14
Jul
2010
RIM’s BlackBerry Protect Service Moves to Closed Beta
For those who have not heard, RIM is working out a new online service that is designed to help out users who often lose their mobile handsets. Of course, the service will only cover existing BlackBerry users. But if this works, then other mobile phone makers might want to try out the mode, for the BlackBerry Protect service.
The system is quite basic in terms of use. Users will need to create an account online and sign up their BlackBerry smart phones. After this, they can use the online service to remotely access the device. This comes in handy if the handset is misplaced, lost or even stolen as the number of commands available to users comes in a very wide range.
The most basic function would be to make the phone ring with message or an alert –this is really useful for folks who tend to leave their devices lying around the house. For those who feel that they might have left their device in a different location (such as the office, the car or a friend’s house) the GPS on the device can be activated and the location can be tracked to ensure that the device is indeed in the specified location.
Of course, there are times when phones are left in other places as well, such as the local gym or the pub, where the chances of another person taking the device is quite high. In these cases, or in times when direct theft is suspected, users of the Protect service may opt to have the device remotely locked or even have the contents wiped.
Wiping the memory can be a bit extreme, but as most professionals use smart phones to store important and private information, security is an important issue. The service also periodic allows over the air backups which allows users to instantly transfer content from one handset to another (should the previous handset prove to be irrecoverable).
7
Jul
2010
How Mobile Sat Nav on Mobile is Changing the GPS Industry
With Nokia Ovi Maps, Google Maps and the Apple iPhone GPS App Skobbler offering free voice guided sat navigation services to users, is there really room on the industry for today’s dedicated GPS devices?
Onboard navigational tools from Tom Tom and Garmin are taking second priority to smart phones that offer users free sat nav services. And with the offers being delivered the various mobile phone makers, dedicated GPS companies are having trouble keeping up with all the location based services and features that the average smart phone can offer.
But this does not completely rule out the need for GPS tools.
While the average person can completely rely on accessing Google’s Maps and street view on their XPERIA X10 Mini to get around town, a professional firefighter cannot afford to avail of such free services. The same is to be said for government and volunteers that rely on digital navigation. Law enforcement, medical teams and even delivery personnel still rely on devices made by TomTom –despite the fact that smart phones offer a similar feature.
The big difference is in the maps. While there is nothing that will tell you that Google’s maps are in any way less accurate than TomTom’s data, Google is not going to be held accountable for their content either. And that is the assurance that TomTom and Garmin gives to their users.
For a regular user, it is acceptable to do away with having a dedicated car GPS device –if you do not have one yet and simply to rely on your smart phone. The only real concern here is to be careful with the monthly data allowance and to always have a car charger around as having the service running will be a drain on the battery.
Also, it would be a wise decision to invest in a reliable car dock for the handset in order to have the device located at an easy to view location for accessing data and for referencing the map.
24
Jun
2010
How Location Based Apps are Changing Economy
Before the introduction of the modern smart phone technology, at a time when internet access was something that only a few people had available, many small businesses thrived on having geographically close customers from small, local communities.
Many of these businesses continue until this very day, while some have died out, other have found a new range of customers walking into their stores thanks to the power of smart phone technology.
While this may seem hard to put together, the smart phone industry has plenty of impact on small businesses. Take Foursquare for example. As the application encourages people to go out more, they also encourage people to visit more places. Of course, some users would aim for a mayor badge by visiting a single establishment often, but more often than not, people try to get other badges by being able to visit many other locations.
The fact that users can also leave feedbacks and recommendations is also quite impressive. More often than not, a visit to a nearby bookstore or fitness gym will have users reading recommendations about nearby pubs or restaurants. A quick stay at a local hotel might get you recommendations for the best movie houses around town. And there are more locations based services than just Foursquare.
GPS navigation services often employ a “point of interest” feature which not only shows users the locations of nearby health and emergency centers, but also the nearest stores and shops. Landmarks –both the well known and the locally established, are often noted as well. In fact, it can be said that GPS technology has allowed may businesses that have ‘bad locations’ (mostly as some road works would re-route traffic flow, turning previously busy streets into quiet side routes) to flourish. With Nokia and Google now offering free voice guided sat-nav services, expect this impact to get even larger.
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