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Download your own GPS mapping kit
Location-based services and mobile commerce = Big opportunities
It’s no surprise Google are talking up the future of LBS, particularly since it wasn’t that long ago they announced the launch of Google Wallet, an electronic payment method using NFC (Near Field Communication) to pay for purchases. Google knows that LBS presents a huge opportunity for both value-added services to end-user consumers as well as massive marketing opportunities for businesses who operate retail outlets.
It’s not just Google that are seeing the amazing potential of LBS and how it can generate sales, create new customers, improve customer loyalty and increase convenience and efficiency for the end-user. Other technology providers are also tapping in to the big opportunities that LBS and other related technology offers from social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare to hardware makers like Apple and Nokia.
These opportunities are only now becoming reality as the different technologies evolve and start to penetrate the mainstream. This is another example of how GPS systems are continuing to grow and adapt along with other developments such as NFC and increasingly widespread internet connectivity (hopefully not at the expense of disrupting GPS) to create user-friendly applications that take advantage of the one thing GPS can tell them – your exact location.
So how can you take advantage of this growing interest in GPS-based applications, and profit from this exciting software goldmine?
Did you know you can build your own LBS application?
If you thought that building a revolutionary LBS application was limited to the smart guys in the Google labs or technical wizards working in Silicon Valley then think again. Telogis have made available a free Software Developers Kit (SDK), known as Telogis GeoBase, to allow anyone to build their own mapping application.
It currently has map data for over 40 countries and a sample application is included to make it easy for even hobby developers to get started and create their own GPS-enabled map application.
Using GeoBase, developers have created software applications worth millions of dollars, simply by tapping in to the power of GPS and the growing popularity of LBS applications.
You might already have an idea for a ‘killer app’ or you might be waiting for that million dollar idea to hit you, but all that’s limiting you is your imagination. Brainstorm away, and if you need some help or inspiration, browse the list of technology partners who can work with your GeoBase application to create a valuable application for end users.
Location-Based services will drive the future of retail
GPS is evolving and smart technology providers are continually seeing increased opportunities to tap into location-based services, as both a useful service to consumers (“Where’s the closest clothing store that will give me a discount on my Smith’s card?”) and a great way for retailers to draw in extra customers (Broadcast to all subscribed mobile devices to check-in to a nearby store for an exclusive bonus).
Exactly how this technology will be used remains to be seen, but with SDKs such as Telogis GeoBase allowing anyone around the world to build their own mapping application the future is wide-open!