System and method for providing a task reminder

1. A method of providing a task reminder, the method comprising:

receiving a location of a user of a mobile communication device;

identifying task information including a task location;

receiving historical presence information identifying least one of a number of times the user is present at the location and an amount of time the user is present at the location; and

providing a reminder of the task for presentation based on the historical presence information and a distance between the task location and the location of the user.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the distance between the task location and the location of the user is at least one of a length of a street route between the location of the user and the task location, an expected travel time between the location of the user and the task location, and a geospatial distance between the location of the user and the task location.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining a novelty rating of a region that includes the task location and the location of the user based on the historical presence information; and

determining an attraction factor that increases as the distance between the task location and the location of the user decreases.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the region comprises a plurality of contiguous cells and wherein determining the novelty rating of the region further includes:

calculating a region time comprising at least one of an amount of time the user has spent in any cell in the region, a number of changes in the user's position between at least two cells within the region, a number of times the user has entered or exited the region, a number of times the user has been present in any cell in the region, and a random sampling of the user's position;

calculating a global time comprising at least one of an amount of time the user has spent in any cell, a number of changes in the user's position between at least two cells, a number of times the user has entered or exited any region, and a number of times the user has been present in any cell; and

calculating the novelty rating of the region by dividing the global time by the sum of the global time and the region time.

5. The method of claim 3 further including:

calculating a task weight comprising a product of the novelty rating of the region and the attraction factor;

generating the reminder of the task when the task weight exceeds a threshold value; and

transmitting the reminder to the user via the mobile communication device.

6. The method of claim 5 further including adjusting the threshold value based on the user's response to the reminder.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

sending the reminder of the task to the user via the mobile communication device; and

preventing a subsequent reminder of the task for a predetermined time thereafter.

8. An apparatus for providing a task reminder, the apparatus comprising:

a position component configured to receive a location of a user of a mobile communication device;

a reminder module configured to identify task information including a task location;

a message module configured to receive historical presence information identifying at least one of a number of times the user of a mobile communication device is present at a location and an amount of time the user of the mobile communication device is present at a location;

a user interface component configured to provide a reminder of the task for presentation based on the historical presence information and a distance between the task location and the location of the user.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the distance between the task location and the location of the user is at least one of a length of a street route between the location of the user and the task location, an expected travel time between the location of the user and the task location, and a geospatial distance between the location of the user and the task location.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the reminder module is further configured to calculate a novelty rating of a region that includes the task location and a location of the user based on the user's historical travel information, wherein the novelty rating is related to the historical presence of the user in the region, wherein the reminder module is configured to determine an attraction factor that increases as the distance between the task location and the location of the user decreases.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the region comprises a plurality of contiguous cells and the reminder module is configured to calculate the novelty rating of the region based on a region time comprising at least one of an amount of time the user has spent in any cell in the region, a number of changes in the user's position between at least two cells within the region, a number of times the user has entered or exited the region, a number of times the user has been present in any cell in the region, and a random sampling of the user's position.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the reminder module is further configured to determine whether the novelty rating of the region exceeds a threshold value and wherein the message module is configured to generate the reminder of the task when the product exceeds the threshold value.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the reminder module is further configured to adjust the threshold value based on the user's response to the reminder.

14. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the message module is further configured to transmit the reminder of the task to the user via the mobile communication device and to prevent a subsequent reminder of the task for a predetermined time thereafter.

15. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the apparatus is a mobile communication device comprising:

a communication interface coupled to a network; and

wherein the position component comprises a position locator system configured to identify the location of the mobile communication device.

16. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the apparatus is a server comprising:

a communication interface for communicating with the mobile communication device associated with the user over a network and configured to receive user-specified task information and the location of the mobile communication device.

17. A computer readable medium containing programming instructions for providing a task reminder, the program instructions for performing a method comprising:

receiving a location of a user of a mobile communication device;

identifying task information including a task location;

receiving historical presence information identifying least one of a number of times the user is present at the location and an amount of time the user is present at the location; and

providing a reminder of the task for presentation based on the historical presence information and a distance between the task location and the location of the user.

18. An apparatus for providing a task reminder, the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a location of a user of a mobile communication device;

means for identifying task information including a task location;

means for receiving historical presence information identifying least one of a number of times the user is present at the location and an amount of time the user is present at the location; and

means for providing a reminder of the task for presentation based on the historical presence information and a distance between the task location and the location of the user.