Blackberry Mobility Featured Article

There has been an increase in penetration of GPS receivers in both smartphones and feature phones and, according to a new report from Juniper Research, nearly 1.5 billion mobile users will be using the local search and information services by 2014.

According to Juniper Research (News - Alert) report many high cost mobile devices had made use of technical advances such as memory and graphics handling technology, processors, handset screens and user interfaces but now some of these features including GPS have started migrating into mass market devices. The improvement seen in GPS unit prices has made integrating this feature both design friendly and cost effective.

The growth in mobile internet is expected to boost the use of browser-based local search services. Dr. Windsor Holden, the author of the report says that many location based services and applications are getting included due to the sharing culture of Web 2.0.

The growth in social networking and mobile driven applications are causing the Web 2.0 usage also to grow. The report provides an in-depth analysis of the opportunity for mobile location based service and a global market forecast.

Improvements in handset user interfaces initiated by the iPhone (News - Alert) and also with consumer access to a range of app distribution channels becoming easier has made service providers to take more interest in mobile location based service (MLBS) applications. As high capacity network infrastructure is getting deployed with increase in the adoption of mobile internet, more opportunities are available for browser-based services and this market is expected to grow.

Retailers and brands are going to find the location based applications useful as they will be able to direct consumers to outlets in their vicinity while providing information about their products on offer. As coupons and vouchers can be linked with the information, the combination of financial incentive and product information can help raising consumer interest in the brand.

The report estimates that the revenue from mobile location based services can reach $12.7 billion by 2014 and advertising is going to form a large proportion of this market. Information services market providing city guides and entertainment guides is expected to see a large growth.