ESA business incubator launches company

PARIS, June 23 (UPI) -- A start-up company from the European Space Agency's Business Incubation Center has launched a new mobile phone service.

The Dutch start-up company Mobzili uses ESA satellite and telecommunication technology to provide mobile location-based information on shopping, entertainment, tourism, and public transportation.

The program combines the precise location of a person with information on events, activities, public services and shopping opportunities in the surrounding area into a service called "AllAroundMe," which inputs to mobile phones information on shops, restaurants, bus schedules and much more, the ESA said.

"The service is equally appealing for visitors and locals, who receive ideas on the 'latest and greatest' in their area," said Reza Ladchartabi, co-founder of Mobzili and one of the inventors of AllAroundMe. "Meanwhile, it empowers the local merchants to establish direct communication with potential consumers in a non-intrusive manner."

AllAroundMe is now available in the Netherlands and is soon to be available across Europe, Ladchartabi said. AllAroundMe freeware for iPhone and Google are being developed.