location-based

People don't go to Facebook to shop for necessities, or even for luxuries, so it's not surprising a survey released today found that folks don't want to share their personal data in return for service on the social-networking site.

The survey -- done by Placecast, a location-based marketing firm -- found that U.S. adults are more than twice as likely to trust Amazon than Facebook with personal information. The firm aimed to gauge Americans' comfort with relinquishing private data in exchange for receiving marketing promotions offline, online, and through mobile devices.

Sixty-six percent of U.S. … Read more

Google today unveiled a location-based, check-in style service designed to help businesses oversee and direct their employees in the field.

Google Maps Coordinate could, for example, be used by a dispatcher at a utility company to find out which of its repair trucks was closest to a downed power line, assign that driver to the repair task, and issue appropriate instructions, Google said in a blog post.

Mobile staffers download the Coordinate app to their smartphone and can then share their real-time location with their dispatcher or manager. They can also use the app to check in when they've … Read more

With mobile advertising becoming increasingly more important, Facebook appears to be amping it up. According to Bloomberg, the social network is developing a mobile ad product that uses real-time data based on users' locations.

"Phones can be location-specific so you can start to imagine what the product evolution might look like over time, particularly for retailers," Facebook's vice president of global marketing solutions Carolyn Everson told Bloomberg. "We've had offers being tested over the last couple of months."

When the company went public in May, people speculated that in order to keep share prices … Read more

If you're a parent with some overly active children, you may want to consider the SecuraFone application.

SecuraTrac, a company more used to creating small personal emergency alarms for senior citizens and patients, is trying its hand at a mobile application called SecuraFone. It plans to launch the app--which will be available for the iPhone, as well as on Android, and eventually on BlackBerry and Windows Phone smartphones--later this month. The service will cost $8.95 a month.

SecuraFone doesn't break new ground with its features, but it does bundle them together in a tidy package. The application … Read more

Foursquare and similar location-based check-in apps might sound silly to some, but they're gaining in popularity nonetheless.

A new survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project has found that at least 28 percent of U.S. adults have found a liking for mobile and social location-based services.

Kathryn Zickuhr, a Pew Internet Project research specialist and co-author of the report, explained in a statement:

Americans are not currently all that eager to share explicitly their location on social media sites, but they are taking advantage of their phones' geolocation capabilities in other ways. Smartphone owners are using … Read more

Foursquare users with American Express accounts can now receive discounts due to a partnership between the two companies.

Following a small test conducted in March, Foursquare is unveiling a program across the country that lets people get money back on their AmEx cards when checking in at stores and paying for promoted deals with their cards.

To tap into the deals, people must first sync up their AmEx cards with their Foursquare accounts at a designated Web page. They can then check in at participating merchants to unlock deals and load them directly to their credit cards. After paying for … Read more

LONDON--In the future, somebody walking into a hotel room or a museum will get the opportunity to install an app for that location, Adobe Chief Technology Officer Kevin Lynch predicted.

The idea, which Lynch demonstrated at the Open Mobile Summit here to show just how feasible it is, stems from the ever-tighter links between the physical and virtual worlds we inhabit. And it shows that there's still plenty of room for mobile devices to become even more important in people's lives, as if there were any doubt.

"There's a strong future for us with this social- … Read more

LONDON--Skyhook Wireless, whose technology uses Wi-Fi signals to pinpoint a mobile phone's location, is in something of a tight spot. On the one hand, it's embroiled in a major lawsuit against Google, and on the other, Apple stopped using its services beginning with the iPhone 4.

In other words, the two biggest rising powers in the mobile market are not exactly on the Boston company's side. So perhaps it's a bit surprising that Chief Executive Ted Morgan is as optimistic as he is.

The way Morgan sees it, though, there's plenty of room for … Read more

As location-based services (LBS) become more and more popular, the debate surrounding privacy grows as well. One popular LBS service, Foursquare, is growing in popularity by the day.

Through this guide we plan to show you how to customize the privacy settings of your Foursquare account; allowing you to reveal or limit as much personal information as you would like. … Read more