Patent ID: 7574661

Claim:
An application program prediction method by which a mobile terminal, having installed therein a plurality of application programs, predicts at least one application program that a user is likely to use, the application program prediction method comprising: an application executing step of selecting and executing an application program installed in the mobile terminal; a location detecting step of detecting a location where the mobile terminal exists when the application program is executed in the application executing step; a usage history creating step of creating a usage history of the application program by storing the application program in association with the location of the mobile terminal when the application program is executed, the application program being executed in the application executing step, and the location of the mobile terminal being detected in the location detecting step; and a predicting step of determining a predetermined location, searching for the location in the usage history, and presenting, as a prediction result, the application program associated with the location searched for in the usage history and the predetermined location, wherein the predicting step includes: a future location predicting step of predicting a future location of the mobile terminal; a current application specifying step of specifying, based on the usage history, an application program corresponding to the future location predicted in the future location predicting step; and a current application presenting step of presenting the application program specified in the specifying step, as a prediction result of an application program that the user is likely to use in the future, and the future location predicting step includes: a station specifying step of specifying a station where the mobile terminal currently exists through communication carried out between the mobile terminal and a device placed in the station; and a retrieving step of retrieving, from a past route search result, an arrival station corresponding to a departure station that is the station specified in the station specifying step, and the arrival station retrieved in the retrieving step is regarded as the future location of the mobile terminal.