Global sales of location-based services,software that helps consumers find people or places on their mobile devices,are set to more than double this year, according to a report.
Revenue from location-based services is projected to hit more than $2 billion this year, up from a bit less than $1 billion in 2008, according to Stamford, Conn.-based market researcher Gartner Inc.
Subscribers to location-based services are expected to more than double to 96 million, up from 41 million last year, Gartner’s data showed.
In North America, Gartner sees location-based services generating $714 million in revenue, up from $327 million in 2008.
Gartner defines location-based services as programs that use information about the location of mobile devices linked to wireless networks or satellites.
Location-based services allow parents to track their kids or service companies to keep tabs on field workers. They also allow for mapping, local searches and navigation.
“The location-based services industry has matured rapidly in recent months through a mixture of consolidation, improved price and performance of the enabling technologies and compelling location applications,” Gartner senior research analyst Annette Zimmermann said. “Factors driving the increase in the next year or so include higher availability of GPS-enabled phones, reduced prices and appearance of applications in stores.”
Aliso Viejo-based startup Networks in Motion Inc., which makes location-based services software for cell phone carriers and others, is betting on big growth.
The company gives users access to maps and helps them look up traffic conditions, get driving directions and search for local businesses and events.
Customers include Verizon Communi-cations Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp., AT & T; Inc., United States Cellular Corp. and MetroPCS Communications Inc., among others.
The company expects to see sales of $50 million this year.
Vizio Prevails
Irvine’s Vizio Inc., which designs and markets flat TVs, landed a final win in a battle over chip patents with Japan’s Funai Electric Co.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency recently issued a ruling that said current models of Vizio’s TVs don’t infringe on a patent held by Funai.
Customs allowed Vizio to continue importing TVs from manufacturers in Asia for sale in U.S. stores.
The Vizio TVs at issue contain chips that were found in April to have infringed on a patent owned by Funai.
Last month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office re-examined Funai’s patent and concluded its patent claims were invalid.
“We believe that this ruling, along with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s final rejection of Funai’s (contention), will allow us to successfully bring this issue to a close,” said Rob Brinkman, Vizio’s vice president of operations and administration.
In a separate antitrust lawsuit filed in early February, Vizio took a jab at Funai’s way of doing business.
It said the company “is unlawfully restricting trade, misusing patent rights and monopolizing the marketplace for digital technology.”
Funai sells TVs in the U.S. under the brand names Emerson, Sylvania and Philips.
Vizio has grown rapidly in recent years, taking market share away from the big TV makers.
According to recent data, Vizio is the top seller of liquid-crystal display TVs in North America.
Its rapid ascent has made the company vulnerable to patent lawsuits that some see as retaliation by big consumer electronics makers.
Vizio has taken a fairly aggressive stance in defending itself.
“We have various licensing arrangements in place in connection with legitimate IP rights; however, it is not the case with the present dispute,” said Laynie Newsome, vice president of sales and marketing communications.
RFaxis Patents
Irvine startup RFaxis Inc. recently filed for three patents for chips that improve devices that receive and transmit information on local networks.
RFaxis targets what’s known as front-end circuitry, the most finicky part of a circuit board.
The front-end circuits deal with power consumption, amplification of signals, filtering of signals and the switching back and forth between receiving and transmitting functions. It’s also the most sensitive,and most costly,part of the chip.
RFaxis’ chips are intended to reduce the complexity of wireless designs, lower manufacturing costs and lower power consumption.
“As the widespread use of wireless technologies continues to ramp up, the boundaries of bandwidth, cost and power savings are increasingly being pushed,” Chief Executive Mike Neshat said. “Mobile platforms and handsets are an area in which our innovations can really improve upon what is available in the market today.”
The patents are being filed in the U.S. and internationally as RFaxis readies products later this year.
The startup recently inked deals with distributors in Taiwan, China, Japan and South Korea. Its goal is to rack up $20 million in sales next year.
