Context-based Service Adaptation Platform: Improving the User Experience towards Mobile Location Services

Back in 2000 and the following two or three years, mobile location services gained a great deal of interest and they were considered as one of the few service categories where users would be willing to pay for the usage. Since 2000 countless mobile location services have been launched in different parts of the world. However, the mobile location services have obviously not yet met the hyped expectation of mass-market adoption that was expressed in 2000. The lack of adaptability and offerings tailored to different user requirements in specific contexts of use is one of the factors inhibiting the take-off of the existing mobile location services both in Asia and Western Europe. Adaptability is envisioned by Wireless World Research Forum (WWRF) as one of the keys to the success of any service beyond year 2010 and one of the service capabilities that should be made available on the next generation wireless network suggested by International Telecommunication Union (ITU). This paper proposes a new conceptual platform for context-based service adaptation which is designed to be used in the open service environment of the next generation wireless network. The platform aims to add adaptability to the future mobile location services as a means of improving the possibility of the service being a success.