MapMuse today announced the 2012 release of its Nude Beach and Naturist Maps, a series of web maps and an accompanying iPhone app that plot the locations of nude beaches, nude resorts, nudist clubs, nudist colonies, and nude runs around the world.
- press release
Glassmap, an app (Android/iOS, Facebook log-in) to passively share your location with friends, has lauched. It started at Standord, where 10% of students use it and has launched at 10 other schools. The big improvement ovr other apps like this (Google Latitiude, Loopt)? It uses an order of magnitude less battery.
- ReadWriteWeb
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Thursday proposed voluntary guidelines for [auto] manufacturers, including a recommendation that they design dashboards so that distracting devices are automatically disabled unless the vehicle is stopped and the transmission is in park.
Thankfully, backers understand that sometimes a passenger keys in an address to the in-car GPS or of course driver could use a phone not integrated into the dashboard for navigation. Maybe that's why this is voluntary.
- AP
Groupon has acquired Hyperpublic, a small company that develops location-based technology that can be integrated into other applications.
- PC World
Google has added "leaderboards" to Google Latititude, something many suggest means its going after Foursquare in a big way. You earn points for checking in and data is shared on Google +. So far the feature is only on the latest Google Maps for Android.
- PC Mag
by Adena Schutzberg on 02/20 at 05:02 AM |
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Narrow your search further:
checkin,
distracted driving,
foursquare,
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google maps,
google+,
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naturist,
ntsa,
passive location sharing,
satnav,
stanford
The Austin Biz Journal reports Gowalla is looking for a buyer. CNN broke the story which points to Groupon and Google as potential buyers.
- Austin Biz Journal Blog
HipCricket reports that marketers are no longer interested in LBS "games" but in closing sales.
Although marketers and consumers still find value in services that use location parameters for their own sake, they are now more interested in harnessing geographic data to close a sale.
Nokia Research is courting partners and expanding Bluetooth as part of an initiative on indoor location-based services. The company aims to leverage its handset and mapping products to enable a wide range of services including indoor navigation and retail analytics.
by Adena Schutzberg on 11/30 at 06:56 AM |
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Groupon general counsel David Schellhase said the company is developing technology that will track customers' location, even if they don't have a Groupon app open on their phones, according to an August 10 letter to the co-chairmen of the House Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus: Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, and Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat.
Why are is the company building that technology? Because its what customers want. Further, says the company, it will require explicit "opt-in" which please Rep Markey.
- Reuters
Foursquare now lets you check in to events - games, concerts, movies... I for one am finding checking in way off the radar of late. Oh, and presdient Obama is now on Foursquare (another indication it's "out"?)
- GigaOm
So, now that checking in is out (at least in my book) the Bing Team has an app for setting up a meetup: "We're in." It allows you to make the invitation to a group, then track everyone via status updates as they head to it (or bail out). For now it's a Windows Phone app and website, but the plan is to make it avaiable on other platforms.
- Washington Post, Bing Blog
by Adena Schutzberg on 08/19 at 05:06 AM |
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"Groupon Acquires Pelago; Shuts down Whrrl" is the clear headline from GPS Biz News. Whrrl didn't seem to be going anywhere as "just another" share your location offering. But it's a feather in Groupon's cap that the target of so many acquisitions stepped up to add to its developer portfolio, probably for little cash. Whrrl will shut down April 30.
- GPS Biz News
by Adena Schutzberg on 04/19 at 05:20 AM |
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Newcomer QONQR – pronounced 'conquer' - appears more akin to Microsoft'sFable III Kingmaker game than it does typical location-based apps, charging players with claiming cities around the world and launching attacks on rival factions by checking in as they travel with their phones.
The latest LBS game is less like Foursquare and more like RISK.
- PocketGamer
... Groupon Now enables users to see deals only when they enter their location into the Groupon website or smartphone app. The new service playfully integrates the complex technology powering current GPS accuracy, with the simple reduction of human emotions into two phrases: I’m hungry, and I’m bored. Choosing either of these options results in giving users a host of suggestions based on proximity.
- PSFK
GiftRocket...marries the concept of virtual gift cards with location-based services, per TechCrunch. You can send money - but it's only redeemable when the recipient checks-in at the prescribed location.
- TechCrunch
by Adena Schutzberg on 03/23 at 06:47 AM |
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