Where We At? Mobile Phones Bring GPS to the Masses

Child tracking is just one of a host of mobile-phone applications that use GPS technology. Other applications include those for tracking the whereabouts of friends, pets, and employees, and those that let farmers survey and navigate their land, hikers create routes and download maps, and skiers check snow conditions and reserve seats on backcountry helicopters. Although consumers have yet to embrace such products en masse, application vendors who follow market predictions are no doubt hopeful. In its September 2006 US Wireless Business Location-Based Services 2006-2010 Forecast report, IDC predicted that more than half of US mobile-phone users will begin using location-based services within four years. The report also notes, however, that fewer than 2 percent of US mobile-phone users currently take advantage of such applications