GPS trumps SMS/Text Messaging marries WiMax

location based services


I have been told that GPS is luxury car, while texting is more like a Yugo. Here's why that is true for mobile searching, even though the numbers say many, many folks have tried texting. I suspect many are very young (I don't text), and there is jargon that texters use to get over what a pain it is to type on mobile devices. 2MI = too much information, BRB = be right back. Or texters use letters to disguise what they are saying --- for example, my 11 year old niece taught me that texting POS to your friends means parent over shoulder. That abbreviated typing is not going to work for many types of commerce.Using SMS/Text Messaging for real estate info:To get an answer about a real estate property, even if it is an automated system, via mobile sms/text-messaging/email - you have to type on your cell phone's keypad.So in real estate it's a pain in the arse.Want to know about 271 Winding Way Drive, Pleasanton (Sp? - spell it wrong and you have other problems) California.To get a text message answer - you have to peck that address in. A 20 minute exercise. No way. And in some text messaging scenario's you may have to look for the code to type in, and that's an added expense for the person who wants you to text about their product (house, store, etc) and not everything you want to know about will have a text message code sticker on it.That's why for real estate and place based things we patented the use of LBS (location based Services) and GPS (global positioning systems) to trigger real estate searches for example. GPS is a form of LBS, and so is 'location-detecting' WiMax.I like solutions that are simple and elegant - (like E=MC squared - not that I understand that, but I like the theory that says the better you understand something the more simply it can be explained).We have been granted 3 patents using GPS as a trigger to start a search. GPS triggered searching is an elegant solution that makes it easy to use.At Smarter Agent we created a grid that has EVERY property in the United States listed (and are working on some international things as well). We add things like comps, for sale listings, and rentals to this grid.As carriers roll out LBS services all you have to do with Smarter Agent is hit a button and we tell you all the information about the properties around you. The GPS in the phone gets your longitude and latitude and this allows Smarter Agent to instantly bring you back information about the property. 1-click, no typing required.This is about as close to changing the TV channel (with a remote) as we could get. Forget about all those other keys!As more people and the media continue to learn about the coming pervasiveness of GPS in cell phones this will be a game changer for real estate and other local search and local finding applications.You can see what I mean by stopping in a Sprint-Nextel store and trying out Smarter Agent. Or with millions of GPS capable phones already out there, you may already have one that let's you experience this Star Trek like searching. Try it, you'll be hooked - after all we all like a little luxury WOW! experience now and then.
# posted by Brad @ Tuesday, August 01, 2006