Imagine for a second that you’re out shopping, perhaps for a major holiday or to facilitate the demise of your latest paycheck. Perhaps, in this scenario, you’ve a tech item or two in mind, a camera maybe, and so you spend the day driving from one electronics store to the next in a spree of window shopping.

If you’re like a lot of Facebook users, you’ll probably pull out your smartphone at least a couple times to check up on the digital half of your social world. Imagine, in this scenario, that you notice something interesting – the sponsored ads are specific to your gadget-hunting activities of the day. They’re pointing you to nearby electronics stores and deals for items you might find at them.

Such could become the reality for many mobile users if Facebook acquires Waze.

Ads are only a small part of the larger picture, however, with the access to such data presenting opportunities for improved local searches, something Facebook has been working towards for a while now. Likewise, data from your Facebook could be used to provide recommendations when using the navigational elements, such as notifications of nearby deals around lunch time for restaurants you’ve liked on the social network.

As analyst Michael Boland told AdWeek: “It fits the paradigm of the real-time status, which is the lifeblood of the News Feed. [With a Waze acquisition], you add an additional dimension to not just what you’re doing or thinking but where you are and where you’re going.”

So the question is, then: is this good or bad? The answer to that will largely depend on who you’re talking to, and many will have an initial knee-jerk reaction that is negative to the idea of Facebook knowing even more than it already knows about you. When looked at in the grander scheme of our increasingly digital lives, however, it has some nice possibilities.

These are services many of us already use, albeit independent of each other. By merging them together, our habits, locations, friends, likes and more all become centralized in a single location, with the data working among a variety of services to tailor our digital lives as closely as possible to our real-world lives. Searches become more precise. Ads become eerily relevant. The information we need starts appearing just when we need it, a la Google Now.

Rather than having information thrown at us by advertisers who hope something will stick, the information will be more of the curated sort: carefully sorted and tailored and presented at the times we’re most likely to want it, helping us save money when we’re ready to spend it, find places when we’re ready to shop – all of it based on our own likes, preferences, habits, schedules, and routes.

Knowing that, perhaps the real question is: what happens when our physical and digital worlds become part of each other? Only time will tell, but the prospect is exciting.

As with the Android version, the Field Trip app for iOS is free to download, and it works as a virtual tour guide of sorts, automatically providing you with information of a particular point of interest that you come across. It can be great if you’re traveling and doing a little bit of sightseeing in a historical city.

The information that the app provides ranges from historical facts about a location to reviews of nearby restaurants. And similar to Google Now, Field Trip relies on your location to give you the most relevant and useful information. Essentially, you could think of that app as a sort of extension of Google Now, only it feeds you information automatically instead of having to ask for it first.

It’s not unusual for Google to wait a few months before releasing an app on iOS. Obviously, Android is Google’s baby, so the company usually releases new apps on their own platform before bringing them over to Android, contrary to what most app developers have been doing. Either way, Field Trip is now available on both platforms and is ready for your traveling needs.

“The exact delay is difficult to estimate but since we believe that the GPS is an important part of the Memoto camera, we really want to get this right before we ship the first batches” the team writes, arguably a sensible decision given the life-logging system is far less valuable if you can’t pin down images taken by the camera to the location they were shot. Memoto envisages owners wearing the camera all day, keeping records of everything they see.

While the PCBs are being fettled by the antenna specialists, Memoto has used the time to slot a magnetometer into an unused corner of the ‘board. That will allow for accurate directional data to be stored with each photo taken, encoding the direction in which the camera was facing to be recorded; the Memoto design already had an accelerometer, which will be used to calculate inclination and pitch of the camera.

“One of the ideas would be to allow you to create so mething like your own Google Street View since the app knows in what direction each photos is taken. We can also give you statistics of in what directions you are facing during the day and we are sure that some of you will come up with very cool applications of that. The compass data will be available through our API” Memoto

Meanwhile, the iPhone and Android apps are expected to be ready by the end of January, while the cloud-based backend is already operational. Memoto has also shared a couple of prototype/pre-production assembly videos, which you can see below.

Solder paste application:

Component assembly:

Component assembly 2:

The new additions to the Foursquare UI show up as discrete “X Facebook friends liked this place” and “Your Facebook friend Z left a tip here” messages. There are also profile icons of those friends who have checked-in.

However, Foursquare is keen to point out that your own check-ins won’t be publicized any more than they are already; Facebook friends will only see your updates from Foursquare if they’re friends in both services. In addition to showing up in the Foursquare apps for iPhone and Android, the new Facebook integration has also been baked into Foursquare on the web.

Foursquare added the “Explore” tab to its apps earlier this year, expanding what had until then been a predominantly location-reporting service into something which could recommend new places to visit. That extra data could well be the cause of interest from Apple; the Cupertino giant is rumored to be weighing a deal that would see Foursquare information baked into Apple Maps so as to make it more competitive with Google Maps.

Speculation that Apple was keen on working with Foursquare in some capacity began earlier this month, when Cue began using the service to check-in to locations via his Twitter account. Some suggested Apple might attempt to acquire Foursquare entirely, but the whispers from those familiar with the discussions seems to indicate that it would simply be a case of data sharing.

That would follow Apple’s agreements with other well-known third-party services to bolster iOS and OS X. For instance, deals with Twitter and Facebook have seen those social sites embedded into Apple’s platforms for mobile and desktop.

Although Apple Maps was praised for its interface when it debuted with iOS 6, users quickly discovered glaring errors in the mapping data itself. While geographical issues gained the most attention – leaving some drivers stranded after too closely following incorrect navigation instructions, for instance – the points-of-interest database and details of local businesses also proved patchy, sometimes including companies and locations that had shut down several years before.

An agreement with Foursquare would not only help Apple keep that location database more up to date, it could also be used to build upon Apple’s fledgling location-based services, such as Find My Friends. Apple Maps could suggest possible places to meet based on mutual location and preferences, using Foursquare reviews to highlight the more popular venues.

“Anything that shows up is using all the algorithms and magic that power Explore” product manager Noah Weiss told Venturebeat, dispelling suggestions that the promoted listings would simply be dumb ads. “This isn’t a display ad for an upcoming summer movie. This is: ‘hey, we think you might really want to go to Hertz because you just landed at the airport.”

In order to make the most of Promoted Updates, Foursquare will need to continue driving users to the Explore tab. That has apparently been on the rise anyway since the June app refresh, with twice as many place searches since then according to Weiss.

All of the Promoted Updates will be clearly marked “promoted” and there are apparently rules in place to limit how many such listings will be shown in any one session. Only twenty participants will be included in the pilot, including Best Buy, Butter Lane, Old Navy, Walgreens and The Standard Miami.

As well as seeing how well users take to the system, Foursquare will also be using the test to figure out what a reasonable charge for advertisers might be. After that, the company intends to launch a self-service platform which would allow businesses to create their own listings.

Ryan Patterson, an engineer for Facebook, designed the app at a hackathon event to easily exchange contact information. Rather than hunting for specific names, which can result in finding the wrong people or entering typos, Find Friends Nearby allows both users to log into and see each others details easily and quickly.

The feature has bigger implications too. Rather than just finding people in the immediate area, Facebook could add additional features that that allow you to find people with similar interests, or maybe find friends of friends. Highlight is an app launched at SXSW that has the same functionality already, but Facebook integrating the same features would help command a much larger audience.

There’s two ways to use the new feature. The first is by going to a mobile webpage found at http://fb.com/ffn, and the second is by digging through the iOS and Android app menus. Users need to go to Menu -> Apps -> Find Friends -> Other Tools, then tap on Find Friends Nearby.

[via TechCrunch]

Like Google Latitude does on Android, Find My Friends will allow iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users to see their friends’ locations. Access to your position can be granted permanently, or groups set up to reveal location for a specific length of time: for instance, until the end of a day out to the beach or a theme park.

There’s also a single switch that turns off all location sharing, for those times you want to be completely off the grid. There’s full details on Find My Friends in the SlashGear iOS 5 review.

[via 9 to 5 Mac]

Telmap currently provides a mixture of white-label and branded LBS apps for a range of platforms, including Android and BlackBerry. However, rather than sell direct to consumers through app stores, the company has deals with carriers such as AT&T – which offers Telmap Navigator – to offer subscription-based access to the various services.

Intel says that its goals for Telmap will span “devices, operating systems and CPU architectures” which presumably means anything from Core i3, i5 and i7 based notebooks through ultrabooks and Atom-powered netbooks and tablets, all the way to the company’s mobile-centric range of Moorestown chips for smartphones. Intel is also readying an x86 build of Android for its processors, and of course the company is heavily involved in the freshly-announced Tizen OS, building on MeeGo.

To give you an idea of what Google Offers has to offer, the first deal in Austin will be a $5 voucher for $10 worth of food and drink at a popular local Mexican restaurant, Juan in a Million. In Boston it’s gourmet ice cream from Toscanini’s Ice Cream, again a $5 for $10 deal. Washington D.C. deal seekers get a $3 for $6 offer on Falafels from Amsterdam Falafelshop. And in Denver, users can get $20 worth of merchandise for $5 at three retail locations of the Tattered Cover Book Store, while Seattle users can pay only $9.50 for a $19 one-day admission to the Seattle Aquarium.

The Offers service is Google’s answer to Groupon after the search giant’s plans to acquire the daily deal site for $6 billion fell through. For those of you not located in any of the supported markets, you can still sign up to get notifications should the service roll out in your area.

[via Google]

The new Google Shopper adds two new tabs at the bottom of the screen called Offers and My Offers. The Offers tab shows a list or map view of all the nearby businesses that have submitted deals via Google Places. If you come across a deal that you like but don’t plan on using just yet, you can save it for later. After it’s been saved, to view it, you simply go to the My Offers tab.

You can also view and redeem your purchased offers from the My Offers tab. However, currently this is available only in select cities, which include Portland, Oregon, the San Francisco Bay Area, and New York. The Google Shopper 1.5 update is available to iPhone users in the US as well as the UK and is compatible with iOS 4.0 and above.

[via Google Mobile Blog]

The bill is called the “Location Privacy Protection Act of 2011″ and hopes to close any loopholes in the current federal law regarding location privacy. The proposed law will apply to both device manufacturers and app developers for smartphones and tablets.

“Our laws do too little to protect information on our mobile devices,” Franken said in a statement. “Geolocation technology gives us incredible benefits, but the same information that allows emergency responders to locate us when we’re in trouble is not necessarily information all of us want to share with the rest of the world. This legislation would give people the right to know what geolocation data is being collected about them and ensure they give their consent before it’s shared with others.”

However, Apple has insisted that they do not track their customers location, and have issued an iOS update that has addressed most of the concerns. Google also responded saying that they require consent for every location service and allows users to shut them off.

[via Apple Insider]

In addition to using NFC for connecting with other devices and location-specific NFC tags, Angry Birds Magic will also be using GPS location data to unlock special content. For instance, you might be able to unlock beach volleyball content if you visit certain beaches. And being at a certain location may unlock the Mighty Eagle, which is the most powerful character in the game. Users will also be able to compete with other players on a leaderboard for each location.

“We’re using this as a way to encourage people to go and find new places and new content,” said Rovio product manager Ramine Darahiba. “It will be a distribution point for us.”

However, this NFC and location-based platform won’t be just for the Angry Birds Magic edition. Rovio is looking at turning Magic into a broad platform and will be rolling it out to various editions of its Angry Birds game starting later this year.

[via GigaOM]

[via Near Field Communications World]

“We analyze every pair of messages sent through the system and use that to build up an understanding of who you like talking with,” explained founder Caleb Elston. “Then when you open Yobongo we place you with people you have the strongest affinity for.”

Thus far, the app has been used only by 150 beta testers hand picked by the company. It has also been released under a different name in Canada in order to test out functionality. It’s certainly an intriguing concept, and an interesting way to meet new people who may have the same interests as you.

An obvious concern (which strangely, I don’t see mentioned anywhere) would be security. Do you really want to connect with people you don’t know and let them know you’re nearby? Are you just assuming you can trust anyone who owns an iPhone?

What do you think? Is this something you’d like to try out? If you have tried it, do you like it?

The promotional video sure makes it seem like a lot of fun:

[via ReadWriteWeb]

The new program is called “ShopAlerts by AT&T” and large discount chain Kmart has already signed up. This means that subscribers that are nearby a Kmart could receive text message deals for Kmart. Other participating companies that have signed up early include HP, SC Johnson, Kibbles ‘n Bits, Nature’s Recipe, and the “Got Milk” campaign.

However, the new service is only able to detect locations within one mile from the subscriber, which means subscribers will not know if there is a coupon or deal until they get very close to their destination. Local weather and traffic information will also be included in the texts. To subscribe, you can visit AT&T’s ShopAlerts site.

[via USA Today]

Cult of Mac has a source that says Apple is focusing on streaming media and location-based services. The front page will be updated from your iOS device automatically with your location, status updates, pictures you’ve taken, and videos you’ve uploaded. It will also have the apps and music you’ve purchased and games your playing. It sounds like every modern social networking service combined into one.

“The concept is that you would have your own website that’s dynamic, all based on what you’re doing at that moment,“ says the source. “Apple thinks of it as having a webserver in your pocket…everything will be dynamically updated to MobileMe.”

The user will have privacy controls to limit just how much information you are putting out there. Friends can be grouped together in iGroups and MobileMe will share information to those in your group and will let you know when you are within close proximity to one another.

With all these cloud computing services possibly being added and built into iOS, it strengthens some of the rumors that Apple could come out with an iPhone with no physical memory and runs on streaming-only. It’ll be interesting to see if Apple does take MobileMe in this direction. It might make other location-based services out there a little nervous.

[Via Cult of Mac]

Video demo after the cut

It will take some time for that to build up any sort of momentum, but Google isn’t letting the content side of Hotpot sit until manufacturers wake up to NFC. Hotpot results – which can be left at google.com/hotpot or via the Android widget or iPhone app – will now show up for restaurant, store and other search queries on the Google homepage.

The initial roll-out will include partners in five European countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain; in the UK, Facebook is working with Starbucks, Argos, Alton Towers, YO! Sushi and even R&B star Usher. Users will be able to check-in via their smartphones, using Facebook’s apps for mobile together with the touch.facebook.com site.

For more on Facebook Places, check out Ben Bajarin’s analysis after the launch of the original North American version, and his views on whether we’ll see a considerable uptick in LBS.

Press Release:

Facebook® Deals launches in the UK

From today you can check in on Facebook from your mobile and claim special offers, rewards and discounts from top brands. What’s more by checking in you share these benefits with your friends on Facebook so they can take advantage of them too.

Part of Facebook Places, Facebook Deals helps you find offers in your local area from your mobile phone or discover money-saving tips from your friends through your News Feed.

If you’re passing a Starbucks today you can check in and claim a free filter coffee; or head down to Debenhams on 14 February and check in to claim a free Benefit mascara & makeover. For Usher fans heading to the O2 Arena for the London dates of his OMG Tour this week, check in to get 20% off his album and a free remix from the official merchandise stand.

Plus if you check in on Facebook over the next few weeks you will be able to find launch offers from Argos, Alton Towers Resort, Benetton, Mazda, O2, and YO! Sushi.

Joanna Shields, VP EMEA, Facebook says: “We all love a bargain so whether you’re on the lookout for a special offer at your favourite restaurant or tips from a fashionista friend about a discount on shoes in a department store, Facebook Deals will help you find it.

Facebook is built around people and sharing personal experiences and Deals is a great extension of this. By bringing valuable and relevant offers to you wherever and whenever you want them, Deals delivers a powerful experience that combines technology and location in a way that a pure online or offline experience could never deliver.”

UK launch deals
You can find out full details including terms of their Deal on each of the brands’ Facebook Pages…

Alton Towers Resort: On Friday 18 February, the Alton Towers Theme Park will open a day earlier than planned for the Half Term holiday, offering exclusive use for anyone who checks in on that day only. Tag up to 3 friends for free entry and the first 100 people to check in will also receive a free one night stay in one of the themed Resort Hotels.

Argos: From Monday 31 January, Argos will donate £1 to its national charity partner Teenage Cancer Trust for the first 10,000 customers that check-in at an Argos store this week.

Benetton: Benetton has chosen a Charity Deal to support Architecture for Humanity, an association which applies design and architecture to social projects. From 31 January 2011 and throughout February, Benetton will donate two pounds/two Euros for each Smartphone check-in in one of the 3000 Benetton stores involved in the scheme in the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain.¹

Debenhams: On 14th February, Debenhams and Benefit are giving away over 1,000 free mascaras and makeovers for the first 10 check ins at each Benefit counter at Debenhams stores across the UK.

Mazda: From 31 January to 7 March 2011, Mazda will be offering the chance to win 1 of 5 Mazda MX-5 Miyako’s for the summer! Mazda is also offering the exclusive opportunity to buy an MX-5 with 20% discount.²

O2: From Monday 31 January, O2 is offering 10% off all accessories, including gaming kit in all stores. On Saturday 5 February, the first four customers will receive a free xbox 360 in 26 stores and the first two customers will receive a free Playstation3 in 18 stores when bought with any new or upgrade mobile consumer contract only.³

Starbucks: From 9.30am on Monday 31 January, the first 30,000 customers who check in to participating stores will receive a free tall filter coffee. Customers can also get a free piece of cake with the purchase of two drinks at participating stores on any Saturday throughout February.

YO! Sushi: From Monday 31 January, YO! Sushi is giving away 2000 meals to the value of £60,000. The first 1000 diners to check in at any of their 47 participating restaurants, tag their friend and show a member of staff their phone screen with the confirmation message receive complimentary food and drink.⁴

Usher/O2 Arena: Check in at the O2 Arena to get 20% off Usher’s album and a free remix of Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home) from the official merchandise stand on the London dates of his OMG Tour this week.

Following the launch in the US in November 2010, Deals launches today in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

How to find and claim a Deal
Finding deals near you is easy. Using your mobile browser on www.facebook.com or the latest version of the Facebook app, open “Places” and then click “Check In”. A list of Nearby Places will appear and a yellow ticket will show next to Places that are offering deals.

When you touch the Place you can view the Deal and check in to claim it. Then just show your phone to the shop assistant or waiter to redeem your Deal.

You’ll see a few different types of Deals: Individual Deals offer a one-time discount, free merchandise or other reward; Friend Deals offer deals that you and your friends can claim when you check-in together; Loyalty Deals reward you for being a frequent customer; and Charity Deals allow businesses to donate to a particular cause when you check in.

Notes

Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.

Please note that these deals come from the businesses themselves, not Facebook, so check with them at the location for more details; such as when they’re running, how many offers are available, and whether a deal is just for you or also for your friends.

You can find out more about Facebook Deals at www.facebook.com/deals
You can also find our Places Guide at www.facebook.com/places and a video of how to check in on the Facebook UK Page at www.facebook.com/facebookuk

For Gowalla, the opportunity is to expand their 500,000 strong user base, and hopefully encourage some of those who try out the Disney check-ins to keep using the service after they get back home. Disney, meanwhile, gets to further publicize its parks and build social network engagement.

Gowalla expects to have around 200 locations outfitted with stamps by the end of the year, and those who have already visited prior to the deal’s announcement will retroactively get the stamps if they checked in while at the parks. You can see the most popular places – and examples of Passport pages – here.

[via CNN]

Unfortunately, while the press release makes it sound like InvisiTrack uses actual TV broadcasts for triangulation, in actual fact you’ll need both a new receiver in your mobile device and to be near at least two transmitters to go with it.  Still, in ad-hoc mode the receivers themselves act as transmitters, creating a mesh network from which position of all involved can be extrapolated from just one location lock.  While 10-times the range of existing triangulation systems sounds great on paper, we’ll wait until InvisiTrack LS gets picked up by mobile device manufacturers before we get too excited.

Press Release:

InvisiTrack™ Utilizes TV Bands to Bring Accurate Location Positioning Indoors

Introducing InvisiTrack Location System (LS) – The World’s First Accurate and Reliable Indoor/Outdoor Low-Frequency Location Positioning, Ranging and Navigation Solution That Requires No Fixed Infrastructure

CTIA Wireless 2010
LAS VEGAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–InvisiTrack, Inc. today announced its InvisiTrack™ Location System (LS), the world’s first accurate and reliable indoor/outdoor location positioning, ranging and navigation solution that requires no fixed infrastructure for effective operation. InvisiTrack LS is available now for integration with mobile phones and TV band-based products.

“We started InvisiTrack with a vision for creating a location technology that provides accurate location fixes with equal effectiveness both indoors and outdoors, enabling users to navigate seamlessly between both environments”
InvisiTrack LS advances the state-of-the-art in location positioning technology by maximizing the superior propagation characteristics of low-frequency radio signals to provide accurate and reliable location fixes indoors. This solution differs from legacy location methods, such as those designed to work with Cell-ID, GPS, A-GPS and Wi-Fi signals, which do not provide accurate and reliable location fixes indoors due to limitations imposed by the propagation characteristics of high–frequency radio signals.

GPS enables users to navigate to the main address of a shopping mall; LBS can provide a list of what or who is inside. InvisiTrack LS vastly improves this experience by enabling users to navigate to their destinations inside the shopping mall and find whomever or whatever they are looking for. InvisiTrack LS also enables mobile network operators and online advertisers to deliver precisely targeted location-based advertisements, finally making possible effective pay-per-walk-by advertising.

In 2008, the FCC opened up sections of radio frequency spectrum, called TV bands, for public use. TV bands between 512 and 698 MHz offer significant benefits for location positioning and tracking indoors, compared with higher frequency services like Wi-Fi, operating at 2.4 GHz. TV bands provide increased range for signal propagation and detection, leading to significantly greater effectiveness at penetrating buildings and other large structures. InvisiTrack LS utilizes TV bands to increase signal range by up to a factor of ten over that of legacy location methods, to work in many environments where higher frequency solutions do not, and to provide accurate location fixes with resolutions of less than 3 meters indoors and 1 meter outdoors without need for fixed infrastructure.

The InvisiTrack research and development team has taken a unique approach in developing InvisiTrack LS, basing it on three complementary innovations, each of which is patented (or has patents pending) in the U.S., Europe and Asia:

Narrow Bandwidth Ranging: To maximize performance in challenging outdoor environments and improve location accuracy indoors, InvisiTrack developed a range-signal boosting technology that enables InvisiTrack LS to operate at up to 10 times greater range than other location methods in use today This patented hardware and software technique enables InvisiTrack LS to make accurate distance measurements by using narrow bandwidth ranging signals, thus allowing use of low-frequency radio bands, such as VHF and UHF TV bands, while maintaining compliance with FCC regulations.
Multipath Error Correction: One of the foremost problems when attempting to navigate in metropolitan areas with buildings and other large structures that reflect radio signals is an effect known as multipath error propagation, a leading cause of inaccurate location readings. InvisiTrack LS overcomes this problem by using a unique signal design and high-resolution maximum likelihood estimate methods to calculate the precise range between InvisiTrack LS-enabled devices even if the devices are separated by obstacles, such as walls, floors, buildings and other reflective structures. This method is asynchronous and does not require fixed infrastructure for accessing and maintaining a synchronized clock source.
Virtual Triangulation: By simply moving an InvisiTrack LS-enabled device, such as a smartphone, the user establishes virtual points in space. InvisiTrack LS uses these points to triangulate the position of a tracked target. Virtual Triangulation supports applications requiring both 2D (i.e., latitude and longitude) and 3D (i.e., latitude, longitude and altitude) coordinates, and produces accurate location positioning when using as few as two InvisiTrack LS-enabled devices, unlike other location methods that require three or more clock-synchronized signal points of reference for operation.
“We started InvisiTrack with a vision for creating a location technology that provides accurate location fixes with equal effectiveness both indoors and outdoors, enabling users to navigate seamlessly between both environments,” said Russ Markhovsky, Founder and CEO, InvisiTrack, Inc. “With InvisiTrack Location System, not only have we created ‘The Last Mile of GPS’, but we’ve also opened the door to an entirely new genre of location-based services that will bring new utility to consumers and will tap new revenue streams for first market-mover companies making effective use of the technology.”

A unique feature of InvisiTrack LS is its ability to operate flexibly in ad hoc/mesh and fixed/mesh configurations with encrypted and unencrypted signaling options, supporting a range of location-based services benefitting consumers and businesses, as well as public safety and other government organizations.

Mobile devices configured with InvisiTrack LS offer vast improvements in location functionality, including location positioning, ranging and navigation with seamless traversal indoors and outdoors—notably in areas where legacy location methods have not been effective.

Additional information is provided on the InvisiTrack Web site at www.invisitrack.com.

About InvisiTrack:

Founded in 2005 with support from the State of Maryland and the University of Maryland, InvisiTrack is creator of advanced location positioning, ranging and tracking technologies, including InvisiTrack Location System (LS), the world’s first accurate indoor/outdoor location positioning, ranging and tracking. InvisiTrack is working with leading mobile handset manufacturers, network operators and service providers to bring a new genre of location-based services to consumers, enterprises and government agencies.

“The removable module may store subscription information, personal information, and/or other information for a user and may be inserted into a terminal, e.g., a cellular phone. The removable module may include LBS applications that may utilize location information to perform various actions. The location information may comprise a location estimate, speed, orientation, etc., of the terminal.” Qualcomm patent application

Apps to use with LBS may be embedded on the module or running on the handset or device it’s inserted into.  The hardware, meanwhile, could be Qualcomm’s own gpsOne.TM location-positioning hybrid chip, which includes GPS, AFLT and other positioning methords, or it could use another standard; basically, whatever the device has on-board.

As for potential uses of the technology, not only would it assist in finding a lost handset but Qualcomm also reckon it could improve personalization of discount e-vouchers and marketing schemes.  The individual’s module would make sure the promotions were tailored to that user’s preferences, so you wouldn’t receive an e-voucher for, say, peanut brittle if you’re allergic to nuts.

[via Go Rumors]

Firstly, this should be noted that this application is not running in the background on your iPhone. It’s a server-to-server agreement between AT&T and Loopt, so that you can always have location-based services working, and so people always know where you are. If you’re into that kind of thing, then this is the application for you. We’re sure that most of you out there are already using Loopt, so perhaps this is exactly the update you’ve been waiting for.

Loopt has announced the availability of the “Always-On” feature, which allows for Loopt to keep track of you while you are in motion, and to constantly update the information to the users who are following you on Loopt. The service is always optional, and you can turn it on or off at will. There are Push Notifications, so that you can get updated when something changes, but the Loopt application is not running in the background on your iPhone. Hence the reason Loopt is also mentioning that the service works while the application is not running on your iPhone.

The service is a test-run right now, and Loopt is offering it with a 14-day free trial. After that trial expires, users will have to pay $3.99 per month, plus any standard data and messaging rates you may incur on your bill. Once you sign up for the program, if you do not cancel on your own, you will be automatically billed for the service, so keep an eye on it if you try it, and it’s not something you want to keep.

[via Loopt]

It was revealed by the US Patent & Trademark Office this week, that back in February, 2008, Apple filed for “Transitional Data Sets”, which describes an invention that would display specific applications automatically populated based on dynamic factors like location. In the example provided, the iPhone would utilize location-aware applications, dependent on the city in which the user was located. And that’s all well and good, considering weather has been done to death, but it isn’t until the iPhone starts to transition your contacts, to location-based contacts, that it starts to get interesting, as it shows in another image.

Maps could be transitioned to your current location on the fly, as Google Maps does. Your weather updates in real time, and your contacts for the San Francisco area are displayed via an icon when you are in that area. While it may seem fruitless to many to have this latter feature, the idea is pretty slick. For business owners or any other person who has a lot of contacts that are required for a certain meeting, for example, having your iPhone centralize those contacts in one way or another, outside the normal “groups” within the contact list would make things a whole lot easier. We’ll see when this would take effect, or if it ever does. Do you have any use for it? Let us know.

[via AppleInsider; thanks Adam]