Friday, November 28, 2008

Inside Telecommunications

Mobile consumers interested in location-based services

By Mass High Tech Staff

ABI Research reported that the launches of GPS-enabled smartphones with touchscreen interfaces such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone, Reseach in Motion’s BlackBerry Storm, the T-Mobile USA G1, Nokia’s 5800 XpressMusic and Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X1 are creating consumer interest in navigation and location-based services (LBS). The New York and London-based research firm said that despite the economic climate, third-party, location-based application development continues, along with the rollout of location-based services infrastructure by carriers. 

"Handset technology finally offers the LBS user experience that consumers have been waiting for. Large touchscreen displays are the most natural interface for engaging with map-based LBS applications, as demonstrated by the success of personal navigation devices," said ABI Research director Dominique Bonte in a recent report.