To date, the term smartphone's mostly been a misnomer for larger screen, albeit still dumb, handsets imbued with rich web browsing experiences. With the exception of the Galaxy S III's SmartStay feature and the Droid RAZR, not many other high-end devices can lay claim to "intelligent," user-adaptive behavior. Which is why our eyes are trained on this recently awarded Google patent that stands poised to turn future Android (we presume) devices into location-aware assistants. Originally submitted back in September of 2011, the USPTO filings describe a software-based profile alarm that seems eerily reminiscent of Motorola's own Smart Actions -- a fitting appropriation given the just wrapped acquisition. Using a combination of GPS and network address data, as well as prior travel habits, the system outlined in the docs would ping a user with tailored mobile profiles configured with contextually relevant settings, information and apps. Effectively, your phone would become the ultimate personal assistant, pandering to your on-the-go needs without the irritating need for praise and positive feedback. That's if this software ever makes it out of Google's IP stronghold and into the light of day.

Google patents location-based mobile alerts that know where you're going to originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jun 2012 08:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.