GigaOM

[...] μέλλον. Διαβάστε και το σχετικό άρθρο στο GigaOM, Location, Location, Location: Deal Volume Proxy for Interest in Location-Based Services. This entry was written by Panayotis, posted on 24|Oct|2007 at 02:52, filed under asides and [...]

Location-Based Services M&A transactions

The Maperture blog (Jonathan Spinney, Eric Carr and David Williams) offers up a list of the last 70 or so transactions. Interesting historical document.

• via GigaOm

[...] has been a sharp increase in geo-location and location-based services in recent months. That’s good news for Yahoo, and they should be throwing a lot of resources behind FireEagle. [...]

[...] Location, Location, Location: Deal volume proxy for internet in Location-based services. [...]

[...] (0) Location Based Services (LBS) are going to be a big next year - you can tell that from the M&A frenzy (25 deals so far in 2007). Further more, bigger chip companies are starting to take note, and gobbling up their tiny [...]

[...] number of mobile applications. Search, social networking, travel guides, etc. Momentum is building. Big bets were especially placed on location based capabilities. I can’t quite count this as a hit, but [...]

[...] M&A activity in the sector is on an upswing, and the primary driver being location-based and mapping services on the mobile phones, the latest [...]

[...] Location, Location, Location: Deal Volume proxy for interest in Location Based Services. [...]

[...] services and the infrastructure they require were headed for a major upswing in 2008. My optimism was based on a sharp increase in the number of mergers and acquisitions taking place in the sector. But lately I’ve been [...]

Location based services have a niche when it comes to mobile 2.0 type applications. There is so much that can achieved using this technology. I guess once the wireless data service prices comes down, LBS based services are going to play a bigger role
I had collected a list of startups providing LBS based services. (Maybe not a complete list, need to update) Check out the link-
(link)

Om,
Thanks for linking my article to your post

My company just launched an interesting Location-Based Service in Frankfurt, Germany. The application is called Big Red Zebra and it provides really useful information that users need in their daily lives (like pharmacy opening times and public transit schedules). We use CellID location technology similar to Google My Location, but our application is offline: it doesn’t make server connections so it is very quick and the users don’t incur any runtime data connection or data traffic expenses. Even with the costs of data traffic coming down and the buildup of 3G networks, the time it takes to get a response from a server on a mobile phone can be really annoying. Check out our application at (link) (available in German and English). Comments and feedback are welcome!

It is the first time that Africa is hosting the world cup football in 2010. South Africa is gearing up. I have recently been introduced to AI (artificial intelligence) and I am excited at the prospect of building a mobile GIS for tourists using AI. I sourced this book (AI and Geography: Stan Openshaw, Christine Openshaw - ISBN: 978-0-471-96991-4 ) and wondering if anyone has more online info for me with regard to AI and GIS with relation to a ‘Mobile Content Aware GIS for Tourists’. We, as South Africans, are facing a multitude of problems. From high crime to a influx of tourists to existing over-saturated regions; Can a Mobile GIS warn the tourist before hand of high crime areas? Can a mobile GIS re-distribute tourists to new tourist regions? Can the GIS build profile information and intelligently sift through a GIS repository to deliver user specific information? The potential for a Mobile Tourist GIS (Active Nomadic Discovery) is very real, especially in the South African context.

Please visit my google-page. (link) and go to the Geographic survey page. Here you will find a travel survey that kindly requests your attention. It is my vision to ensure a safe and successful experience for those people visiting South Africa. It is worth mentioning that there is another angle to this: suppose a Mobile GIS can actually re-distribute tourists to new havens, untouched paradises. Do we want another Goa – India or another Kho Phagnan – Thailand? Social & environmental awareness campaigns (workshops in local areas educating locals on tourism ethics / short term & long term benefits of tourism / benefits of harmonious environmental interaction) will run in conjunction with the development of the GIS model. (link)

I actually reposted this comment many times before. FYI

Recently I browsed around about the location-based services (LBS). Most people believe it would be the next big thing or killer app. Quite a few others have different opinion. e.g.,

(link)
(link)

Here I can possibly present one opinion from the consumer/end-user perspective, which I have posted in some other places too.

Do we need LBS so badly?

Before I really go to the details. Let me give a review of one simple concept and theory here, which are called “Home Range Concept” and “Traffic Pattern Theory”.

Home Range Concept. It is a concept that can be traced back to a publication in 1943 by W. H. Burt, who constructed maps delineating the spatial extent or outside boundary of an animal’s movement during the course of its everyday activities.

Traffic Pattern Theory. A people’s daily activity pattern is pretty regular, which comprises of several major events, such as school, work, home, shopping.

As I remember, a technical explanation of traffic pattern theory can be found in a report by Stefan Schonfelder, STRC 2001.

(link)

What happened here is if you are looking at the traffic pattern of a person, saying a full-time employed, 45 years, car, 3-person-household, one child, the regular activity route is so LIMITED. So, does this mean …

A more detailed explanation of LBS for mobiles can be found by
(link)
(link)