Europe Takes to Location-Based Cell ServiceI give it 5 more years before it hits Australia. "...impeded by primitive phones, pokey connections, and a dearth of enticing applications." Yep, 2011.
Services that give cell-phone users place-based info fast are finally taking hold in Europe—and are welcomed by revenue-hungry providers. Five years ago, mobile-phone makers and wireless operators waxed poetic about the prospects for technology that would offer consumers maps, traffic reports, and localized search from the palm of their hands. But the march toward so-called location-based services was impeded by primitive phones, pokey connections, and a dearth of enticing applications. "Uptake was a catastrophe," bluntly declares Ralph Eric Kunz, vice-president of multimedia experiences for handset giant Nokia.
Now, thanks to higher-resolution color screens, faster wireless data links, and the arrival of browser-enabled handsets, the picture is finally beginning to brighten. Sales of software and services that let consumers find a nearby post office or the fastest route to a destination are finally starting to take off. And mobile operators burned by the previous wave of hype are dipping their toes back into the business. Swedish-Finnish operator TeliaSonera, for instance, now offers 10 location-based services, including Yellow Pages, weather information, route displays with voice prompts, and a "friend-finder" capability.
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