buddy beacon — GPS Obsessed

Sprint’s XOHM: WiMAX Mobile Broadband Network “Largely Location-Centric”

by Justin

In talking with uLocate Communication’s Dan Gilmartin a couple of weeks back, we were aware of a partnership with Sprint somewhere down the line. Now the details are official and when Sprint rolls out its WiMAX mobile broadband network, dubbed XOHM, in Baltimore next month, uLocate’s WHERE platform and friend-finding application Buddy Beacon will form the backbone of what Sprint calls a “largely location-centric experience”.

With the new XOHM service, Sprint aims to jump on the growing popularity of location-based services and provide a “geobrowsing effect” that incorporates location context into the mobile browsing experience. Not only will XOHM apply to cellular devices, but any mobile device connected to the WiMAX network, including automotive PND’s, laptops, portable media players, and even digital cameras.

Perhaps the most impressive part of XOHM is its openness. Sprint will make the XOHM API’s available to 3rd parties so they can create their own location apps on the XOHM network, improving its usability.

While uLocate is Sprint’s primary partner in the XOHM rollout, they aren’t the only name of note. Yelp, Eventful, Topix, Navteq, AccuWeather, Google, Openwave Systems, and Autodesk will add their own location context to the new service. Look for XOHM to rollout in both Chicago and Washington, DC in the fourth quarter.

uLocate

Yelp

via arstechnica

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August 31, 2008 No Comments

GPS-Enabled AT&T Handsets Get More Than 40 New Location-Based Services

by Justin

uLocate’s WHERE application which powers more than 40 location-based services ranging from Buddy Beacon to PubWalk is available for the iPhone in the United States, but what about other GPS-enabled AT&T handsets? Thanks to a partnership between uLocate and AT&T announced yesterday, anyone with a GPS-enabled mobile phone on the AT&T network will now have access to all of the services provided by the WHERE platform.

And for those have a handset from AT&T that isn’t GPS-enabled? While WHERE has an application for you too. Remember there’s always cell tower triangulation and WiFi hotspots for pinpointed your location. As uLocate expands their location-based offerings, you’ll have access to an even greater variety of services making it a sure bet you’ll never have trouble finding the nearest Starbucks or Zipcar location in your area ever again. Check out the full press release after the jump.

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August 7, 2008 No Comments

Quibblo: A Location-Aware Polling Widget For The 3G iPhone

by Justin

Quibblo

The Quibblo Polls widget for the 3G iPhone is a free location-aware widget-based application available from the iTunes App Store powered by WHERE. Quibblo says they are “not a traditional social network, but rather a distributed platform that enables users to collect valuable input from the broader community where others are able to weigh in on the topics that interest them, be it here at Quibblo.com or on any site that uses our technology”. With the app you can create your own polls, surveys, or quizzes, take polls developed by others, and then look through results by geography. In fact, you can narrow down survey results by others who have taken it within a 10 mile radius of your location.

You can also display polls on your web-based social networks such as Facebook and add friends like any typical social site. And just today Quibblo added a new feature that allows you to upload an image to the title of your quiz adding a whole new dimension of possibilities for this unique social network. For those of you that decide to download Quibblo for you iPhone, you’ll also be able to access other WHERE-powered apps such as Buddy Beacon.

via theanygeoblog