GPS Cell Phone

In brief, the Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 integrates a quad-band GSM phone with 3.5G data connectivity, 3MP camera, a Webkit-based Internet browser, personal messaging, Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth, a GPS receiver and Garmin’s proven navigation functionality. Other software functionalities available include an mp3 music player, calendar/PIM, Outlook contacts, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF and image (JPG) viewers.

Garmin-Asus predict that when released the nuvifone G60 will offer unique features created by its location centric design as compared to the conventional data and voice paradigm. In the nuvifone consumers will have the option of a mobile phone of outstanding GPS navigation pedigree co-developed Garmin, a company with among the most extensive in the market. Other phones have GPS but, this one will maximize the potential of the combination of networking with GPS positioning to deliver location based services. Only a small percentage of the population are aware of the business and social significance the proliferation of location awareness will have.
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According to recently released report from iSupply Corp, the number of GPS satellite receiver equipped cellphones will more than quadruple between 2006 and 2011. Factors driving the growth are expected to be the growth of location based services and the U.S. government’s Emergency 911 services mandate. Location based services require a GPS receiver for establishing position and an Internet connection for accessing location databases. The BlackBerry Curve 8310 has both.

The BlackBerry Curve 8310 is an attractive smart phone with a metallic finish and a trackball for user input. It is a surprisingly small phone to come with a full QWERTY keyboard. For those looking a smart phone with navigation capabilities the BlackBerry Curve 8310 comes equipped with a built-in GPS receiver and the BlackBerry Maps application for navigation software.
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Technorati Tags: GPS, Emergency 911 services mandate, BlackBerry Curve, BlackBerry Curve 8310, smart phone, BlackBerry Maps

RIM’s BlackBerry Pearl 8100 created a lot of market entry buzz, not only for it’s attractive style and compact size for a smart phone but also, for being the first BlackBerry to offer a camera and integrated media player. The BlackBerry Pearl is a well rounded list of features for a smart phone which, as well as the camera and media player mentioned, includes wireless email, web browser, organizer, corporate data access, text messaging (SMS and MMS) and expandable memory (via a microSD card).

The BlackBerry Pearl 8100 is the first BlackBerry to come with a map application, BlackBerry Maps. However, it doesn’t come with an integrated GPS receiver. If you would like to add GPS functionality to the BlackBerry Pearl, the solution is to purchase a Bluetooth USGlobalSat GPS Receiver. This will enable the utilization of location-based services (LBS) which are continuing to be developed for increased productivity for mobile staff and consumers in general. Recent developments, such as the release of WHERE by uLocate, will ensure that GPS applications are developed quicker and released with greater frequency in the future. uLocate, a comparative veteran of new location-based software application industry, launched, WHERE, the first free, wireless GPS widget programming platform able to work across multiple phones and carriers.
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Technorati Tags: BlackBerry Pearl, BlackBerry Pearl 8100, USGlobalSat GPS, uLocate, location-based software

At the recent Symbian Smartphone Show, London, UK, Samsung Electronics announced two new GPSenabled smart phones – the SGH-i550 and SGH-i560. The GPS navigation functionality will include turn-by-turn voice guidance and will have a pedestrian mode. A navigation trackball located above the keypad should prove useful with GPS applications.

The i550 has a Symbian v9.2 operating system and is based on S60 (edition 3, feature pack 1) providing a platform to integrate applications from the vast Symbian S60 applications library.
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Technorati Tags: Symbian Smartphone, Samsung Electronics, GPS, navigation trackball

The ASUS MyPal A696 GPS enabled PDA has the premium look that ASUS have sought to bring to the market. The A696 has a very smart looking stainless steel casing and at (157 mm) is the thinnest of ASUS’s GPS enabled PDA range. ASUS have achieved the slimming down by having the GPS antenna embedded in the casing as opposed to a protruding swivel patch antenna of other Asus GPS PDA models such as the MyPal A639 and MyPalA636N.

The front face of the ASUS MyPal A696 has a 3.5in, 240 x 320, 65k colour LCD positioned above a horizontal row of three circles containing a speaker, five-way navigation control and a cluster of four application launch buttons. The screen is the same size as many dedicated car GPS units and is anti-glare for improved visibility when dash mounted for car navigation. . The A696 has a pedestrian mode so that once you’ve parked the car you can take it along for those final directions to your destination. It’s an excellent platform for interacting with the rapidly growing range of location based services being offered. The A969 comes with the bundled car kit.
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Technorati Tags: ASUS MyPal A696, GPS enabled PDA, GPS antenna embedded

Nokia have just announced an upgrade to their EISA award winning, pinnacle of convergence the N95 smartphone.

Upgrade highlights include:

• Enormous jump in built-in memory from 160 MB to 8Gb (up to 20 hours of video or 6000 songs)
• Larger 2.8 inch QVGA display to replace 2.6″ QVGA (240 x 320 pixels)

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Technorati Tags: N95 smartphone, 2.8 inch QVGA display

“What are the options for GPS enabling my mobile device?” (cell phone, PDA, notebook etc) is a question consumers are beginning to ask as applications for GPS become more diverse and pervasive. Spectec have some options for consideration with their SD and miniSD GPS receiver cards. A much appreciated feature of these GPS cards is the built-in microSD card slot which solves the obvious problem of mobile devices with only one SD expansion slot.

There are four SD GPS card models including the SDG-810 SD GPS receiver and SDG-811 miniSD receiver and the SDG-812 SD Bluetooth GPS receiver and the SDG-813 miniSD Bluetooth GPS receiver. All models have the built-in microSD card slot.
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In their sales pitch for the Freedom Mini GPS receiver, Freedom Input point out that there will be some 150 million SmartPhones and PDAs sold in 2007 with only 10-15% having GPS built-in. With a largest dimension of 1.5 inches the new Freedom Mini GPS can easily be carried on ones person (supplied with a keylink) to GPS enable a SmartPhone, PDA or laptop through a Bluetooth wireless link.

The Freedom Mini GPS receiver is powered by the ever accurate SiRF StarIII GPS chipset. The Bluetooth range of 10m is certainly adequate as is the battery working time of 10 hours.

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Late last year the BBC started trialling a new form of citizen journalism equipping university students with Nokia N-series phones , such as the N95, which have an integrated GPS receiver and camera and can also shoot video. The experiment is intended to discover how text, images, images and sound can be combined with location (GPS) and time to produce a real time social news reporting experience. It was only recently that we saw the power of mobile phone citizen journalism capturing the chilling echoes of gunfire on the Virginia Tech campus.

As well as being a novel in other ways, the news format does involve the integration of GPS-tagging into news reporting. It’s something that is sure to become more pervasive with time. Market research leader Gartner Inc. has predicted that about 589 million mobile phones will be sold with cameras in 2007, increasing to more than 1 billion worldwide by 2010. The figures are believable when one considers that camera phones weren’t launched in the US until 2002.

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A novel approach to GPS/mobile integration by BlueSky Positioning Ltd (UK) is likely to herald a far more rapid GPS enablement of the mobile handset market. BlueSky Positioning’s product, A-GPS SIM, is a Assisted-GPS module for SIM cards. When incorporated into a GSM or 3G phone it forms a complete network assisted GPS receiver. As described in GPSTek’s A-GPS Technology Guide, A-GPS uses the assistance of a data server in the mobile network to reduce the location identification time (Time To First Fix) and increase accuracy.

Technology breakthroughs, including an in-SIM antenna, (patents pending) were required to realize the product. Importantly, BlueSky have stated that the A-GPS SIM costs a small fraction of the cost of a new handset.

According to BlueSky Positioning, “The A-GPS SIM card complies with GSM and 3G standard and will work with legacy GSM and 3G handsets without the need for modification or additional software.” This unlocks the provision of GPS enabled services from the uptake of A-GPS enabled phones as only the SIM card needs to be replaced for GPS enabling. BlueSky Positioning report that their A-GPS SIM card will have minimal impact on signal strength and battery life.

The A-GPS SIM card will help mobile operators who have an 18 month compliance clock ticking on them meet new European Union emergency call legislation (similar to E-911 legislation in the U.S.). In addition, faster buildup of A-GPS enabled handset market penetration can only help the cause of location based service providers looking to deliver new services.

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