Location-based services (LBS) are a general class of computer program-level services used to include specific controls for location and time data as control features in computer programs. Recently, LBS find more and more applications in social networking as an entertainment service, which is accessible with mobile devices through the mobile network and which uses information on the geographical position of the mobile device. Location related services have become more and more popular with the expansion of the smartphone and tablet markets as well.
LBS may be used in a variety of contexts, such as health, indoor object search, entertainment, work, personal life, etc. LBS include services to identify a location of a person or object, such as discovering the nearest banking cash machine (ATM) or the whereabouts of a friend or employee. LBS include parcel tracking and vehicle tracking services. LBS can include mobile commerce when taking the form of coupons or advertising directed at customers based on their current locations. The LBS services may even include personalized weather services and location-based games. They are an example of telecommunication convergence, or the coming together of previously distinct media such as telephony and data communications into common interfaces on single devices.
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