Ericsson, Autodesk tell SMS where you are

From...

By Joris Evers

(IDG) -- Want to know where the nearest ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) or McDonald's restaurant is? Soon sending an SMS (Short Message Service) text message will be all it takes to find out.

By linking L.M. Ericsson Telephone Co.'s Mobile Positioning System (MPS) with a combination of Ericsson's SMS Gateway and Autodesk Inc.'s LocationLogic, text-messaging services can now know where the user is, divisions of Ericsson and Autodesk said Wednesday.

IDG.net INFOCENTER IDG.net's main page Free daily newsletters PC World.com Product Finder Computerworld Communities Features Cool gifts for cool nerds! Your complete guide to broadband DSL bloodbath continues Visit an IDG site Choose a site: IDG.net CIO Computerworld Darwin Dummies.com GamePro.com The Industry Standard ITWorld.com InfoWorld.com JavaWorld LinuxWorld Macworld Online Network World Fusion PC World Publish.com UnixInsider IDG.net search

The location-enabled SMS platform, which is available now to wireless network operators, was developed by Ericsson Telecomunicazioni SpA, an Italian subsidiary of Sweden's telecommunication-equipment vendor Ericsson, and by Autodesk's Location Services business.

Mobile-phone operators can boost usage of SMS with new services without having to change their network infrastructure, according to Ericsson and Autodesk, which will jointly market the product to operators.

A GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) network is made up of cells. The network knows what cell a user is in. That information is tied to an SMS and put through a database with information, such as listings of banks or gas stations. If a user asks for the nearest bank, the system sends back an address.

The first location-based text-messaging services will lay a foundation for more data-rich services in the future, according to Autodesk. More advanced versions of SMS, the upcoming EMS (Extended Message Service) and MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service), will allow the system to attach images, such as maps, to the reply message, for example.