After blogs and twitter, a new program is creating a buzz among mobile Internet users. The "Location Based Service" or more commonly known as "Check-in Application" in China, is designed to record users' experiences.

Xiaolin is on a business trip in Beijing. The moment he arrives, Xiaolin logs onto the Check-in program. After recording his location and time of arrival, he finds one of his friends dined at a nearby restaurant.

He said, "Hi this is Xiaolin. I just arrived in Beijing. And I found through the Check-in you had dinner at Qiao-jiang-nan. How's the food there?"

Xiaolin arrives at the restaurant following the route suggested by the program. While eating, he updates his experience and surprisingly finds another friend shopping at a nearby mall.

Fifteen minutes later, the friend shows up.

Internet exper Song Zheng said, "The users should be on the road to record their footsteps and this is the best part of the program. They can see what others have done in the same place and make new friends."

The service just started. Even in the US where it is developed, only four percent of mobile Internet subscribers have used the program.

But with the increasing number of mobile Internet users in China, analysts expect the program to expand rapidly.

Nearly three million people in China are currently accessing the Internet via mobile phones. And business of the program is expected to top seven billion yuan by 2013.

Go to Forum >>0 Comments