London-based Origin8 Technologies have released iWitness for BlackBerry. iWitness is a personal safety solution that provides a suite of GPS enabled alert and reporting tools, with server side location tracking and one touch ‘panic button’ emergency activation.
iWitness features include:
Create an iWitness Alert Group of up to 16 friends, family members or professionals. One touch instantly sends an email alert to group members, including the user’s GPS location.
Customise Alert Group settings and compose alert texts in advance. Store personal information, medical conditions and GP details for easy emergency access.
A remote server can track the user’s GPS location at automatic intervals for added peace of mind.
Record events with the BlackBerry’s camera or microphone, then email recordings to contacts in an iWitness Alert Group. Recordings are also stored on a secure server, meaning evidence is not lost even if the phone is stolen, broken or confiscated.
Poynt is a great app that you can use daily. When we took a look at the app at WES 2009, we saw a ton of cool features, many of which have not yet launched but should be unofficially coming this summer (just a guess). Currently, you can search local businesses, people and movie theaters. Soon, you’ll have access to a complete restaurant search and booking service powered by Open Table.
Other features include:
GPS functionality has been optimized to provide faster accurate locates.
Cell-site locates allow Poynt to quickly access a user’s general location while awaiting a GPS lock.
Poynt is fully integrated with both BlackBerry Maps and Google Maps.
Poynt integrates with Gokivo Navigator to provide turn-by-turn voice navigation.
Users can add frequently accessed listings to their BlackBerry Contact List, providing convenience for future lookups.
Centrl is a free location-based social network that runs on the web, iPhone, Android and Blackberry.
Centrl launched for BlackBerry May 18th, 2009 and they’ve grown to around 410,000 users across their various platforms. Users can get money-saving offers around them, keep in touch with their friends, chat with them for free (no SMS charges) and utilize many data layers such as yelp, wikipedia, etc. on the map.
Poynt has added another feature: Voice Navigation System integration. In addition to mapping through BlackBerry Maps and Google Maps, Poynt users have access to Voice Navigation Services Gokivo, VZ Navigator, Telus Navigator, AAAMobile, Metro Navigator and Your Nav. Users can select those services as their preferred navigation solution to map route within Poynt, allowing them to take advantage of audible turn-by-turn directions and auto-rerouting.
And what would a BlackBerry Cool post about Poynt be without the incredibly annoying screenshot of features yet to come? See above.
The newest version of Poynt is available and it’s a must-have application. The new version should be live on App World and ready to download so try it out!
Poynt is a convenient and timesaving service that connects consumers to local businesses and theaters at the moment they want to buy or acquire products or services. By entering search terms, the consumer is able to find businesses and movies near their location, get phone and address information as well as additional enhanced features such as accessing movie reviews and trailers. For example, a Poynt user could locate themselves via the GPS on their smartphone, then search for businesses such as a car rental agency, hairdressers, hotels or attorneys. Results are sorted by distance and the user has the option to view directions on a map, click-to-call the business, or view their website.
Abaq.us is now making available a free version of its GeoRecorder for BlackBerry. GeoRecorder allows users to record, tag and upload their GPS tracks and photos to their myGeoDiary account directly from their device. Users can then leverage the location-based social networking site to post directly to their blog, Flickr, and other social sites. The app requires a Bluetooth-connected GPS device or GPS-enabled BlackBerry.
Once you visit the link from you BlackBerry, you will be asked for your email and then will then receive a link in your email to verify. Once you have confirmed your email with the app provider, they will send out the link for a free OTA download.
Brightkite is a location-based social network. In real time you can see where your friends are and what they’re up to. Depending on your privacy settings you can also meet others nearby. Brightkite also allows you to post photos and notes at locations for others to see.
BrightKite is now available in version Alpha 0.1.2.
Snikkr.com has just announced the private alpha of its first BlackBerry application. Snikkr for BlackBerry combines productivity, location and social networking features. The application is a mashup of Loopt, Latitude, Google Mobile Maps, Glympse, uLocate and Where, among others.
Xtify and Intuit have announced the “Intuit/Xtify Application Contest” to showcase the potential of integrating location-based services into rich Internet applications built on Intuit’s Platform as a Service, the Intuit Partner Platform.
To reward innovation in the use of location technology, Intuit and Xtify are offering up to $12,500 in prize money to the top location applications for two prizes: one determined by a panel of judges and second based on user adoption of entrant applications.
To enter the contest, entrants must create and release a small-business-focused application built on the Intuit Partner Platform that leverages Xtify’s location-enabling platform. The Xtify API allows Web applications to utilize location data tracked by a thin client running on BlackBerry, Google Android, Windows Mobile and Symbian OS smartphones.
Xtify derives location from the handset by extracting GPS and cell ID data, and then transmitting that data to Xtify’s servers – thereby eliminating the need to request this information from wireless carriers. The Xtify API on the Intuit Partner Platform allows developers to query for a user’s location at any time and receive latitude and longitude, a reverse geo-coded address and an accuracy metric.
The Intuit Partner Platform not only gives developers the opportunity to build Web-based applications, but also build successful SaaS businesses by taking the complexity out of managing infrastructure, hosting, user management, integration and billing. Developers can focus on developing innovative on-demand software solutions that solve unique and important problems for the four million small and mid-market businesses across the U.S. that use QuickBooks and the 25 million employees that work in those companies.
Zhiing is a free LBS (Location Based Service) for sending real-time messages with map and driving directions to and from mobile phones and to your car’s GPS system. Zhiings can be sent from mobile device to mobile device and from computer to mobile device.
