Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 11:00:59 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: WhereWare
By Eric W. Pfeiffer, Sep 2003, *Technology Review*
http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/pfeiffer0903.asp
Soon, hardware and software that track your location will be
providing directions, offering shopping discounts, and aiding rescue
workers-services that promise a windfall for ailing telecom carriers.
Amanda sits idly at the bar of the trendiest restaurant in town, twirling a
swizzle stick and sipping a cocktail. But cool as she looks, she's feeling
anxious: her date is nearly 15 minutes late. She considers calling him but
doesn't want to seem nervous or overeager. Still, she pulls out her cell
phone, only instead of calling, she opens a special menu, enters his number,
and sees that he is at the corner of Prospect and Broadway, not more than
three minutes away. When he walks in, Amanda brushes off his apology,
saying she wasn't at all worried.
Sound fanciful-or outright implausible? Lock on to location-based computing,
the hottest thing in wireless, which offers new services to customers and
new revenue streams to carriers, and could save lives in the process. The
idea is to make cell phones, personal digital assistants, and even fashion
accessories capable of tracking their owners' every movement-whether they're
outdoors, working on the 60th floor, or shopping in a basement arcade.
Already, Japanese telecommunications company KDDI offers over 100 different
location-based services using technology developed by wireless-equipment
maker Qualcomm, from bracelets to let parents track their kids in the park,
to cell phones that point the way to cheap noodle shops in Tokyo's
skyscraping Shinjyuku district. In Korea, two million citizens use their
cell phones to locate nearby friends and, for example, find the most
convenient coffee shops for impromptu meetings. In Europe, cell-phone
networks can locate users and give them personalized directions to Big Ben,
or the Eiffel Tower. [...]