Korean company Jaty Electronics has released a concept smart phone with functions for navigating around golf courses and the sea as well as in car navigation.
The Leisure Navi Phone also has a 3.5 inch touchscreen and MP3 player.
Via AVing
From the category archives:
GPS
With all the buzz about GPS phones such as the Nokia N95 its not surprising that GPS and satnav manufacturers are getting slightly concerned. Apparently market leaders Garmin and TomTom are ready to do something about the threat rather than sitting back.
Garmin has apparently held talks with Taiwan-based ODM handset maker Compal Communications but will not comment on the rumours. Compal has already built two navigation devices for Via Michelin, a car-service subsidiary of Michelin, indicating that the ODM handset maker would be able to manufacture GPS handsets.
Via Digitimes
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While most handset manufacturers are concentrating on adding GPS
and Sat Nav facilities to mobile phones GPS gurus TomTom have added
mobile phone features to the TomTom Go 715.
According to recent FCC filings the Go 715 will include a SIM card
slot so you can make and receive calls and text messages. Previous
TomTom systems have included Bluetooth handsfree capabilities but this
is the first time a SIM card has been included.
Via
class=boldcopy target="_blank">GPS Gazette and
class=boldcopy target="_blank">Gizmodo
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12 million GPS devices were sold during the first 9 months of 2006 and in 2007 the figure is likely to jump to 28 million according to market research firm Canalys.
The majority of units on the market at present are custom designed units such as in car satellite navigation systems, marine GPS systems or outdoor GPS handhelds.
Analysts are predicting that the focus will shift to the mobile phone during 2007, staring with the revolutionary Nokia N95, and see GPS software becoming popular on high end devices.
Once phones have the GPS chips installed a wide variety of systems such as maps and navigation software as well as restaurant finders become possible. Current systems such as Orange Local already do this but only to a limited extent and without the accuracy of GPS.
In countries such as the US, Korea and China the GPS phone is almost mainstream 83 million GPS enabled handsets were shipped to these countries last year alone.
The main reason for the large adoption in the US is down to a 1999 FCC ruling stating that all phones have to contain a GPS chip so that the emergency services can pinpoint calls to the 911 control centre.
GPS systems are complicated and rely on the unit being able to connect to a satellite overhead. Modern mobile phone technology is being used to track which area or cell the phone is in and tell it which satellites should be within range. This speeds up the unit as it doesn’t need to attempt a connection with satellites that are out of range.
The number of services that GPS enabled phones will bring is limitless. Already several companies in the US offer child and pet location services as well as a method to alert you if a friend is close by.
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Boost Mobile are to trial a new mobile phone tracking service in Times Square this week. Boost, owned by Sprint Nextel, are using technology from Loopt, a tech company startup founded by two Stanford students.
Loopt allows people to view a map of a friend’s location on their cell phone in real time. For years people have talked about mobile phone location systems and recently services to keep kids secure have become commercially viable.
Mark Jacobstein, executive vice president of corporate development for Loopt, said:
The most common text message that people send is, ’Where are you?’ So the ability to automate that becomes a really valuable service.
Analysts predict that over half of cell phone users in the US will be using location based systems by 2010 so there could be a great market for these products. In 2006, location-based services generated $150 million in revenue. According to these predictions this could rise to $3.1 billion by 2010.
Scott Ellison, vice president of wireless and mobile communications at IDC, said:
We’re still very much in the early stages of adoption, for the past five years, our research has indicated that end users have understood how they want to use these services, but the industry as a whole has been reluctant to offer it as a commercial service.
Loopt offers a tracking service to allow subscribers to share location details in real time as well as swap messages, photos and other information. A map of each users friends can be displayed on the handset in real time with alerts sent whenever your friends are close by.
40,000 subscribers have signed up in the last few weeks and a multimillion dollar advertising campaign will no doubt increase those figures in the next few weeks.
The service has already been available on a limited basis for the past six weeks. Already, 40,000 subscribers have signed up, with about 5,000 new subscribers being added every week, said Sam Altman, the 21-year-old CEO of Loopt. Boost plans to pump up those numbers with a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign starting Monday.
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Just when you thought the rise of mobile phones could not reach any more people we have heard about a new cell phone developed specially for pets. That‚s right, your dog can now have its own mobile phone.
The PetsCell is a voice activated phone that attaches to the dogs collar. You can call the number and speak to your dog while he is out and about. The useful thing is that the phone and your dog can be tracked using a built in GPS system.
The PetsCell is the first 2-way voice enabled, waterproof, GPS (Global Positioning Service) cell phone optimized for animals. There’s no hiding with the PetsCell™. You can locate a Pet in places where traditional GPS does not work, like in homes, garages or under foliage where scared or curious animals will likely venture. Establish a remote programmable geo-fence around a yard or campus and use handy notification features that alert your cell phone when a breach occurs.
From the PetsCell website.
Via Coolest Gadgets
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A Scottish based company is about to release software to allow bosses to spy on employess and track their every move.
Trisent has developed the Trilocator which tracks the locations of a workers mobile phone using satellite technology. Although the phone alerts the user to the fact they are being tracked the product has already outraged civil liberties groups. Apparently employers will need to follow certain rules about using the systems in practice.
Mobile phone tracking laws were relaxed a few months ago to allow parents to track children for safety reasons. We reported about the forthcoming phonesitter product recently.
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Nokia smartphones just got even more useful with a new off-road GPS software from ViewRanger. Supporting the latest Nokia devices this neat product not only shows you how to get to your location but gives a panoramic 3D view when you get there using a Bluetooth GPS receiver. Features include landscape views, towns, local landmarks and even directions to the nearest pubs and restaurants.
Users can post camera phone pictures directly to the web and the software tags them with dates and coordinates so every phone has access to real photos of your location.
Mapping modules start at just £25 plus the cost of a Bluetooth GPS unit.
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