See Our Latest Article:  It's The Applications - Stupid! The World of Attractive LBS Applications! (2-5-03) LBS Applications Introduction (To See Sample Applications, Requirements, and Business Model/Demographics, Scroll Down) In the U.S., LBS applications are based on the E911 technology concept; this is not the case in other regions.  In Europe and Asia this fact is significant in two respects: 1) Non-U.S. carriers can currently offer only limited or niche security/public safety applications, due to limited Government Public Safety Interfaces, and 2) Baseline accuracy capabilities, in the U.S. relatively uniform by regulation, are wide open elsewhere, limiting consistent service quality and more importantly - limiting consistent delivery expectations. LBS applications in general run the gamit - business and consumer, "high-value" and "low-value", vertical and horizontal applications, and of course government/public safety/emergency management/homeland security (U.S. focus) applications. AND they are NOT all 3-5 years out; many can be launched during 2003, WITH viable business models.  Very importantly, at least for wireless carriers and Enterprise customers who are making strategic bets on wireless techology (such as Starbucks or Wi-Fi type ventures), most of these applications are only attractive for two, at most three wireless providers in any given market.  This "first-mover (only) advantage" is likely for a variety of reasons, most of which have to do with the high level of "stickiness" of well-designed AND well-marketed LBS applications, as well as the multi-user nature of certain LBS applications (e.g. Mobile  LBS Games), which depend upon all interactive users of that application to be using the same carrier/enterprise. ______________________________________________________________ MOBILE GAMING Mobile Gaming Grows in U.S. (2-5-03) Nintendo's Game Boy Advance is feeling pressure from a new competitor - the cell phone. As the phones gain larger color screens and faster processors, they are capable of running more sophisticated games that can be built into the phone or downloaded from a wireless carrier's network. Nintendo reduced its 2002 sales estimate from 19 million to 15 million for the Game Boy Advance, sales of which have dropped off markedly in Japan. Mobile gaming is considered to be a niche market in the U.S. Research firm IDC estimates that in the U.S. seven million used their cell phones to play games in 2002. The number is expected to grow to 71.2 million in 2007. Nokia, which produces nearly two of every five cell phones, is introducing N-Gage, a combination cell phone and game device that allows multiple gamers to play against each other over Bluetooth or wireless phone network connections. (Source: Palm Beach Post, Reuters) - more info Mobile games revenue set to increase ten-fold in three years, says Analysys Cambridge -- Dec 05, 2002 -- Downloadable games will replace ringtones as the service that drives Western Europe's growth in mobile content and entertainment service revenue over the next three years, according to a new report released this week by Analysys, the global advisers on telecoms and new media ( ). The report, Mobile Content and Entertainment Services: forecasting the market for games and other wireless content, concludes that among mobile content and entertainment services, mobile games offer the greatest prospects in the short term. Analysys forecasts a more than tenfold increase in mobile service revenue from games, from EUR255 million in 2002 to over EUR3 billion in 2005. (Chart available to journalists on request.) Most mobile games today are either embedded in the handset, like the 'Snake' game on Nokia handsets, or are simple text-based games, such as quizzes like Who Wants to be a Millionaire?. Operators across Western Europe are now introducing arcade-type games that can be downloaded to mobile handsets. O2 UK, for example, offers a range of Atari games for EUR2.50 per download, with each game having a lifespan of one month. Analysis: Identify the hottest games that can logicially incorporate location into; most likely multi-player games or strategy/scavenger hunt-type games GAME EXAMPLE -- There's a taxi driver in Stockholm known by the Web alias of Taxi31 who spends all his time between passengers shooting people. In Copenhagen, ferocious street battles flare daily between dozens of young men.   The carnage occurs with cellular phones, not guns -- courtesy of new technologies that allow cell phone users to locate each other to within several hundred meters.   Two small companies -- It's Alive of Sweden and Wireless Factory of Denmark -- have carved out early positions in a new genre of location-based game-playing and entertainment that will likely expand soon from Europe to North America.   "We think location-based entertainment and commerce will be the raison d'etre of the mobile Internet," said Unwired Factory CEO Anders Kjærsgaard Sørensen.   Other companies creating games for the format include Sweden's Blue Factory and two Israeli companies: Valis and Iniru. The games rely on a cell phone technology that allows mobile operators to pinpoint users' positions within "cells" formed by their phones' locations relative to nearby transmitters. In the United States, that capability is now required for all mobile operators to ensure that rescue workers can locate mobile users who are in trouble. The technologies also allow the creation of location-based games that bring people close enough to raise their adrenaline levels, but not so close as to make them feel stalked.   "If someone could actually track you down and find you, that would be too scary," It's Alive CEO Sven Hålling said.  The company's signature game is BotFighters; In BotFighters, users role-play as robots that they pick from a community website. They can pick all kinds of extras like laser guns and missiles, using play money called "Robucks." But once they start firing at each other in the real world, they pay real money -- about 20 cents for each move in the game. (The cell phones can "get" missions from the company's servGrs, "scan" for nearby enemies and, of course, "fire.") Sweden's Taxi31, for instance, has chalked up bills as high as $4,000.  "He's crazy," Hålling said. "He has four phones in his taxi. He even brags on the website that he's driven 30 kilometers outside the city to get in battles."  (SIDE ANALYSIS NOTE: DOES THIS TYPE OF (LBS) MOBILE GAME NEED "GAMBLER'S ANONYMOUS"  OR "MY BROKER CHURNED ME" INVESTOR-TYPE LEGAL PROTECTION?) Like many cell phone instant message services -- or SMS -- the cost of running BotFighters is relatively low. This is helping the tiny company to approach profitability despite the expense of programming and maintaining a graphically rich website.   It's Alive launched another location-based game called X-Fire last fall in conjunction with Britain's Channel 4. Based on a popular paintball TV competition, the game attracted as many as 11,000 people in the United Kingdom to sign up for the location-based version before it was temporarily shelved after Sept. 11. Unwired Factory's ZoneMaster, a Risk-like game in which players amass collections of zombies to attack each other and control "zones" in Copenhagen and around Denmark, has inspired fanaticism similar to BotFighters. Sørensen says some players have been known to tool up and down the country on the railway looking for enemies to attack. Key LBS Mobile Gaming Requirements (Note: This discussion does not address $ LBS gaming applications, though that potential certainly exists (think James Bond's Casino meets the Powerball Lottery meets the He Haw Scavanger Hunt)) Certainly Multiple Simultaneous Users are an absolute must; plus a "Bot" capability (not to be confused with Botfighter game below) a la James Bond GoldenEye game capabilities (In fact, a must for LBS game designers is to study existing PlayStation2/GameCube/XBox Find-em/shoot-em-up games for ideas to extend those concepts into LBS gaming world), plus: High Accuracy (e.g. A-GPS/GPS enabled) Easy-to-use User Interface Wi-Fi Capable (depends on Game and target demograpics) Multi-User (absolutely essential) "Zapping" capability Score Keeping Zoom In/Out features Tailored Instant Messaging capabilities (to taunt your opponents) Flexible privacy features (e.g. choose to remain anonymous with a "buffer" zone to prevent stalking, or to be "named" with no distance buffer zone) Dedicated website as central information clearinghouse ______________ Game Req's Example: BotFighters the players locate and shoot at each other with their cell phones out on the streets, where mobile positioning is used to determine whether the users are close enough to each other to be able to hit.  On the BotFighters website, a robot theme community, the players may upgrade their robots, buy weapons, chat, view high scores and get the real time position of other players. Also, from the Botfighters website the players can sign contracts to find and destroy other robots.   The BotFighters website is used for community building and to create an exciting game atmosphere, while the phone becomes the player's radar and weapon device.  During a game play, the player sends an SMS (or uses his WAP phone) to check his targets real time physical location. If the target is within range, the player can shoot by sending a "fire" SMS. The damage caused depends on the type of weapon used, the efficiency of the targets shield and other preferences held by the players.  The mission of the game is to locate and destroy other robots, and when a target is destroyed, the player advances on the high score list and earns credits. The credits can be used for buying new weapons, recharge the robot's battery and other upgrades of the robot on the BotFighters website. Opportunity Attractiveness (addresses attractiveness of target market and viability of business model): High Opportunity Timeframe (addresses state of carrier (and other) network infrastructure and application development time): Immediate PSAP Dependency (addresses degree to which application is dependent upon the level of Phase II E911 deployment by PSAPs (U.S. Only): None Target Market(s) Teenagers Teenagers More Teenagers More and More Teenagers Did I Mention Teenagers? Business Model(s) Teenagers are one of only a few demographic groups that are relatively insensitive about price (due to usually not having to pay the bills).  That said, they intuitively want fairness in pricing; figuring out what is "fair" is obviously the challenge.  Options include charging (similar business models currently used in other industries are in parentheses): Per Game (Pay Per View Model)  Flat Fee, with Cap (AT&T One Rate) Per Group Game  (e.g. same price regardless of number of users,  charged to one account, or split across users)  Per "Clue" Per "Transaction" (e.g. "Fire", or  "Scan") Prepay via above or minutes of use Revenue Potential Very High (Highest Immediate LBS Revenue Applications are Mobile Gaming and Family Security). Rationale:  High recent acceptance rate and apparent "legs" of wireless (standalone) games in general provides basic economic and technological platform, many of which appear to be readily adaptable (in concept) to include location/multi-user capabilities) _______________________________________ FIND PEOPLE (FRIENDS, CHILDREN/FAMILY, CO-WORKERS, ETC.) This application category will become the "core" of a suite of LBS services focused on finding certain people at certain times, in (or not in) certain areas/places, in certain situations (at work, not busy, etc.) and other permutations of location.  TORONTO, Dec 17, 2002 - Bell Mobility, Canada's leading wireless provider, today announced MyFinder, the first offering in Bell Mobility's suite of location based services (LBS) that will support useful and convenient applications based on the user's location. MyFinder allows Bell Mobility customers in Quebec and Ontario to receive location-specific information on their digital wireless handset and eventually PDA (personal digital assistant). LBS will be available on Bell Mobility's network in Western Canada in the first quarter of 2003. With a push of a button, MyFinder finds the location of the user's mobile device (with their consent) within Bell Mobility's coverage area and allows the user to look-up information for services such as restaurants, gas stations, hotels, hospitals, banks or theatres. MyFinder will also provide the user with the address and directions for the requested destination, as well as the expected distance and time of travel to get there -- whether by vehicle or by foot. Directories and directions can be sent as a text message to the user or to a friend's mobile device. "Whether it's text messaging, wireless games, e-mail or even LBS, today's wireless customer wants to be able to use their mobile device for more than just making and receiving voice calls," said Kelly Dixon, Vice President Marketing Bell Mobility. "Today's announcement is the first phase of Bell Mobility's commercial launch of location based services. LBS will evolve to deliver higher levels of accuracy, expand to include a wider selection of content, and a suite of advanced offerings including services that will enable customers to find and communicate with each other." MyFinder services will also soon be available through Bell Mobility's VoiceNet service, offering customers an interactive voice based alternative to search for nearby services and businesses. Offering LBS is the first step in being able to deliver safety services to our customers that will enable dispatch emergency assistance in the future. When customers subscribe to MyFinder services, they will be in full control of the times at which their location information will be available to the service, through a personalized privacy profile. For more information about the MyFinder privacy policy, please visit www.bell.ca/MyFinder.  AT&T WS' Marketing Message for Find Friends: Bring everyone together!  Find Friends makes it easy and fn to locate your friends: Add friends, family members, and coworkers to your friend list. See who’s nearby in an instant. Call or send a text message—and arrange to meet. Get directions to nearby restaurants, coffee shops, bars and pubs, and bookstores. Make yourself invisible to others whenever you choose. Locate up to five people at once. Best part? No additional monthly service charge. _______________________ Find People Key Requirements (Note: The general list of requirements in this category literally is hundreds of line items, with dozens if not hundreds of possible combinations that would support a given instance of a given application).  The list below is just a starting point.  The two applications that follow: Family Security and Enhanced Security/Survivalist are two of the nearest-term, highest revenue potential LBS applications. Here are a couple of examples of how Bell Mobility's MyFinder works: - Sarah is trying to finish off her holiday shopping but needs more money. She has requested to be located by the MyFinder service which has found her in the area of Pine Street and Alexander Street. Sarah requests MyFinder to provide her with a list of nearby bank machines. MyFinder provides her the list of the nearest bank machines, estimates the time it would take to get there and provides step-by-step walking directions to the bank machine she selects. - Richard has just finished work and has agreed to meet Karen for dinner. He has requested to be located by the MyFinder service which has found him at the corner of Bay and Maple streets. He requests a Thai restaurant at Brighton and St. Pierre streets and sends this information to his dinner companion Karen, located at Oak and Creek streets, by quickly sending her a text message through the MyFinder service. Richard can also look up directions to the restaurant and then search for a gas station along the way, and be provided with step-by-step directions (based on mode of travel). Today's version of MyFinder narrows the location down to the general area using the cellular transmission tower which is in contact with the customer's wireless device. The initial offering will be available through Bell Mobility's Mobile Browser service and as such, is only available to those customers with digital wireless phones. When using MyFinder, customers will continue to be charged according to their existing Mobile Browser and Text Messaging rate, and will only pay an incremental fee when they request to be located. Those customers that select the option "Find Me" will be charged $0.25 for each "Find Me" request. Once a customer selects the "Find Me" option their location information can be used a number of times to locate various items. When customers subscribe to MyFinder services, they will be in full control of the times at which their location information will be available to the service, through a personalized privacy profile. For more information about the MyFinder privacy policy, please visit www.bell.ca/MyFinder. _______________ Target Markets, Business Models, etc. are dependent upon particular tailoring of the find people capability.  See applications such as Family Security for particulars. _______________________________________ Family Security OVERVIEW: The market potential for this application (sub)category is VERY significant in several benefit dimensions: (Carriers) Subscriber Adds, ARPU increase, Churn Reduction;  (Consumers) Increased Piece of Mind, Improved Family Communications & Coordination, FUNDAMENTALLY new family security options; (Businesses) New Products, Product/Brand Extensions, Integration Opportunities, New Markets Heart Monitor Sends Crucial Information to Cell Phones (12-17-02) IBM has developed a heart monitor that can send a warning message to a pre-determined cell phone number when the user is in cardiac distress. The device uses short-range wireless technology such as Bluetooth to connect to a cell phone and transmit data in the form of a text message to the cell phone number of a physician, caregiver or emergency service. The heart monitor user must have a Bluetooth-capable cell phone turned on for the service to work. IBM is seeking a customer to turn the device into a consumer product. (Source: Reuters) _________________ Entrepreneur Backs System to Make Cell Phones Personal Security Devices (12-17-02) Entrepreneur and patent holder Chris Coles envisions a nationwide personal security service that would enable a wireless device user to quickly transmit pictures and location information to local answering centers that could provide directions, check identities and other safety services. Coles estimates that creating such a system would cost up to $100 million and require the cooperation of wireless carriers across the U.S. Wireless carriers are working on ways their technology could be used to enhance personal safety. In addition to working to meet wireless 911 location requirements, they are considering ways to send to cell phones the photos of children identified by the Amber Alert system as missing, or enabling cell phone users to view images from Web cameras, so that a merchant could check on the status of an empty store, for example. (Source: AP) ____________ Japan's NTT DoCoMo Looks to New Uses for Wireless to Stimulate Growth (12-05-02) In a push to boost uses of wireless devices in a marketplace where adoption of the technology is already high, NTT DoCoMo is considering applications in the health care and pet care industries. In Japan, wireless phones are already used by diabetics to send the results of their blood sugar tests to physicians. NTT DoCoMo sees expanding to blood pressure and heart monitoring services. Location-sensitive wireless devices are being used to keep track of children at Universal Studios Japan. As the devices become smaller, they can be used to find lost pets. (Source: Reuters) ____________ In Finland, Seven-Year-Olds Have Cell Phones (10-28-02) In a country where 92 percent of households have at least one cell phone, it isn't too surprising that many children as young as seven or eight have their own phones. Decorated with covers featuring cartoon characters and personal logos on the screens, the phones have become important to both the kids and their parents. Finland has strict rules on marketing to children. Most efforts are directed to parents, who see the devices as convenient tools for coordinating activities and checking that their children are safe. Schools are having to create policies for how cell phones can be used during class. The rules include - no texting, no games, no music and no calls during class - and the phones have to be stored out of sight. In Finland, one observer said, having a cell phone is as common as having a watch or a set of house keys. (Source: New York Times)  Analysis: Further evidence of market for family security wireless applications using location technology. ____________ New Parents Get Delivery Instructions by Cell Phone (12-10-02) Parents, anticipating the birth of their new baby, didn't quite make it to a Boston area hospital. They pulled their minivan to the side of Interstate 290 and used a cell phone to reach a state police dispatcher who talked them through the delivery of a 6 pound 3 ounce girl. State troopers arrived in time to cut the umbilical cord. (Source: Boston Herald)   Analysis: No age is too young for E911 security; with E911 troopers likely would have been able to be there earlier _____________ Dad Delivers Baby Born on D.C. Beltway (10/2/02) A Maryland couple's brand new son was in a rush to get here. He decided to arrive three weeks early and during the morning rush hour on the beltway around Washington, D.C. Dad had his cell phone and called 911. He said the dispatcher talked him through the delivery. All went well for mom, dad and 10-pound Joshua. (Source: WUSA-TV)  Analysis:  Properly packaged, a "new family" service for expectant parents could be quite successful.  Premium services above E911 could be alerting central monitoring service that could immediately identify nearby (preferred) hospitals and automatic notification of doctor and family. _____________ Cell Phone Calls Key to Ending Siege at Moscow Theater (10/28/02) Chechen rebels allowed hostages in a Moscow theater to make cell phone calls to relatives to relay their demands. Russian security officials got the relatives' cooperation in monitoring the calls, getting information crucial to the rescue attempt. Through the calls, officials learned how many rebels were in the building, what kind of weapons they had, and where they and the hostages were located in the theater complex. "The phones were our little secret," an official said, "and through them we knew everything that was going on inside." (Source: MSNBC)   Analysis: Location data would naturally been more precise with embedded E911-type technology. ___________ Boston Truants Busted by Cell Phones (11-12-02) Truants in the Boston School District beware! Truant officers are now equipped with web-enabled mobile phones from Nextel with software from AirClic, that allow them to access information on every student that attends one of the 63,000 Boston Public Schools. Officers can now instantly check out a student's photo identity, school record and history as well as notify a parent if their child is found playing hooky. A digital two-way radio enables officers to communicate instantly with their colleagues. Boston School District, the first to use mobile technology for this purpose, hopes that the devices will keep better track of student absences as well as deter truancy among students. (Source: BBC) Analysis: Adding location to this mix seems like a logical application extension, perhaps even including location history for the day. ___________________ Key Requirements Literally several dozen, if not over a hundred; In fact, specification and implementation of requirements for this application category alone (Along with appropriately inspired marketing messages) could define success or failure in broad cross-section of LBS applications (as such, we aint giving them away for free).  But, they generally include: Advanced security/privacy capabilities, along with sophisticated Opt-In (only) mechansims to restrict access to subscriber's (or subscriber's family members) only with subscriber's permission.  Any commercial access would provide subscriber's location information ONLY on anonymous basis. Easy-to-Use Interface (a given for applications of course, but in example of 7 year olds kids will want to know their parents locations as well) Technological  Flexibility: In the 802.11x vs. Bluetooth battle (no, it ain't over yet)  "Programmable" emergency recipient numbers (automatically contacts them when 911 is dialed, with additional application interfaces (e.g. dials medical database that automatically forwards medical information to E911 dispatcher handling call) Sophisticated Alert capabilities to accommodate a multitude of both preset and programmable alert interfaces, such as one that can correlate a child's location with school hours to send (busy) parents alerts when school is over and compare expected location (e.g. on train at 3:00 pm) vs. actual (e.g. missed the train and stranded at station); when child is off defined location zone (e.g. school grounds, for truancy purposes, etc.) Blocking features (subscriber only) (Optional) Location History - a daily log of where a certain subscriber was during the day (time interval frequency perhaps dependent on price).   Could be beneficial in many ways (e.g. Truancy), but will generate tremendous privacy concerns. And a host of others (See "Contact Us") __________________ Opportunity Attractiveness (addresses attractiveness of target market and viability of business model): Very High Opportunity Timeframe (addresses state of carrier (and other) network infrastructure and application development time): Immediate PSAP Dependency (addresses degree to which application is dependent upon the level of Phase II E911 deployment by PSAPs (U.S. Only): Partial (see below) Target Markets Couples/Families (General Marketing message) Expectant  Parents (see news in left column) Families with Teenagers Single Parents (latch key children) Business Model(s) Flat Fee (but different prices depending on market/packaging of functionality) Revenue Potential Very High;  Incremental ARPU increase per application add should range from $3 to $10/month.  Justification: Security (personal, family) is very price insensitive currently.  CRITICAL NOTE:  These type applications can be launched prior to large scale implementation of E911 handling capabilities by PSAPs, since most (but certainly not all) of the "Family Security" functionality will be "independent" of the PSAP dispatch center's Phase II capabilities, yet capitalizes on the carrier's E911 technology deployment (particularly A-GPS deployments).  It is even conceivable that a central monitoring capability could be set up (similar to home/car alarm monitoring services) that could provide E911-type capabilities to local 911 dispatchers, similar to what home/car monitoring services do. ___________________ ENHANCED SECURITY/SURVIVALIST APPLICATIONS Mississippi Hunters Rescued Thanks to Cell Phone - Two men hunting near the Mississippi River found themselves up a creek without a paddle when their boat engine experienced problems. After trying to repair the engine themselves to no avail, they took out their cell phones and called for help. The hunters were brought to safety shortly afterwards. q. (Source: Bolivar Commercial, Mississippi) Nextel Offers Survival Apps on Its Swiss Army Phone (12-07-02) Nextel, partnered with Victorinox maker of the original Swiss Army Knife, recently introduced a limited-edition i90c cell phone from Motorola complete with what Nextel calls "survival apps". In addition to standard Nextel services including Direct Connect two-way radio capabilities, voice recognition, a voice recorder and always-on Internet access, the special edition Swiss Army Phone has preprogrammed applications such as "85 Ways to Use a Swiss Army Knife" and "Worst case Scenarios" first-aid guide. Nextel has only made 50,000 of the phones all of which come with an actual Swiss Army Knife. (Source: NewsFactor) Analysis:  Location information, a.k.a. E911 and beyond (e.g. notifying Air Mountain Rescue, Coast Guard, etc.) could elicit a premium if packaged right More Hunters Saved Thanks to Cell Phones (12-07-02) Four duck hunters were saved thanks to 911 calls made from a cell phone. The four men were trapped on a small island after their boat capsized in Lake Erie. After calling, 911 dispatchers sent the Coast Guard to rescue the men. (Source: Associated Press) Analysis: Prime bundling/new channel opportunity with outdoor sporting goods stores and similar beasts (see Next Column) Owner Uses Cell Phone to Foil Theft of Truck (9/23/02) A Texas man prevented the theft of his pickup truck by jumping into the truck bed and calling 911 from his cell phone as the thieves sped away. He held on as police chased the truck. The thieves finally stopped, jumped out, and into another truck to get away. After trailing the second truck to an apartment complex, one suspect was arrested. (Source: KPRC, Houston) Would have been easier if he had wireless 911 service. Quarry Worker Buried Under 20,000 Tons of Rock Uses Cell Phone to Call for Help A Belgian quarry worker, buried by 20,000 tons of rock covering the cab of his bulldozer, was able to make a quick cell phone call to his boss to tell him where he was. Co-workers and firefighters tunneled through the rocks to the rescue. (Source: Ananova) ____________________________________ Key Enhanced Security/ Survivalist Requirements High Degree of Accuracy (Including Altitude?) "Selectable/ Prioritizable" Emergency Response "Dialing" Group Alerts (E911 factor) Interface with other Survivalist electronic gear? ______________ Retailer Scores by Luring Men Who Hate to Shop (POINT OF THIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT THE (INFERRED) POTENTIAL FOR ALTERNATIVE CHANNELS FOR WIRELESS SECURITY APPLICATIONS) Cabela's Lavish Stores Draw Crowds of Outdoorsy Types (WSJ) SIDNEY, Neb. -- As the largest retailer in this high-plains outpost, Cabela's Inc. sells the sort of products that people bought in the Old West: guns, tents, fishing lures and such. Cabela's serves the nation's oldest market -- the outdoorsman -- and its numbers are shrinking. Yet Cabela's is one of the nation's hottest retailers. Its small but growing chain of stores is a formidable economic-development force, drawing gigantic crowds to tiny towns. And Cabela's accomplishes this by appealing to a most unlikely customer -- men who hate to shop. "I'll do just about anything to avoid shopping," says John Brown, a small-business owner in Cheyenne, Wyo. In 35 years of marriage, his wife says she's persuaded him to go shopping only twice. Yet one day last month he invited her to drive 100 miles with him for a day of shopping at Cabela's. "I'm like a kid in a candy store here," he said, dropping a new tackle box into his cart A river runs through it: The aquarium at the Cabela's store in Owatonna, Minn., is a popular tourist attraction. Yet from the outset, the Cabela's here attracted more than 1.2 million visitors a year. To a town that had only 6,000 people, and that sits 150 miles from the nearest city (Denver), this rush of visitors seemed miraculous. Locals opened restaurants, hotels and dozens of other businesses to serve the visitors, eliminating Sidney's once-high unemployment rate. Today, the town boasts 200 more jobs than it has citizens, and the store is Nebraska's second-largest tourist attraction, behind the Omaha zoo. In the decade that ended in 2001, the number of U.S. hunters declined 7%, while the number of anglers stayed flat. Yet Cabela's faces no shortage of room to grow. The hunting-and-fishing market is tremendously underserved, as the popularity of Cabela's eight stores suggests. Hunters and anglers spent $70 billion last year, and yet there is no national chain of stores devoted just to serving them. By contrast, the $25 billion toy industry has given rise to Toys 'R' Us Inc., which had revenue last year of $11 billion. Moreover, the decline in hunters' numbers was offset by a 29% increase in expenditures. Outdoorsmen can be just as enthusiastic as children. "I hunt all autumn and winter, and I fish the rest of the year," says Scott Lyon, a construction superintendent from Wellington, Colo., who drove to Cabela's recently to purchase a new elk gun and a "varmint" rifle. The trick to doing this is appealing to the family member who is usually most reluctant to shop: Dad. One recent morning, Lara Miller was trying to round up her husband and three kids, as their morning trip to Cabela's stretched into afternoon. Mrs. Miller -- normally the only family member who likes to shop -- now was the one most ready to leave. "We haven't had breakfast yet," she moaned.  Her husband, Darren Miller, a farmer in Jerome, Idaho, said, "I love this place." A man can enter Cabela's carrying a couple of rifles and expect a warm reception. The typical customer at Bass Pro and Cabela's is male -- and averse to crowds and shopping. The reclusiveness of the outdoorsman was one reason that both companies started as cataloguers, Cabela's in 1961, Bass Pro in 1972. When Cabela's opened its first big retail store here in 1991, it was purely for the purpose of showcasing its catalog goods. "We didn't expect the store to make any money," says President Jim Cabela, who with his brother, Chairman Dick Cabela, owns about 80% of the company. They also vowed to offer first-class service, staffing each department with a generous number of employees who had to take 100-question tests on the products they sold. For customers who stopped by in the middle of a hunt, the store offered outdoor use of kennels and corrals for their dogs and horses to stretch out. The store became an instant magnet for men such as Darell Roush and Gene Markin, friends and ranchers from Gillette, Wyo., 350 miles away. Whenever these two life-long haters of stores arrive at Cabela's, they become something unusual among men in these parts -- shopping buddies. They browse for hours among the product here -- scents, dog shoes, decoys, lures, lines, reels, boots, camouflage, boats, tents, ammunition and guns, rows and rows of them, new, used and antique. _______________ Target Market(s) Hunters/ Outdoorsmen Weekend family campers Survivalists Boy/Girl Scouts Outdoor professions (e.g. Forest Rangers, INS, Ranchers, etc) Business Model(s) Incremental Monthly flat fee (e.g. $3.95/month) Free with service sign up (at sporting goods store, etc.) ________________________________ Weather Applications Weather Alerts to Be Sent to Cell Phones The Weather Channel and software developer Air2Web are introducing a service that delivers alerts of oncoming severe weather to cell phones. Initially available to Sprint PCS customers with advanced color-screen phones, similar services are being designed for AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless customers. Currently, AT&T Wireless offers a service that lets subscribers view weather radar displays on their cell phones. (Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution) ________________ Key Requirements Tight Geographical Focus (5-50 miles, depending on type of weather alert) Special sound activation for key alerts (e.g. Tornados)   ________________ Target Markets Road Warriors Commuters Parents (with Sports playing children) Business Model(s) None (free) Flat Fee per month ($3 or less) ________________________________________ CAMERA PHONE LBS APPLICATIONS Sprint, Google Offer Image Search on PCS Phones A new service from Web search company Google and Sprint enables customers on Sprint's PCS Vision network to search and view Google's collection of nearly 400 million Web images and more than three billion Web pages. Google(TM) search services were previously available on the Sprint PCS wireless Web and allowed customers to search for text-based sites and information. With the new service, customers are able to view full-color photos and access sites and information with graphics and other enhancements. Sprint said it would also introduce Rhapsody 411, a music information service from Listen.com. With Rhapsody 411, Sprint PCS Vision customers can browse thousands of music recommendations, artist bios, full-color images, and album art. PCS customers that use Rhapsody 411 will also be given a promotional code that will allow them to sign up for the Rhapsody digital music subscription service. AT&T Wireless also offers a similar Rhapsody 411 service. (Source: Dow Jones Business News, Reuters) Analysis:  Marking these images with location information would add whole new layers of usefullness. ____________ Sony Ericsson to Dogvertise New Photo Messaging Service Holland-based advertising company Dogvertise is recruiting large breed dogs in Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Belfast, Bristol, London and Newcastle to promote Sony Ericsson's new photo messaging service as "something to drool about." Professional dog walkers will guide the dogs, which will wear coats with the Sony Ericsson logo, around city streets. Owners get their dogs walked for free. (Source: BBC) ____________ Entrepreneur Backs System to Make Cell Phones Personal Security Devices (12-17-02) Entrepreneur and patent holder Chris Coles envisions a nationwide personal security service that would enable a wireless device user to quickly transmit pictures and location information to local answering centers that could provide directions, check identities and other safety services. Coles estimates that creating such a system would cost up to $100 million and require the cooperation of wireless carriers across the U.S. Wireless carriers are working on ways their technology could be used to enhance personal safety. In addition to working to meet wireless 911 location requirements, they are considering ways to send to cell phones the photos of children identified by the Amber Alert system as missing, or enabling cell phone users to view images from Web cameras, so that a merchant could check on the status of an empty store, for example. (Source: AP) Analysis: Noble cause; avoid patent holders like the plague however. ______________ Three Million Use DoCoMo Camera-Phone NTT DoCoMo Inc. announced it has signed up over three million users for its camera phone since the launch of the handsets in June. This represents about seven percent of DoCoMo's 42 million subscribers. Camera-phones, which allow users to take pictures and send them via e-mail, have quickly become Japan's hottest trend. NTT DoCoMo Inc. is Japan's dominant wireless carrier. (Source: Reuters) Analysis:  Wouldn't it be fun to add a "location-stamp" to a Camera from a Camera phone, similar to a date and time stamp currently done on photos and video tapes? ______________   Opportunity Attractiveness (addresses attractiveness of target market and viability of business model): Medium Opportunity Timeframe (addresses state of carrier (and other) network infrastructure and application development time): Immediate to Medium Term PSAP Dependency (addresses degree to which application is dependent upon the level of Phase II E911 deployment by PSAPs (U.S. Only): None Target Market(s) Anyone who takes pictures with a digital camera Travelers/Vacationers Familiese Real Estate Professionals Architects /////   Business Model(s) Teenagers are one of only a few demographic groups that are relatively insensitive about price (due to usually not having to pay the bills).  That said, they intuitively want fairness in pricing; figuring out what is "fair" is obviously the challenge.  Options include charging (similar business models currently used in other industries are in parentheses): Per Game (Pay Per View Model)  Flat Fee, with Cap (AT&T One Rate) Per Group Game  (e.g. same price regardless of number of users,  charged to one account, or split across users)  Per "Clue" Per "Transaction" (e.g. "Fire", or  "Scan") Prepay via above or minutes of use Revenue Potential Very High (Highest Immediate LBS Revenue Applications are Mobile Gaming and Family Security). Rationale:  High recent acceptance rate and apparent "legs" of wireless (standalone) games in general provides basic economic and technological platform, many of which appear to be readily adaptable (in concept) to include location/multi-user capabilities) ______________________________ TELEMATICS - VEHICLE-ORIENTED LBS Majority of Users Don't Think Navigation Systems Are Driver Distractions, Study Finds Less than 3 percent of owners believe their in-car navigation system creates dangerous driving situations, according to a new study from J.D. Power and Associates. However, some owners agree that entering a destination into their system while driving is distracting. Federal safety officials believe the navigation systems are distracting for drivers, and favor systems that would prevent entering destinations in the systems while vehicles are moving. "The majority of owners whose system has the function that prevents a destination to be entered while the vehicle is moving do not like this feature, and younger owners are much more adamant in their dissatisfaction," said Frank Forkin, partner and an executive director at J.D. Power and Associates. "Additionally, many owners believe this function is more of a hassle than a safety feature, given that on occasion, systems may freeze up or provide inaccurate directions." The numbe r of models on which navigation systems are offered as an optional or standard feature continues to grow, the study found. More than 60 models now offer navigation systems, and the total number of new vehicles that include navigation systems sold in the U.S. has nearly doubled in the past year to an estimated 300,000 up from 175,000 in 2001. (Source: USA TODAY) Analysis: Attempts to limit LBS functionality, even with the  best of intentions, must be done carefully. Employers May be Liable for Employee Cell Phone Use As more employees conduct business on the go using wireless devices, employers may find themselves liable for their employees' actions. If an employee is using his wireless device while driving the employer could be help responsible. Already investment banking firm, Smith Barney, has paid a settlement to the family of a motorcyclist killed when the person was involved in an auto accident with a Smith Barney employee using a cell phone. Companies are now determining how to handle such situations. Many are instructing employees to simply follow the law on cell phone use or to not use the phone while driving. (Source: New York Times) Low-Tech Gadgets Make Talking and Driving Safe and Easy Cell-phone hazards can be mitigated thanks to low-cost features such as headsets, speakerphones, speed dialing and voice-activated dialing services. According to some analysts, hands-free headsets and speakerphones can help eliminate the visual and mechanical distractions. In addition, voice-activated dialing can also eliminate distractions - such as trying to hold the steering wheel while searching for and dialing a certain number. (Source: CBS Market Watch) Analysis: See Requirements Legislators Vow to Require Hands Free Cell Phone Use (12-2-02) After news accounts on cell phones and driving, some lawmakers, including Baltimore County Del. John S. Arnick, are re-starting their crusades to require hands free cell phone equipment while driving. Many news accounts noted further investigation before banning cell phone use while driving is required and stated the cost and benefits of cell phones used while driving are equal. Arnick said that he plans to continue pushing a bill restricting the use of hand held phones while driving in the next Maryland General Assembly session. (Source: Washington Post) Analysis:   See  Requirements  __________ Key Requirements Hands-Free Operation Voice Recognition Heavy legalese on application use