Location-Based Services

Tap into the huge market potential of location-based services

Location awareness differentiates many mobile applications and services from PC applications and wired internet services. Using mobile devices, location-based services (LBS) leverage a user’s physical location to provide enhanced services and experiences. LBS enables a range of applications and services, such as navigation and mapping, workforce tracking, finding points of interest, and obtaining weather information. Location awareness offers a compelling new business opportunity for application developers, operators, and content producers.

The S60 platform and Series 40 platform include a range of features to enable rich LBS applications and services, including location acquisition and landmarks. In this section you will learn more about these features and how to use them.

Learn more about LBS development from these key Forum Nokia resources:

Documentation
Wiki
Discussion Boards

Why should I be making my application location-aware?

A 2006 survey conducted by C.J. Driscoll & Associates found that of the 10 most-desired nonvoice applications for mobile devices, half were location-based. The availability of the Nokia N95 multimedia computer, the first S60 device with an integrated GPS receiver, helped sales of location-aware applications through the Nokia Software Market grow by more than 500 per cent during 2007.

There is a clear user demand for applications that leverage location awareness in everything from mapping to social networking. Making your application or service location-aware will enable you to tap into this potentially lucrative opportunity.

What location enablers do Nokia devices include?

Various Nokia devices offer three technologies that enable location-aware applications and services:

• Internal GPS: Many Nokia devices have integrated GPS units that use data from a network of satellites to estimate location information. Some Nokia devices implement A-GPS, a technology that combines GPS data with network-positioning data to provide faster, more reliable location estimates.
• Network-based location estimation: Several Nokia devices include features for acquiring location information from the cellular network.
• Bluetooth wireless technology can also be used to connect an external GPS unit to a device and its location-based applications.

View details of all Nokia devices with integrated GPS »

In addition to technology for location estimation, the S60 platform and the Series 40 platform include an application that stores and manages landmarks. Landmarks can also be exchanged, both between users through local connections and between content providers and users through means such as web downloads.

What runtime technologies are available for the creation of location-aware applications and services?

There are four runtime technologies that developers can use to create location-aware applications and services for Nokia devices. These technologies are:

• Location API for J2ME™ (JSR-179): This API provides for acquiring location information, receiving location updates, and managing landmarks. The API is supported in S60 3rd Edition and later and in Series 40 6th Edition.
  Learn more about creating LBS applications with Java technology »



• Web Runtime (WRT): Using Platform Services, widget developers can access location information, receive periodic location updates, and perform basic location calculations. These Platform Services APIs are available in S60 5th Edition.
  Learn more about creating LBS applications with WRT in the Web Developer’s Library »



• Flash Lite: Using Platform Services, Flash Lite developers can access location information, receive periodic location updates, and perform basic location calculations. These Platform Services APIs are available in S60 5th Edition.
  Learn more about creating LBS applications with Flash Lite in the Flash Lite Developer’s Library »



• Mobile Location Framework (MLF) APIs: MLF provides C++ APIs to the S60 platform for acquiring and monitoring location, managing location-access security, and managing landmarks. In addition, a number of UI components are provided for common landmark tasks and display of GPS information. The MLF APIs are supported in S60 3rd Edition and later.
  Learn more about the S60 location technologies available through S60 C++ APIs »

Compare the location-based features that various platforms support »

How do I test my location-aware application?

The SDKs provided for the Series 40 platform and the S60 platform provide mechanisms for testing location-aware applications in their PC-based emulators.

The Series 40 6th Edition SDK emulator includes a location provider that can supply location information to an application. The location information is defined as a location or route in a formatted text file.

All S60 SDKs since the S60 3rd Edition SDK have included a feature called the Simulation PSY, which provides location information to applications running on the S60 emulator. This location information can be a location (a single point saved as a National Marine Electronics Association [NMEA]-format file) or routes (saved as Simulated Movement [SPS]-format files). The Simulation PSY is also available on S60 devices to enable on-device testing.

Where can I obtain the mapping and geographic data my application needs?

There are three options for obtaining the data your mobile application needs:

• Using a web-based GIS service: This approach removes the burden of basic map-data manipulation from your application, but the application may have to provide the presentation UI for any map visualisation or service, such as navigation. Companies offering this type of service include Google, deCarta, and NAVTEQ.
• Embedding a third-party GIS engine: A third-party engine may relieve your application of almost all the tasks associated with data acquisition and presentation, while providing more flexibility than web-based services. AtlasCT’s AtlasMobile for Java™ ME and Carmenta’s Carmenta Mobile for Symbian C++ are two such engines.
• Building your own engine: This potentially complex solution involves using raw data from map data providers, such as Tele Atlas and NAVTEQ, and creating an engine that will manipulate that data to create imagery, POI, routing, and other services. This approach is likely to be most useful for specialised applications, such as those using topographic data.