Abstract: Approaches are described for providing input to a portable computing device, such as a mobile phone. A user's hand can be detected based on data (e.g., one or more images) obtained by at least one sensor of the device, such as camera, and the images can be analyzed to locate the hand of the user. As part of the location computation, the device can determine a motion being performed by the hand of the user, and the device can determine a gesture corresponding to the motion. In the situation where the device is controlling a media player capable of playing media content, the gesture can be interpreted by the device to cause the device to, e.g., pause a media track or perform another function with respect to the media content being presented via the device.

Abstract: Approaches are described which enable a computing device (e.g., mobile phone, tablet computer) to display alternate views or layers of information within a window on the display screen when a user's finger (or other object) is detected to be within a particular range of the display screen of the device. For example, a device displaying a road map view on the display screen may detect a user's finger near the screen and, in response to detecting the finger, render a small window that shows a portion of a satellite view of the map proximate to the location of the user's finger. As the user's finger moves laterally above the screen, the window can follow the location of the user's finger and display the satellite views of the various portions of the map over which the user's finger passes.

Abstract: Touch-based input to a computing device can be improved by providing a mechanism to lock or reduce the effects of motion in unintended directions. In one example, a user can navigate in two dimensions, then provide a gesture-based locking action through motion in a third dimension. If a computing device analyzing the gesture is able to detect the locking action, the device can limit motion outside the corresponding third dimension, or lock an interface object for selection, in order to ensure that the proper touch-based input selection is received. Various thresholds, values, or motions can be used to limit motion in one or more axes for any appropriate purpose as discussed herein.

Abstract: Systems and approaches are provided for presenting incoming notifications to a computing device based on a determined context of the computing device. Various sensors of the device can be used to determine the context of the device with respect to a user, the state of the device itself, or the context of the device with respect to the environment in which the device is situated. The user can then be informed of received notifications in a manner likely to get the user's attention while not being overly obtrusive to the user or others within the vicinity of the user.

Abstract: A system and method for providing optimum wireless communication spreading code selection such that communication channel interpath interference is minimized. In Direct-Sequence Spread-Spectrum, the autocorrelation properties of a spreading code greatly affects the inherent ability of a system to resist multipath. Low/spreading gain codes (or “short” codes) associated with high data rates do not perform well where large-amplitude multipath is present. The system and method presented herein overcomes this problem by selecting spreading codes in such a way that interference caused by multipath is minimized. The system and method does so by determining the characteristics of the radio-frequency link in order to select a spreading code that will minimize interpath interference.