Mobile Location-Based Services on the Move

The pin marks your spot.

Consumer mobile location-based services first became available two to three years ago as the performance and cost of mobile handsets—especially smartphones—made it feasible to launch mobile information services that used location data. The iPhone, and all the clones that sprang up after its introduction, accelerated adoption.

eMarketer estimates there will be over 63 million location-based service users worldwide this year, and 486 million in 2012.

“Consumers have discovered that the appeal of location-based services extends beyond pinpointing locations, businesses and other points of interest,” says John du Pre Gauntt, senior analyst at eMarketer and author of the new report, Mobile Location-Based Services. “Buddy beacons and friend finders based on location-based service technology allow mobile users to determine each other’s physical location.”

Not surprisingly, marketers, too, are interested in mobile location-based services.

“Connecting with consumers at the last three feet of a transaction is the holy grail for advertisers,” says Mr. Gauntt.