Verizon (and Autodesk) to Help Track Kids

Red Herring reports that Verizon is using Autodesk software to bring a kids tracking mobile phone to consumers:

Verizon Wireless plans to launch a child-tracking service called Verizon Chaperone for parents in May as one of several location-based services the carrier will roll out before summer, Autodesk, the company that created the software, said Thursday.

Verizon Wireless even kept its plans for the child tracking service quiet when it started selling the “Migo,” a kid-friendly cell phone made by LG, which will be used with the Verizon Chaperone service.

I wonder how this US product compares to the Australian Mobiles2Go one called iKids ?

LBS Market
The South Korean LBS market is the most advanced in the world, and SK Telecom is already estimated to have 12 million to 15 million GPS phones with 150 location-based services. The carrier already has a service like Verizon’s called I-Kids.

This is interesting:
In Europe, LBS was so over-hyped over the past few years that analysts predicted that the European market for such services would be worth anywhere between $13 billion and $33 billion by 2005. The estimate missed the mark, and Europe’s LBS market size is closer to the size of the U.S. market, which represented $981 million in 2005, according to the research firm ABI.
However, ABI says that number will grow to $8 billion in the U.S. by 2010. The Asia-Pacific region currently accounts for 55 percent of the world’s subscribers, compared to North America’s 5 percent. Yet, analysts expect the U.S. to represent a greater percentage of LBS subscribers over the next few years.

Technorati Tags Location Based Services, LBS, Australia,Mobiles2Go, iKids, Verizon, Autodesk,, Migo,, SK Telecom,