can extract with or without the user's input from the product in question.

[0056] For example, in M8 smartphone based group, the discussion forum would include categories like performance, battery, camera, gpu, audio, and so on. The battery category could further have sub-categories like "battery backup", "charging time", "heating" and so on. A user wishing to post a problem about very high charging time, could navigate to the battery->charging-time sub-category and create a new thread with an appropriate title. While the user would have the flexibility to fill in a description, there would also be some options made available by the system 200, 400, wherein the user can share the charging time in the query. Other owners of the device M8 can then see their owner charging time through an information made available by the system 200, 400 and reply to this thread sharing their charging time and their comments. This kind of a discussion would be beneficial compared to currently existing solutions due to as follows:

• A user can easily connect to other owners through the system 200, 400 accessible through his device.

• Users can distinguish between owners and non-owners in a group they know what importance to assign to which comment and what to ignore

• Categories and subcategories allow for a streamlined discussion and with an option to share relevant data, without the user having to go through multiples steps to identify what data to share and how to retrieve it from the device

• Other users can share similar data from their device and the communication is not purely subjective but is backed by data which helps troubleshooting more effectively

[0057] The system 200, 400 also provide a mechanism to allow users to share the information of what applications and services are installed on their device with other users. Also, if allowed by privacy settings, the system 200, 400 itself would collect information of what applications and services are installed on the particular device. This information would then be used to educate other users accessing the system 200, 400 and belonging to a corresponding device-owner group. The information is presented in form of trends to the users so that they can get to know what is popular in different categories of users such as age group, location, product categories, profession and the like.

[0058] For example, in case of Android smartphones, the system 200, 400 would collect information of applications installed in a "camera" group and present it to the users of the camera group as a statistic as follows:

• Top 3 applications in your camera group are x, y and z

• This application "k", was the most installed application in your group this month

• Your group has voted "g" as the best camera application for editing pictures

[0059] This kind of aggregation of information related to applications will help those users who do not want to spend a lot of time on trying out new applications or who do not know what to look for in those new applications, but would be happy to use an application that has been rated highly or has been used a lot by other users with similar interests. [0060] For users interested in making optimal use of the product but are not sure how to do that, the system 200, 400 would play a role by presenting to the user "what most owners of that product have considered the optimal setting". This is done by collecting statistics from other user's products either automatically if allowed by privacy settings or shared by the users themselves. This crowd sourcing of information from owners would allow an average user to make the best use of the device as seen by the general wisdom of the owners, rather than indulging in a trial and error method.

[0061] For example, Scott has a 'device 5' named smartphone and is suffering from poor battery backup. He can go to the device 5 group and navigate to the Battery->Low battery backup sub category. If there are significant number of 'device 5' users in that group, one of them would have already posted such a query in the absence of which Scott has to post a new query. When such a query is posted, the system 200, 400 looks for certain settings in the smartphones of other 'device 5' users, who are willing to contribute to resolving this query, which might affect the battery backup like"

• display brightness setting

• number of applications requesting for network, gps, wakelock etc

• location setting turned ON

[0062] The system 200, 400 would combine this information with the actual battery backup that the owners of 'device 5' are getting and prepare a list of tips for any owner who has a problem with battery backup. Scott can then get tips from the platform

• 43% of users in your group have set the display brightness to Auto

• 29% of users in your group have turned location setting OFF

[0063] These kind of relevant tips, followed by information of what is the average battery backup other 'device 5' owners are getting, will help Scott do some initial level of fine tuning before having to spend time on searching for answers.

[0064] Figure 5 illustrates a method for handling the request for accessing device-related information, in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention. The method comprises a method of handling a request for accessing a device related information, the method comprising: connecting (step 502) by a user to least one group comprising a plurality of owners of at least one device; receiving (step 504) a user-selection of at least one section out of one or more sections depicted within said group, wherein said selected section pertains to at least one feature or a type of operation within said device; identifying (step 506) at least one relevant device owner pertaining to said user-selected section, said identifier device owner at least being a frequent user within said user-selected section; and grading (step 508) said at least one device at least based on an evaluation of said at least one feature or operation by said at least one identified device-owner.

[0065] In an example, the present method may be executed in the form of a Decision Support System (DSS) to grade a device by providing rating and feedback of the device based on specific key aspects thereof, said rating having been provided only from the owners of the same product. This may be done by prompting 'relevant owners' to share the rating and feedback for specific aspects of the device. The relevant owners are identified based on the user personas. For example, the relevant owners are shortlisted based on assessment of a frequency of usage of a particular feature or a frequency of operation of the device by the device-owners with respect to particular a section or category, wherein such section is selected by a user accessing the device owner group and relates to a particular targeted feature or operation of the device. Such user may be a person looking for buying a particular device and performing due-diligence over specific aspects of said device by using device-owner groups in relation that device [0066] For a prospective buyer who is accessing a particular brand based device owner groups, the first type of groups of device owners may denote different models of the same brand as sub-groups. With each model based group, there will be corresponding categories or sections like battery, performance, camera etc. With respect to each category, there will be further sub-categories or sections like battery backup, benchmarks, low light performance. Accordingly, the prospective buyer chooses one or more categories or subcategories to retrieve corresponding one or more ratings of the device.

[0067] The present method accesses the information like how important a specific key aspect of the product is to an owner, by divulging the rating provided by the owner. The owner provides the rating based on an effectiveness of said feature or said type of operation within the device, a significance of said feature or said type of operation within the device, a durability of said device, support services rendered by a manufacturer of said device; an economic-efficiency of said device; and a comparison of said device with previously-owned devices of similar category.

[0068] . For example, in the case of a smartphone, the owner who is a camera-enthusiast, would be prompted to rate camera and further specific aspects of the camera like low light performance for the specific product. In addition, the owner would also be prompted to rate importance of camera in the product to the user in a scale of 1 to 10 and then rate camera experience of the product on a scale of 1 to 10. Similarly, the owner would be prompted to also rate the brand based on certain aspects like value for money, durability, service and the like. The owner would be prompted to rate the brand based on the time since purchase of the product, previous product history of the user and their associated brand of the same category of product, registered with the platform.

[0069] An average rating from each owner for every key aspect of the product is calculated, wherein such average may be a weighted average as well. Said calculated rating and feedback information of the owners is then shown in relevant device-owner groups. This enables a consistent and a reliable source of information for the prospective buyer of the device. This information would then be shown in the first and second type of groups that include the owner.

[0070] Further, upon having received the rating, the prospective buyer may send a request for a report related to a usage of at least one feature or execution of at least one operation within the device of the identified device-owners. Accordingly, an equivalent report may be issued so as to enable the prospective buyer in verifying the provided grading in respect of said at least one device by said user.

[0071] For example, a prospective buyer could also request for specific data in a consistent format from the owners, specifically from the device owners within the social circle or from relevant device owners in the device-owner group who have contributed to the aforesaid rating. For example, in the case of a smartphone the prospective buyer could request for usage reports from the relevant device owners (participant in the provision of rating) for key parameters like performance, battery and the like. Accordingly, during the course of report generation, such parameters are extracted in a consistent format like performance benchmarks for performance reports and battery graph for battery reports. [0072] Accordingly, based on aforesaid, the prospective buyer would be able to compare different aspects of different models of the same brand, view statistical data as a weighted average of different aspects from all the owners at each level to make an informed decision.

[0073] Apart from ratings, the prospective buyer may also simply query the device owners or only the owners within his social circle in respect of gaining knowledge about the particular aspects of the device through the method as described in Fig. 3.

[0074] Figure 6 illustrates a system 600 according to said third embodiment of the present invention. The system 600 comprises a communication module 602, a receiving module 604, a processing module 606 and a grading module 608 for executing the steps 502, 504, 506 and 508, respectively.

[0075] At least by virtue of the embodiments described so far, the system 200, 600 is configured to recommend products to the user based on a variety of factors like his profile, demography, social circle, profession, purchase date and the like. Thus, the most relevant products may be brought to the user's attention. For example, a smartphone user would get recommendations based on a combination of information like a. what smart phones are being used by his peers in his social networking circle b. what smartphones are being used by people registered with the system 200 in a certain profession similar to the user,

c. what smartphones are people rating the highest in the demography to which the user belongs;

d. purchase date of the current smartphone, so that the platform can get a sense of when the user might want to change to a new smartphone based on statistical information available with the platform [0076] The system 200, 600 further clearly distinguishes a owner from a non-owner when they are posting information in the device-owner group. For example, a device 5 group would be available, which would have all the members who own a device 5 in that group. This group would serve as a place for prospective buyers (i.e. user accessing using the system 600) to post questions about the device to the owners and get their response. While doing so, information posted by a device 5 owner would be marked differently from that posted by some other smart phone owner, so as to make it obvious to anyone seeing that information and thus accordingly attach suitable relevancy to it.

[0077] Further, the systems 200, 600 allow a user to identify devices of his socially networked friends (who are part of at least the first type of group) and thus make it easier for the user to contact that person in case there is a need to get any information about that product. The system 200, 600 ascertains a user's friend and family circle from social networking sites.

[0078] For example, a user named Tom has 50 people in social networking friends list and 20 people out of that are accessing the system 200, 600. Tom is considering buying a new smartphone and wants to know what smartphones his friends are using currently. All he has to do is check the friends section of the system 200, 600 on his smartphone where it will list the name of these 20 people and will also show what smartphone they are using currently. It becomes easy for Tom to contact these people either through means provided in the system 200, 600 or via other means and get any information that would help him in his purchase decision. Each user would have a flexibility on what information they share with other users.

[0079] The system 200, 600 would collect in-depth feature specific product rating and feedback from the users based on a variety of factors like

• Usage of a feature repeatedly by that user

· Additional applications or services the user has related to that feature

• Weighted ratings for features based on Decision Support System (DSS)

[0080] So, when another user is viewing the ratings of a product or a feature of that product, he would be seeing ratings which are highly relevant to what feature the user is interested in. For example, if Kim, an owner of a smartphone X listens to music for 30 minutes or more per day and also has more than 2 music players installed and has more than 25 songs on his device, then the system 200, 600 could consider him a person interested in music. When this person is rating the audio related features of the smartphone X, the system 200, 600 would also prompt the user to assign weights to the audio feature, say on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 means audio performance is least important and 10 for most important. Kim sets audio importance as 8 out of 10 and rates the audio experience as 4 out of 5. [0081] Another smartphone X owner, Matt also listens to music a lot but sets audio performance weight as 6 out of 10 and also rates the audio performance of smartphone X as 8 out of 10. Now, the overall rating of smartphone X's audio performance on the system 200, 600 wouldn't be a simple 8/10, but a combination of weights and ratings. [0082] While collecting ratings and feedback from a user, the system 200, 600 also collects information from the product, wherever possible, to actually justify and complement the feedback provided by that user. Information thus collected from multiple users is then statistically used to provide a certain reference point to any user to understand and view it in completeness with the associated rating. [0083] For example, when Amy rates the battery backup of her smartphone Mi3 as 4 out of 5, the system 200, 600 also collects information like

• a. how many applications are running on her phone that use network, gps, wakelocks causing the battery to drain

• b. what is the time it took for the battery to drain from 90% to 20% over the last 7 days

• c. what is the battery capacity of her phone

[0084] These and more parameters are then combined to arrive at a time calculation suggesting, for Amy, that the battery typically lasts for 7.5 hours on an average. Similar information is collected from all Mi3 users on the system 200, 600 and is then presented in units of time to any user alongside the overall rating of battery for Mi3. The information may be: "Overall battery backup 6.8 hours and Overall battery rating 3.9 out of 5".

[0085] The system 200, 600 offers groups to users based on various product specific parameters like brand, model and the like. These groups include a discussion forum where a prospective buyer can post questions to actual owners and understand things such as known issues in the product, long term usage feedback, after sales support from the brand for that product and so on. This combined with the fact that owners and non-owners can be clearly identified in a group makes it easy for a user seeking answers to certain questions to filter out replies from non-owners who by virtue of not owning the device are not fit to reply to that query. [0086] For example, a user can enter a Nitro smartphone group and check the overall ratings of that phone, post a query on whether the smartphone has any issues with call clarity and check what the owners have to say about it. This would allow any user the flexibility to post queries that they have about this smartphone and get both qualitative and quantitative responses.

[0087] Referring to Figure 7, yet another typical hardware configuration of the apparatus 200, 500, 600 in the form of a computer system 700 is shown. The computer system 700 can include a set of instructions that can be executed to cause the computer system 700 to perform any one or more of the methods disclosed. The computer system 700 may operate as a standalone device or may be connected, e.g., using a network, to other computer systems or peripheral devices.

[0088] In a networked deployment, the computer system 700 may operate in the capacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-client user network environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The computer system 700 can also be implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wireless telephone, a land-line telephone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any other machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while a single computer system 700 is illustrated, the term "system" shall also be taken to include any collection of systems or sub-systems that individually or jointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructions to perform one or more computer functions.

[0089] The computer system 700 may include a processor 702. The processor 702 may be e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both. The processor 702 may be a component in a variety of systems. For example, the processor 702 may be part of a standard personal computer or a workstation. The processor 702 may be one or more general processors, digital signal processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, servers, networks, digital circuits, analog circuits, combinations thereof, or other now known or later developed devices for analysing and processing data The processor 702 may implement a software program, such as code generated manually (i.e., programmed). [0090] The computer system 700 may include a memory 704, such as a memory 704 that can communicate via a bus 708. The memory 704 may be a main memory, a static memory, or a dynamic memory. The memory 704 may include, but is not limited to computer readable storage media such as various types of volatile and non-volatile storage media, including but not limited to random access memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable readonly memory, flash memory, magnetic tape or disk, optical media and the like. In one example, the memory 704 includes a cache or random access memory for the processor 702. In alternative examples, the memory 704 is separate from the processor 702, such as a cache memory of a processor, the system memory, or other memory. The memory 704 may be an external storage device or database for storing data. Examples include a hard drive, compact disc ("CD"), digital video disc ("DVD"), memory card, memory stick, floppy disc, universal serial bus ("USB") memory device, or any other device operative to store data. The memory 704 is operable to store instructions executable by the processor 702. The functions, acts or tasks illustrated in the figures or described may be performed by the programmed processor 702 executing the instructions stored in the memory 704. The functions, acts or tasks are independent of the particular type of instructions set, storage media, processor or processing strategy and may be performed by software, hardware, integrated circuits, firm-ware, microcode and the like, operating alone or in combination. Likewise, processing strategies may include multiprocessing, multitasking, parallel processing and the like.

[0091] As shown, the computer system 700 may or may not further include a display unit 710, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a flat panel display, a solid state display, a cathode ray tube (CRT), a projector, a printer or other now known or later developed display device for outputting determined information. The display 710 may act as an interface for the user to see the functioning of the processor 702, or specifically as an interface with the software stored in the memory 704 or in the drive unit 716.

[0092] Additionally, the computer system 700 may include an input device 712 configured to allow a user to interact with any of the components of system 700. The input device 712 may be a number pad, a keyboard, or a cursor control device, such as a mouse, or a joystick, touch screen display, remote control or any other device operative to interact with the computer system 700. [0093] The computer system 700 may also include a disk or optical drive unit 716. The disk drive unit 716 may include a computer-readable medium 722 in which one or more sets of instructions 724, e.g. software, can be embedded. Further, the instructions 724 may embody one or more of the methods or logic as described. In a particular example, the instructions 724 may reside completely, or at least partially, within the memory 704 or within the processor 702 during execution by the computer system 700. The memory 704 and the processor 702 also may include computer-readable media as discussed above.

[0094] The present invention contemplates a computer-readable medium that includes instructions 724 or receives and executes instructions 724 responsive to a propagated signal so that a device connected to a network 726 can communicate voice, video, audio, images or any other data over the network 726. Further, the instructions 724 may be transmitted or received over the network 726 via a communication port or interface 720 or using a bus 708. The communication port or interface 720 may be a part of the processor 702 or may be a separate component. The communication port 720 may be created in software or may be a physical connection in hardware. The communication port 720 may be configured to connect with a network 726, external media, the display 710, or any other components in system 700 or combinations thereof. The connection with the network 726 may be a physical connection, such as a wired Ethernet connection or may be established wirelessly as discussed later. Likewise, the additional connections with other components of the system 700 may be physical connections or may be established wirelessly. The network 726 may alternatively be directly connected to the bus 708.

[0095] The network 726 may include wired networks, wireless networks, Ethernet AVB networks, or combinations thereof. The wireless network may be a cellular telephone network, an 802.11, 802.16, 802.20, 802.1Q or WiMax network. Further, the network 726 may be a public network, such as the Internet, a private network, such as an intranet, or combinations thereof, and may utilize a variety of networking protocols now available or later developed including, but not limited to TCP/IP based networking protocols.

[0096] In an alternative example, dedicated hardware implementations, such as application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays and other hardware devices, can be constructed to implement various parts of the system 700. [0097] Applications that may include the systems can broadly include a variety of electronic and computer systems. One or more examples described may implement functions using two or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and data signals that can be communicated between and through the modules, or as portions of an application- specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, the present system encompasses software, firmware, and hardware implementations.

[0098] The system described may be implemented by software programs executable by a computer system. Further, in a non-limited example, implementations can include distributed processing, component/object distributed processing, and parallel processing. Alternatively, virtual computer system processing can be constructed to implement various parts of the system.

[0099] The system is not limited to operation with any particular standards and protocols. For example, standards for Internet and other packet switched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) may be used. Such standards are periodically superseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentially the same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocols having the same or similar functions as those disclosed are considered equivalents thereof.

[00100] Figure 8 illustrates an exemplary representation of the systems 200, 400, 600 referred in the aforesaid embodiment through a networking implementation. In context of the present invention, each user of the plurality of users 800 refers to a person using the system or method of the present invention. Each user is associated with each mobile device 802 of the plurality of mobile devices that may implement the system 400, 600.

[00101] In an example, the mobile device 802 may be configured to provide the functionalities of the system 400, 600 through a web-enabled application. Said application allows an access of the mobile device 802 by a remotely located platform 804. The platform 804 in itself may be the system 200 that performs the method step of Fig. 1 through fetching information from the mobile devices 802. Accordingly, the system 200 maintains the entire repository of device owner groups and other ancillary information. Moreover, a mobile app provides a user interface within the mobile devices 802 so as to enable the combination of any of the mobile devices 802 and the system 200 at executing the method steps of Fig. 3 and Fig. 5. Accordingly, the mobile devices 802 receives input from users and displays the outcome.

[00102] In context of the present invention, the each mobile device 802 of the plurality of mobile devices is meant to refer to any electronic device that has both wireless phone/network capability and the capability to run/support software applications. Examples of the each mobile device are, but may not be limited to cell phones, smart phones, Personal Data Assistants (PDA), laptops, desktops, smart TVs, smart watches, wearable devices etc.

[00103] A communication network 806 enables a bi-directional communication between the platform 804 and the mobile devices 802 via the communication network. Examples of the communication network 806 are, but may not be limited to a local area network, a wide area network, a wireless network, and a telecommunication network. Types of the telecommunication network are, but may not be limited to a global system for mobile communication (GSM) network, a general packet radio service (GPRS) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) system, an enhanced data GSM environment (EDGE), a wideband CDMA (WCDMA).

[00104] Figure 9 illustrates schematic representation of first and second group formation, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. As shown in the figure, while each of the Brand (A, B or C) corresponds to a first group, the model based group pertains to the category within the first group or in other words a sub-group. On the other hand, the second type of group may not be brand specific and may be an intersection of members of two different first groups, based on the common interest of users. For example, as shown in the present figure, the 'camera' based group corresponds to the second type of group and includes members from the Brand A group and Brand C group. Accordingly, the devices are mandatorily associated with a first group and optionally with a second group. [00105] Figure 10 illustrates an exemplary user interface 1000 to access the device-owner groups in accordance with the present invention. The present interface displays contents in respect of a first type of group based on device X. The first section 1002 displays a device- user's colleagues, which may preferably be such colleagues that are also socially networked friends of the device-user. The second section 1004 displays various top discussion forums in respect of the first type of group. The last section 1006 depicts latest updated or trends with respect to the groups, wherein such trends depict that a particular feature of device X is most preferred by owners during usage or a particular setting of the device X as has been adopted by most members in the group.

[00106] It should be understood that the foregoing pertains only to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, and that numerous changes may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

[00107] Further, while the present subject matter describes formation of groups based on actively-used devices such as a smartphone, the group formation in accordance with the present invention will also be automatically applicable in respect of accessory devices such as smartwatches used in combination with the smartphones. Accordingly, any two users using different brand smartphones but same brand smartwatch may be grouped differently in terms of smartphone brands and in the same group in terms of the smartwatch brand.

[00108] This written description uses examples to describe the subject matter herein, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the subject matter. The patentable scope of the subject matter is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.

Claims

We claim:

1. A method of processing information related to device-owners, said method comprising: forming (step 102) at least one first type of group out of a plurality of device-owners based at least on a device-type;

with respect to each owner in said at least one first type of group, determining (step

104) at least one characteristic pertaining to the owner through receiving information related at least one of:

said owner's identity;

at least one feature within said owner's device; and

said owner's feedback to said device's operation;

associating (step 106) each of said owner with at least one second type of group based on said determined characteristic; and

representing (step 108) said device owners through at least one of said first and second type of groups.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said device-type related parameter is:

extracted automatically from said at least one device; or

received from said device owner as part of said device owner's triggered request to join the first and/or second type of groups,

said parameter relating at least one of a device manufacturer or a device model.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said received owner's identity information comprises information related to said owner's profession or any owner-centric information shared through a social networking media.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein information pertaining to said at least one feature denotes information related to usage of the device through said feature or one or more corresponding sub-features.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information pertaining to said owner's feedback is received through at least one of:

an online opinion poll;

a rating provided by said owner in respect of said device's operation;

feedback to one or more said device owner's answers to queries related to one or more features of said device.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said information is received through at least one of:

automatic extraction from the device; or

a communication received from said device as a part of said device owner's request to join the first and/or second type of groups .

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

depicting a statistical trend of usage of specific one or more features within said at least one device by the device owners in said first or second type of groups; and

recommending a usage of at least one of a device feature, a device setting, or a specific one or more device applications to said at least one device owners in said first or second type of groups.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising depicting a plurality of members within a social network of said device- owner or a normal user as members of said first type of group or said second type of group.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising identifying one or more early- adopters out of said device-owners within the first and second type of groups.

10. A system (200) for processing information related to device-owners, said system (200) comprising:

a generation module (202) at least one first type of group out of a plurality of device- owners based at least on a device-type;

a determination module (204) for determining, with respect to each owner in said at least one first type of group, at least one characteristic pertaining to the owner through receiving information related at least one of:

said owner's identity;

at least one feature within said owner's device; and

said owner's feedback to said device's operation;

a mapping module (206) for

associating each of said owner with at least one second type of group based on said determined characteristic; and

representing said device owners through at least one of said first and second type of groups.

11. A method for registering a request for accessing a device related information, the method comprising: connecting (step 302) to least one group selected by a user, said at least one group comprising a a plurality of owners of at least one device;

receiving (step 304) a user-selection of at least one section out of one or more sections depicted within said group;

receiving (step 306) at least one user input with respect to at least one user-selected section, said user input being in respect of at least one feature or operation of said device; updating (step 308) said user-input at least based on automatically extracting information pertaining to a device of said user, wherein said information is extracted in accordance with said user-selected section; and

registering (step 310) said updated user-input within said at least one user-selected section.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said depicted sections pertain to at least one of:

a model of the device;

a feature or sub-feature of the device; and

one or more operations related to the device.

13. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said sections are depicted based on receiving one or more user-provided keywords pertaining to a specific operation or a feature of the device

14. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the user input is at least one of:

a query for ascertaining information about the device's feature or operation in respect of said user-selected section; and

a reply to an earlier posted query with respect to said at least one user-selected section.

15. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said information for updating the user- input is extracted by extracting a device usage-history in terms of one or more specific features or information related to the configuration of the device.

16. The method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising: in case said user input is a query with respect to the device, then providing at least one reply received from at least one of: at least one device-owner in said group; and

at least one device user not being a member in said group.

17 The method as claimed in claim 14, further comprising: in case said user input is a reply to the earlier posted query, then: categorizing said at least one user-reply as a reply from either a device owner or a device non-owner, wherein said categorization is based on a manufacturer or a model of the device of said user.

18. A system (400) for registering a request for accessing a device related information, the system (400) comprising:

a communication module (402) for connecting to least one group selected by a user, said at least one group comprising a a plurality of owners of at least one device;

a receiving module (404) for receiving a user-selection of at least one section out of one or more sections depicted within said group;

said receiving module (404) for receiving at least one user input with respect to at least one user-selected section, said user input being in respect of at least one feature or operation of said device;

a processing module (406) updating said user-input at least based on automatically extracting information pertaining to a device of said user, wherein said information is extracted in accordance with said user-selected section; and

a registration module (408) for registering said updated user-input within said at least one user-selected section.

19. A method of handling a request for accessing a device related information, the method comprising:

connecting (step 502) by a user to least one group comprising a plurality of owners of at least one device;

receiving (step 504) a user-selection of at least one section out of one or more sections depicted within said group, wherein said selected section pertains to at least one feature or a type of operation within said device;

identifying (step 506) at least one relevant device owner pertaining to said user- selected section, said identifier device owner at least being a frequent user within said user- selected section; and

grading (step 508) said at least one device at least based on an evaluation of said at least one feature or operation by said at least one identified device-owner.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein said identifying comprises:

shortlisting said at least one device owner based on assessing a frequency of usage of said at least one feature or a frequency of operation of the device by one or more device- owners within said user-selected section.

21. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein said evaluation by the device owner considers at least one of: an effectiveness of said feature or said type of operation within the device, a significance of said feature or said type of operation within the device,

a durability of said device,

support services rendered by a manufacturer of said device;

an economic-efficiency of said device; and

a comparison of said device with previously-owned devices of similar category.

22. The method as claim in claim 19, further to the step of grading, the method comprises: receiving a request for a report related to a usage of said at least one feature or execution of said at least one operation within the device of said identified device-owners; and

issuing said requested report to said user to enable verification of said grading in respect of said at least one device by said user.

23. A system (600) for handling a request for accessing a device related information, the system (600) comprising:

a communication module (602) for connecting by a user to least one group comprising a plurality of owners of at least one device;

a receiving module (604) for receiving a user-selection of at least one section out of one or more sections depicted within said group, wherein said selected section pertains to at least one feature or a type of operation within said device;

a processing module (606) for identifying at least one relevant device owner pertaining to said user-selected section, said identifier device owner at least being a frequent user within said user-selected section; and

a grading module (608) for grading said at least one device at least based on an evaluation of said at least one feature or operation by said at least one identified device- owner.