What’s Your 20

Since the beginning of the year, I have been using this weekly column to point out some of the ways I believe Palm has been working to lay the foundation for new best in class solutions.  In the editorials “The Year of the Internet”, “Palm, Inc 2.0”, and “More Than Just Plumbing”, I discussed how Palm will be leveraging the Internet, acquiring (in some cases reacquiring) the software to build a modern operating system and new applications, and how Palm should be focused on refreshing the Palm OS user interface.  In this week’s editorial, I talk about a new feature I expect to see in future Palm products, Location Based Services (LBS).

Location Based Services

LBS aren’t anything new.  Anyone who has looked at a tourist map in the lobby of a hotel knows about LBS.  We as technologists will be interested in seeing how digital LBS will transform the way we work and play.

The first service that will emerge is navigational.  You can already get Global Positioning Service (GPS) on your Treo smartphone.  GPS on the Treo can be achieved by attaching a GPS receiver to your phone or by using your phone to access the “tel-nav” (telephone navigation) service from your wireless carrier.  The GPS system is highly accurate, so the service should work whether you are traveling in a vehicle (automobile) or on foot walking around Gotham or geocaching in your local public park.  Once your location (your “10-20” in CB radio speak) has been established with GPS, points of interest can be served up.

Points of interest are the next logical extension to knowing where you are, where you have been, and where you are going.  Once you’ve entered your preferences into an LBS application, a database can be queried based on your interests profile.  Your Treo can alert you of these points of interest as you come in close proximity of them.  Let’s take it a step further.  Let’s say the LSB application can also query your contacts database and can alert you when your friends are within a few miles of your present location.

“There is no such thing as a free lunch” so the saying goes. The same will likely be true for LBS solutions.  There will be a cost associated with running LBS systems and you can expect that sooner or later there will be a monthly or annual subscription fee to use the service.  To help defer the costs of running the system, you know that there will be sponsors (read: paying advertisers).

Imagining the future

To get a better understanding of how this might all work, let’s look into the near future and image that LSB services are up and running with a large subscribership.

Ok, so I have my Treo 700p (with the MR applied) and I’m on my way to a workshop in Manhattan.  I take the express train into Grand Central Station and once I arrive I turn on my tel-nav service and select the address I want to travel to from my address book.  The tel-nav system queries the database and maps the route on foot (my choice) from my present location to my destination.  For this example, I’ll pick The Grace Building, which is just a few blocks away.  I get to my appointment on time and without getting lost because my Treo was able to guide me along to my destination.

Now, the LSB system knows which of my contacts in my address book have been flagged as my friends.  And on the way out of my meeting, the LSB system alerts me that one of my friends, Jimmie Geddes, is 15 minutes away by car.  A button on the alert screen allows me to quickly send Jimmie a SMS message.  I send Jimmie a message to see if he is free for a round of Gennieus and to go over my latest draft article for GadgetsOnTheGo.net.  A few minutes later I get a message back from Jimmie saying that he’ll meet me at a local pub.
Once we get the details of the article hammered out, we start walking down the street.  Another alert from my Treo tells me that Tyler Faux and Joe Gasperetti are in the area.  This time, I tap the Call button and a few seconds later I’m talking to Tyler.  He tells me that he and Joe are at the Rockefeller Center Palm store and that we should stop by and check out the new Treo 755p.  Once again we start walking.

Let’s also assume that I’ve pre-programmed my Treo to alert me of promotional pricing on technology items.  As I approach a local Staples office supply store, I am alerted by my Treo that the store is having a sale on 4GB SDHC cards this week.  I tap the More Info button and I find out that there is a $15 downloadable coupon.  I run in and pick up the memory card.  When I reach the check out line, I show the cashier the downloaded coupon and they take the $15 off the price of the card. Cool.  Yes, that was advertising.  The difference here is that the ad was specifically targeting to my predefined selection.
 
A few minutes later Jimmie and I meet up with Tyler and Joe.  Since I have a new memory card and no Treo to hold it, I purchase a new Treo 755p while I’m at the Palm store.  (I’ll deal with my wife Jennifer later.)  To prove that the Treo really is a business tool, I pop the new card into the new Treo and we record a special edition 1SRC podcast from the showroom floor of the Palm store.  Life is good.

In conclusion

I know that example was a bit exaggerated.  We all know that I would have purchased the 8GB SDHC card.  (Yes, that was a joke.)  Seriously, you can see how handy Location Based Services can be.  LSB can provide real-time navigation to your destination.  It can be a vehicle for social networking.  And it can be used as a tool for “opt-in” unobtrusive advertising.  I am looking forward to services like this being commonly available on my Treo in the future.

What are your thoughts about Location Based Services?  Let us know in the 1SRC forums.