Changing the Wireless World with Mobile Application Development

Online, March 3, 2010 (Newswire.com) - With the emergence and establishment of the mobile application development market, several auxiliary industries have sprung up around the mobile industry. One of these is the location based service market. A location based service utilises the ability of a mobile device to broadcast the location of the user. Location based services are able to provide specific information to users based on the user's location at any time. Some services allow the user to find nearby utilities such as ATMs while others deliver advertising and marketing to mobile device users based on their location.

Although rudimentary location based services (LBS) have been around for a decade, the LBS market is set to become even more widespread in the next few years. This is mainly due to the release of more sophisticated smartphones like the Apple iPhone and the Google Android which has a specific focus on delivering location based services. Google's Android in particular emphasis its LBS features. Many of the best applications designed for Android take advantage of its positioning features.
The uses of LBS are many and varied. Simpler uses include a restaurant or store sending messages to nearby customers offering discounts if they enter the store within a certain time limit. More complex uses involve combining information from Wi-Fi, GPS and cell towers to create more accurate positioning systems. Companies who collect this data can then resell it to various other interested parties like mobile application developers or mobile device manufacturers.

Location Based services have also impacted social media networking. Several services exist which aim to match users to nearby people with the same interests or inform users of nearby events and gatherings which match their interests. Although many of these services are limited at the moment, location based social networking has the potential to become the biggest location based service. With over 300 million users worldwide, if Facebook became location based it would almost definitely have a large impact on the market.

Location based services still have some hurdles to overcome however. Many LBS such as social networks rely on having a large number of people using them. This is also true for location based applications like traffic jam information systems which rely on other people in the area using location enabled mobile devices. Therefore if only limited numbers of people adopt these services they will quickly become useless.

Another issue is the privacy implications of some location based services. Many people are concerned that location based applications may erode their privacy and result in them being sent unsolicited messages from nearby companies. This lead to an act passed in 2005 which made it illegal for any message to be sent to a device user without the user's permission. This posed a new challenge for location based marketing. Many users also fear the misuse of information concerning their location and movements. This has lead to the development of technologies which hide the location of a mobile device.

Location Based Services are rapidly expanding with the help of mobile companies like Apple and Google. Mobile device users can download thousands of applications which enhance their experience through location based technologies. However the continued success of LBS ultimately depends on how many users embrace the technology offered by the mobile application development industry. Firms who wish to successfully monetise LBS must gain the trust of customers and allay their fears concerning privacy issues.