Walkbase Opens Intelligent Positioning API To Developers
Location-based applications have already become a huge part of smartphone users' lives, but are currently only about as accurate as the distance you can throw your iPhone. Thanks to a Finnish startup, location-based services are soon going to see a big update in accuracy.
Today, Walkbase announced the public beta of their indoor positioning platform for mobile applications. The service's cloud based room-level positioning API will now be available for developers to use, ushering in a new era of location based applications and advertising for the Android platform.
Walkbase Takes Location Tracking Indoors
Walkbase is an interesting Finnish startup to say the least. The company has evolved from an Åbo Akademi university project in 2009 to a full grown startup, currently building up business in the US. The university project resulted in 2 filed patents as well as 2 years of R&D. So what exactly is the company doing? It's using intelligent algorithms on data from random check-ins to define spaces. This means that they're able to determine users' location inside buildings in a completely new way, incredibly more accurately than other available technology out there can do (namely GPS). The company has 4 founders and is backed by senior advisors.
Aalto Venture Garage Launches Startup Sauna
Aalto Venture Garage is launching Startup Sauna, which includes a month long tour around the Baltic rim to promote a new kind of startup acceleration program called Startup Sauna. Startup Sauna is direct continuum to the Summer of Startups program as well as the Bootcamp initiatives the venue organised last year. The program has been put in place to help pre-seed startups succeed through better mentorship of serial entrepreneurs as well as investors. What's best, it's open to all startups from the region.
Nokia Cuts Jobs. A Sign Of Times To Come?
Nokia, the Finnish mobile phone giant, has announced the shedding of 600 jobs.
The following sectors will get hit: Approximately 450 employees, maximum 100 in Finland, in the Markets unit will be affected, 130 Nokia Research Center employees globally, of which again a maximum of 100 are in Finland. Some smaller workforce adjustments are also in the plans in the global process operations. The adjustments in process operations are estimated to affect approximately 35 employees, of which almost all are in Finland.
In addition to the job cuts, Nokia plans to close its Turku site (Finland) and relocate those activities predominantly to Salo (Finland).
The changes in the Markets unit, Nokia Research Center and in other Nokia functions will come into effect on January 1, 2009. The closing of the Turku site is estimated to be completed by the end of January, 2009.
