Location Based -- Engadget Mobile

location-based posts

Loopt strikes deal with AT&T for background monitoring on iPhone

by Donald Melanson posted Sep 4th 2009 @ 4:42PM

Well, it's not quite the sort of background application that most folks have been hoping for on the iPhone, but Loopt has nonetheless scored something of a first for its location-based iPhone app. As Silicon Alley Insider reports, the company has struck a deal directly with AT&T that'll let it monitor your location whenever you have a network connection, regardless of whether you have the Loopt app open or not. That, as you might have surmised, is done entirely on a server-to-server basis, and it'll initially be made available as a part of free 14-trial program limited to 5,000 users, after which it'll run them and everyone else $3.99 a month (added to your AT&T bill). Feeling lucky (or quick)? You can put your name and number into the hat by hitting up the appropriate read link below.

Read - Loopt Always-On Location Trial Sign-up
Read - Silicon Alley Insider, "Loopt Location To Update In The Background On iPhone"

[Via MacRumors]

Windows Mobile gets location-based searches thanks to Google's GeolocationAPI

by Sean Cooper posted Sep 11th 2008 @ 11:22PM

Google search on Windows Mobile -- full list of supported devices can be found by following the read link -- just beefed up local searching with the same tech used by Google Maps for Mobile. By grabbing information about the cell towers near you, searches are tailored to your location rather than you having to enter one. For example, entering "Taco Bell" would find the store nearest you, not all of em in your home town. The service is currently only supported in the US and the UK, but as with everything Google's up to -- like world domination -- it'll show up in your locale soon enough. We're fresh out of Windows Mobile devices today, so feel free to hit us up with your experiences.

[Via Phonescoop]

Nokia adds GyPSii social networking app to GPS-enabled sets

by Sean Cooper posted Nov 28th 2007 @ 5:20PM

Nokia and GeoSentric (née Benefon) have signed a deal to put the GPS-enabled GyPSii application on the Nokia N95 and 6111 handsets. The GyPSii software's magic lay in its ability to encode a "where" stamp -- you know, location instead of time -- in pics and vids you create with it. Users can then share this content on the GyPSii site -- or presumably some future Nokia site -- and see where their friends were when they took the pics or captured the videos. Of course, misuse -- or accidental use -- of this system will likely end is tears, misery, and divorce so buyer beware.

Nextel's Cat Trax phones getting sexual predator location data

by Evan Blass posted Apr 6th 2006 @ 1:27PM

Nextel's Cat Trax line of child-tracking phones are about to get an interesting new feature that keeps them updated with addresses of local sexual predators and alerts parents by text, email, or page if the phone enters one of the virtual danger zones, or "geofences." The system, which is part of a $20 monthly subscription service from CATS Communications ($10 for each additional phone), is updated in more-or-less real time thanks to a link with the Family Watchdog national database of registered offenders. This new component of the service was championed by Joe Dawson, a resident of 11-year old murder victim Jessica Lunsford's hometown, and the driving force behind the legislation which bears her name.

PhoneTag for Amp'd: stalking friends and strangers in the real world

by Evan Blass posted Apr 5th 2006 @ 10:43AM

Matt Damon and best friend/business partner Ben Affleck will soon be providing us with entertainment at more places than just the cineplex, as the two are set to take over the small screen as well -- on your cellphone. Unfortunately for fans of their acting talents, Damon and Affleck's contribution to the world of mobile content will come in the form of a video game from their production company, LivePlanet, that utilizes the location-awareness functionality on players' mobiles. Called PhoneTag, the subscription-based game is basically a real-world, touchless version of tag, where competitors join a match and use their handsets to track down friends or strangers in real world spaces, hitting a "capture" button when their prey is close enough. This online offering will be available exclusively from Amp'd Mobile, and will feature safehouses sponsored by establishments such as Starbucks, where players can congregate to become untraceable on their opponents' maps (and obviously pass the time drinking copious amounts of coffee).