Increasingly, phones will allow users to look at an image of what is around them. You could be surrounded by skyscrapers but have an immediate reference map showing your destination and features of the landscape, along with your progress in real time. Part of what drives the emergence of map-based services is the vast marketing potential of analyzing consumers’ travel patterns. For example, it is now possible for marketers to identify users who are shopping for cars because they have traveled to multiple car dealerships.
The Cellphone, Navigating Our Lives, by John Markoff
The last time I was back in Japan I was blown away by the infiltration of cell phones. So many people now use cell phones to make everyday purchases; magazines from bookstores, lunch from convenient stores. Interesting shift in human behavior…
Feb 17th, 2009 / 10:32 am