Geospatial Business Tidbits

“Indian firm Infotech has acquired US-based Wellsco, a telecom engineering Services Company for an all cash deal with an annual run rate of the company touching $12 million.”

- Silicon India

How do you position your new ski travel website? By saying you are “correcting” Google Maps inaccuracies. That’s what SnowTrax is doing. It offers “real proximity to the mountain.”

- press release

On Nov 11 TomTom announced that it is increasing its stake in its Indian joint venture from 60% to 90%. This step underlines TomTom’s commitment to strengthening its presence in India. The company will be renamed TomTom India Ltd.

- Bradenton.com

“Infotech Enterprises Ltd has announced with respect to the wider rebranding and positioning exercise of the whole Company, and to firmly position Infotech Enterprises Limited as a leading global engineering services Company, UTG as a vertical name and identity for our geospatial, data and network group will cease to exist. Instead, UTG will become the “Network and Content Engineering” Division within Infotech - “N&CE” for short. “

- Equity Bulls

Aditya Palande, the former Director of Engineering at Google has joined Loopt.

- Coated

“Business Insider is reporting that Facebook was able to nab Nathan Folkman [top Foursquare enginneer], who has been with the thriving location-based social networking site since its early days. “

- TechZone 360

Update 6: Netezza Geospatial Code Subject of Lawsuit

There’s been a settlement: “Under the settlement agreement, which became effective today, Netezza will have ownership of all products and related intellectual property developed by IISI for the Netezza platforms, including the geospatial product and extended SQL toolkit. IISI has retained the right to continue to develop, manufacture and distribute those products for use on other platforms.” There’s probably more, but no other details are being shared.

- press release

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Geospatial Business Tidbits

So, which geospatial companies are tapping into the interest in wind power? In the case of the Meskwaki Indian nation in Iowa, it’s a design build engineering firm, that provides wireless telcom solutions, based in Exton, PA.

The tribe, also commonly known as the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, recently contracted with WPCS International, design-build engineering specialists for communications infrastructure.

“We put up a meteorological tower to measure the wind for the next year. We will analyze the data and after a year we will do a final report,” said James J. Heinz, executive vice president, with WPCS International Inc.’s St. Louis operations. The company is headquartered in Exton, Pa.

And the company is looking to do more of the same kind of work.

WPCS provides wireless communications systems for the Foxwoods Resort Casino of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, among other work for Indian nations, but Heinz, added that “this is our first Indian reservation where we are able to do a wind study, and we are very interested in doing this for other reservations. There is grant money available to Indian nations for renewable energy, and there are a lot of Indian tribes out there that got that.”

- Indian Country Today

Suzuki is recalling 20,692 vehicles in the US for a problem with the Garmin navigation system. This recall is on models equipped with a Garmin Nuvi model 750, 760, or 765 Navigation system in which the batteries could overheat, resulting in a fire. Garmin technicians will replace the battery and insert a spacer on top of the battery.

- Automotive World

Garmin was down 34% in earning over the year ago quarter with sales of its biggest product line (auto and personal satnav devices) leading the slump. The company hoped other businsesses areas would make up the expected drop.

- press release
- KansasCity.com

Bridal Magazine Publisher Sues SCVNGR, LBS Gaming Startup Over Trademark

In a lawsuit filed Oct. 27, RFP LLC, which publishes and distributes Bridal Guide Magazine, said SCVNGR used the phrase “Race for the Rock” to advertise at least five scavenger hunts in Illinois, Kentucky, New York, and Wisconsin. RFP trademarked the term in 2006 to market contests of its own and is asking the Southern District Court of New York to award it at least $500,000 in damages and all the profits SCVNGR has made from the contests in question.

I find it hard to believe there is no running race that’s got that name trademarked…
- The Boston Globe

Nokia Ovi Life Tools: Geography Basics

As we in the U.S. ponder how to use LBS to sell more burgers and get people to polls, Nokia is selling phone services and LBS as “life tools.” Now, phones and Internet connections have always been a lifeline of sorts in rural areas, but their simple ability to bridge geography is still worth quite a lot. Nokia is pushing its agricultural services in rural Nigeria to help farmers make more on their crops by knowing the price at various markets. How’s the money?

For rural users:

In India farmers are willing to pay $1.35 a month for information such as text messages noting the current average wholesale price for 100 kilograms of tomatoes (600 rupees ($13.26)). That can mean choosing to go to market or stay home and wait for better prices.

For Nokia:

Since 2009, 6.3 million people have signed up to pay Nokia for commodity data in India, China and Indonesia. On Tuesday, Nokia plans to announce that it is expanding the program, called Life Tools, part of its Ovi mobile services business, to Nigeria.

- NY Times