Sprint: Get Ready for WiMAX 'Geobrowsing'

Location-based services have been talked about for a while, but for the consumer they’ve tended to be clunky, hard to set up or just thinly veiled ways to spam your mobile with coupons you don’t need. Sprint-Nextel Corp., with a nod to open development, today said it would change all that with the integration of location awareness into its WiMAX service.

When the XOHM WiMAX network begins to go live (under the Clearwire Corp. joint venture), content providers will be allowed to craft location-based awareness into their wares, for a “geobrowsing” experience. In English, that means users can use their WiMAX devices to search for nearby restaurants and points of interest, read related reviews, compare prices at close-by gas stations, get weather updates, find the nearest restroom, and on and on.

Better yet, Sprint plans to allow the presence capability to be exposed to developers, so XOHM subscribers can look forward to any number of presence-enabled mashups, which can presumably run on any number of the consumer electronics devices Sprint envisions popping up in the marketplace, such as cameras that can imprint a geotag on each digital pic. Or how about a washing machine that can call a repair shop on its own, sync with a household schedule, make an appointment, text its owner to fill it in, and then tell the repair shop where it is once it gets the approval. If Sprint remains dedicated to the open development idea, who knows what creativity can spring up.

Sources:

MocoNews:  Sprint Integrates Location-Based Services Into Its WiMAX Network

NetworkWorld:  Spring brings more partners aboard for WiMAX rollout

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