<s>
A	O
near-me	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
is	O
a	O
logical	O
grouping	O
of	O
communication	O
devices	O
that	O
are	O
in	O
close	O
physical	O
proximity	O
to	O
each	O
other	O
,	O
but	O
not	O
necessarily	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
same	O
communication	O
network	O
infrastructure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
,	O
two	O
smartphones	O
connected	O
via	O
different	O
mobile	O
carriers	O
may	O
form	O
a	O
near-me	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Near-me	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
applications	O
focus	O
on	O
communications	O
among	O
devices	O
within	O
a	O
certain	O
proximity	O
to	O
each	O
other	O
,	O
but	O
do	O
n't	O
generally	O
concern	O
themselves	O
with	O
the	O
devices	O
 '	O
exact	O
locations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Common	O
types	O
include	O
local	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
networks	I-General_Concept
(	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
)	O
,	O
metropolitan	O
area	O
networks	O
(	O
MAN	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
wide	O
area	O
networks	O
(	O
WAN	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Local	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
networks	I-General_Concept
have	O
the	O
coverage	O
of	O
a	O
small	O
geographic	O
area	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
school	O
,	O
residence	O
,	O
building	O
,	O
or	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Personal	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
networks	I-General_Concept
(	O
PANs	O
)	O
are	O
wireless	O
LANs	B-General_Concept
with	O
a	O
very	O
short	O
range	O
(	O
up	O
to	O
a	O
few	O
meters	O
)	O
,	O
enabling	O
computer	O
devices	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
PDAs	O
and	O
printers	O
)	O
to	O
communicate	O
with	O
other	O
nearby	O
devices	O
and	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
concept	O
of	O
near-me	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
networks	I-General_Concept
has	O
become	O
relevant	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
increasing	O
popularity	O
of	O
location-sensitive	O
(	O
GPS-enabled	O
)	O
mobile	O
devices	O
,	O
including	O
iPhone	B-Device
and	O
Android	B-Application
smartphones	O
,	O
Some	O
services	O
are	O
meaningful	O
only	O
to	O
a	O
group	O
of	O
people	O
in	O
close	O
proximity	O
.	O
</s>
