Monday I wrote about some buzz taking place about Buddy Beacon’s extended functionality.  In it, I addressed some potential concern for the “big brother” type tracking that some people incorrectly believed could be taking place.  Today, on this happy Friday, I found another post that took place last week about people getting excited about Buddy Beacon, and truly seeing it going into mainstream use.  The “Wave of the future” as it were.

To be honest, I could not agree more.  The article mentions that,

“We believe that this sort of application will become very mainstream especially among younger users who have been raised with social networks, IM and near-constant connections to their friends. Interoperability is a key strategic feature of the application although it’s not on the two largest carriers, AT&T or Verizon at this point.” 

We agree and we can not Wait to see where we will all go from here.

I don’t know where you all are that just so happen to be reading this, and as such, I have no idea what kind of gas prices you’re facing.  I just know that where I live, it’s darn expensive, and pretty darn annoying.  Every time I fill up I wish all my wishes that I had some OTHER kind of fuel to be filling up on.  Some OTHER technology propelling my car forward.

Lucky for some of you out there, that dream is a reality and you DO fill up on other things besides good ol’ gasoline.  That said, for all you E85′ers out there, this WHERE Widget is just PERFECT for you.  The official description of the WHERE NearE85 Widget is this:   “Using this widget will allow you to see the nearest 5 retail E85 fuel pump locations with hours and payment options. NearE85 maintains the most comprehensive list of E85 fuel pumps in the US.”

Groovy.  Log in, add it, load it up and you’ll be buzzing along in no time at all.  The environment will thank you, while it’s busy slapping me around.

Listen up all you developers with great ideas out there, a new contest is rolling in!

If you’re a developer, you may want to consider entering the NAVTEQ APAC LBS Challenge. Judging will be held in Singapore, but developers from anywhere in the Asia Pacific region are encouraged to apply.

The NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge has a prize pool valued in the millions of dollars.

As usual, no phone is necessary if you build with WHERE. And you can use the WHERE phone emulator instead of the Nokia SDK/Emulator on N95.

Here are the dates to keep in mind:
* Fill out the quick registration form with NAVTEQ by March 7th
(http://developer.navteq.com/site/global/lbs_challenge/apac/home/p_apac_home.jsp)
* Build your entry with the WHERE Developer Program by March 28th
(http://developer.where.com)

Just wanted to do a quick post to show you other places that buzz for the Buddy Beacon’s extended functionality is taking place.  It always makes me happy to wake up and find people all around the country talking about things I am truly excited about.

One such post I just found over at TimTechs News and to be honest, they seemed a bit worried about this being a “big brother” type thing where we’re all being watched.   No worries friends, and someone has already placed a comment about just my sentiments!  Buddy Beacon is in no way a tracking application, and just as Markus commented, it only updates your location when you tell it to do so.  In no way is Buddy Beacon a lojack of the future, no no, it’s a tool to help you, and all your friends know where you are and where you’ll be whenever You feel like it!

Buddy Beacon is a rad tool, and I think the more people play with it, the more they’ll fall in love too.

I do not know exactly how to fully describe how insanely COOL I think it is when I see a map of the planet that actually Looks like it’s from space. Toss on top of that real-time night/day displays where you can actually see where it’s dark, see where it’s light. Yeah, rad. Now, add on top of that, real-time updating of people using WHERE and loving it, yeah, I’m hooked.

I don’t know why it’s so addictive, but whereVision is just that, addictive. I can’t stop watching people from all over ping the service and see what they are using, why they are using it, and just where they find themselves on this planet. Head over to WHERE.com and click up at the top where it says “whereVision” and witness the radness that is our planet, and those living on it.

Here’s a little screenshot to show you what you’re in store for, I don’t know why but I friggin’ dig it.

Official Press Release time again this fine Wednesday afternoon! Check out how cool it is that uLocate and WHERE have helped Buddy Beacon’s functionality be completely extended and now rocks about 100% more than it used to, which is HARD to do.

Pretty awesome friends, pretty awesome indeed. Scroll down for the Press Release Love:

uLocate Communications Enhances and Extends Buddy Beacon™ Functionality

Revolutionary friend finding service offers cross-carrier interoperability on five mobile carriers, as well as applications on iPhone and Facebook

Boston, MA - February 13, 2008– Today, with the release of a new version of Buddy Beacon™, uLocate Communications introduced the world’s most advanced location enabled mobile friend finding service. With Buddy Beacon, users can choose when to share their location, and what they are up to, with their friends. Buddy Beacon is the first location enabled friend finding application that is interoperable between multiple carriers.

In addition to cross-carrier interoperability, the Buddy Beacon platform allows users to update their location and status on leading online social networking sites, including Facebook. As a compliment to this feature, uLocate has also unveiled a Buddy Beacon application on Facebook. This functionality extends the Buddy Beacon user experience beyond mobile devices.

“Historically, consumers who use mobile friend finding applications have been limited to interacting only with other users who share their same carrier,” said Scott Ellison, VP of Mobile and Wireless Communications at IDC. “With Buddy Beacon, uLocate has removed this limitation by providing a friend finding product that transcends the single carrier barrier. Additionally, the introduction of cross-platform functionality with online services, such as Facebook, provides the potential for viral adoption of the application. uLocate has clearly emerged as a leader in the mobile friend finding space.”

“Helio has always been committed to providing our members with innovative ways to communicate with their trusted circle of friends,” said Greg Hayes, Head of Convergence at Helio. “The new Buddy Beacon experience provides better context for location sharing, enhances ease of use and creates new occasions to publish location as a social networking activity. We know that our members will benefit from the enhanced capabilities that we have developed in conjunction with uLocate.”

“Consumer adoption of Buddy Beacon has been remarkable. We are delighted to now offer the service across numerous carriers and the iPhone, as well as extend the service functionality to the web,” said Walt Doyle, CEO of uLocate Communications. “Buddy Beacon is a revolutionary application that offers a new way to interact with your friends and keep them updated on where you are and what you are up to. We plan to continually advance the functionality and availability of the service in the months ahead.”

For more information, or to get Buddy Beacon on your phone, please visit www.where.com/buddybeacon.

About uLocate Communications Inc.

uLocate Communications is the market leading developer of location based applications. In addition to developing location based applications for strategic partners, uLocate markets and operates WHERE™ and Buddy Beacon™. WHERE is the leading location based application platform that offers consumers access to a library of over 60 location based widgets on multiple operators in North America. Buddy Beacon is the world’s largest mobile friend finding solution that lets consumers leverage the power of location based technology to connect with their friends. For more information, please visit: www.ulocate.com.

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Contact:

Dan Gilmartin

VP Marketing

uLocate Communications, Inc.

dgilmartin@ulocate.com

617-502-3100

Happy Monday friends! Great news comin’ down the pipe this fine February Monday, looks like WHERE’s parent company uLocate just made an absolutely awesome acquisition! I’ll let the official press release do most of the heavy lifting talking, but bottom line is, this acquisition should be unreal, and lead to many more exciting and innovative advances!

Here, for your viewing pleasure, is the official press release from uLocate, check it out, then head back over to WHERE.com and play around with all your amazing WHERE Widgets!

Team and technology to enhance and extend the reach of uLocate products

Boston, MA - February 7, 2008 — Today, uLocate Communications announced that they have acquired Zync, a Boston based start-up that develops predictive web-based technologies that provide users with recommendations for local events and activities based on the preferences of like-minded individuals. Combined with uLocate’s award winning location based mobile products, these technologies will accelerate the delivery of next generation mobile and web applications. The Zync team will play an integral part in this convergence by joining uLocate’s existing team of mobile and location based service experts.

“We have reached a major inflection point in the evolution of networking,” said Brad Rosen, co-founder and CEO of Zync. “The worlds of mobile and the Internet are finally colliding, enabling a new breed of compelling applications and user experiences. With WHERETM and Buddy BeaconTM, the uLocate team has demonstrated market leadership with products that will impact the way people use location based technology to enhance their everyday lives. This acquisition offers the Zync team an opportunity to work with a world-class company at a critical time in the market. We couldn’t be more excited.”

Rosen joins uLocate as Vice President of Products. In this role, he will leverage his 15 years of experience in product development, and his successful track record of growing early-stage companies, to guide product strategy and drive consumer usage for uLocate’s products.

“Since launching in April 2007, our product WHERE has brought over 50 location based applications to market and launched on six North American carriers,” said Walt Doyle, CEO of uLocate Communications. “We are now ready to begin the next chapter for our product development strategy. Zync’s web based technology, and their team of experienced individuals, will allow us augment our mobile accomplishments by creating a new type of location based consumer experience.”

About uLocate Communications Inc.
uLocate Communications is the market leading developer of location based applications. In addition to developing location based applications for strategic partners, uLocate markets and operates their own services, WHERE™ and Buddy Beacon™. WHERE is the leading location based application platform that offers consumers access to a library of over 50 location based widgets on multiple operators in North American. Buddy Beacon is the world’s largest mobile friend finding solution that lets consumers leverage the power of location based technology to connect with their friends. For more information, please visit: www.ulocate.com.

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Contact:
Dan Gilmartin: 617 502 3100
uLocate Communications, Inc.
dgilmartin@ulocate.com

Ok folks, we’re officially in the Green Revolution and as such, we should all be on board.  Hybrid cars are coming out in record numbers, more people are walking, biking and using public transport; heck when celebrities are behind the cause shouldn’t you be? (Please, please tell me you heard my sarcasm.)

At any rate, I’m disappointed in all of us.  I just read an article that explained how this past quarter, only 9.4% of all Americans who purchased new cell phones actually recycled their own handsets.  Yeah, not even 10%.  Ok, now there IS a little silver lining, this is double the number of handsets recycled last quarter…still, not anywhere near where it should be.

According to the article:

“More than one third of all old handsets, 36.8 percent to be precise, were stored away in the fourth quarter of 2007, and now are collecting dust in closets throughout America…onsumers keep their old phones because they perceive them to have some residual value. However, all too often, those handsets end up in the trash when spring cleaning comes.” 

So, get up, find your phones and START RECYCLING.  I’m not a celebrity, I probably won’t ever be, but I think it’s pretty cool to save the planet.  Head over, read up and get recycling! 

Thinking of buying a GPS unit, GPS enabled phone, or some other kind of snazzy new GPS device this year?  If you’re like, oh, the whole rest of the world, that answer might be a very big Yes and with Tax Return Time just around the corner, who knows, you might have some extra cash to drop on some fun new tech.

So, with all the new product, all the new tech, all the snazzy fancy gadgets, where do you turn and what do you look for?  Glad you asked, I just found a pretty sweet and short article with 4 tips on what exactly to look for and questions to ask yourself when you find yourself in the market.  Head over and check out the article, but here are their 4 tips:

• “Do you want a handheld device or one designed primarily for use in a vehicle? Some vehicle units are portable, but not as convenient as handhelds.
• Do you want an add-on unit for your car, or the more expensive factory-installed unit that utilizes the vehicle’s dashboard controls?
• Instead of a separate device, would you rather have a cell phone that offers GPS service for about $10 a month extra?
• If you want to buy an add-on GPS unit for your car, consider how easy it will be to hide it from potential thieves when you leave your vehicle unattended. “

Great tips!  My advice is simple, get a phone that you can slap WHERE on and really make the most out of your snazzy new GPS phone.  With all our widgets, there’s really no going wrong!

Sometimes, an official press release can say it a heck of a lot better than I could…well, at least a lot more straightforward and without the sass. Nevertheless, this one is rad, and worth all your attention so lend me your ears, eyes and brains and check this out:

Popular friend finding service to be run by leading publisher of mobile location based applications

Boston, MA - January 10, 2007– Today, uLocate Communications Inc. announced their acquisition of the Buddy Beacon™ name from Helio LLC. Introduced by Helio in partnership with uLocate in 2006, Buddy Beacon leverages location based technology to allow users to share their location from their mobile device so they can more easily connect with their friends. As part of the agreement, uLocate will continue to work with Helio to operate and innovate on top of the Buddy Beacon service currently available to its members. This acquisition solidifies uLocate’s position as the leading publisher of mobile location based services.”Helio turned to uLocate to develop the technology behind Buddy Beacon,” said Walt Doyle, CEO of uLocate Communications. “The rapid adoption of Buddy Beacon by Helio’s members has demonstrated that consumers are ready to use GPS technology as a method of connecting with their friends. When integrated with WHERE™, our leading location based application platform, we are confident that the Buddy Beacon user experience will be unparalleled by any other mobile friend finding application in the market.”"uLocate has been a great partner to work with as we developed the Buddy Beacon concept into a leading location sharing service,” said Greg Hayes, Head of Convergence for Helio. “We look forward to continuing to work with uLocate to build on Buddy Beacon, further leveraging their location based services expertise.”

“Mobile Location Based Services, and GPS applications, are at the forefront of the industry’s mind,” said Brent Iadarola, Global Research Director for Mobile and Wireless at Frost and Sullivan. “When you combine their acquisition of the Buddy Beacon name with the additional technology and distribution power of their product WHERE, the world’s leading location based mobile application platform, it is clear that uLocate is a key company to watch in this exciting space.”

For more information on uLocate Communications, Inc. and Buddy Beacon, please visit www.ulocate.com.

About uLocate Communications Inc.
uLocate Communications is the leading publisher of mobile location enabled applications. In addition to developing mobile LBS applications for strategic partners, uLocate operates WHERE, the world’s leading mobile LBS application platform which is currently available to subscribers on numerous wireless operators.

About Helio
Helio is a joint venture between SK Telecom, one of the world’s most advanced wireless carriers, and Earthlink, the next generation internet service provider. With advanced mobile services, exclusive, high-end, beautiful devices and smart pricing on a nationwide high-speed 3G network, Helio is built for consumers who have mobile at the center of their lives. www.helio.com

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Contact:
Dan Gilmartin: 617 502 3100
uLocate Communications, Inc.
dgilmartin@ulocate.com