The document discusses location-based technologies and mobile UI/UX mistakes to avoid. It defines location-based technology and services, and discusses advantages like store locators, proximity marketing, and fraud prevention. It then covers different location technologies like GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and beacons. The future of location services is predicted to grow as privacy concerns are addressed and mobile internet access increases.

1. 6 MOBILE UI/UX MISTAKES TO AVOID
- By Shanal Aggarwal (Head - Global Sales, TechAhead)

2. INTRODUCTION
Technology which uses the physical location of the end-user to
improve the relevance, context, and value of an application is
defined as location based technology. Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi and
NFC are all location-based technologies. A service or application
which utilizes location-based technology is called Location-based
service(LBS). Some services allow consumers to "check in" at
restaurants, coffee shops, stores, concerts, and other places or
events. Often, businesses offer a reward — prizes, coupons or
discounts — to people who check in. Google Maps, Foursquare,
GetGlue, Yelp and Facebook are among the more popular location-
based services.
©2016 TechAhead

3. ADVANTAGES OF USING LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES?
For mobile network operators, location-based services are an
additional stream of revenue that can be generated from their
investments in fixed infrastructure. For the end user, these
services can help reduce confusion, improve the consumption
experience, and deliver high-quality service options.
Some common uses of location-based technologies are listed
below:
•Store locators. Using location-based intelligence, retail
customers can quickly find the nearest store location.
©2016 TechAhead

4. ADVANTAGES OF USING LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES?
•Proximity-based marketing. Local companies can push ads only
to individuals within the same geographic location. Location-
based mobile marketing delivers ads to potential customers
within that city who might actually act on the information.
•Travel information. An LBS can deliver real-time information,
such as traffic updates or weather reports, to the smartphone so
the user can plan accordingly.
•Roadside assistance. In the event of a blown tire or accident,
many roadside assistance companies provide an app that allows
them to track your exact location without the need for giving
directions.
©2016 TechAhead

5. ADVANTAGES OF USING LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES?
•Mobile workforce management. For logistics-dependent
companies that employ individuals out in the field or at multiple
locations, an LBS allows employees to check in at a location
using their mobile device.
•Fraud prevention. An LBS creates another level of security by
matching a customer’s location through the smartphone to a
credit card transaction. Tying the smartphone’s location to a
credit card allows you to flag transactions made across several
geographic locations over a short time.
©2016 TechAhead

6. LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES EXPLAINED
Positioning is a crucial component with Location Based Services
as it allows get information about the location of the mobile
device. The development of satellite systems (GPS, Galileo,
Glonass) revolutionized the accuracy of location information,
however for many LBS applications the GSM-positioning accuracy
level is more than enough.
“The service FriendZone is considered the first LBS service to be
offered by a mobile phone operator in May 2001 after a preliminary
trial that started in January 2001”
©2016 TechAhead

7. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES?
Location-based technologies can be classified into network-based,
handset-based, infrastructure-based or hybrid.
Cell-ID and Cell tower triangulation are network-based
technologies; GPS is handset-based technology; Wi-Fi and
Bluetooth are infrastructure-based and A-GPS is a hybrid
technology. Let us learn about the features, merits and demerits of
each technology in detail.
•Cell-ID
©2016 TechAhead

8. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES?
•Cell-ID
The Cell ID (or Cell-of- origin) is the simplest localization method
available in cellular networks. Mobile operator is identifying position of a
mobile terminal through the id of the base transceiver station (BTS) that
user connected at particular moment. Unless the capacity of BTS is not
used, the user should be connected to the network via the nearest base
station. “The accuracy of the Cell ID method therefore depends on the
known range of the particular BTS serving the user at the time of the
query. It can range from a few hundred meters in urban areas to several
kilometers in rural areas”. A very prominent user of Cell ID positioning
technology on mobile devices is Google. Google’s Maps for Mobile
service uses the transmission from a single cell tower to provide the cell
phone location.
©2016 TechAhead

9. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES?
•Enhanced Cell-ID
Enhanced Cell ID refers to technologies that are using position of
multiple BTS stations or additional parameters of BTS signal to
enhance the accuracy of the mobile terminal. There are several
methods that utilize time (distance) or/and angles of radio
signals. The most known are: AOA(Angle of Arrival), TDOA
(Time Difference of Arrival), TOA (Time of Arrival). Methods that
are being employed depend solely on the cellular networks
operators, the accuracy of the system might be required by
legislators.
©2016 TechAhead

10. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES?
•Global Positioning System(GPS)
GPS is a satellite positioning system controlled by the US
Department of Defense. It consists of a constellation of 31
satellites. Although there are other similar projects, including
European GALILEO, Russian GLONASS, Chinese Beidou the only
worldwide broadly used system is GPS. The system determines
the position of a receiver by calculating differences in the times
that take signals from different at least three satellites to reach the
mobile device with GPS antenna. Afterwards the system uses the
mathematical technique of trilateration to determine user
position, speed, and elevation.
©2016 TechAhead

11. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES?
Despite good accuracy, GPS has some disadvantages: accuracy
depends on the number of visible satellites; set-up time can be
quite long, many minutes in the worst case; power consumption
can be high; GPS does not work indoor or when satellites are in
shadow.
“Doppler Effect is the key principle used in GPS system. GPS was
first used by US for military purposes. Their need of a global
navigation system during the cold war triggered the introduction
of GPS.”
©2016 TechAhead

12. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES?
•Assisted GPS (A-GPS)
A-GPS is linking satellite positioning with GSM operators
positioning systems. A-GPS requires BTS stations to be equipped
with GPS receivers. In this way BTSs can provide information
about visible satellites, allowing the GPS installed on the mobile
device to speed up its tracking phase. It addresses the key
drawback of GPS technology – reduces power consumption and
Time To First Fix (TTFF) that depending on a device, environment
and sky visibility can take even a few minutes. Additionally A-GPS
can provide better location accuracy than regular GPS because of
use of differential GPS.
©2016 TechAhead

13. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES?
•Assisted GPS (A-GPS)
This technique exploits the knowledge of both the actual BTS
position and its GPS approximation to estimate GPS error and as a
result, this error can be corrected applying a suitable correction
factor. In practice, there is a multitude of ways in which this
technology can be deployed depending on the configuration of
chipset manufacturers, local legislation, and operator policy
resulting variation in its effectiveness compared to GPS.
©2016 TechAhead

14. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES?
•Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
Ubiquity of Wi-Fi access points inside buildings and in urban areas
made it possible to utilize this data for positioning purposes. The
technology uses similar methods as cell-id and triangulation but it
applies them to wireless internet hotspots. When a mobile device
detects the Wi-Fi signal, preinstalled positioning software scans it
and compare to reference database, than based on the strength of
one or several signals, it calculates user’s location. Bluetooth
technology works in a similar way however, it requires to install a
grid of antennas, as the technology is as popular as Wi-Fi. Private
companies including Skyhook and Google are gathering data with
special vehicles that have extra-sensitive GPS and Wi-Fi receivers.
©2016 TechAhead

15. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES?
•Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
The technology has been widely used starting from Apple iPhone
2G and then adapted by other smartphone producers. Wi-Fi has
been shown to achieve 3-10 meter indoor and 20-30m outdoor
positioning accuracy. The achievable accuracy depends on two
factors: access point density and the location-positioning
algorithms employed.
“When we open the Bluetooth on our computer devices, we
encounter the familiar blue and white logo. Interestingly, the logo
actually comprises two symbols, which are two letters representing
the initials of none other than King Herald.”
©2016 TechAhead

16. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES?
•Geofencing
Geofencing is one of key technologies used in Location Based
Marketing. It refers to a virtual boundary created around a
specified physical location or point on a map. It is used to test
whether presence inside the area is true or false in order to trigger
some sort of predefined action, which in case of marketing refers
to sending targeted message Geofence can be defined by a series
of lat/long coordinates or radius of a particular distance around a
specific point.
©2016 TechAhead

17. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES?
•Geofencing
Three primary types of geofences:
1.Static: user’s position relative to a fixed point or fixed area
2.Dynamic: user’s position relative to a changing data stream
3.Peer-to-Peer: user’s position relative to other users
©2016 TechAhead

18. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES?
Static geofencing can be used to send an special offer via text
message to opt-in users as they enter a shopping district, dynamic
geofencing to send a message about “open parking space” nearby
mobile app users driving through particular area, and peer-to-peer
geofencing in a location based social network to notify user about
friends nearby.In the corporate world, geofences are used to alert
management when employees leave or enter pre-determined area.
On a personal level, a geofence can alert parents when your child
arrives at school, via an application such as Neer. In Location
Based Marketing geofences are used mostly to send messages to
opt-in users when they enter particular area.
©2016 TechAhead

19. WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES?
•iBeacon
Apple explains iBeacon technology to consumers as the enabling
technology for Apple devices to alert apps or websites (which the user
has opted into) when someone approaches or leaves a location. In other
words, retail or other venues that have beacons in place can detect where
a customer is at any given moment. Then — and this is the key part, of
course — the retailer or other business can push timely messages to that
customer promoting products or providing other useful information. Say
someone is walking past a retail store; if they’ve downloaded the
retailer’s mobile app, the company can use beacon messages to capture
their attention as they go by, enticing them to enter. Once inside,
beacons can be used to make personalized offers, speed checkout
processes and pretty much anything else the retailer can dream up.
©2016 TechAhead

20. COMPARISON OF VARIOUS LOCATION-BASED TECHNOLOGIES
©2016 TechAhead
Parameter Beacons GPS Wi-Fi Near-field
CommunicaDon(NFC)
Recommended for In/near store
and micro
loca0on
Out of store use
and macro
loca0on
In-store use Close proximity, secure
interac0on
Some uses In-store
naviga0on,ha
nds-free
payment
Pre-arrival
customer check-
in. near-store
no0fica0ons and
offers
In-store
naviga0on,hands
-free payment
Payments, product
tagging
Ease of set-up and
maintenance
Medium Medium-high Medium Medium
Range Medium Long Medium-low Low
Accuracy Medium Medium-low Medium High
Consumer-friendly Medium Medium Medium-high Medium-high
Energy-efficiency Medium-high Medium-low Medium-high High

21. BEACONS VS. GEOFENCING- WHICH IS BETTER FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
Now that you have read through the basic differences between
these two technologies, the next question that pops up is,
‘Which one do I use? Geofencing or beacons or both?’ The
decision should be based on what your company or brand wants
to accomplish using them.
For example, geofencing being a lot less precise when it comes to
proximity detection, users may have a varied experience of the
time at which a message gets triggered once they enter the
geofence perimeter. This makes geofencing more effective for
broader marketing campaigns that target customers on a larger
scale, such as when they are driving around the parking lot or are
walking by the entrance of a mall.
©2016 TechAhead

22. BEACONS VS. GEOFENCING- WHICH IS BETTER FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
On the other hand, beacons with their ability to detect customers
with greater accuracy, work better if you are considering offering
location based services indoors. For example, beacons can be used
to deliver more precise turn-by-turn directions within a building.
An important thing to note here is that, in spite of their
differences, these two technologies complement rather than
conflict with each other. Here is a perfect example – any marketer
looking to leverage beacons has definitely been bogged down by
one main challenge at some point of time- ‘What can I do to
ensure that users with my app have bluetooth turned on?’ This is
one of the questions that frequently surface in most of our client
conversations as well.
©2016 TechAhead

23. BEACONS VS. GEOFENCING- WHICH IS BETTER FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
Beacons and geofencing complement rather than conflict each
other. The Beaconstac platform recently launched a new feature
called ‘Places’ that allows retailers to define a geofence with ease.
All they have to do is choose ‘Places’ from the navigation, click
on ‘Add a new place’ and type in the attributes such as name,
address (latitude and longitude values). Once that is done, they
can easily define the range of a geofence (in metres). This is how
we can use both these technologies for our benefit.
©2016 TechAhead

24. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
According to a new study of brand marketers, 75% believe
location based marketing is an important element to their
business strategy in 2016. With mobile Internet becoming widely
accessible and the giants of social networking sites investing in a
more synchronized form of location-integration into their
products, there’s a lot to expect in the coming years. Research
studies on mobile marketing show that 42 consumers feel that
the marketing communications they receive from businesses on
their mobile devices are neither relevant nor useful. Location-
based marketing answers the concern through relevant and
personalized localization
©2016 TechAhead

25. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
Privacy is one of the main hesitations concerns that’s holding
this technology from sky-rocketing. Customers and their need to
be constantly updated, are open to sharing their personal
information with brands when they download their apps and
further share their location, shopping inclination, demographics,
amongst various other personal information. By being
straightforward with consumers and utilizing specific tactics
companies can push past the privacy barrier. With smartphone
penetration and the number of active social media users, the use
of location services and its value is bound to soar up.
©2016 TechAhead

26. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
Merchants or vendors who use this to their advantage will stand
out amongst various others helping them become leaders within
their domain. The future of location-based services is indeed
bright!
©2016 TechAhead
Get a Free Quote

27. HAVE AN APP
IDEA?
TechAhead is an Award Winning Firm Bringing
Client’s App Ideas to Life Since 2009.
Contact Us Today for a Free Quote
sales@techaheadcorp.com
www.techaheadcorp.com