Patent ID: 8554767

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of determining a degree of interest that a user has in a first activity when the user is using a mobile device in a particular context, wherein said method comprises: obtaining information indicating changes in a context of the user and the device, the information indicating that the user and the device are in a first plurality of different contexts that are selected from the group consisting of 1) a plurality of different locations that the device and the user are in; 2) a plurality of different times when the user uses the device; 3) a plurality of different environments that are sensed by the device; 4) a plurality of different temperatures that are sensed by the device; 5) a plurality of different electrical components that are detected by the device; 6) a plurality of different types of motion that the device senses; 7) a plurality of different distances between the device and an external object; and 8) a plurality of different biological conditions of the user that are sensed by the device; obtaining user data that indicates multiple usages of a device by a user over time, the user data further indicating that each usage of the device involves a particular degree of involvement by the user in the first activity, which further indicates that the user has one of a first plurality of different interest levels in the first activity, the user data further indicating that the user and the device, at the time of each usage, are in one of the first plurality of different contexts; based on the user data, determining a plurality of context-based interest rating components, each interest rating component associated with a particular context of the first plurality of contexts and including an interest value that estimates a degree of interest of the user in the first activity when the user is in said associated context, each interest rating component being calculated based on the usages of the device that took place in said associated context; obtaining an input context that indicates that the user and the device are in one of the first plurality of contexts; identifying, based on said input context, one of said interest rating components as a matching interest rating component for said input context; determining the relevance of at least a portion of one or more other interest rating components to said matching interest rating component; and determining, based on said one or more relevancies, a projected interest value indicative of a projected interest of the user in said first activity when the user is in said input context.