Cutline Speaks

Location, Location, Location

posted by The Cutline Team on July 16, 2008

Up to this point, computers have been able to identify basic information about users:

* Who - login IDs are one way devices know the user

* What - web logs, cookies and document history all point to what we're doing on a computer

* When - system time and user logs keep track of when we performed an action

Only recently have they started to address "where?" GPS devices or individual products like this location identifying Wi-Fi card have defined the trend so far.

One of the most interesting attributes of the iPhone 3G is the location feature. Apple incorporated GPS with Wi-Fi and cell-based location capability so the phone has a lock on your whereabouts. Because the iPhone is essentially a small computer in your pocket, it can incorporate location technology with computing functions when you're on the go.

A lot of news stories have criticized the lack of turn-by-turn driving directions for the new iPhone, but driving directions are old news - my phone from 2005 includes them. Still, this location technology has made me think about the types of features that could emerge to make life easier in the future:

* Local search without worrying about knowing the address

* Finding nearby friends

* Locating the closest Muni bus

* Geo-tag photos and videos as they're taken (big advantage for me because I'm terrible at keeping track of pictures when I travel)

The real fun will be watching Apple's App Store to see what programs developers create to take advantage of the location feature. I think this holds the real possibility for even more exciting functionality and I can't wait to see what comes next.

Tags for this post: gadgets