Posts tagged location
Apple applies for new location patents… mentions video calling
Feb 7th
Apple recently told developers that they were not allowed to use location information to serve up related ads… but Apple still wants to track your location. Yes, there’s more to it than that: they actually want to enable location sharing with the person on the other end of the call. One device would ask for the location of the other and — depending on your settings — would automatically show that info on your screen. We’re guessing that it’s an optional service, but it’s still kinda creepy.
Practical use? We’re having a hard time thinking of one… still thinking… umm… maybe you’re at Disney World and you want to grab your friends coordinates so you can calculate the quickest route to them. Yeah, that’s still pretty lame.
It’s something that Apple mentioned in passing about video calling. The patent clarifies what type of call would use this location technology:
“Note that the reference to ‘voice call’ here is not limited to a conventional, sound-only conversation. It may also include video of the two users, synchronized with their audio.”
It’s a very small reference, and we’re pretty sure that Apple is just covering their bases for the future. If they want to patent the technology, it only makes sense to include video calling as well… Marty McFly says we’ll be there by 2015. This location patent was actually filed in 2008, so this isn’t breaking news but it’s definitely something that we’d love to see added to the iPhone. Now we need to come up with a purpose for it.
Location-aware ads… Apple says, no way
Feb 5th
Apple sent an article to the developers currently using the iPhone OS about the “proper” use of GPS location in apps. Developers can use the GPS coordinates of your iPhone for pertinent information related to the application itself… geo-tagging pictures, local services available (Yelp, Urbanspoon, Now Playing), and other location-aware features.
Apple specifically told developers this:
“If your app uses location-based information primarily to enable mobile advertisers to deliver targeted ads based on a user’s location, your app will be returned to you by the App Store Review Team for modification before it can be posted to the App Store.”
Apple recently purchased a mobile advertising company called Quattro Wireless. It is widely assumed that Apple will use this ad firm to bring developers an easier way to incorporate ads into their apps using a custom-developed ad structure. Others have suggested that Apple will restrict location-aware ads to their own network. We disagree with that possibility as it would lock down more iPhone capabilities to those following “Apple rules.” If that suggestion becomes reality, you can bet (heavily) on a lawsuit slapping Apple across the face: that’s why we don’t think it will ever happen.
Are location-aware ads reasonable for the iPhone OS? That really depends on who you ask. We have several friends who think it can’t get here quickly enough. We’re not so sure… if anything, it should be something that you can disable from the iPhone settings. Ads completely? No, just the ads that target your current location. Give us an option to use generic ads if we don’t want companies knowing our every move… yeah, that’d be nice.
