Location-Based Services » mobilegroove

Indoor navigation -- and services that map and understand our mobility patterns - lay the ground work for a slew of exciting new location services that combine advertising, marketing, couponing and analytics to deliver people offers they truly can't refuse. What is the role of mobile operators? Where are the growth opportunities? These are just a few of the questions I explore with Phyllis Reuther, manager of the advanced analytics lab run by the major U.S. mobile operator Sprint.

If you asked me to describe the current state of text messaging in two words, I would say it's ubiquitous and much maligned.

During the same week that SMS officially turned 18, we read a provocative post suggesting that SMS may not be around to celebrate its 19th year thanks to Apple’s newly-introduced iMessage.

Scheduled to debut this fall, iMessage (available in iOS 5) brings the functionality of iPhone messaging to all iOS devices―iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Built into the Messages app, iMessage allows users to easily send text messages, photos, videos or contact information to a person or a group on other iOS 5 devices over Wi-Fi or 3G. In addition, iMessages are automatically pushed to all iOS 5 devices a consumer owns, making it easy to maintain one conversation across your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Social and mobile are combining to create some amazing experiences. From location-linked games to social shopping schemes, there is money - and competitive advantage - in harnessing location information to power our interactions with the people and communities around us. This trend also turns up the pressure on companies to focus on the quality of the data and develop new ways to get us involved in creating and curating our own local maps and information.

This is just one of the topics heading the agenda at Navigation Strategies USA,

Over a week into the holiday shopping season. A good time to reflect on how and why mobile is impacting this season like no other channel. Based on the massive response to mobile commerce apps, sites and approaches (as part of a cross-media push) I have to say 2010 will go down as the year that mobile shopping crossed the chasm.

A review of recent data points confirms that holiday shopping has brought a new activity to the masses.

The MAD (Mobile ADvertising) Movers series profiles the mobile advertising companies high on my radar. It began last month with inMobi and continues today with a look at AdXplore, a local-focused, mobile ad network that has cracked the code for showing people local ads they are likely to appreciate.

Rather than choosing a me-too model that serves up ads based on bid-for-placement, AdXplore -- a privately-held company headquartered in Santa Cruz, California -- has burst on the scene in August with a pull model that allows people to request and receive the advertising they want when they want it.

A week after Google VP of Engineering Andy Rubin said that mobile doesn’t need another operating system , Microsoft responded with what analysts believe can be a long-term game-changer.

The Windows Phone 7 launch in New York shocked many in two ways. First, those who had not seen a demo marveled at the social networking innovations – for instance, through the contact list, users can reach friends and others on Facebook, post quickly on YouTube and Twitter, and more. Second, the reviews from the pundits were downright Apple-esque – in dozens of reviews, the commentary was uniformly glowing.