8Motions blog

Big news in my view in the tourist area: Lonely Planet, one of the biggest brand in traditionnal tourist guide, just launched an API to access to his content.

The API is REST/XML based, quite easy to understand. So congrat to Chris (yes, one of the numerous former ex-In-Fusio guys in this area!)

A nice mobile web site, m.lonelyplanet.com is available, but it’s a wap only site. Here are a few snapshot of this app:

(from lonelyplanet developer blog).

And expect soon an integration with 8Motions!

Via RenaLId.com (in french)

We will take part of the panel “How to build a community and monetize your local social network” next week in the Navigation and Location Europe 2008 Conference, in Amsterdam. Seems to be a lot of ince speakers, for various companies. If you are here, and want to chat, just send me an email.

Jon Spinney from Maperture blog pointed on my previous post the effort of Christopher Schmidt from GSMLoc to create the same kind of database. So thanks to both of them, I’ve integrated the previous database of GPS cell, and we are now at 15301 cells covered with 541728 mesurements…

Here is a project that I wanted to introduce to you: OpenCellID.The purpose of this project is to create an OpenSource database of GSM cells.

Why? Because this can be used as a “cheap” way to get your location. There is not a lot of phones that provides this access to JavaMe application (mostly SonyEricsson), but this may change in the near future.
The idea is do it in a transparent way for end user, thanks to 8Motions or other applications. This is not a new idea, as Google probably made the same for his GoogleMap mobile application. The only issue, is that the application needs to access to two informations:

• the cellID
• the GPS position

and for now, no handset provides this. N95 for instance, haves a GPS but does not provide CellID information in JavaME. Latest SonyEricsson phone, provides CellID, but not GPS position. I think that new GPS enabled handsets will provide both, but for new you need to use a SonyEricsson phone and an external bluetooth receiver….

You can check the result of collected data on the OpenCellID.org web site….

There were other initiatives like this, but the idea is to provide the Datas as an OpenSource information. The code of the project is hosted on Google Code.

Identificateurs Technorati : cellid, mobile, opencellid, gsm, towers

Navx, a french company selling customized voices and POI for GPS, seems to go also in the UGC content. They just announced yesterday the opening in public beta of their platform.
This seems very similar to what 8Motions is doing, except that they are focused on  the GPS market. While GPS is a big market, I stilll doubt that GPS users will be big UGC contributors: the primary goal of a GPS is to help you to navigate but it will be far from being a perfect device to create UGC.

Our objective is to bring the ability to create user generated content related to geolocalisation with a clear focus on mobile, which is in our view the most interesting device for this. Export is possible for plenty of format, including GPS to consume some user generated content.

Anyway, good luck for NavX, and we will see how the platform will evolve!

Identificateurs Technorati : gps, navx, 8motions, ugc

8Motions is a revolutionnary new mobile map client, full featured.

With 8Motions, you can do the following things:

• Browse maps on your mobile. You can choose your map provider, between Google Map, Microsoft Live, Yahoo!Maps and ask.com
• See map or satellite picture
• Search for location, commerce
• Connect a GPS (internal or external through bluetooth) to get your current location
• Download “Maps” created by yourslef or other users
• Download KML files, GPX, or GeoRSS file
• Create and record tracks, that can be later uploaded to the web.
• Take geolocalized picture
• You can expend it and add more “layers”
• OpenStreetMap
• Traffic
• use predefined extension:
• Flickr search
• Wikimapia
• “Velib” tools
• Can be linked directly to your Google “MyMaps” created maps.

Other features:
Multilanguage supported, French, English and Russia for now (translator needed!)
Ultra speed tile download

Companion WebSite, to create your own map, setup your settings: www.8motions.com

Note:

• this program make use of your data connection, so ensure that you have the right data plan to use it.
• It was based and it’s the evolution of “J2memap“

Want to download it? Press this button 

I will be in the next “Mobile Bar Camp” in Paris, Saturday the 13th of October, organized by Philippe Jeudy and Louis Van Proosdij. Will be in French, but imprevissive list of participant. If you want to chat with me, drop me an email.

Part of the server used to host J2memap dev tools and 8motions are migrating today. If you still encounter some issues let me know.

A new version of the library has been deployed. As usual, go to http://j2memap.8motions.com and register to download it!

This correct some small bugs, and include the latest version of the Google Map API numbers….

As you have probably noticed, J2memap as a project is moving to a company. And the great news of the week is that the project of this company was one of the winner of the “OSEO“(in French, sorry!) contest, organised by the French research agency: it was one of the 158 selected file out of 1153 proposed, and one of the twenty selected in the emerging software category.

So last Wenesday was the official ceremony, at “La Sorbonne”, with the french minister of education and research, Valerie Pecresse.

This mean also some funding for the project, and a great recognition as an innovative product. So expect to see more in the future.

This does not mean that J2memap will stop, or will be a commercial product: it will remains a free product for non commercial use….