Welcome to the LBSzone...(est. 2003)"Delivering information on Location" - THE Global leader for technology professionals interested in Location-Based services (LBS) and location technologies including geo-positioning, GPS, RFID, map mashups, PNDs, social networking, local search, WiFi, Open source, and related technologies and services. If you have comments, suggestions, feedback, please contact us... Note: LBS updates are listed each week in the LBSZone Alert Newsletter - Remember... It's Cool To Know Where You've Been!
Feature Story
LBSzone Feature...
We Can’t Forget the “L” in LBS - Location needs to be accurately determined to within tens of meters,
have a Time to First Fix (TTFF) of less than five seconds and work in
all sorts of environments from the concrete and steel urban canyons of
large cities to the wide open prairies of open-sky settings. While most location-based services rely on rudimentary wireless
location technologies, solutions are getting better and determining
location is becoming more accurate—especially in dense urban and indoor
environments - Read on rfor more on this topic...
GISuser Spotlight on the iPhone... Some Must-Have LBS Apps for your Apple iPhone 3G
- Ok, you've got your shiny, new 3G Apple iPhone... now what?? Well, to
start, you'll need to get familiar with the Apple iStore, this is where
you'll find loads of applications, many of them are cool,
location-aware applications taking advantage of the devices' integrated
GPS. Read on for some cool, suggested apps that enable you to take
advantage of your location. We've got tips on local
search, travel apps, social networking, photo sharing and more. If this
isn't enough, see also our dedicated iPhone news section
Target Market Segments Identified for Hotel Mobile Applications
Written by Dr Hilary Murphy
Wednesday, 14 September 2005
Location based services (LBS) have been the focus of many developments exploring the general tourism experience. From a market perspective where a perceived low value of LBS to customers lingers, revealing hotel guest preferences should help customise products and services to target specific segments.
Additionally, if tourism information providers can optimise the information delivery, then there is less confusion and information overload for the customer. Partnerships and relationships between LBS players are essential to fulfil the hotel guests’ requests in this context and would provide access to critical information and services. Hotels are in a key position to define, encourage, bundle, explain such services and personalise them to targeted guest segments.
A new study, just concluded by the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) and University of Applied Sciences Valais (HEVs), highlights the key content and features for the development of a mobile concierge for hotel guests.
The study examines 68 key segmentation variables for the development of such a location based system. A survey was conducted with 323 hotel guests in Lausanne and Geneva, primarily to reveal their key information and navigation requirements within their destinations. For details on these information requirements see table below.
Table: What local information and activities are most important to hotel guests DURING their stay (scale from 1=least important to 5=most important)
A cluster analysis was performed on the basis of variables related to mobile information requirements and perceived value of mobile information for hotel guests. There are 2 key clusters that show important characteristics that predispose them to utilising LBS. These are the 2 business traveller segments which both indicate a willingness to pay and share a core number of tourist information requirements that could be incorporated into a hotel LBS.
Traditional Business Segment : Guests belonging to this segment are predominately business people, 26-65 years old, staying in 2-3 star hotels, have visited the destination more than once and are travelling alone or with a business partner. They are “always” online and willing to pay for mobile information. Though they always want to know their exact location within the destination, they tend to be “independent” and unlikely to consult sources for local information (e.g. tourist office, locals).
Techie Male Business Segment : Guests of this cluster are predominantly 41-50 years old men, visit the destination frequently, are with a business partner and mostly stay in 3-4 star hotels. They have the highest usage of advanced mobile devices (more than 50% have a 3G phone or PDA) and are willing to pay significantly more for mobile information than members of any other clusters. They consult many sources (websites, mobile devices, friends and concierges) for destination information, significantly more than the other clusters.
Identifying these segments and their information requirements pinpoints the early adopters. These innovators are crucial in penetrating the market and encouraging widespread commercial use of hotel LBS. This research also indicates that the 3-4 star hotels should be the focus for the launch of a mobile concierge in the (Swiss) hotel market.
Detailed results of this study will be presented at the ENTER2006 conference in Lausanne in January 18-20: http://www.ifitt.org/enter.
More LBSzone Feature Articles & Special Submissions
A Detailed Look at Core Changes In The Series 60 Platform 3rd Edition -- Series 60 Platform 3rd Edition Series 60 Platform 3rd Edition (Series 60 3.x) builds on Series 60 Platform 2nd Edition (Series 60 2.x), extending existing technologies and capabilities plus providing access to many new ones. For developers considering porting their applications to smartphones this primer on the latest enhancements to the Series 60 platform is a must read!
Market Segments Identified for Hotel Mobile Applications -- Location based services (LBS) have been the focus of many developments exploring the general tourism experience. From a market perspective where a perceived low value of LBS to customers lingers, revealing hotel guest preferences should help customise products and services to target specific segments.
Talking To Go – New VoIP Phones With Wi-Fi Capabilities-- To keep pace with life in the fast lane, new VoIP phones are rolling out of production lines with built in Wi-Fi, which means that you can take your VoIP phone, and phone number to any free Wi-Fi hotspots and make calls. This conrtibution takes a closer look at several options you might consider and walks you through the set-up process.
Wi-Fi Roaming and Cell Phone Roaming Options - an introduction for the new user-- The Canadian company, Seaboard Group crystal ball is glowing with Wi-Fi predictions. In a recent commentary on this issue, Canadians Cut Their Wires on the Wi-Fi phenomenon, Seaboard Group predicted that by 2007, Wi-Fi hardware equipment and integration services will exceed 800 million with shipments of 1.7 million base stations and 3.2 million access cards.
A Look at What's New With Free Voice Over IP (VoIP) Providers-- What you should know before signing up with a voice over IP provider. The information provided in this article is geared toward people who operate a Linux operating system and are interested in converting their Pocket PC into a free Voice Over IP Phone.
Communications News
Serves the decision makers responsible for networking, voice data, and
video communications technologies at enterprise and service provider
The European Navigation Event, October 7th and 8th 2008...
where retail meets industry - The fourth edition of the No. 1 European
Navigation Event will take place in the inspiring environment of the
High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
deCarta devCon 08 - Going Mobile: Location is the Big Deal
- deCarta’s devCON’08 is a unique opportunity to get first-hand
knowledge and insights from experts and leaders from the mobile
wireless, personal navigation, enterprise fleet-tracking and MRM
markets. October 22-24, 2008, Intercontinental, San Francisco, CA.
iPhone Live - November 18, San Jose, CA - iPhoneLive is the new O'Reilly conference for iPhone developers, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts, focusing on both the business and development issues surrounding the iPhone platform.
Nokia World 2008, Barcelona Spain - With thought-provoking seminars, informed keynote speakers and a wide
range of interactive experiences, Nokia World 08 can inspire anyone and
everyone with an active interest in the business of mobility. December 2-3, 2008
LBSzone Feature...
We Can’t Forget the “L” in LBS
GISuser Spotlight on the iPhone... Some Must-Have LBS Apps for your Apple iPhone 3G
