Context aware application manager

1. A method comprising:

determining, based at least in part on information about when different applications that exist on a mobile computing device and that have been executed by the mobile computing device are used on the mobile computing device, a plurality of contexts in which the mobile computing device is used, each context being associated with (i) one or more signals indicating how the device is used or a state of the device and (ii) a plurality of the applications that have been used in the context;

determining different context-specific rankings of the applications, each context-specific ranking of an application being associated with a different context, wherein each context-specific ranking of an application is based on a context-specific relevance of the application when the mobile computing device is being used in the associated context;

determining that the computing device is being used within a first context;

displaying, based on the determination that the computing device is being used in the first context, and based at least in part on the rankings associated with the first context, representations of a first subset of the applications on a display of the mobile computing device;

determining that the mobile computing device is being used within a second context; and

displaying, based on the determination that the computing device is being used in the second context, and based at least in part on the rankings associated with the second context, representations of a second subset of the applications on the display of the mobile computing device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of signals includes a determined location of the mobile computing device when it is used.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more signals includes a time at which the mobile computing device is used.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more signals includes an indication of another device to which the mobile computing device is functionally connected.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the plurality of contexts includes correlating usage of applications on the mobile computing device with the signals to generate a user model associated with a user of the mobile computing device, and wherein the plurality of contexts are based at least in part on the user model.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving from a user of the mobile computing device an input specifying a number of contexts; and

wherein determining the plurality of contexts includes determining a number of the contexts and wherein the number of contexts is determined based at least in part on the input from the user.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

ranking an application that has not been used previously on the mobile computing device, wherein the ranking is based at least in part on a relevance to a user of the mobile computing device, when the mobile computing device is being used within the first context, of the application that has not been used previously on the mobile computing device, and

wherein the display of the representations of the first subset of the applications includes a representation of the application that has not been used previously.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising changing the rankings of the applications based at least in part on how long the mobile computing device has been used within the first context.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ranking of the applications remains fixed while the mobile computing device is used within the first context.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein displaying the representations of the first subset of the applications includes displaying, in association with a representation of one of the displayed applications, a notification of a number of new events associated with the application.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising determining a threshold for new events to be associated with the application, wherein the determination of the threshold is based at least in part on the determination that the mobile computing device is being used in the first context.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

based at least in part on the determination that the mobile computing device is being used within the first context, selecting a contact of a user of the mobile computing device for association with a displayed representation of an application; and

displaying a representation of the contact in association with the representation of the application.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

based at least in part on the determination that the mobile computing device is being used within the first context, pre-populating a suggested action for the application whose representation is displayed in association with the representation of the contact.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the plurality of contexts is performed by the execution of software running on the mobile computing device and wherein determining the different context-specific rankings of the applications is performed by the execution of software running on the mobile computing device.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of contexts in which the mobile computing device is used include a home context, a work context, and a driving context.

16. A mobile computing device comprising:

a display;

one or more processors; and

one or more memories storing instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the computing device to:

determine, based at least in part on information about when different applications that exist on a mobile computing device and that have been executed by the mobile computing device are used on the mobile computing device, a plurality of contexts in which the mobile computing device is used, each context being associated with (i) one or more signals indicating how the device is used or a state of the device and (ii) a plurality of the applications that have been used in the context;

determine different context-specific rankings of the applications, each context-specific ranking of an application being associated with a different context, wherein each context-specific ranking of an application is based on a context-specific relevance of the application when the mobile computing device is being used in the associated context;

determine that the computing device is being used within a first context;

display on the display, based on the determination that the computing device is being used in the first context, and based at least in part on the rankings associated with the first context, representations of a first subset of the applications on a display of the mobile computing device;

determine that the mobile computing device is being used within a second context; and

display on the display, based on the determination that the computing device is being used in the second context, and based at least in part on the rankings associated with the second context, representations of a second subset of the applications on the display of the mobile computing device.

17. The computing device of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of signals includes a determined location of the mobile computing device when it is used.

18. The computing device of claim 16 , wherein the one or more signals includes a time at which the mobile computing device is used.

19. The computing device of claim 16 , wherein the one or more signals includes an indication of another device to which the mobile computing device is functionally connected.

20. The computing device of claim 16 , wherein determining the plurality of contexts includes correlating usage of applications on the mobile computing device with the signals to generate a user model associated with a user of the mobile computing device, and wherein the plurality of contexts are based at least in part on the user model.

21. The computing device of claim 16 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the computing device to change the rankings of the applications based at least in part on how long the mobile computing device has been used within the first context.

22. The computing device of claim 16 , wherein displaying the representations of the first subset of the applications includes displaying, in association with a representation of one of the displayed applications, a notification of a number of new events associated with the application.

23. The computing device of claim 22 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the computing device to determine a threshold for new events to be associated with the application, wherein the determination of the threshold is based at least in part on the determination that the mobile computing device is being used in the first context.

24. The computing device of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of contexts in which the mobile computing device is used include a home context, a work context, and a driving context.

25. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions for managing a display of applications on a mobile computing device and that, when executed, cause a system to:

determine, based at least in part on information about when different applications that exist on the mobile computing device and that have been executed by the mobile computing device are used on the mobile computing device, a plurality of contexts in which the mobile computing device is used, each context being associated with (i) one or more signals indicating how the device is used or a state of the device and (ii) a plurality of the applications that have been used in the context;

determine different context-specific rankings of the applications, each context-specific ranking of an application being associated with a different context, wherein each context-specific ranking of an application is based on a context-specific relevance of the application when the mobile computing device is being used in the associated context;

determine that the computing device is being used within a first context;

display, based on the determination that the computing device is being used in the first context, and based at least in part on the rankings associated with the first context, representations of a first subset of the applications on a display of the mobile computing device;

determine that the mobile computing device is being used within a second context; and

display, based on the determination that the computing device is being used in the second context, and based at least in part on the rankings associated with the second context, representations of a second subset of the applications on the display of the mobile computing device.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 25 , wherein the plurality of signals includes a determined location of the mobile computing device when it is used.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 25 , wherein the one or more signals includes a time at which the mobile computing device is used.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 25 , wherein the one or more signals includes an indication of another device to which the mobile computing device is functionally connected.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 25 , wherein determining the plurality of contexts includes correlating usage of applications on the mobile computing device with the signals to generate a user model associated with a user of the mobile computing device, and wherein the plurality of contexts are based at least in part on the user model.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 25 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the system to change the rankings of the applications based at least in part on how long the mobile computing device has been used within the first context.

31. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 25 , wherein the ranking of the applications remains fixed while the mobile computing device is used within the first context.

32. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 25 , wherein displaying the representations of the first subset of the applications includes displaying, in association with a representation of one of the displayed applications, a notification of a number of new events associated with the application.

33. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 25 , wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the system to:

based at least in part on the determination that the mobile computing device is being used within the first context, select a contact of a user of the mobile computing device for association with a displayed representation of an application; and

display a representation of the contact in association with the representation of the application.

34. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 25 , wherein the plurality of contexts in which the mobile computing device is used include a home context, a work context, and a driving context.