LBSzone Alert, June 25, 2008 - A weekly update on mobile technologies and location-based services
Written by Spatial Media LLC
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Another LBSZone Alert has been released... enjoy this edition for the latest developments in Location-based services.
Interesting updates this week; most noteworthy to the LBS space, the
creation of the Symbian Foundation, Nokia's purchase of Plazes, the
TopMobile20 competition (too bad they never responded to my emails
though!), 10 years for Symbian OS, and OMTP and NGMN collaboration
plans.
I knew something must be up when I received an email from a Symbian
contact of mine requesting that I sit in on an American Press event
(Webinar) that would take place in 30 minutes. This very well kept
secret involved word of the Nokia purchase of Symbian ($264M Euros) and
the creation of the Symbian Foundation... no doubt you've heard about
it unless you were in the back country! A press call served to help
clarify some of the details of the proposed foundation and provide some
isights on the direction the mobile OS will take moving forward. At the
heart of the project, the evolution of an open OS will serve to help
define the next wave of the Internet and the mobile web. This is
particularly important as the number of mobile device users grows from
3 to 4 billion, the last billion added largely being made up of
consumers who's first web experience is on a mobile. The press call
ended by reiterating that this move fulfills Symbian's initial mission
and that more than 40 million lines of code will be opened up for
access via the foundation. Developers are being told that S60 3 apps
will be supported but one does have to wonder what lies ahead for the
developers of popular UIQ applications after a 6 month period when UIQ
will no longer continue to develop. See more in this recap from a US PR
event. Please keep in mind, The foundation is expected to start
operating during the first half of 2009 and this move is not a done
deal at this time and is subject to regulatory approval. Have a nice
week all.
FEATURE... The Nokia / Symbian Deal and Demand For Converged Devices Soars
- Nokia's Buyout of Symbian and movement to open source... I knew
something must be up when I received an email from a Symbian contact of
mine requesting that I sit in on an American Press event (Webinar) that
would take place in 30 minutes. This very well kept secret involved
word of the Nokia purchase of Symbian and the creation of the Symbian
Foundation... read on for more on this deal.
[Send your comments, announcements, tips, tricks, gripes, kudos, or LBS news 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
