Find Indie Bookstores Anywhere Through Earthcomber

location based services

The American Booksellers Association is mobilizing its nationwide directory of U.S. independent bookstores through Earthcomber's GPS-enabled software for Palm OS and Windows Mobile PDAs and smartphones. Earthcomber combines free maps with data to help travelers find what they're looking for: be it a hot spot, coffee store, ATM, office supplies, fast-food, banks, restaurant, car rental, historic sites, museums, schools, public buildings, parks, convenience stores, pharmacies, cleaners, fuel, eye-care, a pet store, etc. It also offers turn-by-turn directions for wirelessly connected devices.
With the new addition, no matter where you travel in the country you can tell Earthcomber to find you a bookstore and it will show you where you are in relation to nearby a Book Sense affiliated stores. Book Sense is the American Booksellers Association program to promote independents. The bookseller directory is burned into the Earthcomber data layer as part of its free 1.5 million points of interest dataset.
All users of Earthcomber automatically receive the Book Sense store locations when they download Earthcomber maps and location data, whenever they look for “books” or “book store.”
American Booksellers Association spokesperson Meg Smith said the Book Sense program also includes fliers, a Web site (BookSense.com), bestseller list, and a gift card program. “Including the Book Sense store location directory in Earthcomber searches just makes good business sense—readers and consumers are using technology to shop and find books in new ways everyday, and Earthcomber allows the independents to be part of one of those new ways,” Smith added.
Earthcomber "combs" any area for all items of interest, including independent bookstores now, to the traveler within a few seconds, unlike web-based mobile look-up services that take much longer and require input item-by-item, Founder and president Jim Brady explained to PDAStreet when we spoke last April.
And, unlike other services, which spend a lot of time aggregating data about locations - passing around the same old list of restaurants, for example - Earthcomber goes directly to the horse's mouth; so if the application says a point of interest is there, it is, according to Brady.
When we asked how Earthcomber earned revenue, Brady said the company was coming into its own through advertising; but with no banner adds or pop ups. He called it a service or transaction ad model; by getting brands, mostly national, but also smaller ones like the American Booksellers Association, to opt in.
“Mobile marketing with Earthcomber is a powerful way to reach a select group of consumers without ever violating customer privacy or giving them information they do not want or need,” said Brady. “It also allows your customer to find you when they need you, no matter where they are at the time—something that can’t be said for any other form of marketing.” Related Links:
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