Geotagging Imagery and Video


IsWHERE is a log of my thoughts, reflections, and news/blog links on the emergence of image and video geospatial tagging. On May5th this year, I opened a second blog to deal with more detailed aspects of tools for FalconView and TalonView can be found at RouteScout. Trends I want to try and follow are the various disruptions resulting from spatial smart-phones, how many GPS devices are out there, smart-cameras, and other related news. And yes, I have a business interest in all of this. My company Red Hen has been pioneering this sort of geomedia for more than a decade.

So beyond a personal blog, I also provide a link to IsWHERE a shareware tool created by Red Hen Systems to readily place geoJPEG or geotagged imagery and soon GEM full motion media kept on your own computer(s) into Google Earth/Map from your File Manager media selection. Works great for geotagged images from Nikon, Ricoh, Sony, iPHONE, Android and all geo-smartphones that can create geotagged images. IsWhere - read about it

IsWhere Free Download (XP and VISTA)

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IsWhere Visitors

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

TELEPHIA: MOBILE VIDEO

TRIPLE-DIGIT GROWTH IN REVENUES AND SUBSCRIBERS

SAN FRANCISCO --June 26, 2007--After another quarter of impressive subscriber growth, mobile video is rapidly becoming a significant new media distribution platform. According to Telephia, the world's largest provider of syndicated consumer research to the telecom and mobile media markets, mobile video revenues in the U.S. totaled $146 million in Q1 2007, growing 198 percent year-over-year (see Table 1). There were 8.4 million mobile video subscribers last quarter with penetration doubling to nearly four percent since Q1 2006.

"Within a very short time, the number of mobile video subscribers has grown to over 8 million, comparable with the average audience size for an episode of The Sopranos this season," said Kanishka Agarwal , vice president of mobile media, Telephia.

"As the world's leading provider of video on the handset, MTV Networks recognizes the vast opportunities at hand for the mobile industry, from the sheer number of handsets out there, to the limitless potential for innovation the technology provides," said Greg Clayman, senior vice president, MTVN Mobile Media. "By cultivating an even deeper understanding of consumer behaviors and usage patterns, the industry will continue to build momentum and meet the growing demand for content on the handset."

Mobile Video Consumers More Receptive to Mobile Advertising

Telephia data shows that mobile video audiences are primed for seeing ads on their phones. Video consumers had the highest recall of viewing ads on their phones as compared to all data service consumers, with 55 percent saying they recalled viewing a mobile ad in the last 30 days (see Table 2). This is nearly three times the recall rate for mobile data consumers in general. Even more promising, forty-one percent of mobile video consumers recently responded in some way to an ad, an encouraging sign for advertisers.

"Consumers are used to seeing commercials on their TV at home, which has created a learned behavior that is transferring to mobile TV and making advertising more acceptable," continued Agarwal. "Nearly half of mobile video users are willing to view ads on their phones in exchange for something, translating into a compelling opportunity for ad-supported mobile content where marketers can target customers with relevant advertising."

The Telephia Mobile Video Report for Q1 2007 is now available, and combines detailed research into the behavior and attitudes of nearly 1,200 current mobile video users in the US with analysis of video market size and spending patterns collected from Telephia's panel of 35,000 mobile subscribers. For more information about this product, please contact mailto:mobilemedia@telephia.com.

About Telephia

Telephia is the world's largest provider of syndicated consumer research to the telecom and mobile media markets. Telephia is your connection to the digital consumer. Telephia uses its unique measurement tools and large-scale consumer panels to completely understand the digital consumer's behavior, attitudes and experience.

To learn how Telephia data can help you understand the digital consumer and track your competitive performance, please contact us at (415) 395-0500 or http://www.telephia.com/.

PDN Statistics

July 30, 2007
GPSWorld
The global market for personal navigation devices (PNDs) is exploding, and nearly three-quarters of the units sold around the world come from the island nation of Taiwan.
According to Taiwan's Market Intelligence Center (MIC), a federal technology industry research institute based in Taipei, the PND market in 2007 will reach 26 million units, up 43 percent in comparison with 2006. This growth comes primarily from consumers' increasing awareness of car navigation. But another key driver, MIC says, is that PND vendors are launching lines of lower-priced devices, stimulating demand.

A third driver is the availability of traffic data to supplement GPS-based location information. In 2006, traffic information infrastructure in several regions matured significantly, most notably the RDS-TMC (Radio Data System — Traffic Message Channel) in Europe, MIC observed. PND and location-based services vendors in turn have aggressively launched value-added services such as instant traffic information, weather information, and points-of-interest, which all contributed to increasing consumers' willingness to use PND products, according to MIC.

According to MIC industry analyst Lusy Ho, Taiwanese makers control the majority of production orders from brand-name PND vendors such as TomTom, Magellan, Medion, Mio, and Navman. Taiwanese PND production accounts for more than 70 percent of worldwide production. In the first half of 2007, Taiwanese PND shipment volume reached approximately 7.28 million units. Inventory issues and seasonality affected shipments in Q1, and shipment volume only reached 3.08 million units, according to MIC. Volumes grew in Q2, however, reaching 4.2 million units, up 36 percent quarter over quarter.

MIC predicts this unit growth will continue this quarter and next, driven by the approach of the peak season in the end market and the emergence of new PND makers. In the second half of the year the market researcher forecasts Taiwan to ship 11.83 million units, with a full-year 2007 total of 19.11 units.

However, MIC acknowledges that as the pure PND market grows and new competitors enter, brand-name PND vendors will actively seek second or third manufacturing partners, bringing increasing competition among contract electronics manufacturers not only in Taiwan, but in China and Korea as well.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Smartphones with GPS killing PNDs?

Handset Navigation Poised to Threaten Personal Navigation Device Market

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., June 25, 2007 - 2007 is shaping up to be the year that mapping and navigation applications truly arrive on mobile handsets, reports In-Stat (http://www.in-stat.com). For approximately US$10 per month, handset navigation offers similar, if not superior, functionality to Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs), at a lower price, the high-tech market research firm says.

Mobile phone operators now have the ability to market a downloadable navigation application that is just as good as, if not better, than personal navigation devices (PNDs). As a result, handset-based mapping and navigation applications could cause a major change in the overall navigation market, which is now dominated by relatively expensive standalone devices, the high-tech market research firm says.

“Unlike MP3 players and digital cameras, handset-based navigation applications provide the only low-cost alternative product in a market of growing popularity,” says David Chamberlain, In-Stat analyst. “The value proposition for handset navigation applications is very strong compared with that of PNDs and, in some ways, the functionality is superior.”

“With a clear, targeted business strategy that focuses on capturing potential PND buyers, wireless service providers have an opportunity to capture market share from PND manufacturers,” says Stephanie Ethier, In-Stat analyst.

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

  • The market for PNDs will reach 56 million units worldwide by 2011, up from 14 million in 2006.
  • The total number of mapping and navigation mobile phone subscribers could exceed 70 million worldwide by 2012.
  • Market drivers include falling price points, enhanced features, stronger consumer awareness of PNDs, and increased marketing and promotion by leading PND manufacturers.
  • In 2006, PND manufacturers significantly reduced prices, with entry models priced under $200.
  • Cellular operators whose service is based on CDMA (and iDEN) have an advantage over other mobile operators in nearly every region of the world, largely because of the A-GPS technology originally driven by mandates to support E911 services.
  • In-Stat surveys of US subscribers find navigation applications have a strong ability to draw subscribers from other operators and keep them loyal.

Recent In-Stat research, Personal Navigation Devices: Worldwide Shipment Growth to Slow as Handset Navigation Arrives (#IN0703431ID), covers the worldwide market for Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs).

Blue2CAN - Wintec - HoudahGPS for Apple Geotagging

HoudahGPS - Blue2CAN and Wintec WBT-201 data logger


HoudahGPS is a front end to the open source command line tool GPSBabel.

Features


HoudahGPS allows you to transfer track log and waypoint data from your Garmin, Magellan or Wintec GPS devices. It connects via USB to the Garmin and Magellan devices. It interfaces with the Wintec WBT-100, WBT-101 and WBT-201 devices using Bluetooth.

HoudahGPS may also be used to convert between the GPX, NMEA and KML log file formats. The Sony GPS-CS1 track logger uses a special variant of the NMEA format which may also be read.

Benefits


Possible uses of HoudahGPS include:

- Creation of backup copies of track log files for later use with HoudahGeo
- Conversion of track logs to KML for visualization in Google Earth.

Screenshot


HoudahGPS main window


HoudahGPS is freeware


HoudahGPS is available FREE OF CHARGE.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

One Billion Camera Phones in 2007 Alone

Jeremy Kirk - Computerworld

June 22, 2007 (IDG News Service) -- The number of mobile camera phones in use will top 1 billion this year, reflecting their tremendous growth rate since they hit the market around seven years ago, according to a new market evaluation.

Sales shot up from about 3 million camera phones in 2001 to 500 million last year, according to figures released Friday by Strategy Analytics Ltd. However, the growth will likely start to level off now, said Neil Mawton, an associate director at the market research company. Instead, people will upgrade existing camera phones, with manufacturers trying to entice them with high-end features that will dwarf what was available a few years ago, Mawton said. They will offer cameras with improved zoom capabilities, autofocus, better flashes and faster shutter speeds.

"In a way, [mobile manufacturers] are copying the digital still camera market," Mawton said.

Changes will also come inside the phones. The industry has typically used CCD (charged coupling device) sensors for taking digital photos, but that technology is ceding ground to a cheaper technology: CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor). CCD sensors are more expensive and less durable, but they provide a better image quality. However, CMOS chips are cheaper, more durable and have become more reliable, Mawton said. More suppliers make CMOS sensors than CCDs.

Not all phones will have cameras, since there will still be demand for phones in the $30-to-$40 range, Mawton said. Phones in those price ranges will be "camera-free for a good few years," he said.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Blue2CAN - Take the Picture. Get the Point!

"Photos That Know Where They Were Taken"

Here's how to use geotagging to add location data to your image files.

Part 1 of a special five-part series
Digital Focus - PC World
Dave Johnon
Tuesday, June 26, 2007 1:00 AM PDT

I remember showing photos of my trek through Grand Cayman to a friend a few years ago. "Where were these taken?" she asked me about a particular set of photos. "Hmm," I replied, "I don't remember. The East End, I think. I took so many photos, I can't keep track." At the time, I wished there was some automatic way to tag my photos with location information, so I'd always know where they were taken. Yet another thing I'd never have to remember ever again!

Well, my wish has come true: Geotagging is here. Geotagging is the term for adding location information to your photo files--and it's one of the coolest things ever to happen to digital photography.

The available solutions range from amazingly elegant to somewhat less elegant. Take Red Hen's
Blue2Can, for example. In my experience, there's no better geotagging solution.