11.21.2007 | The Promise Of Mobile GPS And Location
Information Week
Stephen Wellman
November, 21 2007
If 2007 was the year of smartphones, then 2008 promises to be the year of mobile location. Consumers and business users want GPS and other location services on their smartphones. But what does 2008 really hold in store?
In order to get a better handle on this question I sat down with Darren Koenig, Director of Wireless, Internet, and Telecom, for Tele Atlas.
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OTA: What kinds of new, unique applications is GPS enabling on mobile devices that we didn't see on the desktop?
DK: There are all kinds of solutions that are perfect for mobile that would never have been compelling on a desktop. Take available parking spots, for example… wouldn't it be great to know where the closest open spot is? It's not so helpful when I’m sitting at my desk, but it’s incredibly valuable when I'm getting close to my destination.
There are lots of other applications out there where knowing your location provides the context for new types of information. Three of the coolest new applications I can think of come from the finalists of the "maps in Apps" contest Tele Atlas held recently as part of its "LBS Innovators Series."
The first is Slifter, which allows shoppers to search local store inventory for products from their handsets. Users can search for more than 85 million products available from 30,000 retail locations, view product information, images and store locations and maps. They can also share their finds with friends or save them to a mobile shopping list.
Hollywood USA is a tour guide features movie locations across the country with added GPS deployment on the uLocate -- WHERE platform. Each site includes location photo and address, scene and plot description, stars, director and DVD cover image.
KnowledgeWhere PhoneTag Elite incorporates location-based mapping and messaging technology to create a hi-tech game of hide and seek. Players can play with anyone across the United States by participating in existing games, creating private games with friends, or participating in cash tournaments. Objective of game play is to capture your target while evading capture.
At a conceptual level, we think the future of LBS is all about extending the definition of an "address" beyond a house or an apartment -- "where I live" -- to include any temporary physical location -- "where I am right now."
In addition to the applications I just described, others will capitalize on this by enabling the on-demand delivery of goods and services -- a pizza to a couple sitting on a blanket in a park, or a replacement windshield to a car in a specific parking space in a giant mall parking lot, for example.
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