Seattle-based location technology startup Glympse will have a key foothold on the new Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphone under a deal announced between the companies this weekend at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The deal will allow Galaxy S7 users to share their current location along a live-updated map, as well as to provide an estimated arrival time to their destination, keeping selected contacts updated about where they are and when they will arrive. The MyPlaces widget will be available, already integrated on the Galaxy S7 user interface, but an upcoming software update will also allow Galaxy S6 and Note 5 users to access Glympse services.
Glympse is also integrated into Samsung’s Car Mode, which features extra-large buttons and voice control so that drivers can be safe on the road while sharing their location. Whomever Glympse users contact will not need to have a Samsung phone or Glympse to be able to view their broadcasted ETA and driving progress; instead, Glympse will send the selected contacts a link to a live-updating map that will open in any mobile or web browser. That map will be active for up to 4 hours, allowing recipients temporary access to the sender’s location data.
This is Samsung’s second location services collaboration. The first was with HERE for its Gear S smartwatches, giving users access to turn-by-turn navigation via the Samsung watches.
The Glympse partnership is more evidence that Samsung is trying to get into the location services market, where the company does not have to compete with already established apps and services as it does in music or video sharing, said Gerrit Schneemann, senior analyst Gerrit with IHS.
By integrating Glympse into the Galaxy interface from the get-go, Samsung offers an alternative to downloading non-Samsung apps for location services like GoogleMaps or MapQuest. Furthermore, by combining Glympse with Samsung Car Mode, Samsung also is able to highlight the capabilities of S Voice, providing an alternative to the Google’s voice recognition software. Samsung hopes that Glympse will be a factor in differentiating Galaxy devices from Android and iPhone.
For Glympse, the new partnership with Samsung adds to Glympse’s roster of major clients, like software companies Google and Amazon; phone companies including BlackBerry, Verizon, Comcast, and Vodafone; and car dealerships like BMW/MINI, Ford, Volkswagon, Jaguar/Land Rover, and GM. It is one step further in the company’s goal to become the de facto location-sharing service.
“Our lives are inherently mobile; with Glympse’s proven location technology, Samsung Galaxy S7 users now have the power to share where they are directly from their smartphone,” said Bryan Trussel, co-founder and CEO of Glympse, in a news release.