Killer Mobile Location Patent Granted
March 17, 2010 By: Janice PartykaWireless Pulse Newsletter, March 2010
Join Jeff Hasen, Chief Marketing Officer of HipCricket, and myself tomorrow, March 18, in the free webinar “What’s Next for Location-Based Services.” We will discuss trends and market disruptions that have created new opportunities and challenges in the LBS market. We’ll talk about revenue models for content, including mobile advertising.
Google Awarded Location Patent
Google was awarded a killer patent for the use of location information in advertising. The search giant can leverage the patent to control the use of location information in ads, one of the most targeted and hence, lucrative, parameters of mobile and web-based advertising. The patent covers all the good stuff: using location for targeting ads, setting a minimum price bid for an ad, offering performance analytics, and modifying the content of an ad. It enables advertisers to enter location data to improve targeting, and track ad performance according to location metrics and analytics.
In the patent, Google describes using location information as an attribute to determine ad placement, tracking performance in different geographic areas and, perhaps most importantly, targeting potential customers based on their location. "The usefulness, and consequently the performance, of advertisements are improved by allowing businesses to better target their ads to a responsive audience," states Google.
How will Google use the patent? Sometimes large companies obtain patents as a benign and simple defensive action to ensure their rights are not challenged, and not as a ploy to collect licensing fees or stop other company’s operations. In the case of Google, I’m putting my money on a Darth Vader scenario. It would hurt a Silicon Valley nemesis, Apple, who, like Google, recently purchased a mobile advertising company.
Mobile Health Is Hot
M-health, the use of mobile technology to improve medical care, is swarming with innovation. If you are at CTIA, you may want to sit in one of the M-health sessions. AlcoSystems introduced a mobile solution that tracks blood alcohol level on a handset and identifies the location of the user. A small breathalyzer unit uses Bluetooth to connect to a handset loaded with the application. Test results and location can be read remotely.
The AlcoSystem can be set up so that a photo is taken of the user during each testing to verify identity (could be ugly). AlcoSystems hopes to reduce the size of the alcometer so that it can be embedded in personal items like jewelry. My, those are large cuff links! The system is in beta. Look for more M-health apps using location.
Big Red Balloon
DARPA (U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) held a contest to determine the geolocation of 10 red eight-foot weather balloons it had moored throughout the U.S. All were visible from roadways. The prize was $40,000.
DARPA, the Pentagon’s research center, understands the power of mobile social networks. Their goal was to “explore the roles that Internet and social networking play in the timely communication, wide-area team-building, and urgent mobilization required to solve broad-scope, time-critical problems.” Could ordinary people provide a fast network of information in the event of a terrorist attack or health nightmare?
Almost 4,000 teams took the challenge. The winner was a team from MIT that devised a viral financial incentive system for successful reporting. The team offered $2,000 to a person who spotted a balloon, $1,000 to the person who invited them to participate, and a smaller amount to the person who invited that person. Multiple blogs and websites were devoted to the balloon race and included both real and bogus reports, including fictitious photos. The MIT team developed a computing method to separate out fake leads and was able to find all the balloons in nine hours.
GPS on a Stick
AT&T has introduced a GPS-enabled USB device, the USBConnect Velocity. The Velocity is the first GPS-enabled LaptopConnect device from AT&T, opening the door to location-based applications. The product includes a free software application that leverages location-enabled sites such as Yahoo! Maps and Bing for directions and local points of interest. Through TeleNav Track LITE and Xora GPS Locator from AT&T, enterprise customers can add tracking or enterprise applications.
More Places for Free Nav
Nokia and Alpine Electronics are getting cozy. Alpine’s Terminal Mode connected technology will transmit Ovi smartphone software to the audio and screen systems embedded in vehicles. It will include the turn-by-turn Ovi Map navigation application. Alpine adds, “Connectivity between the smartphone and the car can also enable GPS information to interface with information like fuel levels and engine status, enabling location-based services to identify the nearest gas station, spotlight the lowest gas price, or deliver service station coupons. Terminal Mode can also support safety features, e.g., warning drivers to slow down.”
Where Tweet and Facebook?
Twitter announced the addition of geo-location using neighborhood data from Mapronics. “A recent burst of interest in location sharing applications, games, and services has many Twitter users excited about appending geographic data to some of their tweets,” says the company’s blog. Facebook’s long-awaited jump into social location-based networks was finally announced, and will begin at the end of April. Both Twitter and Facebook require the user to turn location on, to avoid the backlash Google Buzz experienced with default settings that automatically shared a user’s location. Impacts on other location-based networks such as Foursquare, Gowalla, and Loopt are likely.
About the Author: Janice Partyka
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Comments
on: March 17, 2010 - 6:36pm
Google Latitude + Google Ocean = Real-time Fishing LBS Contents
Have you heard about Real-time Fishing LBS Contents? We have proposed this Service Model to Google over 4 years ago. Real-time Fishing LBS Contents is Location Based Service for IPTV, WiMAX, Mobile. This Service Model was created in 2002 by I&IWorld. I&IWorld's located in South Korea. As you know, there're many people enjoy fishing in the world(about 5 hundred million). I&IWorld's Real-time Fishing LBS Contents is like these.
*Main Functions*
1.The underwater topography and 3D views with fishing spots
2.Real-time fishing points tracing by GPS and angling direction guide
3.Service the real-time fishing condition about fishing place(weather, water temp, depth etc)
4.Angler Social network(such as Second Life)
Everyone knows that Google motto is, 'Don't be evil.' Is it all right? Visit http://www.koreacontent.org/weben/index.jsp, and type 'Real-time Fishing LBS Contents'. Search http://www.koreacontent.org/co/i/iiworld/index.html. If you need more information, please send your email address.