It’s been a few months since I bought my Treo 650 and like many newly inducted "Treonauts" I’ve scoured the various online Treo communities looking for little gems of software to get the greatest bang out of my data plan buck. After trying out a bunch of lack luster apps that ran the gamut from a weather finder to an instant messaging program, I found a technology that really complements the mobile platform on which it is developed to run. It is the mobile mapping program Kmaps. Its developer, Ivan Mitrovic, describes the program by saying "Since I use Google Maps often and I use my Treo 650 all the time, I thought it would be nice to have some of Google Maps on my Treo."
That was all I needed to hear. I downloaded the program and went through the steps needed to install the program. The install, I found, was not yet streamlined. I had to jump through a couple hoops first before I could get the program to work. The AJAX based Kmaps, for instance, needs a beefier version of Java than the basic environment provided for the Treo. After downloading and configuring the free IBM WebSphere environment, I was able to access and configure the Kmaps program. I had to set up an account with the Kmaps server (they host the photo blogs) and ramp up the amount of memory my Treo allocates to Java-based programs. Finally I was able to run the program. And I have to agree with the developer, it was nice to have "some of Google Maps" on my Treo.
"Some of Google Maps" is an understatement however; this program is much more than just a mapping program. While having ready access to Google Maps is convenient, what really sets this program apart from the other smartphone based novelties and truly extends Google Maps’ functionality is the software’s implementation of a budding technology (group) called "Location Aware Services", and it is adding a new dimension to how people use their cell phones. Traditional cell phone-based data usage, at least for me, has essentially been a downstream endeavor. I would download ring tones, check sports scores, read movie reviews. Everything involved me pulling information off the web. Kmaps, however, turns this interaction on its head with its host of Location Aware Services. Kmaps allows me, for example, to tag locations on a map, snap photos, edit notes, and upload location-based photo blogs to the web with the click of a couple buttons. Additionally I can send location-aware emails to friends from my phone. I just have to tag my current location when sending the email in the program and when someone opens my email, a Google Maps mash-up appears with my current location. In essence I am adding an upstream component to my mobile data usage.
The potential for this kind of technology became apparent to me as I was sitting in the back of a cab one Saturday evening. I was using Kmaps to pull up listings of the closest restaurants. I choose one based on user posted reviews, directed the driver using an attached Google Maps mash-up, and upon arrival, tagged the map with my precise location so my friend could meet me. My friend wanted to know what the restaurant was serving before they decided to come so I snapped a picture of the menu, uploaded a quick picture and note to my blog with my tagged location and was immediately called by a 3rd friend who had seen the blog post and wanted to come as well. Instead of simply consuming available info from the web, I am contributing to that information base in real time from my mobile phone.
While currently the technology is mainly fodder for techno-hobbyist like me, with a little refinement, Location Aware Services could adopt a widespread user base. One substantial improvement would be to combine the personal location tagging function with embedded cell phone GPS technology. With that improvement, your position would appear automatically on a Google Maps mash-up that only your friends could see. Just think of the possibilities...How many phone calls would you save on a Saturday night trying to track down your friends strewn across all the clubs in Boston if you could turn on your Kmaps and have a real time updating mash-up of where all your friends were at your fingertips? Moreover, this kind of technology could be used to inexpensively track the deployment of a workforce, coordinate a grass roots political campaign or be used to deliver location aware promotions from advertisers to cell phone plan subscribers.
Michael,
great blog! For those interested in learning more about how Google Maps is starting to be used by advertisers, read the following article from AdAge.com: 'THE SOPRANOS' USES GOOGLE MAPS TO PROMOTE NEW SEASON - HBO Breaks New Ground With New Jersey Map Pointing to Fictional Events
http://adage.com/news.cms?newsId=47928
Posted by: Silvia Springolo | February 16, 2006 at 04:48 PM
Update: GPS enabled mobile mash-up.
In the last piece of my entry, I mused over the possibilities of combining GPS capability with photoblogging and other location aware services. It seems that a company has taken the first steps towards that aim. Navizon.com is heralding its mash-up tracking solution. I haven’t tried the software, but the documentation says it uses a combination of WiFi hotspot, Cell phone tower and GPS Satellite triangulation to pinpoint your position. It then throws your location up on a google maps mash-up. There seems to be a section on their site where you can access a buddy tracker (similar to my “Saturday night out on the town” tracker idea)...pretty cool.
Posted by: Michael Fedor | February 22, 2006 at 11:56 AM