Location Based Services (LBS)

According to Margaret Rouse, a writer for Techtarget a location-based service (LBS) is a software application for a mobile device that requires knowledge about where the mobile device is located. In her article she breaks down the 5 components that are required to deem an application to the LBS category. 

1. The service provider's software     application
2. A mobile network to transmit data and requests for service
3.  A content provider to supply the end user with geo-specific information
4.  A positioning component (GPS)
5.  The end user's mobile device.

By law, location-based services must be permission-based. We see this all the time now when downloading an app.  It will pop up and prompt you to accept or decline, if you decline the application will not download.  One big news issue recently was Facebook messenger.  Many people feared that with LBS that Facebook Corp. Could see into your camera if you downloaded their application.  

There are several different types of Location based services and applications, I will list a few categories and apps below.

1. Place Discovery
Banjo is a social discovery app that lets users see what is happening around the world in real time.  Photospotland is another discovery app that shows you where to take the best picture at particularly popular places.

2.Geo-Social
One of the most popular apps in this category is Instagram  Instagram makes it easy to share photos with friends and this app also allows access to the location of which you took the picture.  Sonar is an app that helps businesses comment and share with people nearby. It's goal is to find the right person at the right place and at the right time.

3. Transportation
As I mentioned in an earlier blog I use Uber quite often. This is a service that allows you to get a ride from a private driver. 

4. Health and fitness
Runkeeper is an app that I see a lot of people using nowadays. This app allows you to track the distance you have ran as well as share with friends via Facebook and Twitter.

According to the 2008 fourth-quarter report from Nielsen Mobile, a division of The Nielsen Company, location-based services account for 58 percent of the total downloaded application revenue for mobile phones in North America. This is a huge market and will continue to become more popular as smartphones continue to become a necessity in day to day life.