Location Aware Applications (Part 2)

This post follows my earlier review of the first six chapters of "Location Aware Applications". I recently received an update containing two new chapters covering topics on connectivity issues and how to monetize your LBS applications.

Chapter 7 briefly looks at issues affecting mobile devices that affect connectivity, e.g. acquisition rate of the GPS and battery consumption. A few code snippets in this chapter also demonstrates to the reader how you can obtain geolocation data from the different devices: iPhones, Androids, Java ME and Palm WebOS devices.

I like Chapter 8 the most so far. Well, who wouldn't? Software metrics has always been a challenging art - yes ART! So a chapter that provides pointers on how to commercialize your application is certainly welcomed!

The authors describe several ways of turning your application usage into cash churning machine. Several options on how to charge consumers for the use of your software are presented and includes many considerations - the pros and cons - for each method. I especially like Figure 8.2, a matrix for helping you decide which charging model best fits the type of application you have. Learned a few new keywords like "Long Tail Kings" and "Boot Campers".