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Our Geo-Future is Bright – Location Data, Story Maps and Mobile Location Services

We live in changing times in the geo-space. Our work with location data as a company, began in the 90′s. Its been an interesting ride; from desktop to Internet, to now the cloud and mobile. New conferences appeared like Where 2.0; too many so called experts and innovators were thrust at us. Much of this more »

Less Well-Known Location-Based Services

So we have Foursquare, Google Latitude, Facebook, and Yelp. But there are other, less well-known location-based services for mobile devices out there. Here are a few that definitely bear watching: Banjo: Banjo is a “social discovery” app designed to bridge the gap between different social media networks. It was designed by founder Damian Patton, who more »

Location & Consumer Mobile Apps

Location, location, location. Whether you’re a real estate agent, a traveler, or building mobile applications, location matters a great deal. As far as phone sensors go, the GPS sensor appears to be one of the most coveted by developers, after the camera. For a consumer, the trade is quite simple: offer your location at a more »

Mobile GIS

Just back from CalGIS in Sacramento. An interesting two day conference. Our presentation; ‘Is mobile the Future of GIS?” was one of the last sessions on the Friday. Its a shame since we gave an overview of the mobile market space; in hindsight it would have been better positioned early in the conference. Even so, more »

GIS = Providing Location Based Solutions

It seems the blog post we wrote recently entitled “Should we retire the term GIS?” resonated with the geo-community. We thought is worth a follow up post. First the responses. Below are a few on the comments we received: “No. I saw this a few months ago (maybe from the same group; maybe not). This more »

Should We Retire the Term GIS?

The future of mobile is location! ………. The future of computing is mobile! Two bold statements. We don’t necessarily believe them yet. But one would be foolish to ignore them offhand. What do these have to do with our question: “Should we retire the term GIS”? GIS deals with location. Why not simply use this more »

Travel Planning – Goodbye Maps, Hello Mobile Apps

London (CNN) — Apps — those bite-sized portals to mass information and services — have not only revolutionized the way we communicate, but also how we travel and how we maximize our time on the road. Tom Dunmore, creative director at Mediablaze, which runs app-review website “Life of Android,” says because apps are location sensitive, more »

Moving Beyond Google Maps

SAN FRANCISCO — When it comes to offering online maps to their users, some companies have been leaving Google Maps and setting out for less familiar territory. In the seven years since it was introduced, Google’s offering of street maps, satellite photos and street-level views has become the dominant player in the world of online more »

Custom Mobile GIS – Web Maps & ArcGIS.com

We launched GeoMobile for ArcGIS to both demonstrate a custom cross platform (one code base which runs on multiple platforms) mobile ArcGIS app, and experiment with porting widgets from the Flex viewer for ArcGIS. The results have been met with enthusiasm by the user community. By adding a configuration file which the mobile app reads more »

Mobile Location Apps Review

Monetizing geographic information became all the rage in 2011. Once geographic information meant maps. Clever systems were developed – geographic information systems or GIS – to store and allow analysis and visualization of geographic data. Mobile – smartphones and portable tablets – have broadened both the interest and potential of location for making money. The more »

Mobile GIS Apps and Resource Management

Mobile GIS in Archaeology and Historical Preservation Cultural Resource Management relates to archaeology and historical preservation. We had a recent email from somebody working in this area – thanks Stephen – who discussed how mobile applications, particularly those which utilize GIS, would be a huge help. Stephen sees an important place for mobile GIS apps more »

Video Comparing Mobile GIS Apps

In the video below we compare a number of mobile GIS apps running on different mobile platforms. With particular focus on shapefiles and feature query and editing:

Mobile GIS Feature Editing

This is part 2 of a discussion on mobile GIS and feature editing. In part 1 we began the discussion. Here we spoke about saving basemap tiles and shapefiles to the mobile device. How shapefiles can be represented (overlaid) on the map in a number of, less than perfect, ways. We discussed other mobile GIS more »

Offline Mobile GIS – The Challenge of Data Collection & Editing Being Synced to ArcGIS

An issue we often get questions about relates to offline GIS and mapping. How do we take our mobile device into an area which lacks WI-FI connectivity and still be able to access base maps and our layers? More than that how do we make edits to or update spatial features and sync these with more »

Mobile GIS Apps Review

There are an increasing number of GIS mobile apps available in the various app stores. Surprisingly few are cross platform; meaning one application which is built to run on multiple mobile devices; Apple, Android, BlackBerry. This is likely a result of the early dominance of Apples IPad and IPhone. Many mobile application development companies built more »

Our Mobile Future

Ten Facts about Mobile Broadband Mobile broadband is reshaping society, communications, and the global economy. With smart phone usage surpassing that of personal computers, there has been a sea change in the way consumers access and share information.Powerful mobile devices and sophisticated digital applications enable users to build businesses, access financial and health care records, more »

Mobile App Development in Education

Technology professionals who have developed mobile apps for universities share what they have learned throughout the process. 1) Nicholas Oliver is creative technical director at communications agency TheBlueHive and formerly creative technology and project manager at Precedent Communications, @nicoliver86 Don’t get bogged down in the large strategy development surrounding digital – consider short term solutions more »

Mobile MapQuest & Google Maps

FORTUNE — By including indoor spaces to the Android version of its Maps service, Google is positioning itself to take advantage of two concurrent trends: the spread of mobile communications and the increasing privatization of public space. After all, it can be just as hard to find the restroom in a mall as it is more »

A Review of the Mobile Market in 2011

Overall Mobile Trends in 2011 Mobile in 2011 has been very much a case of hurry up and wait. Immature is maybe a better way to put it. The market remains consumer focused. Business’ have largely sat on the sidelines. Mobile software innovation has been somewhat limited, with too many copycat ideas; “I want to more »

Google maps the Indoors

A really cool announcement from Google maps with regards indoor mapping: “Where am I?” and “What’s around me?” are two questions that cartographers, and Google Maps, strive to answer. With Google Maps’ “My Location” feature, which shows your location as a blue dot, you can see where you are on the map to avoid walking more »

Maps & Mobile GIS: Mobile Applications in Politics for 2012

Politics revolves around organization. The increasing popularity of mobiles; IPhones, IPads and Android devices will revolutionize political organization and campaigning. It is now possible to provide field workers with mobile applications which will allow better organization and coordination of campaigns. Further, these applications will let users dynamically collect and upload data from the field. Campaigns more »

Mobile MapQuest – No Preset Limit on Free Map API Transactions

We are big fans of the work MapQuest are doing with mobile. We thought it worth reprinting here a recent announcement from MapQuest. Few remember these guys gave us the first useful and sophisticated Web maps, long before Google and the rest. Given Google’s change in licensing (starting in 2012), and their lack of support more »

IPad GIS Android GIS & Mobile GPS Data Collection

We’ve spoken about it many times before on this blog. It is now possible to build one application and have it run across multiple different mobile platforms. So Apple’s IOS, Android and Blackberry. There are many advantages to Mobile computing, the fact most mobile devices have a built in GPS, means location is a key more »

Mobile ArcGIS: From Paper to GPS Data Collection

Data collection in the field has always been a challenge. Often we need to collect data at a particular location. Historically this has been done a number of ways: Pen and paper – maybe the most common approach. Take a paper map into the field, mark the data collection point on the map and location more »

Offline Mobile ArcGIS

Custom cross platform ArcGIS mobile application are relatively new, but offer exciting possibilities. Using one application and running it on Apple, Android and Blackberry devices. ESRI have released their own ArcGIS mobile app which allows access to ArcGISOnline. We have been investigating custom ArcGIS mobile solutions which allow users to access existing ArcGIS layers not more »

Mobile ArcGIS Editing Features Online & Offline

We’ve been working hard on building custom mobile ArcGIS apps, with a particular focus on visualization. Our recent free release of GeoMobile for ArcGIS provides a number of GIS tools, and the ability of users to add their own ArcGIS layers to a mobile viewer. We’ve also started investigating mobile ArcGIS editing. Below are two more »

Agriculture & Mobile GIS – The Wine Industry Pt 2

We are at the beginnings of a new mobile revolution. In the first part of this series we looked at the application of GIS in the wine industry. Mobile will change how we work with GIS; visualization, query, search, analysis, data collection and editing will all soon be done in the field. GIS is increasingly more »

Agriculture & Mobile GIS – The Wine Industry Pt 1

While the role GIS plays in some industries is obvious, there are many non-technological businesses and non-profits that rely heavily on it, too. One arena that has been drastically improved by GIS is the wine industry. Wine Industry GIS Until the advent of geographic information systems, vineyard owners selected plots of land by thumbing through more »

Utah Mobile Application Development Company – Opportunities in the Mobile Revolution

We’ve been developing Web application since 1997. Yeah, in the early days of the Internet. Its unusual, our eyes have always been part turned to location. One of our partners is a weirdo geographer. You know the people you always ask the capitals of different countries. And find pleasure in coming up with one they more »

Mobile GIS Apps for Agriculture

A geographic information system or GIS, is a perfect tool for working with spatial data. ArcGIS from ESRI is the most popular GIS software currently available. After years of building PC based GIS applications, we’ve turned our attention to mobile. Smartphones and mobile tablets now provide a new way to access spatial data. Mobile GIS more »

Mobile GIS Apps for Forest Management

Mobile Apps for Mining

Mobile GIS Apps for the Water Industry

Mobile GIS Apps for Utilities

Mobile GIS Apps for Oil & Gas

Mobile Apps for Engineering

Mobile ArcGIS Online & Offline Shapefiles

We’ve continued working on offline solution for ArcGIS. The video below shows an application we have been working on for a while. This is a simple smartphone mobile app which stores both basemap tiles and a shapefile on the mobile device. In offline mode the smartphone uses data stored on the mobile phone itself. In more »

Mobile ArcGIS on the new Split Screen Sony Tablet

Mansour Raad at ESRI put together this very cool demo of ArcGIS running on the new split screen Sony tablet. We have a trial version of this new device. Like Mansour we plan to develop some mobile ArcGIS apps designed for the split screen.

Location Aware Apps: Its all About Social Networking?

Google alerts came up with this article, which at first glance seemed interesting: 5 Trends in Software Development for 2012 When I reached the section ‘Social networking: building more location aware apps’, we were treated with the following: ‘We have seen social networking making a foray into enterprises as well. The software applications that are more »

Mobile GIS

Mobile is new. Mobile is exciting. It’s confusing and changing rapidly. And yet one day we may well wonder how we ever managed to use a GIS on a non-mobile device. Mobile GIS is a transforming experience. Not only does it provide context, but analysis and visualization based on current location. A Brief History of more »

Beyond the Groupon and Foursquare Hype

There is an interesting recent article in the Guardian. I felt the need to comment: Its hard not to think of Groupon and Foursquare as part of the mobile location focused app hype. Flooded with venture capital money, their business models remain unproven. This conference may have been about consumers use of mobile location technology, more »

Thoughts on Location Focused Mobile Application Development

Mobile is new. Mobile is exciting. Its confusing, and changing rapidly. Mobile technology is charging forward. Enterprises cautiously watch from the sidelines. Gently dipping their toe into the water. The early days of the Internet saw the same trend. Mobile Applications in the Enterprise We are finding increasingly more corporate interest in mobile applications. Inquiries more »

Mobile ArcGIS – Online and Offline Access

One day we will wonder how we ever managed to use a GIS on a non mobile device. Mobile ArcGIS is a transforming experience. Just to prove the point we built GeoMobile for ArcGIS, and made it a free mobile download. Try it and let us know your thoughts. Below is a demo of the more »

Just Published: Mobile GIS & Location Based App Articles

We’ve had articles published in a number of magazines over the last few weeks. Here are links: The New Location Revolution – GeoInformatics (October 2011) You are Here – Utah Business (Sept 2011) Getting Smart with Mobile Devices – Facility Management Journal (Sept-Oct 2011)

Offline Mobile GIS

You might be wondering how you access GIS layers when your mobile has no Wi-FI access. Well wait no more, the solution is at hand. The demo below shows ArcGIS being used offline. Before you open source folk get upset, this solution could also be applied to a Geoserver/Openlayers/OpenScales solution. The app shows storage of more »

Q&A – Mobile App Development Planning

Q. We want to build a mobile application. Where should we begin? Before jumping in, first get a better understanding of mobile. That does not mean trying to understand the intricacies of the technology. But a good general picture of this still confusing mobile world will be a big help in the long term? Q: more »

Mobile GIS: Who is on First?

Ah, if only Abbot and Costello had the luxury of today’s mobile devices. Such questions are now so easy to answer. Just whip out your mobile tablet and see a visualization of every base. Who is indeed on first. His info window says he is 24 and was born in New York City … you more »

Adobe Max 2011 – Day 1 Thoughts

This is an article by Brian Swartzfager who “has been developing web applications using ColdFusion, CSS, and Javascript (with a clear bias towards jQuery)”. Thought it worth republishing: I’m not going to try and summarize the keynote: you can either watch the replay at http://www.max.adobe.com/online/ or read a brief synopsis at http://max.adobe.com/news/2011/keynote_day1.html. My first thought more »

Mobile Adobe Air 3.0 Demo

Below is a really nice demo showing multiple mobile devices running Air 3.0 with an app built using the new 4.6 Flex release. The device skinning is terrific:

Adobe Air & Geolocation

Below is a reprint of an excellent article written by Greg Wilson from his Greg’s Rambling blog: Geolocation tips, quirks, and possible bugs (flash.sensors.Geolocation) I’ve been working on a couple of apps recently that use the Geolocation APIs. I’ve discovered a few tips and quirks that I felt were worthy of sharing. Geolocation object There more »

Free GIS Map Code & Apps

Over the years we have released both free code and apps to developers and users. Our goal has always been to help the GIS community; those wishing to test or develop their own Web and mobile apps. On the client side, our focus is mostly Adobe Flex and AIR. We work with both open source more »

Free Cross Platform Mobile ArcGIS App Upgraded

Custom cross platform mobile ArcGIS application are relatively new, but offer exciting possibilities. Using one application and running it on Apple, Android and Blackberry devices. ESRI have released their own ArcGIS mobile app which allows access to ArcGISOnline. We have been investigating custom mobile ArcGIS solutions which allow users to access existing ArcGIS layers not more »

GeoSpatial Mobile Development: Flash or HTML5?

I came across two interesting posts today. From James Fee on his excellent Spatially Adjusted blog: “JavaScript not Flex/Silverlight — Yeah, it isn’t much of a surprise, open source users aren’t big Flex or Silverlight users, but JavaScript HTML5 web apps are everywhere and doing everything Flex/Silverlight can do, but work everywhere …. At this more »

GeoSpatial Mobile Developers

As a company, we sometimes wonder who are our competition. Fundamentally we build mobile location based solutions, both mobile GIS and location based services. Turning to Google I tried some searches. A number of variation on a theme so; mobile gis application developers, geo-spatial mobile developers, mobile location based application developers, mobile location services, location more »

Mobile Application Planning Guide

Introduction This article is targeted at individuals or companies looking to build a new mobile or Web application. It is a guide to help you move from a great idea to a great application. Oh, and it is short. Let’s begin by imagining a house. Your dream house. The home you’ve always wanted to build. more »

Location & Mobile Applications

Mobile devices will soon make PC’s redundant. Location based data is about to move from the margins, to the core of many user applications. Bold statements, but should we believe the hype? Looking back, the GIS and location based sectors were very much a niche. MapQuest and later Google taking advantage of the Web, helped more »

Check-In & Data Collection

Mobiles offers the potential to aid workers in the field. From routing and traffic information, to check-in, local search and data collection. Many industries could benefit from mobile applications which offer tools to improve the life of mobile field workers. The following video shows an application running on an Android smartphone, targeted at mobile workers. more »

MapQuest & The Mobile Worker

Recently we’ve had considerable interest in mobile application development based around check-in and mobile data collection. Facility management companies, surveyors, multi-level marketing, insurance claims, pipeline companies, water utilities; all have field workers who would benefit from mobile applications. Not only checking in to work sites, but keeping a record of the work done; notes, pictures, more »

ArcGIS on IPad, Android and BlackBerry PlayBook

We’ve been building mobile apps using the new ArcGIS 2.4 release and Flash Builder 4.5.1. One huge advantage we see in this approach is the ability to write one (AIR) application and run it across multiple mobile platforms. Just to prove the point the following videos show the same application running on the BlackBerry PlayBook, more »

MapQuest on BlackBerry PlayBook

Below is a video which shows an application written in Adobe AIR and using the new mobile Flash maps API from MapQuest. It is a very impressive API, allowing for quick and easy development of applications focused on location based services (LBS).

ArcGIS 2.4 on Android SmartPhone

We continue to work with the new ESRI Flex 2.4 release in conjunction with Flash Builder 4.5.1 to build mobile apps. The attraction of Mobile Air is that one code base can be installed on multiple mobile platforms. That is potentially a big cost saving. To prove a point, we built an ArcGIS IPad app, more »

Low Cost Utah Mobile Application Development

The mobile market is relatively new and still presents many challenges. From a strategic perspective many companies are looking at this newly emerging sector. But have found its immaturity has created a confusing market place. Hardware varies. Screen size is a particularly relevant variable for mobile application development. Smartphone screens range from 2.1 to 4″. more »

IPad ArcGIS: A New Revolution?

Mobile and the New GIS Revolution The GIS industry and Web maps are on the verge of a revolution. Mobile is that revolution. A strong statement, but tracing the history; GIS applications first migrated from the desktop to the Web. ESRI moved from ArcInfo, to ArcIMS and ArcGIS. On the Web Google introduced slippy maps more »

Video: IOS IPad ArcGIS 2.4

The release of both Flash Builder 4.5 and the Flex 2.4 version of ArcGIS are major milestones for geospatial developers looking to build mobile apps. The video below shows an AIR app running on an IPad2 using ArcGIS 2.4 (this same mobile ArcGIS application runs on Android devices also): The Mobile GIS application has the more »

IPhone IOS Mobile Maps: ArcGIS & Location Based Services (LBS)

IPhone Application Development & Location Based Services Continuing with our mobile application development work. The IPhone and IPad remain intriguing platforms. Both popular and easy to use for consumers. They have remained a frustration for some mobile programmers. Notably those writing AIR and Flex applications for mobile. With the release of Flash Builder 4.5.1 life more »

Mobile GIS: IPhone ArcGIS & OpenScales using Adobe AIR

Well we live in rapidly changing times. Mobile GIS, and geolocation services remain in their infancy. Mobile itself is evolving. New hardware is being released, notably tablets. Software remains confusing with Web and native apps supported differently on the various platforms. Mobile software development has also had its challenges. But the recent release of Flash more »

PlayBook & IPad Mobile Application Development

We’ve spent time recently focused on developing tablet mobile applications. Our targets have been the BlackBerry PlayBook and IPad2. We’ve just had our first app accepted in BlackBerry’s App World. So how was the experience? Background: Utah Application Development Company Some context first. We have been fully focused on Web application development for most of more »

Custom Mobile Application Development: Brands and Mobile Marketing

The growth of the smartphone provides a number of opportunities for brands to engage with consumers based on their current location. According to stats from the Mobile Marketing Association, 26% of mobile users regularly use a map, navigation tool or similar service that automatically determines their current location. Location-based marketing allows brands to adapt their more »

Mobile Location Software Development

It seems that efforts at monetizing geographic information has become all the rage. Once geographic information meant maps. Clever systems were developed – geographic information systems or GIS – to store and allow analysis and visualization of geographic data. Smartphones and portable tablets have broadened both the interest and potential of location for making money. more »

Mobile in the Enterprise: Challenges and Benefits

The mobile revolution is upon us. According to Nielsen, just over a third of cell phone subscribers in the US now have smartphones. Mobile tablets, such the IPad and BlackBerry PlayBook, are new. Penetration remains limited. But with a slew of new releases planned for 2011, this will be a buoyant sector. The days of more »

Mobile Location Based Application Development

The tech blogs are buzzing with excitement over mobile application development. Smartphones and mobile tablets offer new and interesting extensions of existing Web applications, plus the opportunity for new innovation. But both the hardware and software are ahead of business adoption. A phenomena noted historically with new technology leaps; the advent of the Web being more »

Mobile ArcGIS Demo: BlackBerry PlayBook & Location Based Services

This is a second video showing a mobile AIR application running on the BlackBerry PlayBook. This is a mapping application built using the ESRI ArcGIS API. The first video, which discusses the base functionality, can be viewed at this link: http://www.webmapsolutions.com/mobile-arcgis-demo-blackberry-playbook-advanced-functionality This new video shows the addition of two advanced widgets. The first adds layers more »

Mobile ArcGIS: BlackBerry PlayBook Support Questions

Here are some questions I had for the RIM PlayBook support team. Their answers are included: 1) If I have a client who wants a native app built for the PlayBook, but would only like it to be available to their employees, how would one go about setting this up in App World? – At more »

Geolocation LBS News: May 7th 2011

Location Service Links social-networking-links Location Service Links The Revenue Models of Location Twitter Location API http://mashable.com/2010/01/23/local-trends-analysis/ http://mashable.com/2010/03/02/twitter-location-api-places/ Location API’s http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/places/ http://api.foursquare.com/v1/tips.json?geolat=40.57114422245806&geolong=-111.87560430090332&l=50 http://api.yelp.com/business_review_search?&lat=40.57831549732822&long=-111.88023915808105&radius=0.1&limit=20 http://api.gowalla.com/spots?lat=40.57831549732822&lng=-111.88023915808105&radius=100 http://code.google.com/apis/gears/api_geolocation.html

Mobile ArcGIS Demo: BlackBerry PlayBook Advanced Functionality

A mobile AIR application running on the BlackBerry PlayBook. This is a demo of an ArcGIS mapping application. It shows both basic and advanced functionality, including base layer switching, overview map, geocoder and draw tool.

Mobile ArcGIS Demo: BlackBerry PlayBook & IPad

Mobile Applications & Facility Management

We are in the midst of a mobile device revolution. Smartphones and now tablet mobile devices are proliferating. In this article we will discuss what impact these changes will have on facility management. Smartphones versus Tablets According to Nielsen, just over a third of cell phone subscribers in the US now have smartphones. That is more »

BlackBerry PlayBook: An Open Source (OpenScales) GIS Mobile Map Application Demo

For some time, we have wanted to develop an open source mobile AIR application, running on the BlackBerry PlayBook. This is a video of the actual device, demonstrating some of the core functionality of an OpenScales mobile application:

BlackBerry PlayBook: ArcGIS Mobile Map Application Demo

We have just completed the first phase of development on an ESRI ArcGIS mobile AIR application running on the BlackBerry PlayBook. This is a video which demonstrates base functionality of the application. ArcGIS Mobile Map Application BlackBerry PlayBook Demo Useful Technical Resources Solving sparkskin issue in Flex 4 Change size of Flex TitleWindow Close Button

BlackBerry PlayBook: Location Based Services (LBS) Application Demo

This is a video of an AIR application running on the BlackBerry PlayBook. Its a location based services (LBS) applications which demonstrates check-in and check-out. Using the built in GPS in the PlayBook and AIR geolocation API. A SimpleGeo API is used to return places within a fixed distance from the device. Tweet

GeoLocation: Flex 4.5 and SimpleGeo

I wanted to reference a terrific article by Andrew Muller and provide some source code. Recently I received a BlackBerry Playbook tablet, very exciting. I have a client who is interested in a Flex and AIR check-in app (along the lines of Foursquare). The initial challenge was to get the geolocation of my device and more »

Flex 4.5 BlackBerry PlayBook & Geolocation

Last week the door bell rang. Standing on my doorstep was a Fed Ex guy holding a package. Addressed to me; unusual. I took it inside, ripped open the packaging in excitement. Looking at me in gleaming black; my new BlackBerry Playbook! BlackBerry PlayBook Initial Reaction My initial reaction. Looks great but it is small, more »

WebMapSolutions: Creating Location-Aware Applications

Mobile phones and tablets present companies with new opportunities to engage with users, improve efficiency and profitability. The ability to both track and predict users and workers mobile locations will provide important new data. A slew of new location based mobile apps are now being developed. These applications, which are either directly installed or accessed more »

Geolocation LBS News: May 1st 2011

Mobile Web apps versus Native Apps A technical article. But provides an interesting discussion on where things are today in terms of building mobile apps. http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=1968203 Challenges of Widening the Appeal of the Check-In “For now, the companies haven’t found audiences much beyond avid groups of tech enthusiasts in large cities.” http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2010/tc20100129_472377.htm Adobe Creative Suite more »

Utilizing Mobile Devices for Facility Management

Mobile computing presents many opportunities to improve efficiency in facilities management. Smartphones have now been available for a number of years. Tablets are becoming increasingly more available and popular. Service technicians in particular should reap the benefits of these new mobile devices. In this article we will discuss how both smartphones and tablets can be more »

Will Tablet Apps replace SmartPhone Apps?

My friend Michelle has a cool IPhone app. Its for finding houses for sale. How it works. You drive past a home and notice the For Sale sign. The house number sticks in your head. Grab your IPhone … open the app .. type in the number and bingo a list of homes with that more »

Geolocation LBS News: April 24th 2011

Location Based Services – Today and Tomorrow This is an interesting article. It discusses the state of the LBS market today, and what we might expect in the future http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/the-future-of-geolocation-what-is-coming/ =========================================================== Visa and Near Field Communication (NFC) Coupons “When a client shops at a certain location, or spends a pre-defined amount on a certain day, more »

Geolocation & Location Based Services – Opportunity Knocks Part 1

This is part one of a two part series on the location sector. Large scale changes are occurring with the increasing popularity of mobile devices. Many new location based services are being launched. In this first article, we will consider some of these services sectors; location based services (LBS), geolocation services (GS) and geospatial services. more »

Why Has Google Latitude Added Manual Check-in?

Business models based around manual check-in have so far appealed to the young (mostly males) and early adopters. These are the offerings of companies like Foursquare and Gowalla. It is an approach, which has yet to attract a wide demographic base. Meaning .. my wife has no interest or time to do manual check-ins. It more »

Geolocation LBS News: April 10th 2011

Stamen Design, SimpleGeo, Trulia – Look NoGIS! A very interesting discussion on GIS; take a look at the comments too. Some quick quotes: “Most “GIS” has not been done running coverage overlays and summary statistics, cost models or basin fills. It’s been done by laying a bunch of acetates on top of a base map more »

Beautiful Open Source Mobile Location Based Applications

The article below in pcmag caught my attention: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2383058,00.asp This quote in particular is thought provoking. “It’s long been proven that an open source app can be powerful, efficient and elegant. Can they be beautiful and easy to use, too?” So do we spend our time building clever geospatial apps and leave the interface as more »

Mobile Maps: OpenLayers Mobile GIS

There remains much confusion about the mobile market. Quite typical of the early stages of a new paradigm shift, as companies map out both their products and business models. One thing I am increasingly getting asked is: “I want to build a location based app for mobile what do you suggest?” What I suggest is more »

Geolocation LBS News: April 3rd 2011

Shwowp: The Crazy (funded!) Geolocation Ideas Come Thick and Fast I wrote about this recently here: http://www.webmapsolutions.com/geolocation-attract-wife My wife and others targeted by Schwop will not do manual check-ins let alone scan their receipts and send them to a company unknown to them. http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/28/shwowp/ Who comes up with these ideas, and more importantly who funds more »

Developing Location Based Services (LBS) Mobile Applications

So maybe you have a new fabulous idea for a Location Based Services (LBS) mobile application. Or, you are looking to migrate or extend your non-mobile Web presence to mobile. Where do you begin and what questions should you ask? Let’s demystify the landscape a little and maybe help frame some of the questions you more »

GeoLocation & GeoSpatial: BlackBerry PlayBook Flex Map Framework

I have mentioned here a framework I worked with historically, which was used for a Web application using Flex modules. A nice framework for mobile I felt, but, with modules, running natively on a mobile it would not work. I have adapted the framework, and here have added a mapping element. Figure 1: BlackBerry PlayBook more »

Geolocation and How to Attract my Wife

Lets talk about the conundrum that is geolocation and social networking. Many were surprised by the Facebook Web phenomena. Now with 500 million active users, Facebook set the social networking wagon rolling. Mobile devices extend the potential for social networking to include geolocation or place. Who or what is near me. Marketers soon recognised the more »

The Future of Open Source Location Apps on Mobile

So the geo-industry is facing a new future. One where increasing numbers of users are accessing applications via their mobile devices. Both smart phones and tablet devices. The presence of GPS on these devices and geolocation offers the potential for a new stream of new applications. Foursquare introduces the idea of check in, where users more »

Mobile GIS: ArcGIS Flex 2.2 Viewer Issues

On the Flex side of the ESRI world, much emphasis is being given to the new Flex template. Developers are being encouraged to write new widgets, and the company are pushing hard in its promotion. One thing struck me as odd. The Flex template is a Web only application. It will not run as app more »

Beyond Social Networking: New Opportunities in the Location Based Sector

What is the current state of the location based market? The location based industry sector splits roughly three ways. First, there are the consumer mapping services provided by MapQuest, Google, Bing and Yahoo. For a potentially deeper dive into the spatial data we next have providers of geographic information systems (GIS), often described as geospatial more »

Mobile and the Geospatial Industry

Location is everywhere. Yet its use, at the moment, is split between two camps; geolocation and geospatial. One appears to know little about the other. Geolocation is about check in and who or what is near me. Part of the mobile revolution. Geospatial keeps nerdy types happy. Largely Web based, often using maps for visualization more »

Mobile GIS: Travel Guides and Video Maps

A few years ago I wrote a travel application using the Flex open source API Modest Maps. Figure 1 is an image of the application. Figure 1: Combining interactive map with Video and Web links The application combined a travel video, in this case on China, with an interactive map. One of the nice things more »

Mobile GIS: BlackBerry PlayBook Map Application Framework

Now RIM have released a simulator for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, we can test our Flex apps prior to the release of the actual device. I’ve posted some video already of apps I have written running in the simulator. One thing I keep revisiting is Flex UI design for mobile. I’ve written previously about IPad more »

Mobile GIS: Flex or Javascript

I was recently asked the following interesting question: “if we wanted to develop an application for an IPad or similar, should we use a Javascript API?” Mobile development: Flex or Javascript? My response: “Mobile devices have both browsers and native applications. For Apple most native apps are written in Objective C. These are the ones more »

Maps on the BlackBerry PlayBook

Flex Map Applications on the BlackBerry PlayBook Finally it is possible to side step the IPad and run applications on rival devices. The IPad has been a device of discussion and controversy; centred around how Apple have restricted applications which run on the devices. The lack of Flash Player has irked many developers including myself. more »

OpenScales GIS on the BlackBerry PlayBook

The release of the new BlackBerry Playbook Simulator for Flash Builder Burrito very exciting. I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to build mapping and GIS application on tablet devices. It took me a little while to get everything set up. You will need to follow the instructions in the RIM video available from the development more »

Mobile OpenScales GIS and the BlackBerry PlayBook

Flex Maps on the BlackBerry PlayBook An updated version of an application being written for the BlackBerry PlayBook. This shows an OpenScales mapping application running on the simulator.

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