Many of the winning applications had some kind of social networking feature, including Life360, a location-based system that, among other things, allows users to form social networks with others in their neighborhood.

CNN: Face to Facebook: social networks hit the streets

The government's Emergency Alert System has had just such a plan in the works for a while now, and Sprint Nextel is becoming the first national carrier to trial a system capable of sending targeted, location based alerts when bad stuff goes down.

ENGADGET: Sprint Nextel first national to test emergency alerts

Users can also create to do or reminder lists and the system can remind them at the right time based on location.

ENGADGET: Garmin K2 in-dash infotainment system brings a hint of glass cockpit to the road

With the introduction of iOS 6 for both new and existing iPhone models, Apple is replacing the current Google-based navigation system it hosts on the phone with its own new location and navigation software, called Maps.

FORBES: Apple iPhone 5 Forecast To Drive Second Half 2012 Smartphone Shipments To 346.5 Million

On a mobile device buzz.com could further narrow the field based on a person's location, using opt-in global positioning system data.

FORBES: Magazine Article

It could also be used with a camera-based position detection system as shown above, meaning your finger's location and force could be calculated on a non-active surface like an ordinary table.

ENGADGET: Sony patent claims touch force detection via microphone