Microsoft Streets & Trips

Delorme Street Atlas

Rand McNally Street Finder

The most exciting new area of the video game market is the combination of mobile gaming and location.  Throughout Europe and Asia new game concepts are being tested using GPS enabled wireless phones.  New mobile gaming devices from Sony and Nintendo include Wi-Fi capability allowing game developers to build location based games.
Examples:
Gun Slingers - Urban Combat
Mogi: Second Generation Location-Based Gaming

Local Search / Local Advertising

Adding location to online search parameters has always been a compelling concept, but obtaining a user’s information with the any precision usually requires manual entry. This issue becomes more problematic when a user is traveling and is unaware of basic location information, such as a particular city’s zip code. With WPS, search engine users can add precision location data to searches just by clicking a browser toolbar button. Users can find the best auto mechanic within two miles of their current location and identify the best route to get there. Search engine companies also have been experimenting with ways to more accurately geotarget audiences for advertisers. With WPS, search engine operators can offer precise demographics to advertisers and dramatically expand their revenue opportunity by expanding into the underserved local ad market.

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Location Stamp

Location data is a valuable contextual element that assists in organizing business and personal information. For example, location information added to digital photos enables users to sort and search for images by the location at which the pictures were taken. A user could separate Florida vacation photos from photos taken during the holidays in Vermont. Location stamps also can be added to almost any files such as e-mails, online journals or business documents.  

Chipmakers Zero In On Gains In Products With GPS Capability

Mapping and Driving Directions 

Mapping programs such as Microsoft Streets & Trips and Delorme Street Atlas provide interactive driving directions for laptops and PDAs. The market for in-vehicle navigation systems has grown to over $3 billion worldwide.  With WPS, users can track progress to destinations and get turn-by-turn directions. WPS acts like a virtual GPS for these and other NMEA compliant applications. Furthermore, WPS was designed to ensure interoperability and works with any GPS designed applications.  

WhereIsIt?

WhereIsIt? harnesses the power of the WPS system and uses the Wi-Fi capabilities in a PDA to identify the nearest hotel, coffee shop, parking garage, gas station, restaurant, or other points of interest with a single click. The application also shows the distance and directions to any selected destination.

Laptop / PDA Recovery  

There were 1.6 million laptops stolen in the United States in the last three years. According to the FBI, only three percent of stolen computers are ever recovered. WPS can be initiated when a laptop makes a network connection using its Wi-Fi network adapter. With WPS embedded into laptops, CIOs can locate missing machines by having WPS covertly send location information back to the company. In contrast, other laptop recovery tools require that the source of an IP address be tracked down. WPS quickly pinpoints laptops within twenty meters.  

E911 Support

There is a fundamental change underway in the infrastructure used to deliver telecommunications services. As the move from switch to VoIP proceeds, regulatory focus, especially surrounding emergency services, has increased. To address new regulations, service providers can use WPS to tag E911 calls made using VoIP or mobile VoIP with highly accurate location data.  

Enhanced GPS

Enhanced GPS (EGPS) is a solution that utilizes the WPS location network to complement traditional GPS systems. The GPS market is estimated to reach $20 billion in 2004 but the technology still struggles to provide reliable readings in urban and indoor environments.  EGPS continuously monitors readings from a GPS device. If a signal is lost, due to line of site or other issues, EGPS calls the WPS network in order to obtain a location reading. Because WPS is the strongest in areas where GPS is weakest, the two technologies together provide seamless coverage indoors and outdoors, in both urban and rural areas of the country.