Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for managing alerts provided to a user of a mobile device based on context of the mobile device. For example, a perimeter of a geo fence can be decreased when the mobile device enters a particular context (such as when the user is traveling on a train), thereby decreasing unwanted alerts. As another example, certain alerts can be dynamically turned on based on the device entering a specified context (e.g., a particular application being executed or the mobile device is being carried by the user as the user is running), thereby allowing the user to receive alerts that he/she would not have otherwise received.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and program products for determining a location of a mobile device using a location application programming interface (API) are described. A mobile device can receive an input requesting the mobile device to monitor entry into and exit from a significant location. The mobile device can call a start-monitoring instance function of an object of a location manager class as declared in the API to start monitoring, and call a stop-monitoring instance function of the object as declared in the API to stop monitoring. The mobile device can store the entry and exit, or provide a record of the entry or exit to a function that is conformant to the API for performing various tasks.

Abstract: One example of determining an estimated time of arrival (ETA) based on calibrated distance includes a method implemented by a processor included in a mobile device to be carried by a user. An estimated distance between a starting location and an ending location is received. A calibration factor based on a location of the mobile device on the user's body and a movement pace of the user is determined. The estimated distance between the starting location and the ending location is modified based, in part, on the determined calibration factor resulting in a modified estimated distance. An estimated time to arrive (ETA) at the ending location is determined based, in part, on the modified estimated distance.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and program products for providing services to a user by a mobile device based on the user's daily routine of movement. The mobile device determines whether a location cluster indicates a significant location for the user based on one or more hints that indicate an interest of the user in locations in the cluster. The mobile device can perform adaptive clustering to determine a size of area of the significant location based on how multiple locations converge in the location cluster. The mobile device can provide location-based services for calendar items, including predicting a time of arrival at an estimated location of a calendar item. The mobile device can provide various services related to a location of the mobile device or a significant location of the user through an application programming interface (API).

Abstract: An application can specify a location service authorization type to be enforced by a mobile device. After the user authorizes the location service through an authorization dialog, the application can receive location service according to the authorization type. A first authorization type allows the application to receive continuous location updates and location events from a location service on the mobile device only when the application is in use. A second authorization type allows the application to always receive continuous location updates and location events when the application is running in a foreground or background. The text of the authorization dialog can be customized by the application to provide more detail on how the location data will be used by the application.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and program products for determining a location of a calendar item are described. A mobile device can receive a calendar item including a description and a time. The mobile device can determine that, at the time specified in the calendar item, the mobile device is located at a location that is estimated to be significant to a user. The mobile device can store the description in association with the significant location. Upon receive a new calendar item containing at least one term in the description, the mobile device can predict that the user will visit the significant location at the time specified in the new calendar item. The mobile device can provide user assistance based on the prediction.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and program products for providing services to a user by a mobile device based on the user's daily routine of movement. The mobile device determines whether a location cluster indicates a significant location for the user based on one or more hints that indicate an interest of the user in locations in the cluster. The mobile device can perform adaptive clustering to determine a size of area of the significant location based on how multiple locations converge in the location cluster. The mobile device can provide location-based services for calendar items, including predicting a time of arrival at an estimated location of a calendar item. The mobile device can provide various services related to a location of the mobile device or a significant location of the user through an application programming interface (API).

Abstract: Collocated access point (AP) harvest data is combined with accurate location-tagged harvest data to improve access point location estimates and to estimate the location of access points that could not be previously estimated.

Abstract: Crowd-sourced localized application usage data is collected from mobile devices at a usage location and sent to a network-based service. The network-based service analyzes the data to determine a single most relevant application correlated to the usage location. Once the most relevant application is determined, a recommendation for the application is sent to client devices operating at the usage location. In some implementations the data is processed to determine whether the usage location is a chained venue, a large venue or an event. Once the usage location has been determined, the most relevant application can be selected for recommendation.

Abstract: Methods, program products, and systems for task management based on travel distance are disclosed. In general, in one aspect, a method executed on a mobile device can include receiving a request to perform a task in a first subsystem (e.g., an application subsystem) of the mobile device. The request can indicate that the task is to be performed when the mobile device travels at least a threshold distance. The mobile device can determine a duration of silence. The mobile device can configure a second subsystem (e.g., a baseband operating system) of the mobile device to send a notification to the first subsystem notifying that the mobile device has traveled after at least the duration of silence. The first subsystem can receive the notification and determine that the threshold distance has been satisfied based on the received notification. The first subsystem can perform the task upon the determining.

Abstract: Mobile devices can provide app recommendations that are relevant to a location of interest. A localized app recommendation can be triggered (e.g., by a mobile device coming within a threshold distance of an application hotspot or some other user action). A location of interest can be determined. The location of interest can be the current location of the mobile device or another location (e.g., the destination in a mapping app). Using the location of interest, a localized application ranking database with app hotspot data can be queried with location data representing the location of interest. App recommendations can be received and displayed on the mobile device. Icons for apps that are relevant to the location of interest can be visually distinguished from other apps.

Abstract: Data provided by an access point of a wireless local area network (“WLAN”) is used to assist a mobile device in cell reselection. If a serving cell of a cellular communications network is unsuitable for providing cellular service, a candidate cell co-located with the serving cell can be selected as the serving cell based on quality of service metrics associated with the serving cell and the candidate cell. The mobile device can be proactively commanded to switch to the candidate cell for receiving cellular service. In some implementations, the quality of service metrics are calculated from call logs collected from mobile devices operating in the cellular communications network. In some implementations, network information regarding serving cell performance can be used with the call logs to generate the quality of service metrics.

Abstract: Crowd-sourced location data from client devices is processed using enhanced filtering techniques in non-realtime by a centralized server process to improve the accuracy and reliability of georeferenced geodata. At a server computer, enhanced filtering techniques make use of future information to improve georeferencing of the geodata. In some implementations, the server computer can be configured to implement batch processing of raw GNSS data and other crowd-sourced location data (e.g., wireless scan data, inertial sensor data) using, for example, a smoothing filter or batch estimator. Augmentation data (e.g., satellite ephemeris data, clock offset and ionospheric delay) and sensor data independent of client devices can also be used by the server computer to augment the crowd-sourced location data to further improve georeferencing of geodata.

Abstract: Methods, program products, and systems for baseband location monitoring and related functions are disclosed. A mobile device can monitor its own current location using its baseband subsystem and decide whether to selectively activate its application subsystem based on whether particular conditions are satisfied by the current location. The mobile device can also correlate location and cellular signal information using its baseband subsystem and provide the correlated location and cellular signal information to a server. The server can receive the correlated location and cellular signal information from the baseband subsystems of a large number of widely distributed mobile devices and generate respective profiles of cellular network base stations that transmitted the cellular signals to the mobile devices.

Abstract: Methods, program products, and systems for proximity-based notifications are described. A proximity-based notification system can receive a request to be notified when a contact's mobile device is in proximity to a user's mobile device, obtain permission to receive information associated with the contact, receive the information associated with the contact, detect that the contact's mobile device is in proximity to the user's mobile device based on the information associated with the contact, and notify the user that the contact's mobile device is in proximity to the user's mobile device.

Abstract: Methods, program products, and systems for multi-tier detection of a geofence are disclosed. In general, in one aspect, a mobile device can be configured to perform a task when the mobile device enters a geographic region. The mobile device can monitor a current location using a multi-tiered approach. A baseband subsystem can monitor a coarse location of the mobile device using a CDMA system identifier, a CDMA network identifier, a CDMA zone identifier, or a CDMA base station identifier, in that order, as the mobile device moves closer to the geographic region. The baseband subsystem can notify an application subsystem when the mobile device is in a cell that intersects the geographic region. The application subsystem can perform the task upon notification.

Abstract: A mobile device can monitor a current location using a multi-tier approach. A baseband subsystem can monitor a coarse location of the mobile device using various course location parameters, such as a mobile country code (MCC), a location area code (LAC), or a cell identifier (cell ID), as the mobile device moves closer to the geographic region. Upon determining that the mobile device is in a cell that intersects the geographic region, the baseband subsystem can transfer the monitoring to the application subsystem. The task can be performed when the application subsystem determines that the mobile device is currently located in the geographic region. A beacon network can provide more accurate estimates of mobile device location and advertise location based services available to the mobile device.

Abstract: Anonymous application usage data (and optionally motion activity classification) are collected on mobile devices and transmitted to a server computer. The anonymous application usage data, which are associated with an application running on the mobile devices, are processed by one or more server computers to determine one or more activity paths. Frequency of usage of the activity paths can also be determined from anonymous application usage data.

Abstract: Methods, program products, and systems for managing a location database are described. A server computer can receive location information from location-aware mobile devices (e.g., GPS-enabled devices) located within a communication range of access points of a wireless communications network. The server computer can calculate average geographic locations using the received locations for each access point. Based on the average geographic locations, the server computer can assign the access points to cells of a geographic grid. The server computer can filter the access points in each cell based on popularity, stability, longevity, and freshness of the access point and the received data. When a second mobile device connects to an access point in a cell, the server computer can transmit locations of the access points in the cell and in neighboring cells to the second mobile device such that a location of the second mobile device can be estimated.

Abstract: Methods, program products, and systems for baseband location monitoring and related functions are disclosed. A mobile device can monitor its own current location using its baseband subsystem and decide whether to selectively activate its application subsystem based on whether particular conditions are satisfied by the current location. The mobile device can also correlate location and cellular signal information using its baseband subsystem and provide the correlated location and cellular signal information to a server. The server can receive the correlated location and cellular signal information from the baseband subsystems of a large number of widely distributed mobile devices and generate respective profiles of cellular network base stations that transmitted the cellular signals to the mobile devices.