LBSzone Alert, June 11, 2008 - A weekly update on mobile technologies and location-based services
Written by LBSzone
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
Another LBSZone Alert has been released... enjoy this edition for the latest developments in Location-based services.
Hello from the Spatial Media LBSzone...
Ok, like everyone else on the planet, I'll start off by mentioning this
week's announcement of the iPhone 2 (actually called the iPhone 3G) -
see some specs and a cool video here).
It's hard not to ignore this device, particularly for developers adding
location-aware capabilities to their application. As could be expected,
Apple this week informed the World that iPhone2 will come on June 11,
and as can be expected, this device will sport GPS (A-GPS actually). I
still can't figure out for the life of me why R1 didn't have this
capability but no worry, it only took a year to add the technology to
support the most sought after capabilities desired in mobile...
Location & Presence.
Maps and social networking are indeed the hottest technologies these
days, however, when you toss in the capability for the device and app
to know exactly where you are, the possibilities are HUGE - just take a
look at the apps entered in the recent NAVTEQ LBS Challenge, last week's Nokia code Camp competition, and the recent Tele Atlas LBS Innovators
Series Event - if these apps don't WOW you then I'm not sure what will!
So back to Apple and iPhone 2... now that consumers are presented with
a GPS-enabled smartphone easily accessible in North America, could this
be the device that really kicks off LBS to the N.A consumer?? I think
it just might be.
Most of you know that I'm a fan of the Nokia N95 (8GB),
however, this device, along with other location-aware Nokia smartphones
has yet to make a dent in the N.A market (an estimated 4% marketshare
here), likely because of the difficulty of getting them into the hands
of consumers at a reasonable cost. It's really too bad... I look at my
device and the Apps folder is chock full of way cool, location aware
apps like widgets from WHERE, Boopsie, Sports Tracker,Slifter,
Earthcomber, Cellspin, Lightpole and a few others. No doubt most of
these apps will available to the users of the iPhone 3G. Are you going
to get a new iPhone? If so why and what do you plan on using it for?
I'd like to hear from you. Oh, finally, a colleague is searching for a
mobile app developer skilled in Symbian App dev and perhaps BREW as
well. For more on this contract opp contact me for details (glenn at
gisuser.com.
[Send your comments, announcements, tips, tricks, gripes, or kudos to Glenn
or simply contact info @ lbszone.com]
Mobile Technology Feature - Top 10 Business Apps for Android - Android has become one of the most popular mobile operating systems
in the world due to advanced software, competitive manufacturers, and an
app market that is filled with exciting and useful applications. Read
on for this fine Top 10 List compiled by tech writer, Blake Sanders
The Really Big List of Mapping, Geo location Mobile developer resources, APIs and Tools - The Mobile Ecosystem... no question that mobile is huge and
the opportunity for developers, in particular, geo developers! There's
loads of developer resources on the web so to help the developer,
here's a listing of just some of the fine dev resources, blogs,
toolsets and more to consider when developing or porting your app to a
smartphone or Tablet.
ArcGIS.com Mashup Tutorial with Flickr and Foursquare data-
Here's a simple "how to" tutorial on working with the free ArcGIS.com
to easily import KML or RSS data from Flickr and foursquare into ArcGIS
to create your own custom map mashup. ArcGIS.com has some recent
updates including support for KML, be sure to check it out!
Most Users of Free Photo Apps Say Adding Cool Effects is Most Useful - Adding cool effects
to photos was rated as the most useful thing by more than halfof
consumers surveyed using free online photography services, according to
CatchFree a free
online service that helps people find the best free mobile and web applications
to perform useful tasks.
Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet Up Close - No Replacement for the iPad But Pretty Darned Sweet - As could be
expected, speculation and blogging is rampant with many stories and
pseudo "reviews" coming out, many of them touting the next "iPad
killer".
Mobile Developer Resource - MapQuest & The Mobile Worker - Facility management companies, surveyors, multi-level marketing,
insurance claims, pipeline companies, water utilities; all have field
workers who would benefit from mobile applications. Not only checking in
to work sites, but keeping a record of the work done
Flickr GPS Photo Tag Tip - Here's a tip for Flickr users who want to share their GPS information
with their photos. note, in order to do this you'll need to be
capturing photos using a GPS-enabled or GPS-aware camera (see you're
smartphone hardware settings to ensure that GPS or location sharing is
turned "ON)".
Mobile data usage in Canada to triple between 2010 and 2012 - Some interesting, yet not terribly surprising, numbers on mobile
usage coming out of Canada. According to a report summarized on
Techvibes, mobile usage is soaring, in particular, the smartphone
segment
Social Location Directory
Do you have a location-aware application, social location service or other location-sensitive service that you'd like to share with us? Please browse this growing directory of Social location Services and feel free to leave a link to your favorite service! See the Directory HERE
Suggested Reading
The Underground Guide To The iPhone:
The iPhone is – if I may say so – one of the greatest mobile
revolutions of the past decade. More and more, mobile phones seem to
materialize out of our wildest dreams. Because of the tight integration
of third-party applications, you can do nearly everything with your
device — be it gaming, working, fooling around, and of course phoning.
Good Mobile Messaging: Executives and professional field forces spend an increasing amount of time on the road tending to business.
Mobile Apps - Native or Web?:
You probably have a plan to build a mobile app, but you've struggled
with the basic question - Should I build it using open web standards
such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, or should I build it as a native app
for the devices I want to target?
iBike Coach App- a new “Always On” feature always gathers data
Nike+ GPS App- for sports tracking, recording and sharing
Featured Events
Content & Apps for Automotive Europe 2012 (18-19 April, Germany)
will give you key insights on how in-vehicle connectivity is being
revolutionised as OEMs integrate dynamic content to stay relevant
throughout the vehicle life cycle.
Location Intelligence for Enterprise - Europe 2012, January 16-17, London Hear from Google, Jones Lang LaSalle, Tesco, Willis, Oracle,
ESRI, Microsoft, PBBI and many more as they debate the best strategies
for business models and integration.
Consumer Telematics Show 2012 (Jan 9, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, USA) is the most prestigious and
dynamic consumer telematics focused meeting for the automotive industry.
Held in Las Vegas on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES),
this year's senior-level speakers will include General Motors, Audi,
Toyota, Panasonic, Continental, Hughes Telematics, Gartner, KIA,
Mercedes-Benz and many more
Esri Dev Summit - The
Esri Developer Summit (DevSummit) brings together developers and GIS
professionals from all over the globe. March 26-29, 2012, Palm Springs,
CA
Hello from the Spatial Media LBSzone...
Ok, like everyone else on the planet, I'll start off by mentioning this
week's announcement of the iPhone 2 (actually called the iPhone 3G) -
see some 
