Method and apparatus for organizing and consolidating portable device functionality

摘要

Some embodiments of the present invention provide a system that organizes and consolidates the functionality of a portable device. During operation, the system tracks the usage of at least one application and at least one data file by a user of the portable device. Next, the system determines usage-context information from the tracked usage and generates a chronological log that includes the tracked usage and the usage-context information. Finally, the system displays the chronological log to the user in a manner which enables the user to use the usage-context information to access the functionality of the portable device.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
using at least one processor for tracking usage of applications within a portable device by a user, wherein tracking the usage comprises creating a first log item in response to a first application capturing a photo through a camera on the portable device at a first time, and a second log item in response to a second event, which corresponds to a second application's execution on the portable device at a second time; generating at least one chronological log for the user from the tracked usage by: creating a first visual representation of the first log item, wherein the first visual representation displays a thumbnail of the photo that was captured by the first application through the camera on the portable device; creating a second visual representation of the second log item; and ordering, based at least in part on the first time and the second time, the first visual representation and the second visual representation within the at least one chronological log; displaying the at least one chronological log in a manner that enables user access to functionality of the portable device from the displayed chronological log such that the first visual representation is selectable to cause a third application to perform a first function with respect to the first log item and the second visual representation is selectable to cause a fourth application to perform a second function with respect to the second log item, wherein: the third application is different from the fourth application; the third application comprises the first application or another application associated with the first log item; the fourth application comprises the second application or another application associated with the second log item; and in response to a selection of the first visual representation, causing the third application to perform the first function with respect to the first log item.