Just another thought on positioning systems. During Steve Job’s 2008 keynote, new features for iPhone maps was showcased and subsequently released. The main aspects of the release were the ability to locate or position yourself without the use of GPS (The iPhones doesn’t support GPS, yet!).

The new feature uses the principles of triangulation to coordinate the user’s approximate location similar to My Location (See video) on Google Earth. The systems looks identical and could very well both be developed by Skyhook Wireless - a company focusing on providing positioning systems - whether it being WIFI, Cell Tower or GPS. We at least know that Apple uses Skyhook. Anyone have any thoughts on what Google uses? Their own?

Skyhook Wireless have some interesting services to offer and the are most definitely going to be / is already a vital force in the LBS industry.

1. WPS (WiFi Positioning System) Skyhook have over the past years pinpointed 802.11 (Wi-Fi) access points in various countries thus creating a starmap like referencing system that almost accurately locates a user at any given time. In short, the system uses WiFI triangulation to coordinate location. All of a sudden the business model of FON makes perfect sense
2. XPS (Hybrid Positioning System) This system alternately uses various positioning technologies (GPS, WiFI, WiMax, CellTowerID, IP Address) to locate a user’s position depending on source availability, reliability, accessibility and favors the method with the highest degree of positioning potential at that particular moment e.g. Indoor = WiFi, Outdoor = GPS, Urban = WiMax. Pretty cool. But what about BPS (Bluetooth Positioning System)?
3. Loki is the consumer or small business roll out from Skyhook. It’s basically the WPS but commercialized and takes various shapes e.g. API access or Firefox plugins and are therefore used by some location based services online (Socialight).

Skyhook are truly reaching new heights with their technology and strategic alliances. Where is NaviZon heading?