location based services
Google Inc. has launched Google Checkout, a checkout process that promises to make online shopping faster, more convenient and more secure for Google users. The service offers an easy and trusted checkout option that enables shoppers to purchase from participating stores with a single Google login. The new Google Checkout also works with Google's search advertising program, AdWords, to help merchants acquire new customers and process all or a portion of their Checkout sales for free. Shoppers can find stores that accept Google Checkout by looking for the Google Checkout icon on AdWords advertisements or whenever they come across the Google Checkout option on a merchant's site. If shoppers want to use Google Checkout, they can create a Google Checkout login right from the merchant's site with a single username and password by entering basic information, such as their contact details, payment preferences, and shipping information, once. When checking out at any store that offers Google Checkout, user can then simply select Google Checkout, quickly complete their transaction with their login information, and avoid the hassle of filling out multiple forms. In addition, shoppers can keep track of their purchase history, including orders and shipping details, in one place. Shoppers can also enhance their security when making purchases through Google Checkout. The service conceals the buyer credit card number and provides reimbursement for unauthorized purchases. And to provide more control over email spam, Google Checkout lets shoppers choose whether or not to keep email addresses confidential or turnoff unwanted email from the stores where they shop. Google Checkout offers a wide range of integration alternatives to make it easy for merchants to provide this new checkout option on their websites. These integration options include cut-and-paste buy buttons, as well as an advanced API that integrates with existing merchant shopping carts and order management systems. Many service providers have already integrated Google Checkout with their commerce platforms, including GSI Commerce, MonsterCommerce, and ChannelAdvisor among others. The service is currently open to all U.S. merchants, whether they advertise with Google or not, and Google is currently working to make the service available to merchants internationally.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Personal Navigation and Tracking are the Most Profitable Location-Based Services in Europe
location based services
Gothenburg, Sweden June 22, 2006: Berg Insight has recently done a survey among 200 location-based services (LBS) professionals in order to take the temperature of this important mobile value added service category. Berg Insight made the survey among LBS professionals at mobile operators, vendors and consultancies. There were two sets of questions asked to the 200 respondents, one to operators and another set to vendors and consultancies. We asked the operators which LBS applications they already have deployed and got not surprisingly the reply that the most common services today are information services such as yellow pages near you and local weather information. On second and third place came navigation services and tracking. We also asked the operators which positioning technology they think will be the most important the coming years. The majority, 65 percent, replied a combination of two or more technologies, while 35 percent said A-GPS. It is obvious that satellite positioning is coming up as a preferred technology among operators in Europe and preferably in combination with other technologies such as enhanced-cell id and terminal-based positioning technologies. We also asked the operators what they think are the most important factors to get the LBS market to boom. Built in GPS/Galileo-chips was the most common reply, coming from 75 percent of the respondents. About 50 percent replied that more visibility and marketing of LBS is important to make the end-users aware of the services. The operators are also looking for more innovative LBS that really can catch the needs of the end-users, which 35 percent of the respondents answered.The vendors and consultancies answered that the most important issue to get the LBS market to boom is built in GPS/Galileo chips in the phones (55 percent of respondents), which is the same opinion as the operators expressed. About 48 percent also answered that more innovative LBS that catch the needs of the end-users is important to make the market take off. The third most common issue to be resolved was more collaboration between operators, vendors and application developers.Today Berg Insight also launched its news site www.lbsinsight.com with daily LBS news. You will find the survey results attached including graphs that can be used for illustrations.About Berg InsightBerg Insight offers premier business intelligence to the telecom industry. We produce concise reports providing key facts and strategic insights about pivotal developments in our focus areas. Our vision is to be the most valuable source of intelligence for our customers.
NAVTEQ Announces Camera Alert Locations as a New Database Attribute
CHICAGO, NAVTEQ (NYSE: NVT), a leading global provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, has announced Camera Alert for NAVTEQ(TM), a feature enabling NAVTEQ customers to develop applications that alert the driver to the location of cameras along their route. Camera Alert enables geo-referencing of a variety of camera location categories, and is updated and released on a monthly cycle to support its dynamic properties. The first release of Camera Alert for NAVTEQ contains the location of both permanent and pre-announced speed cameras.
"Monthly updates provide our customers with increased confidence in the accuracy of the camera location," stated George Filley, Vice President of Product Management for NAVTEQ. "Geo-referencing the location to the NAVTEQ map further reduces the incidence of false positives for customers using the attribute."
A false positive can occur when the camera location is no longer valid, when it has been geo-referenced incorrectly, or when the location has not been geo-referenced to the map, all which increase the risk that the map displays the location incorrectly. Camera Alert quality is further enhanced by NAVTEQ field analysts who, while driving the roads, can check for false positives, update the database, and minimize the potential for a false positive at that location.
Camera Alert supports government efforts to influence driving behavior and the desire to alert customers to high casualty travel areas.
NAVTEQ Camera Alert is currently available in France. The United Kingdom will be released in the third quarter of 2006. Updated data for all countries will be released every month to NAVTEQ customers.
About NAVTEQ
NAVTEQ is a leading provider of comprehensive digital map information for automotive navigation systems, mobile navigation devices, Internet-based mapping applications, and government and business solutions. NAVTEQ creates the digital maps and map content that power navigation and location-based services solutions around the world. The Chicago-based company was founded in 1985 and has approximately 1,900 employees located in 131 offices in 23 countries.
CHICAGO, NAVTEQ (NYSE: NVT), a leading global provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, has announced Camera Alert for NAVTEQ(TM), a feature enabling NAVTEQ customers to develop applications that alert the driver to the location of cameras along their route. Camera Alert enables geo-referencing of a variety of camera location categories, and is updated and released on a monthly cycle to support its dynamic properties. The first release of Camera Alert for NAVTEQ contains the location of both permanent and pre-announced speed cameras.
"Monthly updates provide our customers with increased confidence in the accuracy of the camera location," stated George Filley, Vice President of Product Management for NAVTEQ. "Geo-referencing the location to the NAVTEQ map further reduces the incidence of false positives for customers using the attribute."
A false positive can occur when the camera location is no longer valid, when it has been geo-referenced incorrectly, or when the location has not been geo-referenced to the map, all which increase the risk that the map displays the location incorrectly. Camera Alert quality is further enhanced by NAVTEQ field analysts who, while driving the roads, can check for false positives, update the database, and minimize the potential for a false positive at that location.
Camera Alert supports government efforts to influence driving behavior and the desire to alert customers to high casualty travel areas.
NAVTEQ Camera Alert is currently available in France. The United Kingdom will be released in the third quarter of 2006. Updated data for all countries will be released every month to NAVTEQ customers.
About NAVTEQ
NAVTEQ is a leading provider of comprehensive digital map information for automotive navigation systems, mobile navigation devices, Internet-based mapping applications, and government and business solutions. NAVTEQ creates the digital maps and map content that power navigation and location-based services solutions around the world. The Chicago-based company was founded in 1985 and has approximately 1,900 employees located in 131 offices in 23 countries.
NAVTEQ 2006 LBS Developer Conference
The conference you’ve been waiting wirelessly for.Wireless technology is moving at breakneck speed. Demand is growing for both location-enabled consumer applications and enterprise solutions; carriers are searching for the next great revenue-generating LBS concept. But for developers everywhere, questions remain:What kinds of applications have the greatest chance for success? How can you get an application to market quickly and cost-effectively?Who are the key players in your market segment, and how can you connect with them?Find the answers, and even more insight and information, at the NAVTEQ 2006 LBS Developer Conference.First, the contest. Now the conference before CTIA.The global leader in digital maps and the sponsor of the LBS industry’s premier annual event, the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge™, NAVTEQ has been inspiring innovation in the LBS market from the segment’s beginnings. The NAVTEQ 2006 LBS Developer Conference will lay the groundwork for even greater opportunities to come. Use this can’t-miss event as the perfect warm-up to the CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment Event. Come early for the convention, and enjoy a day that includes: An unparalleled guest list of speakers, decision makers, and developers Can’t-miss sessions on the hot topics affecting the wireless industryThe chance to talk with the top names, thinkers, and playersA tech lab that offers hands-on experience with the latest developer tools--tools to help location-enable any applicationA day of connections, wireless and otherwise.The NAVTEQ 2006 LBS Developer Conference promises to be an exceptional day for the wireless industry. And for you. But attendance is limited, so register now. For more information, contact us at devcon2006@navteq.com. To register, and take advantage of an exciting early registration offer from CTIA, visit wirelessit.com/registration/attendee_registration.cfm.
The conference you’ve been waiting wirelessly for.Wireless technology is moving at breakneck speed. Demand is growing for both location-enabled consumer applications and enterprise solutions; carriers are searching for the next great revenue-generating LBS concept. But for developers everywhere, questions remain:What kinds of applications have the greatest chance for success? How can you get an application to market quickly and cost-effectively?Who are the key players in your market segment, and how can you connect with them?Find the answers, and even more insight and information, at the NAVTEQ 2006 LBS Developer Conference.First, the contest. Now the conference before CTIA.The global leader in digital maps and the sponsor of the LBS industry’s premier annual event, the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge™, NAVTEQ has been inspiring innovation in the LBS market from the segment’s beginnings. The NAVTEQ 2006 LBS Developer Conference will lay the groundwork for even greater opportunities to come. Use this can’t-miss event as the perfect warm-up to the CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment Event. Come early for the convention, and enjoy a day that includes: An unparalleled guest list of speakers, decision makers, and developers Can’t-miss sessions on the hot topics affecting the wireless industryThe chance to talk with the top names, thinkers, and playersA tech lab that offers hands-on experience with the latest developer tools--tools to help location-enable any applicationA day of connections, wireless and otherwise.The NAVTEQ 2006 LBS Developer Conference promises to be an exceptional day for the wireless industry. And for you. But attendance is limited, so register now. For more information, contact us at devcon2006@navteq.com. To register, and take advantage of an exciting early registration offer from CTIA, visit wirelessit.com/registration/attendee_registration.cfm.
Earthcomber’s Releases “Movies on the Move™” – First GPS-enabled Movie Guide in the U.S.
Chicago, IL -- June 30, 2006 -- Mobile phones and PDAs can now spot theaters and showtimes by how close they are to the person scouting for a movie, thanks to the first GPS-enabled movie guide offered in the US.
“Movies on the Move™,” a free download for Palm OS and Windows Mobile-powered handheld devices, is available on Earthcomber, a website that provides mapping and local data as well as personal navigation software.
The detailed listings of movies, showtimes and theaters are now part of the local information that comes with maps for every region in the United States. The guide itself, which carries reviews, descriptions and images of the movies playing, is an additional download for high-capacity devices. It is also free.
Earthcomber’s show listings cover nearly 5,400 theaters and 30,000 screens.
“Real, up-to-date movie listings are one of the handiest things you can put on a PDA or your smart phone,” said Jim Brady, Earthcomber’s founder and president. “What makes Movies on the Move different is they all show up in order of how close to where you’re standing.”
“Putting movie listings out for free is also a huge departure from the ‘try-then-subscribe’ services,” Brady said.
Earthcomber’s patented software uses GPS (Global Positioning Service) if available on the phone or other device. If the phone or PDA doesn’t have a real GPS signal, Earthcomber still provides GPS-simulation by allowing a user to tap the screen to mark their current location. Then all of each user’s personal interests appear by proximity.
“That really beats figuring out what zip code you’re in and doing repetitious searches on a mobile web site,” Brady said. “Plus, you can look for movies at the same time you’re looking for all the rest of the things you’re interested in – coffee shops, Wi-Fi hot spots, stores, ATMs, bars, whatever.”
The “Movies on the Move™” service is updated nightly and typically provides detailed information on approximately 400 movies per day, ranging from current box office hits to single screens showing obscure titles. The guide itself requires 1.5 to 3 megabites of storage space, and inludes movie synopses, actor and director credits and full reviews of popular titles, along with many photos.
The guide may be stored on a memory card for older devices, though it is not required – show times and theater listings are independently loaded into downloadable map and data sets from www.earthcomber.com.
Search WirelessDevNet for Related Items
Chicago, IL -- June 30, 2006 -- Mobile phones and PDAs can now spot theaters and showtimes by how close they are to the person scouting for a movie, thanks to the first GPS-enabled movie guide offered in the US.
“Movies on the Move™,” a free download for Palm OS and Windows Mobile-powered handheld devices, is available on Earthcomber, a website that provides mapping and local data as well as personal navigation software.
The detailed listings of movies, showtimes and theaters are now part of the local information that comes with maps for every region in the United States. The guide itself, which carries reviews, descriptions and images of the movies playing, is an additional download for high-capacity devices. It is also free.
Earthcomber’s show listings cover nearly 5,400 theaters and 30,000 screens.
“Real, up-to-date movie listings are one of the handiest things you can put on a PDA or your smart phone,” said Jim Brady, Earthcomber’s founder and president. “What makes Movies on the Move different is they all show up in order of how close to where you’re standing.”
“Putting movie listings out for free is also a huge departure from the ‘try-then-subscribe’ services,” Brady said.
Earthcomber’s patented software uses GPS (Global Positioning Service) if available on the phone or other device. If the phone or PDA doesn’t have a real GPS signal, Earthcomber still provides GPS-simulation by allowing a user to tap the screen to mark their current location. Then all of each user’s personal interests appear by proximity.
“That really beats figuring out what zip code you’re in and doing repetitious searches on a mobile web site,” Brady said. “Plus, you can look for movies at the same time you’re looking for all the rest of the things you’re interested in – coffee shops, Wi-Fi hot spots, stores, ATMs, bars, whatever.”
The “Movies on the Move™” service is updated nightly and typically provides detailed information on approximately 400 movies per day, ranging from current box office hits to single screens showing obscure titles. The guide itself requires 1.5 to 3 megabites of storage space, and inludes movie synopses, actor and director credits and full reviews of popular titles, along with many photos.
The guide may be stored on a memory card for older devices, though it is not required – show times and theater listings are independently loaded into downloadable map and data sets from www.earthcomber.com.
Search WirelessDevNet for Related Items
Intelligent Spatial Technologies Delivers New Mobile Local Search Technology
location based services
PORTLAND, ME -- June 29, 2006 -- Intelligent Spatial Technologies Inc. (http://www.i-spatialtech.com), a leading developer of location-based services for mobile users, announces the availability of a unique mobile local search and content delivery platform that allows users to search the internet or query databases simply by pointing a wireless phone or other mobile device at a building, landmark, or point of interest. E-mail a request for more information to info@i-spatialtech.com or call (207) 618-1931.
"When other location-based service providers such as GeoVector announce that they are the 'holy grail' of local search, we have to ask -- if the holy grail has never been found, then how good can their search technology really be?" says Chris Frank, CEO and Founder of Intelligent Spatial Technologies (iST). "I think most developers would rather have easily accessible, real-world technology than a holy grail when it comes to building mobile applications. Our agenda is simple -- to deliver innovative pointing-based search technologies to mobile application developers worldwide."
iST's first product, the iPointer™, enables next generation location-based services such as walking tours, city guides, pedestrian navigation, mobile local search, and targeted advertising. iPointer™ powered mobile applications are easy to use:
-- Users point their cell phone, PDA, or other mobile computing device toward a location or landmark and click.
-- Geospatial search criteria is acquired through input from off-the- shelf GPS receiver and digital magnetic compass components -- either onboard the user's mobile device or connected via Bluetooth.
-- Positional and orientation data are submitted over the wireless network to the server-based iPointer™ Geospatial Search Engine.
-- The location is first identified and then relevant location-specific content is assembled and delivered to the user's handset.
iST can deliver these services as turnkey mobile applications for interested business partners in vertical markets. Or, the iPointer™ can be easily integrated as a mobile local search and content delivery platform to complement existing mobile applications. The iPointer™ Geospatial Search Engine is offered as a hosted service to accelerate time to market for new mobile applications while keeping deployment costs low. The iPointer™ can be configured to access a broad variety of multimedia content sources such as proprietary databases, Web services, and premium content providers to be included in the search result.
About Intelligent Spatial Technologies
Intelligent Spatial Technologies, Inc. (iST) develops location-based services and technologies that transform the way people interact with the world around them. iST's iPointer™ platform uses patent-pending geospatial search technology to allow mobile users to simply 'point & click' to receive information about selected buildings, landmarks, and points of interest. Portland, Maine-based iST was founded in 2003 and is privately held. For more information, call (207) 618-1931 or visit http://www.i-spatialtech.com.
Search WirelessDevNet for Related Items
Search Google for Related Stories
location based services
PORTLAND, ME -- June 29, 2006 -- Intelligent Spatial Technologies Inc. (http://www.i-spatialtech.com), a leading developer of location-based services for mobile users, announces the availability of a unique mobile local search and content delivery platform that allows users to search the internet or query databases simply by pointing a wireless phone or other mobile device at a building, landmark, or point of interest. E-mail a request for more information to info@i-spatialtech.com or call (207) 618-1931.
"When other location-based service providers such as GeoVector announce that they are the 'holy grail' of local search, we have to ask -- if the holy grail has never been found, then how good can their search technology really be?" says Chris Frank, CEO and Founder of Intelligent Spatial Technologies (iST). "I think most developers would rather have easily accessible, real-world technology than a holy grail when it comes to building mobile applications. Our agenda is simple -- to deliver innovative pointing-based search technologies to mobile application developers worldwide."
iST's first product, the iPointer™, enables next generation location-based services such as walking tours, city guides, pedestrian navigation, mobile local search, and targeted advertising. iPointer™ powered mobile applications are easy to use:
-- Users point their cell phone, PDA, or other mobile computing device toward a location or landmark and click.
-- Geospatial search criteria is acquired through input from off-the- shelf GPS receiver and digital magnetic compass components -- either onboard the user's mobile device or connected via Bluetooth.
-- Positional and orientation data are submitted over the wireless network to the server-based iPointer™ Geospatial Search Engine.
-- The location is first identified and then relevant location-specific content is assembled and delivered to the user's handset.
iST can deliver these services as turnkey mobile applications for interested business partners in vertical markets. Or, the iPointer™ can be easily integrated as a mobile local search and content delivery platform to complement existing mobile applications. The iPointer™ Geospatial Search Engine is offered as a hosted service to accelerate time to market for new mobile applications while keeping deployment costs low. The iPointer™ can be configured to access a broad variety of multimedia content sources such as proprietary databases, Web services, and premium content providers to be included in the search result.
About Intelligent Spatial Technologies
Intelligent Spatial Technologies, Inc. (iST) develops location-based services and technologies that transform the way people interact with the world around them. iST's iPointer™ platform uses patent-pending geospatial search technology to allow mobile users to simply 'point & click' to receive information about selected buildings, landmarks, and points of interest. Portland, Maine-based iST was founded in 2003 and is privately held. For more information, call (207) 618-1931 or visit http://www.i-spatialtech.com.
Search WirelessDevNet for Related Items
Search Google for Related Stories
The Loki Planet Guide
The mighty Om thinks that WiFi location based services will be the next kickstart in the industry.
I agree that this could be the killer app, the SMS of WiFi/Max, that could really be a key integration point for Muni nets, FON networks and the newest WiFi enabled handsets.
He mentions Loki so I went off to have a quick look. It seems pretty interesting and it made me revisit a previous idea for book readers. Combining LBS with a brand like The Lonely Planet would be a pretty powerful partnership; apply the whole thing in a PDA or some other WiFi enabled device that makes book reading easy (something like Nokia's 770) and you have your own tour guide in your pocket that is as close to being smart as you can get. It will be able to know which country you're in and allow you to subscribe to the guide for that country, or mini-guide for that city. Once walking around the LBS granularity would enable a smart book mark to move you to the section of the guide for where you are.
I think the possibilities for LBS are good and an already think of some of the players that would be smart to start looking into it. As a bit of a Starbucks addict it would be good to know where the nearest branch is, hospitals, dentists, Police Stations would be another good use for the service.
Some years back a pilot was launched in Cambridge, UK that provided LBS service based on GSM cell sites for trinagulation. It was limited to a map for shopping and the limiting factor was the size of the screen on the handset. Many of those limitations are diminishing with big screen mobiles, PDA's and rotating screen orientation (such as the Nokia E60) make this a real choice in today's digital community.
The Loki Planet Guide
posted by David Mould @ 10:33 AM Digg
The mighty Om thinks that WiFi location based services will be the next kickstart in the industry.
I agree that this could be the killer app, the SMS of WiFi/Max, that could really be a key integration point for Muni nets, FON networks and the newest WiFi enabled handsets.
He mentions Loki so I went off to have a quick look. It seems pretty interesting and it made me revisit a previous idea for book readers. Combining LBS with a brand like The Lonely Planet would be a pretty powerful partnership; apply the whole thing in a PDA or some other WiFi enabled device that makes book reading easy (something like Nokia's 770) and you have your own tour guide in your pocket that is as close to being smart as you can get. It will be able to know which country you're in and allow you to subscribe to the guide for that country, or mini-guide for that city. Once walking around the LBS granularity would enable a smart book mark to move you to the section of the guide for where you are.
I think the possibilities for LBS are good and an already think of some of the players that would be smart to start looking into it. As a bit of a Starbucks addict it would be good to know where the nearest branch is, hospitals, dentists, Police Stations would be another good use for the service.
Some years back a pilot was launched in Cambridge, UK that provided LBS service based on GSM cell sites for trinagulation. It was limited to a map for shopping and the limiting factor was the size of the screen on the handset. Many of those limitations are diminishing with big screen mobiles, PDA's and rotating screen orientation (such as the Nokia E60) make this a real choice in today's digital community.
The Loki Planet Guide
posted by David Mould @ 10:33 AM Digg
The Loki Planet Guide
The mighty Om thinks that WiFi location based services will be the next kickstart in the industry.
I agree that this could be the killer app, the SMS of WiFi/Max, that could really be a key integration point for Muni nets, FON networks and the newest WiFi enabled handsets.
He mentions Loki so I went off to have a quick look. It seems pretty interesting and it made me revisit a previous idea for book readers. Combining LBS with a brand like The Lonely Planet would be a pretty powerful partnership; apply the whole thing in a PDA or some other WiFi enabled device that makes book reading easy (something like Nokia's 770) and you have your own tour guide in your pocket that is as close to being smart as you can get. It will be able to know which country you're in and allow you to subscribe to the guide for that country, or mini-guide for that city. Once walking around the LBS granularity would enable a smart book mark to move you to the section of the guide for where you are.
I think the possibilities for LBS are good and an already think of some of the players that would be smart to start looking into it. As a bit of a Starbucks addict it would be good to know where the nearest branch is, hospitals, dentists, Police Stations would be another good use for the service.
Some years back a pilot was launched in Cambridge, UK that provided LBS service based on GSM cell sites for trinagulation. It was limited to a map for shopping and the limiting factor was the size of the screen on the handset. Many of those limitations are diminishing with big screen mobiles, PDA's and rotating screen orientation (such as the Nokia E60) make this a real choice in today's digital community.
The Loki Planet Guide
posted by David Mould @ 10:33 AM Digg
The mighty Om thinks that WiFi location based services will be the next kickstart in the industry.
I agree that this could be the killer app, the SMS of WiFi/Max, that could really be a key integration point for Muni nets, FON networks and the newest WiFi enabled handsets.
He mentions Loki so I went off to have a quick look. It seems pretty interesting and it made me revisit a previous idea for book readers. Combining LBS with a brand like The Lonely Planet would be a pretty powerful partnership; apply the whole thing in a PDA or some other WiFi enabled device that makes book reading easy (something like Nokia's 770) and you have your own tour guide in your pocket that is as close to being smart as you can get. It will be able to know which country you're in and allow you to subscribe to the guide for that country, or mini-guide for that city. Once walking around the LBS granularity would enable a smart book mark to move you to the section of the guide for where you are.
I think the possibilities for LBS are good and an already think of some of the players that would be smart to start looking into it. As a bit of a Starbucks addict it would be good to know where the nearest branch is, hospitals, dentists, Police Stations would be another good use for the service.
Some years back a pilot was launched in Cambridge, UK that provided LBS service based on GSM cell sites for trinagulation. It was limited to a map for shopping and the limiting factor was the size of the screen on the handset. Many of those limitations are diminishing with big screen mobiles, PDA's and rotating screen orientation (such as the Nokia E60) make this a real choice in today's digital community.
The Loki Planet Guide
posted by David Mould @ 10:33 AM Digg
With a Cellphone as My Guide
Think of it as a divining rod for the information age.
Ko Sasaki for The New York Times
A phone pinpoints the Star Hotel Tokyo.
If you stand on a street corner in Tokyo today you can point a specialized cellphone at a hotel, a restaurant or a historical monument, and with the press of a button the phone will display information from the Internet describing the object you are looking at.
The new service is made possible by the efforts of three Japanese companies and GeoVector, a small American technology firm, and it represents a missing link between cyberspace and the physical world.
The phones combine satellite-based navigation, precise to within 30 feet or less, with an electronic compass to provide a new dimension of orientation. Connect the device to the Internet and it is possible to overlay the point-and-click simplicity of a computer screen on top of the real world.
The technology is being seen first in Japan because emergency regulations there require cellphones by next year to have receivers using the satellite-based Global Positioning System to establish their location.
In the United States, carriers have the option of a less precise locating technology that calculates a phone's position based on proximity to cellphone towers, a method precise only to within 100 yards or so.
Only two American carriers are using the G.P.S. technology, and none have announced plans to add a compass. As a result, analysts say Japan will have a head start of several years in what many analysts say will be a new frontier for mobile devices.
"People are underestimating the power of geographic search," said Kanwar Chadha, chief executive of Sirf Technology, a Silicon Valley maker of satellite-navigation gear.
The idea came to GeoVector's founders, John Ellenby and his son Thomas, one night in 1991 on a sailboat off the coast of Mexico. To compensate for the elder Mr. Ellenby's poor sense of direction, the two men decided that tying together a compass, a Global Positioning System receiver and binoculars would make it possible simply to point at an object or a navigational landmark to identify it.
Now that vision is taking commercial shape in the Japanese phones, which use software and technology developed by the Ellenbys. The system already provides detailed descriptive information or advertisements about more than 700,000 locations in Japan, relayed to the cellphones over the Internet.
One subscriber, Koichi Matsunuma, walked through the crowds in Tokyo's neon-drenched Shinjuku shopping district on Saturday, eyes locked on his silver cellphone as he weaved down narrow alleys. An arrow on the small screen pointed the way to his destination, a business hotel.
"There it is," said Mr. Matsunuma, a 34-year-old administrative worker at a Tokyo music college. "Now, I just wish this screen would let me make reservations as well."
Mr. Matsunuma showed how it works on a Shinjuku street. He selected "lodgings" on the screen. Then he pointed his phone toward a cluster of tall buildings. A list of hotels in that area popped up, with distances. He chose the closest one, about a quarter-mile away. An arrow appeared to show him the way, and in the upper left corner the number of meters ticked down as he got closer. Another click, and he could see a map showing both his and the hotel's locations.
Mr. Matsunuma said he used the service frequently in unfamiliar neighborhoods. But it came in most handy one day when he was strolling with his wife in a Tokyo park, and he used it on the spur of the moment to find a Southeast Asian restaurant for lunch.
The point-and-click idea could solve one of the most potentially annoying side effects of local wireless advertising. In the movie "Minority Report," as Tom Cruise's character moved through an urban setting, walls that identified him sent a barrage of personally tailored visual advertising. Industry executives are afraid that similar wireless spam may come to plague cellphones and other portable devices in the future.
"It's like getting junk faxes; nobody wants that," said Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a policy group in Washington. "To the degree you are proactive, the more information that is available to you, the more satisfied you are likely to be."
With the GeoVector technology, control is given over to the user, who gets information only from what he or she points at.
The Ellenbys have developed software that makes it possible to add location-based tourism information, advertising, mobile Yellow Pages and entertainment, as well as functions for locating friends. Microsoft was an underwriter of GeoVector development work several years ago.
"We believe we're the holy grail for local search," said Peter Ellenby, another son of John Ellenby and director of new media at GeoVector.
Think of it as a divining rod for the information age.
Ko Sasaki for The New York Times
A phone pinpoints the Star Hotel Tokyo.
If you stand on a street corner in Tokyo today you can point a specialized cellphone at a hotel, a restaurant or a historical monument, and with the press of a button the phone will display information from the Internet describing the object you are looking at.
The new service is made possible by the efforts of three Japanese companies and GeoVector, a small American technology firm, and it represents a missing link between cyberspace and the physical world.
The phones combine satellite-based navigation, precise to within 30 feet or less, with an electronic compass to provide a new dimension of orientation. Connect the device to the Internet and it is possible to overlay the point-and-click simplicity of a computer screen on top of the real world.
The technology is being seen first in Japan because emergency regulations there require cellphones by next year to have receivers using the satellite-based Global Positioning System to establish their location.
In the United States, carriers have the option of a less precise locating technology that calculates a phone's position based on proximity to cellphone towers, a method precise only to within 100 yards or so.
Only two American carriers are using the G.P.S. technology, and none have announced plans to add a compass. As a result, analysts say Japan will have a head start of several years in what many analysts say will be a new frontier for mobile devices.
"People are underestimating the power of geographic search," said Kanwar Chadha, chief executive of Sirf Technology, a Silicon Valley maker of satellite-navigation gear.
The idea came to GeoVector's founders, John Ellenby and his son Thomas, one night in 1991 on a sailboat off the coast of Mexico. To compensate for the elder Mr. Ellenby's poor sense of direction, the two men decided that tying together a compass, a Global Positioning System receiver and binoculars would make it possible simply to point at an object or a navigational landmark to identify it.
Now that vision is taking commercial shape in the Japanese phones, which use software and technology developed by the Ellenbys. The system already provides detailed descriptive information or advertisements about more than 700,000 locations in Japan, relayed to the cellphones over the Internet.
One subscriber, Koichi Matsunuma, walked through the crowds in Tokyo's neon-drenched Shinjuku shopping district on Saturday, eyes locked on his silver cellphone as he weaved down narrow alleys. An arrow on the small screen pointed the way to his destination, a business hotel.
"There it is," said Mr. Matsunuma, a 34-year-old administrative worker at a Tokyo music college. "Now, I just wish this screen would let me make reservations as well."
Mr. Matsunuma showed how it works on a Shinjuku street. He selected "lodgings" on the screen. Then he pointed his phone toward a cluster of tall buildings. A list of hotels in that area popped up, with distances. He chose the closest one, about a quarter-mile away. An arrow appeared to show him the way, and in the upper left corner the number of meters ticked down as he got closer. Another click, and he could see a map showing both his and the hotel's locations.
Mr. Matsunuma said he used the service frequently in unfamiliar neighborhoods. But it came in most handy one day when he was strolling with his wife in a Tokyo park, and he used it on the spur of the moment to find a Southeast Asian restaurant for lunch.
The point-and-click idea could solve one of the most potentially annoying side effects of local wireless advertising. In the movie "Minority Report," as Tom Cruise's character moved through an urban setting, walls that identified him sent a barrage of personally tailored visual advertising. Industry executives are afraid that similar wireless spam may come to plague cellphones and other portable devices in the future.
"It's like getting junk faxes; nobody wants that," said Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a policy group in Washington. "To the degree you are proactive, the more information that is available to you, the more satisfied you are likely to be."
With the GeoVector technology, control is given over to the user, who gets information only from what he or she points at.
The Ellenbys have developed software that makes it possible to add location-based tourism information, advertising, mobile Yellow Pages and entertainment, as well as functions for locating friends. Microsoft was an underwriter of GeoVector development work several years ago.
"We believe we're the holy grail for local search," said Peter Ellenby, another son of John Ellenby and director of new media at GeoVector.
NASA GPS software to calculate quake size
GPS software developed by NASA could be the answer to determining the scale of an earthquake.
That's what a team of university scientists is saying, showing that data from NASA's GPS technology can be used to determine whether an earthquake is big enough to generate an ocean-wide tsunami, and in turn provide faster tsunami warnings.
The team, led by Geoffrey Blewitt of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology and Seismological Laboratory at the University of Nevada, demonstrated that within 15 minutes an earthquake's size can be determined, much faster than current methods, according to the release.
"We'll always need seismology as the first level of alert for large earthquakes, and we'll need ocean buoys to actually sense the tsunami waves," Blewitt said. "The advantage of including GPS in warning systems is that it quickly tells how much the ocean floor moved, and that information can directly set tsunami models into motion."
Results of their study were published in the Geophysical Research Letters from the American Geophysical Union, in which the scientists tested a method called "GPS displacement" that they hope will aid in predicting large-scale earthquakes in the future.
The method entails "measuring the time radio signals from GPS satellites arrive at ground stations located within a few kilometers of an earthquake." And by calculating how far the stations moved because of the earthquake, scientists could derive an earthquake model as well as its true size or "moment magnitude," which is connected to rather a quake would generate into a tsunami.
According to the team, the December 2004 Sumatra earthquake in Indonesia provided a good example to test their hypothesis. The team had noted that the earthquake moved the ground permanently more than 0.4 inches as far away as India or about 1,200 miles away.
"With signals like that, an earthquake this huge can't hide," Blewitt said. "We hypothesized that if GPS data could be analyzed rapidly and accurately, they would quickly indicate the earthquake's true size and tsunami potential."
The 2004 earthquake that killed thousands in its wake had a magnitude of 9.2 to 9.3 but was first estimated at 8.0 using seismological techniques designed for rapid analysis -- which the team says underestimates earthquakes larger than 8.5 by making estimates from the first recorded seismic waves. Additionally, it was noted that this initial estimate was "the primary reason warning centers in the Pacific significantly underestimated the earthquake's tsunami potential."
"Tsunami warning is a race against time," said co-author Seth Stein of the Department of Geological Sciences at the Northwestern University. "Tsunamis travel at jet speed, so warning centers must accurately decide, within minutes, whether to issue alerts. This has to be done fast enough for the warning to be distributed to authorities in impacted areas so they can implement response plans. Together with seismometer and ocean buoy data, GPS adds another tool that can improve future tsunami danger assessments."
So, taking advantage of NASA's satellite positioning data processing software, the scientists analyzed data within 15 minutes of the earthquake. Looking at 38 GPS stations varying in distances from the Sumatra earthquake's epicenter, they tested the feasibility of their approach, the team said.
According to the release, the scientists' results indicated that most permanent ground displacements occurred within a few minutes of the arrival of the first seismic waves and that their analysis inferred an earthquake model and moment magnitude of 9.0 -- "very near the earthquake's final calculated size."
"Modeling earthquakes with GPS requires a robust, real-time ability to predict where GPS satellites are in space with exacting precision, which our software does," added Frank Webb, a NASA geologist at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "This technique improves rapid estimates of the true size of great earthquakes and advances real-time tsunami modeling capabilities."
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
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GPS software developed by NASA could be the answer to determining the scale of an earthquake.
That's what a team of university scientists is saying, showing that data from NASA's GPS technology can be used to determine whether an earthquake is big enough to generate an ocean-wide tsunami, and in turn provide faster tsunami warnings.
The team, led by Geoffrey Blewitt of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology and Seismological Laboratory at the University of Nevada, demonstrated that within 15 minutes an earthquake's size can be determined, much faster than current methods, according to the release.
"We'll always need seismology as the first level of alert for large earthquakes, and we'll need ocean buoys to actually sense the tsunami waves," Blewitt said. "The advantage of including GPS in warning systems is that it quickly tells how much the ocean floor moved, and that information can directly set tsunami models into motion."
Results of their study were published in the Geophysical Research Letters from the American Geophysical Union, in which the scientists tested a method called "GPS displacement" that they hope will aid in predicting large-scale earthquakes in the future.
The method entails "measuring the time radio signals from GPS satellites arrive at ground stations located within a few kilometers of an earthquake." And by calculating how far the stations moved because of the earthquake, scientists could derive an earthquake model as well as its true size or "moment magnitude," which is connected to rather a quake would generate into a tsunami.
According to the team, the December 2004 Sumatra earthquake in Indonesia provided a good example to test their hypothesis. The team had noted that the earthquake moved the ground permanently more than 0.4 inches as far away as India or about 1,200 miles away.
"With signals like that, an earthquake this huge can't hide," Blewitt said. "We hypothesized that if GPS data could be analyzed rapidly and accurately, they would quickly indicate the earthquake's true size and tsunami potential."
The 2004 earthquake that killed thousands in its wake had a magnitude of 9.2 to 9.3 but was first estimated at 8.0 using seismological techniques designed for rapid analysis -- which the team says underestimates earthquakes larger than 8.5 by making estimates from the first recorded seismic waves. Additionally, it was noted that this initial estimate was "the primary reason warning centers in the Pacific significantly underestimated the earthquake's tsunami potential."
"Tsunami warning is a race against time," said co-author Seth Stein of the Department of Geological Sciences at the Northwestern University. "Tsunamis travel at jet speed, so warning centers must accurately decide, within minutes, whether to issue alerts. This has to be done fast enough for the warning to be distributed to authorities in impacted areas so they can implement response plans. Together with seismometer and ocean buoy data, GPS adds another tool that can improve future tsunami danger assessments."
So, taking advantage of NASA's satellite positioning data processing software, the scientists analyzed data within 15 minutes of the earthquake. Looking at 38 GPS stations varying in distances from the Sumatra earthquake's epicenter, they tested the feasibility of their approach, the team said.
According to the release, the scientists' results indicated that most permanent ground displacements occurred within a few minutes of the arrival of the first seismic waves and that their analysis inferred an earthquake model and moment magnitude of 9.0 -- "very near the earthquake's final calculated size."
"Modeling earthquakes with GPS requires a robust, real-time ability to predict where GPS satellites are in space with exacting precision, which our software does," added Frank Webb, a NASA geologist at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "This technique improves rapid estimates of the true size of great earthquakes and advances real-time tsunami modeling capabilities."
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
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User rating: 3.6 out of 5 after 5 total votes
Would you recommend this story?
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Thursday, June 29, 2006
Introducing Google's Geocoding Service
location based services
As you've learned in previous installments of this ongoing series (tutorial 1, tutorial 2, tutorial 3, tutorial 4), the Google Maps API provides an amazingly capable solution for building compelling spatial applications. Yet one of the glaring omissions from the API has been the ability to map locations without the use of third-party solutions for converting mailing addresses to their corresponding coordinates; just as is the case with the Yahoo! and Microsoft Virtual Earth mapping APIs locations can only be pinpointed using their latitudinal and longitudinal descriptors. Whereas the latter two solutions have offered built-in conversion capabilities for some time, Google Maps API users have had to rely on services such as geocoder.us or the US Census Bureau TIGER/Line data for such tasks.
This longstanding feature request was satisfied on June 11 when Google quietly added geocoding capabilities to the API. What's more, this feature isn't limited to the U.S.; street-level geocoding is also offered for Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain! While limited to 50,000 daily requests, it's fair to say such constraints won't affect most users, particularly if caching is implemented. This tutorial shows you how to use this new feature, further streamlining your use of this wonderful API.
Prerequisites
Before you can use Google's geocoding feature, you'll need to register for an API key. This process was covered in the first installment of this series, therefore please refer to that tutorial for further information. Also, the geocoding class is only available in version 2 of the Google Maps API. Although this new version is intended to be almost completely backwards compatible, you must reference the appropriate version number within the
location based services
As you've learned in previous installments of this ongoing series (tutorial 1, tutorial 2, tutorial 3, tutorial 4), the Google Maps API provides an amazingly capable solution for building compelling spatial applications. Yet one of the glaring omissions from the API has been the ability to map locations without the use of third-party solutions for converting mailing addresses to their corresponding coordinates; just as is the case with the Yahoo! and Microsoft Virtual Earth mapping APIs locations can only be pinpointed using their latitudinal and longitudinal descriptors. Whereas the latter two solutions have offered built-in conversion capabilities for some time, Google Maps API users have had to rely on services such as geocoder.us or the US Census Bureau TIGER/Line data for such tasks.
This longstanding feature request was satisfied on June 11 when Google quietly added geocoding capabilities to the API. What's more, this feature isn't limited to the U.S.; street-level geocoding is also offered for Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain! While limited to 50,000 daily requests, it's fair to say such constraints won't affect most users, particularly if caching is implemented. This tutorial shows you how to use this new feature, further streamlining your use of this wonderful API.
Prerequisites
Before you can use Google's geocoding feature, you'll need to register for an API key. This process was covered in the first installment of this series, therefore please refer to that tutorial for further information. Also, the geocoding class is only available in version 2 of the Google Maps API. Although this new version is intended to be almost completely backwards compatible, you must reference the appropriate version number within the
GPS SATNAV LBS "Personal Navigation Device"
A Sextant --- solid brass navigation technology ... from 200 years ago !
NOKIA N95
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NOKIA N95
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