Tag: location
Facebook launch "Find Friends Nearby" feature
Facebook has just launched a new feature called 'Find Friends Nearby', which allows you to search for fellow Facebook users nearby in the real world and send them a friend request. According to Venture Beat, new feature, which you can…
POLL: Will the revamped Foursquare app be a success?
Yesterday Foursquare launched a brand new version of its location-based application, with a focus on discovering new places and finding recommendations from friends instead of solely check-ins and deals. So will this change of direction be what the service…
APP OF THE DAY: Spottd (iPhone)
From the brains beihnd the controversial FitFinder comes Spottd, a new social and location based app that aims to make your day or night out on the town a more exciting one. Described as a "social satnav", Spottd offers…
iOS and Android face EU clampdown on location logging
New, stricter EU regulations relating to "personal data" could soon force Apple and Google to overhaul the way their iOS and Android devices respectively use location data. The updated Data Protection Directive, due later on in 2011, would tighten the…
Facebook Places : location awareness heading to the social network
Facebook have announced that they will be integrating location-aware features into their social network. Facebook Places will hit as a new iPhone app for US users from Thursday, rolling out to all 500 million worldwide users soon after. BlackBerry and…
Facebook readying location based services?
Facebook could be preparing to roll out location based features to its social network, if a report by Advertising Age is to be believed. Facebook are said to be integrating location based information and a check-in system that appears very…
Do leaked patents reveal new iPhone?
It doesn't take a genius to assume that Apple are likely working on a fourth generation iPhone, but so far it's been slim pickings in terms of solid details on the project. While a new set of leaked patents neither…
Google Latitude used to track down stolen mobile phone
Latitude, Google’s stalk-tool that lets you see where your friends are on a map, has saved the day in Silicon Valley after it lead to the successful apprehension of a mobile phone thief.
The perpetrator snatched a woman’s bag and then jumped in a car and sped off, but the lady had installed Latitude as a joke so that she and her sisters could “stalk each other”. Her sister jumped on the service and tracked down the thief, who was immediately caught by the cops.
Nice to hear a positive story about the service, which has come under considerable criticism in the past for violating privacy.
CBS (via TechCrunch)
GPS gets 25% smaller, thanks to Epson
Epson’s Infineon XPOSYS chip is 25% smaller than any other A-GPS chip on the market, measuring just 2.8 x 2.9mm. That’s about the same size as a matchhead, as you can see in the picture.
The new smaller chip will also consume half as much power, meaning that location-based features will start becoming common on even the cheapest handsets. Will you ever be able to hide from anyone ever again? If this trend continues, then it’s unlikely.
I wrote an editorial the other day explaining why that doesn’t bother me. If you’re interested, then you can read that here. In the meantime, how much does being tracked bother you? Share your opinion below.
(via Engadget)
Private-I valiantly tries to lure stupid iPhone thieves into locating themselves
One developer has created an application for the iPhone that tries to locate your iPhone if it gets stolen. Its chances of success depend somewhat on how dim-witted the robber is.
As there’s no way for ordinary users to track the iPhone when it’s out of their possession, the Private-I application puts an icon on the home screen marked “PRIVATE” in big red letters. The hope is that the bugger who nicked your phone isn’t interested in wiping it and selling it on eBay, but is actually after all your private info and will be tricked into tapping the icon…
