Method for sorting and displaying data on a portable electronic device

A method of sorting and displaying data on a portable electronic device comprising:

• determining geographical coordinates of said portable electronic device;
• determining a pointing direction of said portable electronic device;
• calculating a search area based on said pointing direction and a search radius, said search radius extending from said geographical coordinates of said portable electronic device;
• sending a search request to a server to cause said server to perform a search in a records database on said server based on said search request;
• receiving, at said portable electronic device, a plurality of records meeting said search request from said server;
• and
• displaying one or more records from said plurality of records meeting said search request on a display of said portable electronic device, said one or more records having geographic coordinates located within said search area.

A portable electronic device comprising:

• positioning system hardware for determining geographical coordinates of said portable electronic device;
• magnetic sensor hardware for determining a pointing direction of said portable electronic device;
• a processor for:
• sending a search request to a server to cause said server to perform a search in a database on said server based on said search request, said search resulting in a plurality of database records;
• receiving said plurality of database records from said server;
• and
• determining a search area based on the pointing direction of said portable electronic device;
• and
• a display for displaying one or more records from said plurality of database records, said one or more records having geographic coordinates located within said search area.