Location-based services
AssigneeWhere, Inc.
InventorsAlan Phillips, Frank Schroth, Geoffrey M. Palmer, Stefan G. Zielinski, Allen P. Smith, Colin M. Cunningham, III
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Provided herein are methods and systems relating to location-based services such as social networking, providing demographic information, tracking mobile devices, providing business information, providing an adaptable user interface, remotely effecting a change on a portable electronic device, providing a geofence, outputting location-based information on a mobile device, varying transmissions to and from a mobile device, providing location-based alerts, verifying transactions and tailoring information to the behavior of a user.
Claims31
A method of providing a location-based service, comprising:
- providing a user interface that enables a user of a portable electronic device to define a geofence at a user-selected distance about a user-selected location, the geofence graphically indicated by an outline on a map displayed in the user interface;
- determining a current location of the portable electronic device using a location facility of the portable electronic device;
- passing the current location to an application server that monitors the current location of the portable electronic device with respect to the geofence;
- and
- in response to the application server determining that the current location of the portable electronic device is within the geofence, transmitting instructions to the portable electronic device to cause said device to offer a service to the user that is not offered when the user is external to the geofence.
A system for providing a location-based service, comprising:
- a user interface that enables a user of a portable electronic device to define a geofence at a user-selected distance about a user-selected location, the geofence graphically indicated by an outline on a map displayed in the user interface;
- a location facility of the portable electronic device operable to determine the current location of the portable electronic device;
- and
- an application server in communicating relation with the portable electronic device and operable to monitor the current location of the portable electronic device with respect to the geofence and, in response to the current location being within the geofence, to transmit instructions to the portable electronic device to cause the portable electronic device to offer a service to the user that is not offered when the user is external to the geofence.
A method of providing a location-based service, comprising:
- providing a user interface on a portable electronic device of a user;
- defining, by the user, a geofence about a user-selected location on a map displayed in the user interface on the portable electronic device, the geofence, once defined, graphically indicated by an outline displayed on the map in the user interface;
- subsequent to the defining, determining a current location of the portable electronic device, and thereby the user, using a location facility of the portable electronic device;
- monitoring the current location of the portable electronic device with respect to the geofence;
- and
- in response to determining that the current location of the portable electronic device is within the geofence, causing the portable electronic device to offer a service to the user that is not offered when the user is external to the geofence.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.