iPhone, Android Developers Tap Skyhook For Location Data

Location positioning company Skyhook Wireless has a database of more than 100 million access points that enable pinpoint location accuracy, but developers using the company's technology have come up with thousands of applications, many of which Skyhook executives wouldn't have thought of in their wildest dreams.

The more than 2,500 applications -- most for the iPhone -- range from games and social networking activities to location-based weather reports and restaurant locators.

"The most striking thing about the applications is there is no dominant application," said CEO Ted Morgan in an interview. "There's just no single category that dominates, and we get at least 50 applications a day."


Realizing that standard GPS was slow and not accurate enough for most consumers, particularly in urban areas, Morgan's Boston-based company began compiling a database of the world's Wi-Fi access points. The company triangulates Wi-Fi access points with standard GPS technology and cell phone towers. The result is a location-based technology that delivers extremely accurate and fast results for consumers with cell phones. Skyhook's database typically receives 250 million location requests every day.

The applications range widely. Some are utilitarian such as Cellfire Mobile, which digs out retailers' coupons and discounts near a consumer. Android application Shopsavvy scans bar codes for good shopping deals.

Yelp finds and reviews restaurants, and OpenTable assists users in making table reservations. SitorSquat is a wiki that details the location and conditions of more than 50,000 international bathrooms.

Fast drivers will welcome Trapster, which alerts them when they approach police speed traps. There's also an application that tracks ski resorts and gives real-time snow conditions.

On the personal side, Morgan, a recreational runner, uses RunKeeper to keep track of his runs. And Skyhook's director of marketing, Kate Imbach, predicts the social networking overtones of the applications will take off in the future. She likes Foursquare, which locates restaurants and finds other users in the neighborhood.

Skyhook has a partnership with Apple. Developers are also creating applications for Google (NSDQ: GOOG)'s Android phones using Skyhook's database, but the company doesn't have a partnership with Google. Typically a developer will download a software developer's kit from Skyhook's Web site and build an application within a month.