Sprint Phones Get Location-Based Searching

Fri Sep 21, 2007 11:33AM EDT

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Got a Sprint phone? If so, you can now find the nearest restaurants, ATMs, movie theaters, and more on your phone—and you won't need to key in your current location to do it. Now there's something the iPhone can't do (yet).

Launched on Tuesday, the new (and free) service uses cell-tower triangulation to pinpoint your location, which is then automatically incorporated in your searches on the Sprint mobile Web portal. The service works on any Sprint phone except for Windows Mobile-based smartphones, which is...not so smart, given that Microsoft is partnering with Sprint on the new feature. Bummer.

Wondering how Sprint and Microsoft are planning to make money on these location-based searches? Easy—expect to find some sponsored (albeit, nearby) results in your search results. And if you're paranoid about being tracked, don't worry; you can turn off the auto "find-me" mode if you don't want The Man watching you.

Related:
Sprint brings automatic LBS to its handset lineup [The Boy Genius Report]
Sprint Nextel Offers Geographic Search [AP]

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  • 1 Posted by anthony-fernandes@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:56PM EDT Report Abuse

    I like how You can put a Catagory like a business or Pizza or Etc in the Search box and press Search. I like how the Satellite automaticaly Locates where You are and the Catagory you put in and gives you the closest Catagories on where You are!

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