Multi-Prefix Interactive Mobile Search

Abstract

A system and a method are disclosed for multi-prefix, interactive search capability on a mobile communications device. A keystroke is input into a search query field of a landing page and a multi-prefix search is performed. The landing page is refreshed to display the results. The landing page displays a first tier of search results, which can include channels or links to web pages associated with the user input. If the search result that is selected is a channel, the channel is displayed. If the search result that is selected is a web page, the web page is displayed. The landing page corresponding to the selected channel, or to the web page, may then be searched or explored. If the desired channel is not displayed within the first tier of search results, another keystroke may be input. The landing page refreshes accordingly and additional keystrokes may be entered.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An interactive multi-prefix search and results display system for use with a mobile communications device, the system comprising:
 (a) a multi-prefix search module, embodied in a non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium, that receives keystrokes as they are entered by a user into the mobile communications device, and searches a multi-prefix word index for content items within a database that contain words having one or more prefixes matching the keystrokes;   (b) a search result delivery module, generated by the system and embodied in a non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium, that delivers a plurality of matching content items generated by the multi-prefix search module after a first keystroke is entered by the user into the mobile device and that updates the plurality of matching content items generated by the multi-prefix search module when a subsequent keystroke is entered by the user into the mobile device;   (c) a link delivery module, embodied in a non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium, that searches one or more data fields of the plurality of matching content items and delivers one or more selectable links that are associated with the one or more data fields; and   (d) a display results module, embodied in a non-transitory computer-accessible storage medium, that provides the one or more selectable links and the plurality of matching content items to a display of the mobile communications device for review by the user.   
     
     
         2 . The interactive multi-prefix search and results display system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more data fields in the plurality of matching content items comprise telephone contact information, and the one or more selectable links are associated with the telephone contact information. 
     
     
         3 . The interactive multi-prefix search and results display system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more data fields in the plurality of matching content items comprise location information, and the one or more selectable links are associated with the location information. 
     
     
         4 . The interactive multi-prefix search and results display system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more data fields in the plurality of matching content items comprise news information, and the one or more selectable links are associated with the news information. 
     
     
         5 . The interactive multi-prefix search and results display system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more data fields in the plurality of matching content items comprise flight schedule information, and the one or more selectable links are associated with the flight schedule information. 
     
     
         6 . The interactive multi-prefix search and results display system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more data fields in the plurality of matching content items comprise train schedule information, and the one or more selectable links are associated with the train schedule information. 
     
     
         7 . The interactive multi-prefix search and results display system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more data fields in the plurality of matching content items comprise price information, and the one or more selectable links are associated with the price information.