Mobile Proximity-Based Service in Japan

The IHT covers a story about a service in Japan to bridge the digital with the physical world. Three Japanese companies and GeoVector offer a mobile phone that displays information from the Internet describing the object the users are looking at (i.e. pointing at with the pone).

The phones combine satellite-based navigation, precise to within no more than 9 meters, or 30 feet, with an electronic compass to provide a new dimension of orientation. Connect the device to the Internet and it is possible to overlay the point-and-click simplicity of a computer screen on top of the real world.

via P&V

Relation to my thesis: A real-world instantiation of a proximity based service that is part the quest of context driven information supply. Beyond the obvious technical issues and quality of the regular services (tourism, yellow pages, buddy finder), I am wondering in what way such a service could engage the users in interacting with their surroundings. What could be the invitations for participation…