Archive for January, 2006

The US Government, this week announced an update to the GPS signal called L2C. The signal according to the US Government will work better in Urban canyons and indoors. This is a result of the fact that the new signal is transmitted with a higher effective power. Another benefit besides better positioning in places that until now GPS signal was weak, is the fact it will allow mobile devices to obtain location, while using less power than before.
As a result, the consumers will have a double gain, better positioning and less energy consumption, and we all know how important is battery life for mobile devices.

Technorati Tags: gps, signal, l2c, update

Sirf Technologies this week announced a new multifunction architecture the SiRFLink. Along with this new architecture they announced the SiRFLinkI a new product that combines GPS and Bluetooth functions. This announcement followed a previous press release from SiRF that they acquired Impulsesoft, a company that specializes in Bluetooth stereo and embedded software solutions.
This new product, which is based on the SiRFstarIII GPS chipset, is targeted towards devices that both GPS and Bluetooth have become common functions, like Pocket PCs. This multifunction solution will allow manufacturers to produce smaller and less energy consuming devices.

Technorati Tags: sirfstar, Sirf, SiRFLinkI, SiRFLink, GPS, bluetooth

Security Concepts has announced the Worldtracker sms, a tiny GPS tracking device powered by the Sirfstar III chipset with WAAS. Worldtracker SMS is able to track vehicles, packages, people or anything else you can imagine and location information can be reported to a cell phone or PDA using SMS messages send by it’s Tri Band GSM module (GSM850/1800/1900 MHz or GSM900/1800/1900 MHz). It can also visualize the tracking data using Google Earth. It has a battery life of 24 hours, however by using an additional battery pack it can run for almost four days.

E-TEN, has officially announced the E-TEN G500. G500 is the first Pocket PC Phone from E-TEN to have fully integrated GPS capabilities. It has an embeded RoyalTek GPS module, featuring the SiRF Star III high sensitivity chipset. It also has Bluetooth, internal antenna, built-in 1.3 megapixels digital camera and a 240 x 320, 65,536 colors transmissive TFT-LCD. Here is the complete list of features and specifications of the G500.

Operating System Windows Mobile™ 5.0
Processor Samsung S3C2440 400 MHz Processor
Memory 128 MB Flash ROM, 64 MB SDRAM
Display 2.8″, 240 x 320, 65,536 colors, transmissive TFT-LCD
Dimensions(LxWxH) 119 x 62 x 23 mm
Weight 186 g (with battery)
Communication GSM quad-band 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, GPRS Class B / Multi-slot Class10
Bluetooth v1.2, class 2
GPS Embedded SiRF Star III chipset, TMC function supported* (*subject to change by region)
Camera Built-in 1.3 mega pixels, up to 1280 x 960 resolution
Expansibility Mini-SD card slot
Interface/Audio Built-in microphone and speaker, external stereo headset jack, hands-free mode supported
Interface/Data USB Sync, headset jack, Cradle with 2nd battery charger
Ergonomic Design Touch screen for stylus or fingertip, navigation button, power button, 4 quick application buttons, send/end button, record button, volume control, left soft-key, right soft-key
Battery 1440 mAh Li-Ion, rechargeable, replaceable
Packing List E-TEN G500, stylus, USB sync cable, AC adapter, headset, leather case, Companion CD, quick start guide, standard battery, car-charger, car-mount

For more information visit E-TEN

Trusted Reviews, reviews the Microsoft autoroute 2006 and reports

Autoroute 2006 is brimming with features and should appeal as much to map fans as to those wanting a laptop based GPS navigation system, not least because you get a swathe of countries included. One of its greatest strengths is its armchair route-planning services which are really easy to use. Couple this with the plentiful printout options and you may find that the GPS-antenna-in-your-car just isn’t required.

Read the whole review here

The i-Blue PS-3200 is a Bluetooth GPS receiver that we have previously talked about. Now Mobility Site reviews this device. The technology that enables it to determine whether an active bluetooth device is present in order fall to sleep mode if there isn’t one seems to work as promised. Overall, the reviewer was very satisfied with the iblue and gave it a 5 out of 5.

You can read the review here

Pocketnow has published a review of the Asus MyPal A636 the Windows mobile pc with GPS capabilities from Asus. As we have mentioned in our earlier post, the A636 is powered by an Intel XScale 416MHz processor, has a built in SirfSTAR III GPS receiver and incorporates bluetooth and wifi. It has a 3,5″ 240 x 320, 65,536-colour LCD display and a fold out antenna. As expected, one of the its strong points is battery life, which was about 8 and a half hours with the GPS on. The most important problem reported was that the Destinator PN software that is included with the device gets sluggish with large maps. Despite this problem, that is expected to be solved with a future software upgrade, the verdict was in favor of the A636.

You can read the review here

Earlier this month Via Michelin’s latest GPS receiver has received a review from Pocket-Lint. The specifications of this GPS receiver are:

Size: 121 x 71 x 19 mm
Weight: 134 grams
Screen: Anti-glare 3.5 QGVA LCD (320×240)
Processor: Intel 312 Mhz
RAM: 32 MB RAM / 32 MB ROM
Operating system: Windows CE.net 4.2
Loudspeaker: Integrated
GPS: Integrated GPS receiver (SiRF Star III technology)
Car mounting system: Windscreen or dashboard
Software: ViaMichelin Navigation 4.x on pre-loaded SD card (256 MB) and on CD-Rom

Although it’s specifications are not bad at all the X930 received a very poor rating of 2/10 from Pocket-Lint. Their biggest complaints were, poor mapping, poor instructions sets and poor POI listings.

You can read the whole review here
Technorati Tags: viamichelin, x930, viamichelin x930, gps, review

According to Red Herring, Verizon Wireless will be launching a new service in the spring called Verizon Chaperone. This is going to be a child GPS tracking service using the build in GPS chip of the Migo, a kid friendly cell phone made by LG. With the chaperone service parents will be able to locate the position of the cell phone and hence their kids. This service will cost between 10 and 15$ per month. More and more child tracking services are launching, we have seen before the GuardianLion service and the ChitterChatter GPS/phone.

via redherring