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October 2000
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Vicinity and Phone.com Collaborate to Deliver Location-Based Wireless Services
Vicinity BrandFinder Now Supports Phone.com's Mobile Location Server to Power Location Sensitive Applications Vicinity Corp. a leading provider of infrastructure services for the Global 2000 on Internet and wireless platforms, and Phone.com Inc. a leading provider of mobile Internet software, applications and services, announced today from the CTIA Wireless IT 2000 conference that Vicinity has incorporated the Phone.com(TM) Mobile Location Server (MLS) application programming interface into its wireless application, Vicinity BrandFinder(SM).
Vicinity's BrandFinder is a Web and wireless application that gives users the ability to search nearly 300 of their favorite brands and locate the retailers and service providers nearest to them. The MLS interface provides the key element for accessing the location of the phone and providing end user privacy and security while using Vicinity BrandFinder. The combination of the two technologies will be demonstrated at the CTIA Wireless IT conference in the Phone.com booth No. 2027.
The Mobile Location Server expands Phone.com's enhanced services offering by enabling wireless network operators to unlock a unique aspect of the mobile network -- the ability to determine the location of the phone. When offering this service, operators must protect the privacy of end users. MLS provides an opt-in framework where users may choose, on a per service basis, to release their location information to a content provider, such as Vicinity's BrandFinder.
By combining the MLS with the location-specific application, BrandFinder, users now have the unique convenience of asking for and finding some of the most popular brand name retailers in closest proximity without having to enter in any information about their location, such as address. For example, wireless subscribers can go to the Vicinity bookmark on their wireless phones and select from a number of categories including "Office/Computer," "Clothing/Shoes," or "Banking/ATMs." By selecting a category, the user is provided with a list of top brands from which to select. If a user has authorized release of her location, she can then search for the closest location of a selected brand. Once a desired location is found, users may obtain driving directions at the click of a button.
"Vicinity BrandFinder is an excellent location-centric application for Mobile Location Server," said Michel Quazza, vice president of product marketing at Phone.com. "Combining MLS with Vicinity's database of store locations will provide Operators the opportunity to provide highly valuable and convenient services to mobile consumers. Location relevant information is a very personal and unique value operators can provide to their subscribers, and it's critical that Operators protect end user privacy."
"Using Vicinity BrandFinder via wireless Internet services is even easier with the addition of Mobile Location Server as users won't need to key in or even know their exact location to find nearby merchants, restaurants and service providers," said Emerick Woods, president and CEO of Vicinity Corp. "Since MLS provides operators with the ability to leverage handset location information, we feel that this platform will likely be deployed worldwide. Working with Phone.com insures that Vicinity Brandfinder should be available to the largest number possible of mobile users."
For details visit www.vicinity.com
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