LBS Report Card

Kanwar Chadha, chief marketing officer and founder of SiRF Technologies, opened his Location 2.0 Summit by giving a report card of LBS since last year’s event. What’s changed?

1. Nokia has adopted location as a major driver; they’ve taken a leadership position in the cellular and location. the company received the "Leadership" Award from Chadha at the close of the conference.
2. In the cellular space, all major carriers are taking a look into location as core element of their service. It’s no longer just an afterthought.
3. Consumers or developers no longer have to "kluge" together many different devices to get location-based information. Many devices already or will soon have location-aware components embedded in them.
4. Education of the marketplace. We don’t have to explain to people anymore about what GPS does.

More on XOHM: Sprint Nextel Embeds Location in WiMAX

An integral part of Sprint Nextel’s WiMAX initiative, as we previously covered in APB, will be location. Barry West, president of the company’s XOHM business unit, said that, "XOHM is based on an ultra-fast and secure access service. It will have location and presence." In differentiating XOHM from other wireless services West said that the customer is at the center of our experience. "What makes the cellular industry such a poor experience? Reason – the cost of the device requires a subsidy…[We] need to change the paradigm from having a contract to being able to come and go as you please. As we move to the next generation is to make sure we break that subsidy paradigm. We shouldn’t charge you per device but charge you per person."

The description of XOHM’s "geobrowsing" is not much different than what you expect from other location-relevant services for consumers. It will have access to local weather, events, etc. But West was looking long term to when "all" electronic devices have a WiMAX chip embedded in them…anything from washing machines, thermostats and toasters to cars and other mobile devices. West said that, "[the] ebedded ecosystem is based on having low cost WiMax chips…in the range of $3 to $15 dollars in a few years. When you get into that price range, then the BOM becomes affordable."

Quote of the Day - Google’s Jones on the iPhone

Michael Jones, Google Earth’s chief technologist in his keynote presentation at SiRF’s Location 2.0 Summit had this to say about the iPhone:

"The iPhone…it’s so frustrating…it doesn’t have GPS…well there is always next time."

I rest my case.

Seybold to Orange…“There’s more money in LBS”

Orange, the European cellular operator, is focusing more on mobile TV more than LBS. Raphael Goumot of Orange said that, "The value proposition is clearer. LBS is more complex. Too many issues to deal with…security, usability." Andrew Seybold, who was moderating a panel session at SiRF’s Location 2.0 Summit flatly predicted that Orange would make more money in LBS.