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Rally Up , a new location-based social network with a strong focus on privacy , just became the first fully featured location-based social network with an iPad app. The app, which is available for free ( iTunes link ), includes all of the features of Rally Up's iPhone app. Thanks to making good use of the iPad's expanded screen estate, however, using the iPad app is far easier and a lot more fun. Sponsor Location-Based Services on the iPad: On Hold Until the WiFi + 3G Models Arrive The current version of the iPad has to rely on WiFi triangulation to pinpoint a user's location. As long as you are in a city, this works reasonably well. We expect to see more location-based iPad apps, including from Foursquare and Gowalla, once Apple launches the WiFi + 3G version of the iPad, which will include a GPS chip. For now, Loopt's Pulse is the only other location-based social network that has arrived on the iPad, but Loopt's app doesn't allow users to check in from the app and focuses on letting users browser photos, places, events and their friends streams instead. Rally Up on the iPad When we first reviewed Rally Up's iPhone service a few weeks ago, we noted that the application puts a very strong emphasis on privacy and allows you to tweak these privacy settings individually for every single on of your followers and the people you follow. As Rally Up's co-founder Sol Lipman told us, Rally Up is really more about connecting you to your "real" friends. It is important to note that Rally Up's sophisticated privacy controls also gives you the flexibility to follow whoever you want to and just broadcast very little to none of your location data to people you don't fully trust or know. Using the iPhone version of Rally Up is a lot of fun - in part thanks to the application's minimalist design - but as with so many iPad apps, the larger screen makes browsing your friends streams and looking at their locations on a large map a lot easier. Rally Up's iPad app also emphasizes the microblogging aspects of the service, where the extra screen estate comes in handy for posts with photos, for example. Discuss
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Rally Up Brings Location-Based Social Networking to the iPad
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In the midst of the SXSW festival last month, we reviewed a mobile social network called LoKast . Our one lingering question about the app's utility, at the time, was were we really going to run around town staring at our phone to see if someone else nearby was running the same app? The answer was "no" then and is "no" now, but the difference now is that the iPhone OS 4.0 that was announced yesterday allows for background location multitasking . This opens up a whole new realm of experiences for the iPhone. Sponsor First, LoKast. LoKast is a self-described "disposable" social network. That is, as you move about and come near other people running LoKast, you can quickly interact with them. Then, when you move ot of range, you may never see them again. It is social networking based on location, without a persistent friends listing. So now, with background location monitoring, an app like LoKast is actually feasible. I can turn it on, leave it running and wander around town and perhaps have it notify me when I'm within range of someone. As Kim-Mai Cutler notes, background location also brings up some "slightly creepy" privacy concerns relating not only to applications running in the background, but also location based advertising. But what if you think about location based advertising like you think of iTunes' "Genius" function or all the other recommendation engine software you use? It may be tough to realize that you are not quite the unique snowflake you thought you were and that, indeed, everyday around three you end up at the same coffeeshop, but wouldn't it be nice for your iPhone to realize this and get you 20% off? Without you even having to lift a finger? Well, fine, maybe you have to lift an iPhone. The list of ideas for background location are endless. Of course, we'll have to see how quickly a battery gets drained with persistent GPS monitoring. Having the ability to let our phones deliver us information, as we move about the world, based on our location has some amazing potential. Think of EveryBlock , the hyperlocal news aggregator that Marshall Kirkpatrick went ga-ga over when it arrived in Portland. The block-level delivery of news wouldn't even need to wait for you to check it any more - it could simply deliver relevant information as you move about your day. Real-time rideshare services like Avego and Flinc suddenly become that much more feasible, in fast-paced, real-life situations. We could go on, but we have another couple of months before the next version of the iPhone OS comes out and we're already too excited as it is. What crazy, creepy or otherwise cool potential do you see with the new background location capabilities? Discuss
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What Background Location Brings to the iPhone
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What are the security issues with the iPad and how is it suited as a device for developing enterprise scale applications? Those are the questions we posed to Ken Westin, the founder and CEO of ActiveTrak . Westin is a a security expert. His company develops a software and a service to track the location of a device if lost or stolen. In June, the company is introducing an enterprise version of its technology that will also go by the name ActiveTrak. Sponsor The iPad will become a device that we will undoubtedly see in the enterprise. It fits into the same space as a smartphone or social computing technology, applicable to personal and work life. Neville Hobson on the NextWeb cites a survey by Sybase about the interest in smart phones for the workplace and its correlation to the iPad. But Westin says the iPad does have its own set of limitations that makes it an issue for development of enterprise security grade applications: The iPhone and iPad software has built-in PPTP, IPSec, Cisco VPN software . But more companies are moving to SSL VPN, which is not supported by the iPad. In time, though, a client should be developed for the product. The device may be able to access the domain, however it is different from being a domain member as an administrator cannot manage it, enforce group policies or push patches or apps to it. Westin is supported by other security experts who cite Apple's lack of interest in security issues: "The general consensus is that Apple continues to do only the absolute minimum to address enterprise security and supportability requirements," noted Andrew Storms, Director of Security Operations for nCircle. `We haven't seen any new enterprise iPhone security features from Apple since the summer of 2009 when they introduced their new hardware level encryption, which was almost immediately subverted. This is not the kind of behavior security professionals want to see in vendors.' Recent events seem to illustrate that point. Security researches were able to compromise a fully-updated iPhone 3GS at the recent CanSecWest Pwn2Own competition. Storms warned me "If the iPad has the same OS as the iPhone then enterprises are going to be even more concerned about the data on this device.' " Westin said it is the background processing in particular that makes the iPad less appealing for ActiveTrak. For instance, its application runs in the background on an Android device. An iPad, and for that matter an iPhone, does not provide that capability. His company does provide a free application for the iPhone. It's free but it can only be activated if someone turns it on. To maneuver around the issue, Westin said they disguise the app button as a Safari icon, which activates the application. That's when the tracking starts by triangulation techniques using WiFi and GPS. Westin is a fan of Apple. He uses a MacBook Pro. He says developer tools are better on the iPhone and it has a great community. But, Apple wants it all. It controls the hardware, the software and the content. That's a concern for the enterprise that wants to adopt the iPad. Such control over content is a problem as it gives Apple the power to wipe an application off a device without permission. That may seem unlikely in an enterprise setting but the possibility does lead to hesitation. Further, Apple may make great high end products for consumers but it does not have the equivalent of a Blackberry server that can control the device and its content. Instead, the individual must have a MobileMe account. This can become a coordination nightmare for IT if the enterprise has 5,000 people who need an iPad. Westin said ActiveTrak will wait until the iPad platfrom opens up more before developing. Discuss
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Is the iPad Secure Enough for the Enterprise?
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If you believe in matches made in heaven then you will understand why the new partnership between Quova and SimpleGeo is just that. Developers can now harness the power of Quova's complex IP geolocation technology within SimpleGeo's framework for creating location apps. Quova announced the partnership today at Where 2.0 in San Jose, and said it will broaden its customer base and provide new contexts for its data. In return, SimpleGeo wins by giving developers a more complete solution for geolocation. Sponsor Quova specializes in IP Geolocation - a process that uses the IP address of a person's computer or mobile phone gateway to determine that person's location. The results are less specific than those provided by a GPS-enabled smartphone or WiFi, but is often the best available location data for many users. The data can be used to target content by region, or localize online searches. Quova has historically focused on the enterprise market, which is highly sophisticated and able to consume raw IP location data. SimpleGeo is a cloud-based geodata company that has been building its geolocation services since May 2009. The company, founded by Joe Stump and Matt Galligan , is unique in its focus on location-based services. It announced the availability of a data storage service, an iTunes-like data marketplace, and an API to developers today at Where 2.0. These offerings are described by SimpleGeo as a "ready-to-use platform that makes it easy to store, scale and discover geodata for use on the Web and in applications." "After discovering Quova¹s offerings, it became obvious that we needed to include their IP Geolocation data in our ready-to-use location infrastructure," said Matt Galligan, cofounder and CEO of SimpleGeo. "Quova's data will enable developers using SimpleGeo to locate their users easily, regardless of access to GPS or WiFi data. The partnership just made sense." Essentially, the partnership creates a geolocation "failover" system for developers. Applications and services can select the best available source for location data. The level of accuracy ranges from GPS smartphones, at the high end, to Wi-Fi data from
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Where 2.0: Quova and SimpleGEO Make App Building Easier
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In the past few weeks we've seen more references to FourSquare as a potential enterprise tool. The discussion represents an emerging law of Enterprise 2.0 Inevitably, a consumer trend in the social technology space will start to seep into the business world. Hutch Carpenter of Spigit says it is a two-year lag before the enterprise adopts a social computing trend. He writes that wikis emerged in 2002 as a consumer tool and by 2004 came into the enterprise. Social networking emerged in 2006 and by 2008 had made its way into a business context. Microblogging hit in 2007 and by 2009 it became a central part of the Enteprise 2.0 suite. Sponsor And so as the social concept of location based networks emerges in 2010, Carpenter's bet is that we will see location based networks arrive into the enterprise by 2012. For reference, Spigit is an idea management platform. It is referenced by Dennis Howlett in the comments of Mark Fidelman's CloudAve post as a company that could potentially enable this capability. "If i've understood you correctly what you are suggesting sounds fine in theory but i'd prefer solutions like Spigit which do a very good job of surfacing peer reviewed ideas but using algorithms that avoid the inevitable gaming problem." Using Carpenter's theory, here are some additional possibilities we can think of: IT Admins may have control over who is able to post to their location and in what context. Location-based systems will be required for some jobs. Permissions will be controlled by a business manager or IT administrator. A new generation of location-based applications will integrate with microblogging platforms. Web-oriented dashboard environments will provide live updates for managers to get an immediate view of their team with updates that are filtered to different communities based on the employee's work role. Foursquare and Gowalla will be important for adoption but the first dominant player will probably be a new company or a company with an understanding of the importance of location-based systems. These outcomes do seem plausible. In the current generation of Enterprise 2.0 applications, we see the emergence of similar trends. IT Admin is becoming a basic requirement for cloud-based, collaborative applications that serve the enterprise. We could name everyone here but just look at the latest crop of new arrivals. Both Novell's Pulse and Status.net make this requirement standard in its microblogging applications. How location based networks affects the way we view employees will become one of the most important issues in this brave, new world. Enterprise data, bound together by data analysis, may become such a tightly woven fabric that recommendations can be made at each check-in. Suggestions about work habits may become part of the network. How we view our basic civil liberties will be challenged. But in the end, we'll keep looking out two years, waiting for the next consumer wave while managing the reality of working in a transparent universe. Discuss
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FourSquare for the Enterprise: Give it Two Years, Max
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