GIS Files: Expert GIS concepts

6.6: Mobile GIS (4)

LBS for the mass market

As we have seen in the previous sections, LBS have many applications, and their appeal might lie both in the company environment where such services can be used, for example, to route delivery vehicles effectively or to help people find their way to their nearest restaurant, ATM or movie theatre. Once the domain of companies who could pay for it easily, LBS technology is now accessible to almost everyone, thanks to the mass production of low-cost mobile devices that almost everyone can afford.

Perhaps LBS will mainly appeal to the mass market because it solves everyday problems. Since location is such a basic parameter in almost everything we do, a multitude of uses could be found for LBS; many of these are still waiting to be discovered. There is a huge potential for creative companies to come up with new and innovative services for everyone to use their LBS device, be it a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or mobile phone. LBS could save you time and money – even your life.

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