A location-based service (LBS) is a software
application for an IP-capable mobile device that requires knowledge about where
the mobile device is located. Location-based
services can be query-based and provide the end user with useful information
such as "Where is the nearest ATM?" or they can be push-based and
deliver coupons or other marketing information to customers who are in a
specific geographical area.
A LBS requires five basic components:
1) The service provider's software application,
2) A mobile network to transmit data and requests for service,
3) A content provider to supply the end user with geo-specific information,
1) The service provider's software application,
2) A mobile network to transmit data and requests for service,
3) A content provider to supply the end user with geo-specific information,
4) A positioning component (see GPS), and
5) The end user's mobile device.
By law, location-based services must be permission-based. That means that the end user must opt-in to
the service in order to use it. In most
cases, this means installing the LBS application and accepting a request to
allow the service to know the device's location.
Although location-based services have been around since
2000, they have mostly been used in commerce with a subscription-based business
model. The release of Apple's 3G iPhone
and Google's LBS-enabled Android operating system, however, has allowed
developers to introduce millions of consumers to LBS. According to the 2008 fourth-quarter report
from Nielsen Mobile, a division of The Nielsen Company, location-based services
account for 58 percent of the total downloaded application revenue for mobile
phones in North America.
Source: Search Networking Tech Target
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