1.1. Location-Based Application CategoriesFundamentally, location-based applications are applications that either know how to process location-based information or make use of their location for other processing. To that end, location-based applications can be categorized into two major categories: location-enabled applications and location-aware (or real-time) applications. 1.1.1. Location-Enabled ApplicationsLocation-enabled applications understand location and know how to process it. For example, a conventional store locator is a location-enabled applicationsimply specify a location and provide a distance within which you want to find stores. Another example is a simple maps-and-directions application that can calculate driving directions using starting and ending addresses and display them on a map. These applications know how to interpret and process the location information. 1.1.2. Location-Aware ApplicationsLocation-aware applications are similar to location-enabled applications except that they are aware of their own location, so they can use it for processing information. For example, a simple maps-and-directions application connected to a GPS device can provide you with up-to-date driving directions based on your current location, or it can even recalculate the driving directions if you leave your planned route! Another example is a store-locator application that knows where you are and automatically recommends nearby stores based on your current location. Location-aware applications are usually known as real-time location applications . The intelligence of location awareness comes from the real-time location information obtained either by using an external hardware device, such as GPS, or by other means, such as mobile phone operator networks. |