Mobile Innovation

One of the ideas that quite a few companies seem to be looking at is the ability to leave virtual notes, readable via your mobile, for other people to find when they arrive at a defined location.

In other words, you may want to leave a note for a friend (and only discoverable by them alone) that you’ve changed the venue for a meeting from under the clock in the station to a local bar - though you’d probably just send them an sms in real life or call them. Or another use case is attaching a message for all and sundry to discover, that reviews the restaurant you’ve “attached” it to.

I have to say, that I love this whole concept, where people can use their mobiles as a way of linking the real world with digital space. But I haven’t really come across a scenario where it makes a compelling application, let alone a business model. Perhaps a real world Wikipedia is the nearest my thinking has come to a possible scenario.

As far as localised messaging is concerned though, I thought this was interesting, as re-discovered by Pasta and Vinegar - I present to you, the Notificator.

Source

Posted by Mobile Innovation at 01:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Local.com, the Irvine, CA-based local search firm, has got a patent approval for a “method of responding to enhanced directory assistance inquiries using various protocols including voice-enabled and SMS systems. The patent also covers an associated referral advertising model, which is designed to monetize those local searches.” This follows another related patent the company announced last week, for location-based search.

The new patent seems to be in direct conflict with an existing patent, one from Jingle Networks, says ClickZ. This means litigation and consolidation in the industry.
Greg Sterling: There’s the looming Geomas local patent that has both online and mobile implications. There’s also a lesser-known local search patent that Microsoft owns through its acquisition of Vicinity Corp. in 2002.

More details in release.

Posted by Mobile Innovation at 02:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I found a very thrilling map application for Nokia devices: smart2go. smart2go is a compact programme for your mobile that allows you to load maps from around the world. Discover interesting places with ease, highlight them and get the route. It is a service combining GPRS+ bearers for content download and GPS for localisation. A hybrid between navigation and a travel guide with local based information.

Posted by Mobile Innovation at 09:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Although Galileo, the European alternative to GPS, has been beset by endless delays and even the ignominy of having its access system hacked almost immediately, the project continues to make slow progress this week with the transmission of its first navigation message. GIOVE-A, the first of a planned 30 satellites, has been floating overhead since the beginning of last year, but had only been sending "general signals" until the test last week, when the bird sent the data needed to measure the distance between itself and a ground station in Guildford, England. That's a big step, since the system is supposed go live next year and be fully operational by 2011.

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Posted by Mobile Innovation at 04:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's a great feature to have a built-in GPS receiver. What's really great about N95 is that you can download all the maps you need for free. Just go to smart2go.com and download the Nokia Maploader. Use maploader to download maps and store them on a microSD memory card. That way your phone doesn't need to use the network to download maps saving your data charges. It also saver battery life.
You can search for an address or enter the starting point and end point and the N95 will find a route. If you plan to use it as a car navigator with turn-by-turn instructions, you have to pay for a subscription service. Except for the turn-by-turn navigation, there are no other subscription fees. The Maps application is easy to use. You can pan, zoom in/out and change between 2D and 3D views.
The points of interest (POI) database that comes with the maps is very good and you can search for things nearby. The POIs are grouped into dozens of categories and in the settings, you can choose which categories are shown on the map.

In conclusion, the N95 doesn't quite offer the performance of dedicated GPS navigators.

Posted by Mobile Innovation at 08:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)