A near-comprehensive list of mobile LBS apps

via The Mobile Weblog: A really fantastic list of links for most of the mobile location-based services that are currently out there, by SamC. I'm going to copy Oliver Starr and also repost this in its entirety, just to make sure that I can find it again later - it's going to be really useful in my literature review! =)

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"Meetro is a new location-based community building software. Using WiFi signals, it is able to discover the general location of a user without GPS.

City residents are then visually shown exactly who's in their vicinity and the general interests they share. The software itself is a free download from www.meetro.com. A desktop-compatible version has been recently released so people without WiFi can also get in on the fun.

Other related projects include Skyhook Wireless, a software-only positioning system (see DailyWireless: Next Generation 911?). They use a nationwide database of known Wi-Fi access points to calculate the precise location of any Wi-Fi device.

The location of any Wi-Fi device can be determined without new hardware. Skyhook says they created a reference database of over 1.5 million private and public access points along with their locations. The WPS client software utilizes this reference database to calculate a device’s location to within 20-40 meters. The Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS) initially is being rolled out in 25 metropolitan areas.

Herecast provides location-based services on a WiFi device. At its simplest level, it can tell you where you are. More advanced services can use your location to enhance information lookups, publish presence information, and create unique games -- all while preserving privacy.

Herecast uses a symbolic naming system -- instead of using coordinates such as "42.9875, -81.2915", it expresses your location in terms an ordinary person would use -- for example, the name of the building. Every wireless access point broadcasts a unique identifier, which can be used to tell it apart from other access points. That identifier can also be used as a "landmark" to identify a particular location.

Quarterscope's Wi-Fi positioning technology, is a similar GPS replacer. Wi-Fi Planet has the scoop on Quarterscope and their Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS). It calculates the position of a client in a manner similar to other Wi-Fi positioning developers such as PanGo Networks, Newbury Networks, Bluesoft and Ekahau.

Location Based Services might also develop around some of these (free) software packages:

• Blogmapper (links blog entries to clickable locations on a map)
• Mates, a location-based social networking system developed at the University of Michigan
• GeoURL ICBM Address Server (add Lat/Long to webpages)
• GeoNotes, (a free JAVA app that automatically detects your position for location-tagged messages), as used in Annotate Space
• Trepia (a location-based list of other nearby Instant Messaging users)
• LocalFeeds (finds nearby RSS News feeds)
• WWMX Travelogue (GPS tagged maps, photographs and text)

Directions Magazine has a series of articles on mobile location-based services and content. Other magazines include Geospatial-Online, Geo World, GPS World and Wireless DevNet. Here's a great list of innovative mobile projects. Hacking Google Maps has become a professional endeavor. "