LightPole doesn't think of itself as a search hub, an RSS reader, a mobile apps platform, or a maps source, even though the mobile app, publicly released on Tuesday, is all these things rolled into one.
LightPole's interface is a bit like Viigo's, but instead of hosting various news channels, LightPole (mostly) hosts channels for interactive services, targeting people on the move who are looking for activities around them.
People seeking a nearby hot spot, for example, would open the channel for Hotspotr, which sniffs out W-iFi cafes and other Internet gateways. MappyHour acts similarly for happy hour joints, and Zvents offers listings of local happenings. Perennial favorites Yelp and Yahoo Local are in here, too. LightPole will search your neighborhhood based on your city or postal code, or by using GPS--whether integrated with the phone or as an external device.
Though dealing with divergent channels, LightPole serves up a unified experience, providing both a map view and list view for each search result. People can exert a measure of control over each view, but largely remain passengers. There's the ability to page through options, sort results, share points of interest with a friend, and switch services--from MappyHour to Yelp, for instance--but you'll find no directions engine here. If you follow LightPole's intentions, you'll stick to the adjacent neighborhood and be proficient enough a map-reader to get around.
Saving a point of interest as a favorite leads to the best feature: the catalog of special spots that is your own personalized channel. On LightPole's channel list, it's called My Places. Here you'll find favorites from all partner services gathered in one spot. Best yet, My Places is the only channel that doesn't include an advertising link up top. The location-based advertising model is common for this type of discovery service aggregator, and, as LightPole CEO Doug Klein confirmed, is an ideal framework for serving call-to-action coupons and ads that help businesses attract patrons by proposing a deal.
With its first public release after a year in quiet beta, LightPole's free app looks promising. While not swimming in features, LightPole is fairly easy to use on any Java-enabled phone and delivers reliably predictable results.
With an emphasis on helping content publishers get in front of users, LightPole should also be able to line up more popular partner services. This, along with giving users a degree more control in programming and deleting relevant channels, is crucial as LightPole expands its partner base. While Yelp and Yahoo Local are big wins, other partnerships such as one with The Bathroom Diaries will fall short in shepherding critical mass.
Download LightPole over the air by signing up on www.lightpole.net.
LightPole's navigational secrets
To zoom in while in map mode, press the center key and jog or scroll the center control to the left. Jog it to the right to zoom out. To reset your location, which is represented on a map by a red balloon, pressing the star key (*) will let the balloon follow your navigation to anywhere else on the map. Press the center key again to make the location your new nerve center.
Privacy--who needs it? The creators of WeFi don't seem to think much of it, although that might not be a bad thing
Today the company, which offers up a pretty svelte little replacement for Windows' clunky Wi-Fi manager, is launching two new items: a mobile application for Windows Mobile users (which could soon be SideKick users too), along with a Facebook application to help users track people using the service. Oddly enough, in all its news release bravado the company failed to offer up a link to said Facebook application, and it's not in the directory--so I can't get my hands on it.
The Windows Mobile application is similar to the desktop version--letting users discover and log Wi-Fi spots, as well as add them to a central database which can searched and referenced. Think of it a little bit like Wi-fi Hotspotr (review), but integrated at a system level.
What's interesting here is the new Facebook application, which like Whereboutz (review), will let users track Facebook friends if they're using WeFi. This all happens in real-time, meaning if a friend is at the local coffee shop and they decide to check their e-mail using a Windows Mobile smart phone, WeFi users will see them pop up on a map. Users can even get these status alerts to show up in the Facebook news feed.
WeFi has had a similar program going through Twitter, letting members automatically note where they are grabbing Wifi via a WeFi-marked access point. To some this might be a little more information than they're comfortable sharing. I'm hoping that WeFi has setup the application to limit who can see the information using Facebook's default privacy settings, or at least let users pick out who gets to see what off a short list.
I'll update with links to the Facebook application when the WeFi folks get back to me. In the meantime check out the service in action here.
Related: Two ways to geolocate your dog
Check out local Wi-Fi hot spots or add your own. Wefi's desktop, mobile, and Facebook application let you find hot spots, and show others where you are in real-time.
(Credit: CNET Networks)
Two start-ups that caught our eye at last night's SFbeta here in San Francisco were MizPee and DateMyPet.com. Not so much for their services, which to be honest, aren't the most necessary we've seen, but rather their ingenuity for finding some interesting ways to direct people towards something they're looking for.
In the case of MizPee, that direction comes in the way of bathrooms. Yes, MizPee helps you find and rate public bathrooms. Like HotSpotr, another SFbeta demonstrator of the past, users can login to the service on their mobile devices and hunt for available toilets by plugging in their city and street address. It will then track down a list of the nearest toilets, along with cleanliness ratings (on a scale of one to five toilet paper rolls), and a quick note about whether or not a purchase is required for use. Users can also give the toilet their own rating.
The service is also linked up to a coupon-and-deals-finding service that will let you know if there are any discounts or specials at nearby businesses.
DateMyPet.com is kind of like Dogster and Catster, although not limited to a certain breed of pet. In fact, users can search from nearly a dozen types of common pets, including fish and exotic animals. The creators made the site after several failed relationships where their partner's incompatibility spurred from dislike for their pets. The site takes a social networking approach, with combined profiles for both users and their pets.
I discovered Hotspotr at SF Beta this past week. It's a neat little service that mashes up Google maps with a local Wi-Fi hotspot finder. The real pull of the service is you can rate and comment on hotspots as you would with restaurant reviews on a review site like Yelp. It's the perfect service for the casual Wi-Fi traveler to benefit from road warriors who are willing to take the time to review a wireless access point.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
The ratings aren't just things such as the overall quality of the wireless signal either; you also can rate food and drink, outlet availability, and whether it's better for work or play.
One of the neatest parts of using Hotspotr is its zoom technology called GZoom. GZoom lets you draw a simple rectangle to zoom into precisely the part of the map you want. Sure you can accomplish something similar by simply double clicking on the spot you're looking for, but GZoom lets you select certain regions with much more accuracy.
Hotspotr has listings for more than 1,200 cities right now and a mobile version of the site for use on your cell phone.
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