Mobile and Wireless Design Essentials

LBS Vendors

The list of vendors involved in the location-based services field is extensive due to the mix of components required for a complete solution. Figure 17.5 shows how these various providers work together to provide a complete solution. At the base level are the position technology vendors, which provide either hardware or software solutions for determining the user's location. The infrastructure providers use the location information to provide services to carriers and content providers. The location-based applications use all of the aforementioned technology to target both the consumer and enterprise markets.

Figure 17.5: Location technology layout.

Each of these categories is explained briefly in this section, followed by a list of some of the technology vendors, along with their Web sites in Table 17.1. Keep in mind that the LBS market will continue to change as demand for these services increases and as the technology matures. New vendors will come to market with products, and mergers between existing vendors will likely happen.

• Position Determination Software Vendors. These vendors provide software solutions to determine a mobile user's position. The software is typically installed on network servers, although in some cases it is deployed to wireless handsets.

• Position Determination Hardware Vendors. These vendors provide hardware chipsets or receivers for position determination.

• Location Infrastructure Providers. These vendors provide software platforms that use position information for creating location-based services. In this category you will also find GIS vendors and mapping software vendors. Corporations can use these products to create a variety of location-based applications.

• Content Providers. These vendors provide location-based services to both the consumer and corporate markets. The number of vendors in this category will surely increase as LBS grow in popularity. (Note that many of the network infrastructure vendors, such as Motorola, Ericsson, Nortel, and Nokia, provide LBS content.)

• Development Platforms. These vendors provide platforms targeted at developers for creating location-based services. Many of these platform vendors have partnered with other location vendors to provide integrated solutions.