Around New Zealand with a Bounce, a Tweet, and a Cockle-Doodle-Do

Around New Zealand with a Bounce, a Tweet, and a Cockle-Doodle-Do


Xlerate Technologies Releases Bounce, a Personal Twitter Location Service Auckland, New Zealand June 16th, 2009.

Xlerate Technologies has just introduced Bounce, a revolutionary new Twitter service for broadcasting continuous personal location information to friends and to the world. An initial promotion includes 25 free subscriptions, and sponsorship of the Incredible Pringles Chicken Race.

“We think this service will be great for young and old alikefor travelers, for keeping kids safe, for elderly care, and for anything that would benefit from knowing where you are, says Founder and CEO, Manoj Dolli. Location broadcast is a natural fit for Twitter. Twitter is about what am I doing right now?. Bounce adds a new dimension and where am I doing it?. Twitter also lets you target and restrict your messages for added security. You get to decide who can track your location.”

Bounce is a service provided by Xlerate that delivers personal location information to Twitter (soon, also Facebook) at regular intervals using a locator device. It is designed to be useable with any device that can use GPS and wireless connectivity protocols, including mobile phones and GPS units. Location data is fed to the Bounce server, where it is sent out as Tweets and processed to provide visual tracking over the Internet on a full feature, zoomable map of New Zealand.

Bounce already has its first showing as the technology behind The Incredible Pringles Chicken Race, sponsored by Pringles and radio station The Edge. The race started in Queenstown on Wednesday, June 17th, with five teams racing around New Zealand, deciphering clues, and taking part in various challenges. The cool part is that we are providing the new Bounce service enabled via a GPS device given to each team, says Dolli. Each team Tweets its location every 5 minutes. Their location is updated constantly on our online map. Anyone can follow them on Twitter, or view the map locations. Constant Twitter updating also permits them to localize any comments they have about the race. Andoh yes, they have to dress as chickens.

Chicken racers are using Xlerates own locator device, a small and powerful GPS over GSM/GPRS tracking device designed for personal remote positioning and emergency reporting.

Bounce is an offshoot of Xlerates well established Fleet Productivity solution, an online system designed to help transport operators manage their business by monitoring the location of vehicles and cargos. By bringing this type of service down to the consumer level, Xlerate is paving the way for new types of social interactions and new Location Based Services (LBS). Individuals can use the service to expand their social environments, while businesses can use the service both for Twitter-based services and for a low cost entry into small business location tracking, based on the numerous features that can be drawn from the Fleet Productivity system.

As part of its service rollout, Xlerate is giving away 25 Bounce service-enabled devices for eligible Twitterers. Free! Interested individuals need only enroll their interest and profile at the Bounce web site (http://bounce.xlerate.co.nz/) to help Xlerate enhance the service. Selected users will get a fully enabled Bounce device with a profiling account and login for 3 months. The whole deal is valued at over $500. It is important to respond quickly, as numbers are strictly limited, and selection will be soon.

November 28th, 2011