Telenav’s Whereboutz is a quick and convenient (and free) way for users to track their family and friends locations and find out what they are doing. Individuals type in their current location from one of the over 100 compatible mobile phones and notes and comments about their activity, which are then uploaded to an interactive map.
The free application is available on the Facebook Platform and more than 100 types of cell phones. An interactive map shows members where their friends are as well as the comments about what they are doing. The application also includes a local search function that allows members to look up businesses nearby so they can suggest places to meet.
If a user has not updated his / her location in awhile, friends can ‘nudge’ each other with one click for a quick way of determining their ‘whereboutz.’ When nudged, users will receive a text message to let them know that their friends want to know where they are. They can also post their own locations and comments directly from their cell phones so they can keep in touch while on the go. Friends will receive a text message when others update their ‘whereboutz.’
The Whereboutz Mobile application can be installed on Java phones from Sprint Nextel, AT&T, Boost Mobile and Cellular One with SMS updates of friends’ locations available on additional phones.
Features include:
- Price - Whereboutz is a free application for Facebook members. Access to Whereboutz on a cell phone requires a wireless carrier data plan.
- Availability - Whereboutz can be found on Facebook under ‘Applications.’ Whereboutz can also be downloaded on more than 100 Java (J2ME) enabled cell phones.
- Privacy - Whereboutz operates under the same privacy controls and protections as all Facebook applications. Members have full control over how much information is shared and who sees it.
TeleNav is a privately-held company headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, was the first to launch a cell phone GPS system in the United States. A leader in wireless location-based services (LBS), it’s deployed by 14 carriers in 21 countries.
In other news GeoVector today announced an additional patent around its unique combination of GPS and a built-in compass. The new patent builds upon that capability, allowing users to interact with stored images based on their surroundings.
GeoVector-enabled phones are now widely used throughout Japan via the KDDI network, providing pointing-based local search service with Mapion (Japan’s leading location content provider) and NEC who provides system application and hosting support. GeoVector says they’re working with major carriers in the US and Europe and expects its pointing-based applications to be available in those regions by late 2008.
“Walled gardens have had their days and I think telcos have realised that,” says Walter Tuttlebee, executive director of the Mobile VCE, a ‘virtual research centre’. “But it has to be driven by user needs with a strong underpinned business model and ecosystem, and getting all the bits in place to make that happen is non-trivial.”
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