Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments of a system. The system comprises a server, a memory accessible to the server, and a review trend generator configured to receive a request for a review trend corresponding to at least one item. The review trend generator is further configured to generate a review trend based at least in part upon a plurality of reviews of an item. The system further comprises a review trend encoder configured to encode the generated review trend for rendering on a network page.

Abstract: A location of a mobile device can be determined. Common search queries can be provided that are associated with the location of the mobile device. Information associated with the common search queries can be transmitted to the mobile device automatically or upon user request. The information associated with the common search queries can include timing information, type of user information, user grouping, search type information, results of the common search queries, advertising relating to the common search queries, or links to additional information based on the current location.

Abstract: Searching for items, such as apparel items, can be performed using a set of category-specific outlines or contours from which a user can select. The outlines enable a user to quickly specify a relevant category, and provide guidance as to how to orient the camera in order to enable an item to be identified in an image without the need for an expensive object identification and segmentation process. The outline can specify a “swatch” region, indicating where the user should position a view of a pattern, texture, or color of the item in which the user is interested. The category selection and swatch region data can be used to determine matching items. If the user wants a different set of search results, the user can select a different outline, causing a new query to be executed with updated category information and swatch data to obtain new search results.

Abstract: Various approaches enable a user to capture image information (e.g., still images or video) about an object of interest such as the sole of a shoe or other piece of footwear (e.g., a sandal) and receive information about items that are determined to match footwear based at least in part on the image information. For example, an image analyze service or other similar service can analyze the images to determine a type of shoe included within the images based at least in part on patterns of other distinguishing features of the sole of the shoe. The image analysis service can aggregate the results and can provide information about the results as a set of matches or results to be displayed to a user in response to a visual search query. The information can include, for example, descriptions, contact information, availability, location data, pricing information, and other such information.

Abstract: Techniques are described for using electronic communications to enable users to supply data to an online service, such as a fee-based online search functionality service that provides user-specific data searching capabilities. The electronic communications may, for example, be email communications, and may be used to supply data in various manners, such as based on the communications' body contents and/or file attachments. In addition, users may configure various types of data analysis or manipulation operations to be performed on data supplied via electronic communications. After a user's data has been supplied to and optionally manipulated by the online service in a configured manner, that user (or others to whom that user provides access) may access that data from the online service in various manners, including by using one or more data retrieval access interfaces that are distinct from an electronic communication address used to supply the data.

Abstract: An editable search refinement specification can be displayed with search results for a search query. The search refinement specification can include terms of the search query and any modifiers to the query, such as categories, filters, and other refinements. A user can edit portions of the search refinement specification inline, with other portions of the specification being retained, in order to adjust the search. Using such an approach, a user can adjust a search query without losing any context or refinement from a previous search that the user would like to use for the subsequent search. Various options can be provided with the search refinement specification, such as to edit any portion, delete one or more portions, suggest refinements, go to other specifications, and the like. The search refinement specifications also can be saved for use at a later time.

Abstract: The subject technology provides embodiments for a relevance ranking algorithm of point of interests (POIs). Based on a query request from a user of a mapping application, the relevance ranking orders the matching POIs based on either a reverse logistic distance function or a logarithmic distance function that is used as a multiplier for a baseline score of each of the matching POIs. The multiplier is used to boost or discount the respective relevance of each of the matching POIs, especially with respect to a specified area of interest included in the query request or a location of a user included in the query request. A subset of the ranked POIs may then be selected for display to the user.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for previewing content that is located behind the links of a search results webpage without having to click on the links and thereby cause webpage changes. Embodiments provide a webpage that presents a first set of search results in response to a search query submitted by a user. This webpage is displayed in a graphical user interface and the first set of search results comprises one or more links to other search results webpages, which are defined dynamically and cannot be pre-computed. In the event a user mouses over one of the links, embodiments execute the search associated with the moused-over link and then render selected portions of the search results in a preview window that is positioned over a portion the webpage that displays the first set of search results.

Abstract: Various embodiments enable a computing device to perform tasks such as processing an image to recognize text or an object in an image to identify a particular product or related products associated with the text or object. In response to recognizing the text or the object as being associated with a product available for purchase from an electronic marketplace, one or more advertisements or product listings associated with the product can be displayed to the user. Accordingly, additional information for the associated product can be displayed, enabling the user to learn more about and purchase the product from the electronic marketplace through the portable computing device.

Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments for generating recommendations utilizing visual image analysis. A digital image provided by a client device is analyzed to identify an empty region in a setting embodied in the digital image. A recommended item, available for consumption via an electronic commerce system, may be identified based on characteristics of the setting embodied in the digital image and historical data associated with a user. A modified form of the digital image is generated comprising the recommended item in the empty region.

Abstract: Techniques for grouping images are disclosed. In some situations, the techniques include identifying at least one event-based image group among a plurality of images based on an event that is associated with each identified image, receiving a selection of one or more objects in a first image of the identified event-based image group, identifying other images in the identified event-based image group that each include at least one of the selected one or more objects, and associating the identified images with the first image. In one instance, the selected objects include individuals captured in the image.

Abstract: A visual refinement interface enables users to adjust and/or refine search results by selecting results that match a user's interest, and displaying subsequent results that are closer to the selected items. Multiple result sets can be displayed concurrently such that the user can maintain context for the results. Further, the user can quickly go back to modify an earlier selection without having to navigate to a previous page, for example, and a single modification can cause several subsequent result sets to automatically change such that the user can quickly view dozens of new results, for example, simply by selecting at least one different result from a displayed result set. Prior result sets can be modified, such as by reducing the size or adjusting the placement of the sets, such that the user can easily determine the current set and the relatedness to previous results sets.

Abstract: Techniques for facilitating a shape-based search of content items are disclosed. In some situations, the techniques include receiving a request for search of content that includes an image of an item and a glyph input by the user on the image that indicates a shape of the first item, extracting features associated with the item from an area of the image on which the glyph is input; identifying a shape category of the first item based at least in part on the indicated shape of the glyph; and conducting a search for items having features that match the extracted features of the first item, the search being conducted among a plurality of items associated with the identified shape category. The retrieved search results may be returned to a user.

Abstract: Displaying item attributes may include receiving, from a client device, a search query, providing, for display to a user, a network page containing search result items relevant to the received query and selectable facets, where each selectable facet corresponds to an attribute associated with at least one of the search result items, and, in response to a selection of one of the selectable facets, identifying each of the search result items that is associated with the attribute corresponding to the selected facet, and causing the attributes corresponding the selected facet to be exposed for each of the identified search result items. The identified search results are retained with exposed attributes.

Abstract: Asynchronous updating of content pages with suggested search terms and search results is performed by receiving at least one character from a search term user interface element is received and suggested search terms are generated. At least one search result associated with the at least one suggested search term is retrieved from an electronic repository, and the content page is asynchronously updated with additional data about the search result retrieved from the electronic repository.

Abstract: Systems and methods for providing personalized content in substantially real time are presented. In one embodiment, a method for providing personalized content in substantially real time includes providing first content including a plurality of user-selectable content elements, detecting an interaction of a user with respect to the provided content including a selection by the user of one of the plurality of the user-selectable content elements displayed on a page of the first content, and providing second content in response to a request. The second content includes at least a portion of the first content modified according to the detected interaction by moving the user-selectable content element up on a page of the second content relative to a position of the content element on the page of the first content.

Abstract: Various embodiments may increase scalability of image representations stored in a database for use in image matching and retrieval. For example, a system providing image matching can obtain images of a number of inventory items, extract features from each image using a feature extraction algorithm, and transform the same into their feature descriptor representations. These feature descriptor representations can be subsequently stored and used to compare against query images submitted by users. Though the size of each feature descriptor representation isn't particularly large, the total number of these descriptors requires a substantial amount of storage space. Accordingly, feature descriptor representations are compressed to minimize storage and, in one example, machine learning can be used to compensate for information lost as a result of the compression.

Abstract: Various embodiments enable a computing device to perform tasks such as highlighting words in an augmented reality view that are important to a user. For example, word lists can be generated and the user, by pointing a camera of a computing device at a volume of text, can cause words from the word list within the volume of text to be highlighted in a live field of view of the camera displayed thereon. Accordingly, users can quickly identify textual information that is meaningful to them in an Augmented Reality view to aid the user in sifting through real-world text.

Abstract: Various embodiments enable a device to perform an adaptive sampling method for locating text regions in images of natural scenes. Since only a fraction of pixels in an input image correspond to text regions, it is desirable to eliminate non-text regions early in the text detection process. Therefore, in at least one embodiment, an image is sampled horizontally to identify connected pixel regions indicative of text. In this example, each sampled row of the image is tested for containing Maximally Stable Extremal Regions (MSERs) in order to identify regions containing text. If a respective row contains a connected pixel region indicative of text, the neighboring rows are recursively sampled at finer levels in order to fully contain the text and sampling is terminated for regions which are unlikely to contain text. This sampling process can also be performed for the vertical dimension for regions which are determined to contain text.

Abstract: Visual incongruity in search result sets may be reduced at least in part by searching an optimized visually significant subset of a category tree that categorizes a collection of content. The category tree may be optimized at build time at least in part by pruning with respect to visual coherence and by the size of the content collection subset referenced by particular categories. Content collection subset sizes both too large and too small can detract from the visual significance of a particular category. The visually significant subset of the category tree may be further optimized at query time by intersecting the visually significant subset with the query-associated sub-tree(s) and further pruning categories in the visually significant subset that have child categories in the visually significant subset. Searching with respect to the optimized visually significant subset can also improve search efficiency.