August 30, 2005

"Seek & Find" is a new wireless location-based service launched last month by Toronto-based Bell Mobility.

The service allows users to track family members 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Seek & Find offers concerned parents the capability to discover the whereabouts of their children or other members of their family and at all times, by simply using a cell phone and the Internet.

"Seek & Find" is a tool to help parents tackle the challenges faced by many of today’s busy families,” according to Bell Mobility head honcho Alek Krstajic.

Available on Bell Mobility’s 1X wireless network, Seek & Find uses Bell Mobility’s assisted GPS (Global Positioning System) technology.

The company says the service combines the accuracy of GPS, CDMA Network Triangulation and Cell Site Location technology to be able to track and provide reliable location fixes of children in a wide variety of surroundings, including urban indoor and outdoor environments.

Specifically the Seek & Find service allows parents to view the “real time” location of family members on a map and set up regular location alerts that correspond with daily routines such as arrivals from work or school. Users can also receive location reports of family members at specified intervals.

The location-based service includes privacy protection such as pass code and mandatory permission requirements, according to Bell Mobility. Individuals being located will by notified by a text message relayed to their handset when their location is being located and displayed on a map on the Internet.

Bell Mobility noted that the service can be temporarily deactivated by shutting the handset off or by changing the setting in the phone.

The service can be added to new and existing Bell Mobility accounts for a $5 monthly fee, which includes 20 locates per month. So now when little Johnny says he’s at the library, parents using the service can see he’s really at the mall.

Source: IT World Canada