Method and apparatus for arranging a plurality of icons on a screen

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for arranging icons on a screen of a device, wherein a first device receives information about a layout of a plurality of icons displayed on a screen of a second device, and then displays the plurality of icons on a screen of the first device, based on the received information.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for displaying, by a first device, on a screen thereof, a plurality of icons corresponding to a plurality of applications installed on a second device, which is separate from the first device, the method comprising:
 receiving, by the first device, information about a layout of the plurality of icons displayed on a screen of the second device;   for displaying the plurality of icons corresponding to the plurality of applications on the screen of the first device, based the received information; and   displaying the plurality of icons on the screen of the first device according to the determined layout.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information is received from the second device or a server. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining comprises determining the layout of the plurality of icons displayed on the screen of the first device in an identical or similar fashion to the layout of the plurality of icons displayed on the screen of the second device. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the layout comprises determining a number of pages to be displayed on the first device and locations of the plurality of icons to be included on the determined number of pages, based on the received information. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the layout comprises arranging a plurality of icons included on a first page and a second page of the second device to be displayed on the screen of the first device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information about the layout comprises at least one of:
 a size of the screen of the second device; a resolution of the screen of the second device;   a Pixel Per Inch (PPI) of the screen of the second device;   information about a page where the icons are located;   identification information of applications corresponding to the icons;   icon type information;   icon location information;   icon display size information;   widget identification information; and   information about order of the icons.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein displaying the plurality of icons comprises displaying icons corresponding to applications are installable on the first device distinctively from icons corresponding to applications that are not installable on the first device. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying an indication on the screen of the first device about a change in the information about the layout of the icons displayed on the screen of the second device, when the information about the layout displayed on the screen of the second device changes. 
     
     
         9 . A method for displaying, on a screen of a first device, a plurality of icons corresponding to a plurality of applications installed on a second device, which is separate from the first device, the method comprising:
 displaying, by the second device, the plurality of icons corresponding to the plurality of applications on a screen of the second device;   transmitting, by the second device, information about a layout of the plurality of icons displayed on the screen of the second device, to the first device or a server;   receiving, by the first device, the information about the layout of the plurality of icons, from the second device or the server;   determining, by the first device, a layout of the plurality of icons to be displayed on the screen of the first device, based on the received information; and   displaying the plurality of icons on the screen of the first device according to the determined layout.   
     
     
         10 . A method for displaying a plurality of icons corresponding to a plurality of applications on a screen of a first device, the method comprising:
 receiving, by the first device, information about a layout of the plurality of icons;   determining a layout of the plurality of icons corresponding to the plurality of applications to be displayed on the screen of the first device, based on the received information; and   displaying the plurality of icons on the screen of the first device according to the determined layout.   
     
     
         11 . A first device for displaying a plurality of icons on a screen thereof, the plurality of icons corresponding to a plurality of applications installed on a second device, which is separate from the first device, the first device comprising:
 a controller configured to receive information about a layout of the plurality of icons displayed on a screen of the second device, and to determine a layout of the plurality of icons corresponding to the plurality of applications to be displayed on the screen of the first device, based on the received information; and   a display configured to display the plurality of icons on the screen according to the determined layout.   
     
     
         12 . The first device of  claim 11 , wherein the controller is configured to receive the information from the second device or a server located. 
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein, when the layout of the plurality of icons is determined, the controller comprises a layout manager which determines the layout of the plurality of icons displayed on the screen of the first device in an identical or similar fashion to the layout of the plurality of icons displayed on the screen of the second device. 
     
     
         14 . The first device of  claim 11 , wherein the controller is configured to determine a number of pages to be displayed on the first device and locations of the plurality of icons to be included on the determined number of pages, based on the received information. 
     
     
         15 . The first device of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of icons of the second device are included on first and second pages,
 wherein one of the first and second pages is selectively displayed on the screen of the first device in response to a user gesture, and   wherein the controller is configured to determine the layout of the plurality of icons included in the first and second pages, so that the plurality of icons are displayed on the screen of the first device.   
     
     
         16 . The first device of  claim 11 , wherein the information about the layout comprises at least one of:
 a size of the screen of the second device;   a resolution of the screen of the second device;   a Pixel Per Inch (PPI) of the screen of the second device;   information about a page where the icons are located;   identification information of applications corresponding to the icons;   icon type information;   icon location information;   icon display size information;   widget identification information; and   information about order of the icons.   
     
     
         17 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the display is configured to display icons corresponding to applications that are installable on the first device distinctively from icons corresponding to applications that are not installable on the first device. 
     
     
         18 . The first device of  claim 11 , wherein the controller is configured to control the display to display an indication of a change in the information about the layout of the icons displayed on the screen of the second device, when the information about the layout displayed on the screen of the second device changes. 
     
     
         19 . A system for displaying a plurality of icons, the system comprising:
 a second device; and   a first device configured to display, on a screen thereof, a plurality of icons corresponding to a plurality of applications installed on the second device,   wherein the second device transmits information about a layout of the plurality of icons displayed on a screen of the second device, to the first device or a server, and   wherein the first device receives the information about the layout of the plurality of icons from the second device or the server, determines a layout of the plurality of icons to be displayed on the screen of the first device, based on the received information, and displays the plurality of icons on the screen of the first device according to the determined layout.   
     
     
         20 . A device for displaying a plurality of icons corresponding to a plurality of applications on a screen thereof, the device comprising:
 a controller configured to receive information about a layout of the plurality of icons, and to determine the layout of the plurality of icons to be displayed on the screen of the device, based on the received information; and   a display configured to display the plurality of icons on the screen of the device according to the determined layout.