The acquisition of the Israeli LBS specialist will give developers on the Intel AppUp program a real boost, says Softtalkmobile.
Telmap provides white-label, hosted and managed location based services around the globe. Its services span different devices, operating systems and processor architectures and it boasts some impressive customer names including Orange, Vodafone, Telefonica and the FT Group.
Within the context of Intel AppUp developer program the Telmap acquisition will provide developers with components for location-based services so they can effectively pull down the relevant components and incorporate them into their apps.
It’s a canny and forward-looking move on the part of Intel and reflects the company's intention to ensure that the Intel AppUp Center becomes a success. Location-based services are a key enabler of context-aware apps, or augmented reality as it is otherwise known. This is a high-potential technology and some industry analysts are predicting it will drive big revenues.
Juniper Research, for example, reckons mobile augmented reality will deliver revenues of $1.5 billion by 2015. The challenge, however, is developing augmented reality apps that will have traction among users. The Telmap acquisition certainly presents developers with the keys to the toolbox.
Peter Biddle, the Intel AppUp General Manager, pointed out that the acquisition is a significant step towards the Intel AppUp vision that was revealed at Intel AppUp Elements 2011 held in Seattle.
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This vision is basically one in which developers can make use of new features so they can add to their apps. These include in-app billing and a service that ensures easy connection to other services such as location-based information.
In a rare moment of candour at Elements 2011, Biddle reportedly said: “We’ve sucked on getting consumers. It’s proved more of a challenge to us than we thought.”
The Telmap acquisition should help change that and in a further interesting move, Intel is going to allow people to create their own stores to avoid the problem of finding useful apps among a mass of products.
Biddle says more developments are in the pipeline – all designed to enhance the Intel AppUp Center and developer program, though he wouldn’t be drawn on the specifics.
Softtalkmobile has always thought that Intel was going to make a success of the Intel AppUp Center –despite its muted presence to date. Intel has huge muscle and when it throws its weight behind something must surely give.
The Telmap acquisition signals Intel’s intent to develop the Intel AppUp Center and developer program at a pace. And we can expect more of the same in the future
* This blog post is written by Softtalkmobile, and is sponsored by the Intel AppUp developer program, a single channel for distributing apps to multiple devices, multiple operating systems, and multiple app stores.
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