While backing up files to reinstall Windows due to a virus I caught while at Blogher, I noticed that I had not posted my notes from the wonderful inaugural Mobile Location Enabled Services 2007 conference hosted by Abbie Badcock back in May. Apologies Abbie, your conference was both fun and productive.
Without a doubt, Mobile Location Enabled Services is a premier and unique event due to the variety of verticals in one place. Abbie Badcock has brought together a great mix of mobile search, mobile marketing and advertising, mobile local content, mobile social networking and a serious discussion to building the conversation regarding the resolution of the many to the realization of the potential of mobile location. I look forward to participating and driving the conversation in future years.
Symbian – Jerry Panagrossi, VP, US Operations, Symbian
The original STAR TREK Comunicator 1965-69
Fast forward to the 21st Century – PND, GPS Bluetooth, etc
1 Billion mobile phones shipped in 2006
Mobile subscribers projected 3 Billion by YE2007 and 4 Billion by YE 4 Billion!!!
Showed chart migrating from voice, data enabled then 3G phones – many with built in GPS.
Showed chart with why smart phones have high mobility and utility more than other presently available devices. Symbian believes that there is going to be mass market adoption.
Mobile Telecoms + Internet + Location Services + Automotive = Innovation
Emerging Disruptive Market Forces
Mobile Market Saturation
Open Mobile Platforms
Ad$ (advertising)
Data Services Deployment Trend
– Market Saturation
– 3G Deployment
– Service Rollout
– Smart Phone Adoption
Traditional economies are saturated with cell phones while others are not.
LBS ranks highest in consumer interest – survey Compete, Inc.
Services Segmentation – Public Safety, Consumer, Enterprise
Sports Tracker
Pixto, recently acquired my Nokia. Shows amazing technology that will categorize photos by location and combine is with relevant data about the location.
LBS Deployment challenges
– Locations indoors, underground, tunnels
– Reflection with large buildings
– A-GPS evolution
– Wifi
Database fragmentation
– Traffic updates and POIs
– Mobile data roaming – predictable billing when roaming internationally
A glimpse of the future
– Improved smartphone car communication
Trueposition – Joseph Khoury – VP of Business Development
$200 Million in Revenue, 480 employees, 100 international patents, subsidiary of Liberty Media
Incorporates all location technologies
History of company started with E911 emergency services in the USA.
Asset Tracking
Secure inter-carrier location information provider
Trueposition offers high accuracy Finder System, 75,000 Base Stations Deployed, 270 million POPs covered in the US.
High Accuracy Wireless Location System – best in class platform.
Finder System Benefits
Consistent accuracy across entire network – better than 50 meters most of the time – also incorporates velocity, heading power level signal to noise ratio.
Consumer interest – Turn by Turn Navigation
Market growth is happening again, but has conditions in a complex cross-industry ecosystem.
Drivers of LBS demand ramp up are many and they are complex.
Is getting into the business of building devices.
Mark Jacobstein, EVP, Loopt
Amazing privacy advocate, doesn’t store what they don’t need.
Monetizing Local Content for the Mobile Marketplace
Presentation was rapid fire short statements – amazingly engaging – hard to take notes on though.
Peter Friedland, Analyst, Soliel Group
Charnsin Tulasthien, Product Manager – Consumer Application and GPS Solutions, Sprint
Michael Nappi, VP of Media Development, Traffic.com
Christ Hazelton, Senior Analyst – Mobility Device Technology and Trends, IDC
Charnsin – How do we provide relevant POIs?
Michael – There are other areas to discuss in regards to bringing in advertising in context.
In regard to traffic, we brought in traffic information to you originally via alerts. The data can be brought into mobile and GPS applications. When traveling it’s an informational thing. I might be looking for more information in an unfamiliar information. These models will flourish.
Charnsin – Traffic is just another piece of information. We can provide not only alerts, but rerouting information.
Will it be the walled garden? The Google or Yahoo! approach?
Charnsin – There are things that are accessible via our phones.
LBS Advertising will users accept it?
Michael – We deliver information on an opt-in basis. Click per Route. Advertising based alerts. We own the content and vertically integrate it all the way up. Phones are becoming multimedia devices more each day. There is a lot of useful advertising models. There is an integration from focus groups that will lead the way.
Mobile Search Panel – Mobile Search + Location = Fulfilled User Expectations?
Jeff Rice, VP Market Development, Skyhookwireless
Matt Ward-Sheinman, Director of Product Management, Medio Systems
Neal Karasic, Director of Product Management, Jumptap
Steve McGuigan, VP Business Development, Hallmark
Peter Classen, Director of Business Development, Infospace
How is it appropriate?
Matt: The advantages of having it in your pocket is great. The comparison to the Internet is not accurate.
Steve: It comes down to relevancy and speed.
Peter: I aggress as well. The difference between web vs. mobile. Frisbee is a good example. If someone is typing that in a mobile phone they probably want to buy one at a store.
Location based, which ones are tied to a search.
Peter: 90%+
Matt: Statistically not very good. 15% percent are local search, though this is undercounted. You get ringtone content and other related items.
Steve. A search can be about sports,
Neal: User supplied location is not ideal. Most people search near home, so that is important data. Yesterday, I looked for a taxi in Detriot even though I was still in Boston. There are things around that.
Peter: I agree with Matt about the Madonna. It’s better when you can add the local context to the search.
Pizza, question on voice search
Peter: It would be great but it’s complex. We partner with Voicebox.
Peter: Human assisted search won’t work. Mobile search only when it’s free. Consumers are free.
Matt: Search on the Internet and advertising. I expect a rich client app to be there. There is a cost to a GPS fix. It needs to be free and advertising supported. Put them in when appropriate. Never sacrifice the user experience.
Neal: I basically agree. Search being free. That is the model that is going to work and users expect. We bring advertisers to the table. We want the ecosystem to work.
Steve: Local search and directories haven’t changed enough for mobile. Until we get there we need to use the directory model.
Jeff: We are reworking the paid model in Internet, I understand that is changing….
Matt: Carriers want to defend their advertisers. It’s hard to go across the operator networks. Google and Yahoo! have tried. They have large groups.
Neal: We partner.
Profit from Proximity Based Marketing
David Williams, CEO and Publisher LBS Globe
Jay Gould, VP of Business Development, Profilium Inc.
Scott Pearson, VP Sales, Enpocket
Brian McNiff, Vice President of Marketing, Technocom Corporation
How fast is locational proximity going to factor in?
Jay: We believe that throwing location in the mix is critical.
Brian: We believe it’s vital to mobile marketing. I got 4 Starbucks sms messages today. For small business to justify moving away from the yellow pages, we need to see it.
Jay: We need to build the value chain going up.
Brian: The operators are giving