US 10,313,427 B2 · Contextual application management

Abstract

Technologies are presented that optimize application management on a computing device through contextual application archival and retrieval. A method of managing applications may include: learning contextual relevancy of one or more applications installed on a computing device to a user of the device and determining whether an application is no longer contextually relevant to the user. If the application is no longer contextually relevant, the device may send a request to an application management service to obtain and/or maintain the application; create a placeholder for the application at the device; and remove the application from the device. The device may monitor contextual inputs for relevancy of the archived application. If contextual relevancy is determined, the device may send a request to the service to provide the archived application or a replacement of the archived application to the device; receive the requested application; install the requested application; and remove the placeholder.

Claims24

Dependent claims

A computing device for contextual application management, comprising:

a memory;
a user interface used to display installed and executable applications;
a processor communicatively coupled with the memory and the user interface, the processor configured to load one or more applications into the memory, execute the one or more applications, and display displayable elements of the one or more applications on the user interface;
and
a communication system communicatively coupled with the processor and a network;
wherein the processor is to operate an application management application to manage an application management service of a server external to the computing device to:
send a request via the communication system to the application management service, to maintain a no longer contextually relevant application to a user of the computing device as an archived application;
create a placeholder for the archived application at the user interface of the computing device, wherein the placeholder is visible to the user, the placeholder has associated version information and application-specific user preferences stored in the computing device and related to the application archived on the server external to the computing device, and the server is to provide a different application;
and
remove the archived application from the computing device.

7 more elements

At least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with a computer program including instructions that when executed on a processor of a computing device to cause the computing device to:

send a request to a server of an application management service, the server being external to the computing device, to maintain a no longer contextually relevant application to a user of the computing device as an archived application;
create a placeholder for the archived application at an interface of the computing device, wherein the interface is used to display installed and executable applications, the placeholder is visible to the user, the placeholder has associated version information and application-specific user preferences stored in the computing device and related to the application archived on the server external to the computing device, and the server is to provide a different application based on preferences or instructions included in a request to the server for the application;
and
remove the archived application from the computing device.

1 more element

A machine-implemented method of contextual application management, comprising:

sending, by a computing device, a request to a server of an application management service, the server being external to the computing device, to maintain a no longer contextually relevant application to a user of a computing device as an archived application;
creating a placeholder for the archived application at an interface of the computing device, wherein the interface is used to display installed and executable applications, the placeholder is visible to the user, the place holder has associated version information and application-specific user preferences stored in the computing device and related to the application archived on the server external to the computing device, and the server is to provide a different application based on preferences or instructions included in a request to the server for the application;
and
removing the archived application from the computing device.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Contextual application management

Life of this patent

Contextual application management

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims24