Apps Will Soon Be Smarter About Location
SocialRadar has been working for months to improve the way mobile apps pinpoint a user’s location. This week, LocationKit was finally unleashed. CEO Michael Chasen, right, is with his team at Apps World in San Fran this week introducing the SDK to developers. He says the technology is accurate up to two meters; the battery usage is under 1% per hour; its places and events database has geo-encoded parcel and building outlines to decode a user’s exact location; and it allows apps to collect info on the types of venues users frequent.
The technology was developed while SocialRadar was working on its own app that helps people know who from their social network is nearby. Many location-based apps can be off by 100 meters and suck up battery power. At least half the apps in the Apple store are using location services in some way, says Michael. The company will continue to enhance the technology and potentially offer a more advanced paid version. Michael says the industry is at the beginning of a huge wave of advanced technology that allows apps to be more responsive to location.
