[qi:83] Location-based services (LBS) are one of our favorite topics here at GigaOM. We have covered the business extensively, including the recent mega-billion-dollar acquisitions made by Nokia (NOK) and Tom Tom. In other deals, Google (GOOG) bought Jaiku and last week, Platial acquired Frappr. All of this activity indicates that “location” is becoming increasingly important in the mobile world.
Folks at the most excellent Maperture blog have put together a list of deals that encompass location-based and mapping services. We took their deal information and put it in a graph to show you, at a glance, just how important location really is.
Location based services have a niche when it comes to mobile 2.0 type applications. There is so much that can achieved using this technology. I guess once the wireless data service prices comes down, LBS based services are going to play a bigger role
I had collected a list of startups providing LBS based services. (Maybe not a complete list, need to update) Check out the link-
http://latestgeeknews.blogspot.com/2007/08/location-based-services-for-mobile-and.html
hey that is a pretty nifty list. thanks for the link. i am adding it to the post.
Om,
Thanks for linking my article to your post
My company just launched an interesting Location-Based Service in Frankfurt, Germany. The application is called Big Red Zebra and it provides really useful information that users need in their daily lives (like pharmacy opening times and public transit schedules). We use CellID location technology similar to Google My Location, but our application is offline: it doesn’t make server connections so it is very quick and the users don’t incur any runtime data connection or data traffic expenses. Even with the costs of data traffic coming down and the buildup of 3G networks, the time it takes to get a response from a server on a mobile phone can be really annoying. Check out our application at http://www.bigredzebra.de (available in German and English). Comments and feedback are welcome!
It is the first time that Africa is hosting the world cup football in 2010. South Africa is gearing up. I have recently been introduced to AI (artificial intelligence) and I am excited at the prospect of building a mobile GIS for tourists using AI. I sourced this book (AI and Geography: Stan Openshaw, Christine Openshaw – ISBN: 978-0-471-96991-4 ) and wondering if anyone has more online info for me with regard to AI and GIS with relation to a ‘Mobile Content Aware GIS for Tourists’. We, as South Africans, are facing a multitude of problems. From high crime to a influx of tourists to existing over-saturated regions; Can a Mobile GIS warn the tourist before hand of high crime areas? Can a mobile GIS re-distribute tourists to new tourist regions? Can the GIS build profile information and intelligently sift through a GIS repository to deliver user specific information? The potential for a Mobile Tourist GIS (Active Nomadic Discovery) is very real, especially in the South African context.
Please visit my google-page. http://kooliokooli.googlepages.com/ and go to the Geographic survey page. Here you will find a travel survey that kindly requests your attention. It is my vision to ensure a safe and successful experience for those people visiting South Africa. It is worth mentioning that there is another angle to this: suppose a Mobile GIS can actually re-distribute tourists to new havens, untouched paradises. Do we want another Goa – India or another Kho Phagnan – Thailand? Social & environmental awareness campaigns (workshops in local areas educating locals on tourism ethics / short term & long term benefits of tourism / benefits of harmonious environmental interaction) will run in conjunction with the development of the GIS model. http://kooliokooli.googlepages.com/home2
I actually reposted this comment many times before. FYI
Recently I browsed around about the location-based services (LBS). Most people believe it would be the next big thing or killer app. Quite a few others have different opinion. e.g.,
http://www.smallsurfaces.com/2008/06/do-we-need-lbs/
http://www.lewebmobile.com/2008/06/do-humans-really-need-location-based.html
Here I can possibly present one opinion from the consumer/end-user perspective, which I have posted in some other places too.
Do we need LBS so badly?
Before I really go to the details. Let me give a review of one simple concept and theory here, which are called “Home Range Concept” and “Traffic Pattern Theory”.
Home Range Concept. It is a concept that can be traced back to a publication in 1943 by W. H. Burt, who constructed maps delineating the spatial extent or outside boundary of an animal’s movement during the course of its everyday activities.
Traffic Pattern Theory. A people’s daily activity pattern is pretty regular, which comprises of several major events, such as school, work, home, shopping.
As I remember, a technical explanation of traffic pattern theory can be found in a report by Stefan Schonfelder, STRC 2001.
http://www.strc.ch/schoenfe.pdf
What happened here is if you are looking at the traffic pattern of a person, saying a full-time employed, 45 years, car, 3-person-household, one child, the regular activity route is so LIMITED. So, does this mean …
A more detailed explanation of LBS for mobiles can be found by
http://to.swang.googlepages.com/
http://to.swang.googlepages.com/lbs
Interesting how Location Based Services are becoming more the norm for social media, three years on from your article, with Foursquare, Facebook, Twitter and Gowalla all getting plenty of users.
Foursquares demographics makes the LBS of more value to advertisers.