The folks at Joiku, the company that has developed the revolutionary Joikuspot software that lets you turn your Symbian Series 60 device into a mobile wi-fi hotspot have done it again. This time they’ve built on their Joikuspot platform by adding location information to the mix. The new offering is called Mapspot and it extends location aware services, like pinpointing your location on Google maps and allowing you to get directions, locate businesses, or even help someone else locate you.
This is a major innovation in that it not only is a very useful service in its own right but it also extends the utility of GPS services right through to any device connected to your Joikuspot enabled phone. This is one of the first really innovative ideas I’ve seen in the whole location-based arena; an area that has been rife with promise but short on delivery. You can only get so many coupons for Starbucks just because you happen to be near one, if you know what I mean.
People need real, actionable information on demand. Not stuff pushed at you because your phone is broadcasting your location to people trying to sell you something. Joiku’s Mapspot is just such a service and I applaud their innovative and creative developments. My only question is how do they plan to monetize this new cool application? Anyone? Anyone?
