Satelinx Announces New PDA Enabled Software
location based services
MONTREAL -- January 25, 2007 -- Satelinx (PINKSHEETS: SLXI) has completed the final stage in developing a GPS tracking software which will allow the individual user to track a vehicle or person using their own PDA cell phone . PDA sales have tripled in the past two years and make up for more than half of all cell phones on the market. It is our desire to tack in on this 30 billion dollar a year market and make our software a standard on all PDA's. "We have been working diligently to integrate our GPS tracking software with today's highly advanced PDA cell phones. This will allow mobile ease of use to all users in order to better track assets and individuals. In today's mobile world, having the ability to be at any place at anytime to keep a watchful eye on your family and assets, without being confined to a single location to monitor, will greatly improve every aspect of security. Adding to a market that's already saturated with PDA technology, we feel that it will be a simple merge into everyday use and will allow us the opportunity to sell our GPS tracking units on a large scale," stated Sam Grinfeld, Chairman of the Board of Satelinx. About Satelinx Satelinx International Inc. provides satellite vehicle tracking units that integrates GSM/GPS/GPRS wireless technologies and the Internet to deliver wireless tracking and location services. Satelinx seeks to be recognized as the world leader in providing safety and security solutions on a global scale in a cost effective manner for vehicle owner, trucking or private vehicle fleet and insurance companies.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Google Maps Creation Tools and Resources - Part 11
location based services
(Parts 1-10 here..)Do-It-Yourself Google Maps Creation Tools (See Parts 9 and 10 for more):Atlas - A Google Maps creator for online publishersGplotter - Very simple Google Maps creatorMapygon Updates - Has just implemented polygons. (Example 1, Example 2)Wedding Mapper - Create a great online Google Map for your wedding!Sanoodi - Map, monitor and share your leisure activities on Google MapsEveryTrail.com How-To video - A great video tutorial for EveryTrail.comMTBGuru - Upload your GPS data from bike rides, hikes etc..DiscoverMachine - Lets people share and annotate GPS data on Google MapsMapLib updates - Added custom marker icons, tags, atlas (set of pictures), groups, legend, permission control and more..Useamap Updates - The "TinyURL for Google Maps" has some updates: travel directions, image gallery, embed the map into any webpage.. Check out the blog for more details..(More Maps Creation Tools here..)Recent Posts from The Google Maps API Blog:Googolgon, Anyone? -> GPolygon ExampleKML on Google MapsDrive More Traffic to Your Maps API Site - Include KML Files in Your SitemapJapanese Address and Placename Support Added to the Geocoding APIGoogle Maps API and Mashup Tools and Resources:AddressFix - GeoTag your blog, site or feedGoogle Maps 3D VR Stylesheet for Joomla - From the creator: "add the ability to include VRML models inside the placemarks info window using Google Maps API component for Joomla. So, you can convert Google SketchUp models to wrl or x3d and include them in the map.Mash up GeoWalk on your website - See the "download" link at the bottom left. Lets you integrate GeoWalk as a Flash app on your site.Auto Zoom Out - Auto zooms you when there is no resolution (From Esa Ojala)ZMarker: Markers too close together - not anymore (From Esa Ojala)Google Maps Icon Shadowmaker
location based services
(Parts 1-10 here..)Do-It-Yourself Google Maps Creation Tools (See Parts 9 and 10 for more):Atlas - A Google Maps creator for online publishersGplotter - Very simple Google Maps creatorMapygon Updates - Has just implemented polygons. (Example 1, Example 2)Wedding Mapper - Create a great online Google Map for your wedding!Sanoodi - Map, monitor and share your leisure activities on Google MapsEveryTrail.com How-To video - A great video tutorial for EveryTrail.comMTBGuru - Upload your GPS data from bike rides, hikes etc..DiscoverMachine - Lets people share and annotate GPS data on Google MapsMapLib updates - Added custom marker icons, tags, atlas (set of pictures), groups, legend, permission control and more..Useamap Updates - The "TinyURL for Google Maps" has some updates: travel directions, image gallery, embed the map into any webpage.. Check out the blog for more details..(More Maps Creation Tools here..)Recent Posts from The Google Maps API Blog:Googolgon, Anyone? -> GPolygon ExampleKML on Google MapsDrive More Traffic to Your Maps API Site - Include KML Files in Your SitemapJapanese Address and Placename Support Added to the Geocoding APIGoogle Maps API and Mashup Tools and Resources:AddressFix - GeoTag your blog, site or feedGoogle Maps 3D VR Stylesheet for Joomla - From the creator: "add the ability to include VRML models inside the placemarks info window using Google Maps API component for Joomla. So, you can convert Google SketchUp models to wrl or x3d and include them in the map.Mash up GeoWalk on your website - See the "download" link at the bottom left. Lets you integrate GeoWalk as a Flash app on your site.Auto Zoom Out - Auto zooms you when there is no resolution (From Esa Ojala)ZMarker: Markers too close together - not anymore (From Esa Ojala)Google Maps Icon Shadowmaker
First photos of Google phone!
location based services
The first photos have appeared of the new Google phone, reportedly called the Google Switch. Admittedly they’re not much to go on, but they tie in with various reports that the search giant are stirring in the mobile sector.
What can we expect of the Google phone?
It will certainly have access to all of Google’s applications, including the search engine, Google Maps and Gmail, and it will also have built-in GPS navigation to facilitate the use of Google Maps. It doesn’t look like there are any buttons, so it’s another iPhone style touch-screen device, and apparently there’s no on-board storage either, with everything accessible over the web.
The similarities to the iPhone haven’t gone unnoticed, and with so much criticism of the “not-so-revolutionary” iPhone on the web at the moment, could the Google phone be an iPhone killer? A genuine all-media device, including broadband internet access on a screen that can do it justice would certainly run it close, and it could well beat the iPhone on price as well. Google has a history of subsidising its applications (Google Earth, Analytics) and its crusade to get the world using Google products could mean a more competitive pricing strategy.
There have been rumours aplenty about the various business partnerships that Google is negotiating. The phone is a collaboration with Samsung in some reports, but built by HTC in others. They are co-branding with Orange according one story, but then they already have the Web’N'Walk tariff with T-Mobile, and have other relationships with Vodafone and 3!
There’s certainly some truth in the Samsung rumour though, because on January 8th 2007 Google announced a partnership with the Korean manufacturer to preload Google applications onto a new range of Samsung phones.
Google have obviously realised the enormous potential of mobile phones for the growth of their search empire, in particular in relation to location-based services. When people are on the move they will often want information specific to where they are, so using their Google personal media centre they’ll be able to request information on cinemas, restaurants, or other local services, have their location pinpointed over GPS, then receive directions from Google Maps.
This isn’t new exactly, because Google have been pushing their mobile offering for a while, but the mobile internet experience isn’t that advanced yet, and is nowhere near as comfortable to use as desktop internet. Maybe Google’s expertise will bring the mobile internet revolution one step closer.
Jan 25-->
Jan 25
location based services
The first photos have appeared of the new Google phone, reportedly called the Google Switch. Admittedly they’re not much to go on, but they tie in with various reports that the search giant are stirring in the mobile sector.
What can we expect of the Google phone?
It will certainly have access to all of Google’s applications, including the search engine, Google Maps and Gmail, and it will also have built-in GPS navigation to facilitate the use of Google Maps. It doesn’t look like there are any buttons, so it’s another iPhone style touch-screen device, and apparently there’s no on-board storage either, with everything accessible over the web.
The similarities to the iPhone haven’t gone unnoticed, and with so much criticism of the “not-so-revolutionary” iPhone on the web at the moment, could the Google phone be an iPhone killer? A genuine all-media device, including broadband internet access on a screen that can do it justice would certainly run it close, and it could well beat the iPhone on price as well. Google has a history of subsidising its applications (Google Earth, Analytics) and its crusade to get the world using Google products could mean a more competitive pricing strategy.
There have been rumours aplenty about the various business partnerships that Google is negotiating. The phone is a collaboration with Samsung in some reports, but built by HTC in others. They are co-branding with Orange according one story, but then they already have the Web’N'Walk tariff with T-Mobile, and have other relationships with Vodafone and 3!
There’s certainly some truth in the Samsung rumour though, because on January 8th 2007 Google announced a partnership with the Korean manufacturer to preload Google applications onto a new range of Samsung phones.
Google have obviously realised the enormous potential of mobile phones for the growth of their search empire, in particular in relation to location-based services. When people are on the move they will often want information specific to where they are, so using their Google personal media centre they’ll be able to request information on cinemas, restaurants, or other local services, have their location pinpointed over GPS, then receive directions from Google Maps.
This isn’t new exactly, because Google have been pushing their mobile offering for a while, but the mobile internet experience isn’t that advanced yet, and is nowhere near as comfortable to use as desktop internet. Maybe Google’s expertise will bring the mobile internet revolution one step closer.
Jan 25-->
Jan 25
Redknee to Combine Personalized Location Services with Privacy
location based services
TORONTO, CANADA and LONDON, UK -/January 25, 2007 - Wi-Fi Technology News/- Redknee Inc., an international provider of infrastructure software that monetizes and personalizes services and content for mobile users, today announced that two Redknee personalization products have been selected by one of the largest wireless operators in the US.
The Redknee solution allows the mobile operator to offer convenient and secure Location-Based Services (LBS) with 24 hour customer care support to both enterprises and consumers. Redknee’s portfolio of solutions including Enhanced Location Services (ELS) and Unified Profile Server (UPS) offers personalization tools to the subscriber and will be used to deliver LBS.“At first people were alarmed that Location Based Services would lead to an annoying barrage of advertisements every time a user encountered a vendor hawking its goods over the wireless channel,” says Dan Baker, research director at Dittberner Associates. “Happily things have changed. Convenience, personal security, and privacy are the watchwords for LBS today. Redknee provides the real-time system hooks that enable operators to deliver a greater level of control demanded by today's more personalized LBS services.”The Redknee product suite enables its customers to offer Location-Based Services that provide subscribers with fully personalized preferences over their privacy, availability and personal identity. Subscribers have the ability to choose where, when and who sees their profile information. For operators, Redknee products not only build user confidence but help boost subscription and usage of LBS through reduced privacy concerns, greater service personalization and convenient customer self care.“Redknee’s personalization-focused solutions suite, including Enhanced Location Services and Unified Profile Server products, helps operators deliver subscriber-oriented services that can be controlled and managed by each user,” added Lucas Skoczkowski, CEO at Redknee. “Redknee enables operators to deliver more functionality than simply turning Location Services on or off. With Redknee solutions, operators can deliver enterprise services such as fleet management and consumer oriented offerings such as family-finder, in addition to E911 services.Redknee’s ELS is a mobile network gateway that enables operators to offer secure, personalized Location-Based Services to enterprises and consumers. Redknee’s UPS solution provides subscribers with a convenient single sign-on, while at the same time alleviating privacy concerns by empowering users to control when, where and under what circumstances others see their identity information. The Redknee solutions provide a convenient single point of access through which subscribers can manage their privacy, preferences and account information.About RedkneeRedknee is an international provider of infrastructure software and services for mobile communications providers. Since its inception in 1999, Redknee's customer base has grown to thirty mobile operating companies, which provide services to over 275 million wireless subscribers in over twenty countries. Redknee’s customer base includes 4 of the 10 largest mobile communications service providers or groups world wide as determined by subscriber count. The Group’s ISO 9001:2000 certified infrastructure software provides these mobile communications service providers with the capability to monetize and personalize up to 2.4 billion transactions every month.For more information, please visit http://www.redknee.com
location based services
TORONTO, CANADA and LONDON, UK -/January 25, 2007 - Wi-Fi Technology News/- Redknee Inc., an international provider of infrastructure software that monetizes and personalizes services and content for mobile users, today announced that two Redknee personalization products have been selected by one of the largest wireless operators in the US.
The Redknee solution allows the mobile operator to offer convenient and secure Location-Based Services (LBS) with 24 hour customer care support to both enterprises and consumers. Redknee’s portfolio of solutions including Enhanced Location Services (ELS) and Unified Profile Server (UPS) offers personalization tools to the subscriber and will be used to deliver LBS.“At first people were alarmed that Location Based Services would lead to an annoying barrage of advertisements every time a user encountered a vendor hawking its goods over the wireless channel,” says Dan Baker, research director at Dittberner Associates. “Happily things have changed. Convenience, personal security, and privacy are the watchwords for LBS today. Redknee provides the real-time system hooks that enable operators to deliver a greater level of control demanded by today's more personalized LBS services.”The Redknee product suite enables its customers to offer Location-Based Services that provide subscribers with fully personalized preferences over their privacy, availability and personal identity. Subscribers have the ability to choose where, when and who sees their profile information. For operators, Redknee products not only build user confidence but help boost subscription and usage of LBS through reduced privacy concerns, greater service personalization and convenient customer self care.“Redknee’s personalization-focused solutions suite, including Enhanced Location Services and Unified Profile Server products, helps operators deliver subscriber-oriented services that can be controlled and managed by each user,” added Lucas Skoczkowski, CEO at Redknee. “Redknee enables operators to deliver more functionality than simply turning Location Services on or off. With Redknee solutions, operators can deliver enterprise services such as fleet management and consumer oriented offerings such as family-finder, in addition to E911 services.Redknee’s ELS is a mobile network gateway that enables operators to offer secure, personalized Location-Based Services to enterprises and consumers. Redknee’s UPS solution provides subscribers with a convenient single sign-on, while at the same time alleviating privacy concerns by empowering users to control when, where and under what circumstances others see their identity information. The Redknee solutions provide a convenient single point of access through which subscribers can manage their privacy, preferences and account information.About RedkneeRedknee is an international provider of infrastructure software and services for mobile communications providers. Since its inception in 1999, Redknee's customer base has grown to thirty mobile operating companies, which provide services to over 275 million wireless subscribers in over twenty countries. Redknee’s customer base includes 4 of the 10 largest mobile communications service providers or groups world wide as determined by subscriber count. The Group’s ISO 9001:2000 certified infrastructure software provides these mobile communications service providers with the capability to monetize and personalize up to 2.4 billion transactions every month.For more information, please visit http://www.redknee.com
Satellite navigation is going places.
In the first nine months of 2006, nearly 12 million Global Positioning System (GPS) devices were sold across the world, according to research firm Canalys.
In 2007, this is forecast to more than double to nearly 28 million, with Europeans the most likely to want to know exactly where they are at any time.
At the moment, most of these devices are specially designed units or handhelds incorporating downloaded software.
Most are used by car drivers navigating around town, sailors on the ocean wave or by ramblers on blustery hillsides.
But all this is set to change.
According to the mobile industry, 2007 is the year when GPS will finally lock on to phones across Europe.
"GPS has been in the domain of the early adopters to date, but in 2007 it will come to the masses," said Marcus Dacombe, head of product marketing at handset manufacturer Nokia.
And when this happens, mobile phone users will be able to take advantage of a range of new services, from restaurant finders to systems that accurately plot their morning run.
Clear run
GPS-enabled phones are nothing new to the millions of mobile users throughout the US and Asia. Eighty-three million GPS-enabled handsets were shipped last year, according to IMS Research.
Many of those barriers that did exist have been addressed
Mike Short, Mobile Data Association
Countries like Japan are well known for their early adoption of technology, while in the US, the mass up-take of GPS was down to legislation.
In 1999, the Federal Communications Commission pushed through an act that requires all handsets to incorporate the technology. The E911 system, as it is known, allows the emergency services to pinpoint the exact location of a mobile phone caller.
Although GPS remains a passive technology for most in the US, only to be activated in times of emergency, the legislative imperative pushed the technology ahead and into the mainstream.
At the same time, Europe remained lost.
Unlike the US and Japan, which use a mobile standard known as CDMA, Europe's networks run on a totally different system called GSM.
Developments in the US and Japan could not simply be rolled out across Europe. Obstacles overcome elsewhere remained in Europe.
But now, according to Mike Short, chairman of the Mobile Data Association, the road ahead is clearing.
"Many of those barriers that did exist have been addressed," he said. "We have seen a lot of progress in the last year."
Helping hand
Developments in chip design and the increased processing power of mobile phones means that GPS can now more easily be incorporated into a handset.
GPS relies on a network of orbiting satellites
In addition, a new technology called assisted-GPS (AGPS), in-part developed off the back of the E911 programme, does away with the frustrating "lag-times" traditionally associated with GPS devices as they search for satellites.
AGPS takes advantage of the cellular network to speed up the process of finding a location.
Mobile operators divide the whole country into thousands of individual geographic areas known as "cells".
At the heart of each of these is a base station or mast, which communicates by radio with individual handsets within the cell.
In urban areas such as London, base stations are usually built about 200-500m (650-1,300ft) apart.
This cell information can be used to get a rough fix on the location of a phone user. Once this is known, a computer on the network can relay information to the mobile about which satellites it should be visible to in the sky.
The phone then only has to search for signals from specific satellites instead of scanning for all 32 in the GPS constellation.
AGPS is particularly useful for pinpointing locations in "urban canyons", under heavy tree cover, or even indoors.
Imaginative solutions
This new level of accuracy has allowed a host of "location-based services" to be developed in the US and Japan, which could now come to Europe.
These include "buddy finders" that alert you when a friend is in the same area or systems that track your morning run to show you how many kilometres you have covered and how many calories you have burned.
It still requires a bit of faith particularly in urban settings
Jonathan Raper, City University
"You can also have turn-by-turn navigation, family locators and maps with points of interest," said Shekhar Somanath from mobile GPS chip manufacturer Qualcomm.
Other proposals include location-based advertising, mobile blogging, location-based games and services that will allow you to geo-tag photographs with their locations.
"We just cannot predict all of the applications that will come about," said Mr Short. "We are making a capability available."
One boom sector in Japan and the US is for services that allow parents to track their children through their mobile phone. Entertainment giant Disney has even launched a service.
But privacy experts have already spoken out about the potential to abuse systems such as these for tracking and inappropriate use.
As a result, mobile operators have drawn up a code of conduct for all location-based services.
Power in hand
Riding this wave of new services are a raft of new handsets from mobile manufacturers that are now cheap enough for operators to offer them as upgrades or bundled with contracts.
In Europe alone, the number of GPS-enabled mobile phones is expected to soar from around three million last year to nearly 70 million in 2010, according to IMS Research. Globally, the figure will be close to 300 million.
GALILEO UNDER CONSTRUCTION
A European Commission and European Space Agency project
30 satellites to be launched in batches by end of 2010
Will work alongside US GPS and Russian Glonass systems
Promises real-time positioning down to less than a metre
Guaranteed under all but most extreme circumstances
Suitable for safety-critical roles where lives depend on service
But this meteoric rise will not be a completely smooth ride.
The new mobile phones will be battery hungry, particularly when they offer turn-by-turn navigation like the systems used in cars.
Consequently, manufacturers are working hard to pack more power into handsets.
In addition, the accuracy of GPS is still not quite good enough for all applications to work in all areas.
"It still requires a bit of faith particularly in urban settings," said Jonathan Raper, professor of geographic information science at London's City University.
One development on the horizon that could solve this is Europe's GPS equivalent, known as Galileo.
Life's necessities
The system's additional 30 satellites will offer greater coverage and precision than the existing GPS system alone.
"It's going to massively improve positional quality and accuracy," said Professor Raper.
The joint venture between the European Union and the European Space Agency should be launched in 2010 - but it is already behind schedule.
As a result, the mobile industry cannot start to prepare for the new system.
"Until we see more deliverables from the Galileo community, it is very difficult to plan for," said Mr Short.
The system will require new technology to be incorporated into mobile phones, particularly in mobile chip sets.
But regardless of potential hurdles with existing and future systems, some people believe the incorporation of GPS into mobile handsets is destined to happen in part because of the sheer number of mobile users - nearly half the world's population - and for some more deeply-rooted reasons.
"Time and place are the two most fundamental systems for framing our lives," said Professor Raper.
"Today, everyone has a watch to tell the time, but it's a glaring omission that we don't have a universal device for telling us where we are.
"Mobile phones are the only way of doing that."
location based services
In the first nine months of 2006, nearly 12 million Global Positioning System (GPS) devices were sold across the world, according to research firm Canalys.
In 2007, this is forecast to more than double to nearly 28 million, with Europeans the most likely to want to know exactly where they are at any time.
At the moment, most of these devices are specially designed units or handhelds incorporating downloaded software.
Most are used by car drivers navigating around town, sailors on the ocean wave or by ramblers on blustery hillsides.
But all this is set to change.
According to the mobile industry, 2007 is the year when GPS will finally lock on to phones across Europe.
"GPS has been in the domain of the early adopters to date, but in 2007 it will come to the masses," said Marcus Dacombe, head of product marketing at handset manufacturer Nokia.
And when this happens, mobile phone users will be able to take advantage of a range of new services, from restaurant finders to systems that accurately plot their morning run.
Clear run
GPS-enabled phones are nothing new to the millions of mobile users throughout the US and Asia. Eighty-three million GPS-enabled handsets were shipped last year, according to IMS Research.
Many of those barriers that did exist have been addressed
Mike Short, Mobile Data Association
Countries like Japan are well known for their early adoption of technology, while in the US, the mass up-take of GPS was down to legislation.
In 1999, the Federal Communications Commission pushed through an act that requires all handsets to incorporate the technology. The E911 system, as it is known, allows the emergency services to pinpoint the exact location of a mobile phone caller.
Although GPS remains a passive technology for most in the US, only to be activated in times of emergency, the legislative imperative pushed the technology ahead and into the mainstream.
At the same time, Europe remained lost.
Unlike the US and Japan, which use a mobile standard known as CDMA, Europe's networks run on a totally different system called GSM.
Developments in the US and Japan could not simply be rolled out across Europe. Obstacles overcome elsewhere remained in Europe.
But now, according to Mike Short, chairman of the Mobile Data Association, the road ahead is clearing.
"Many of those barriers that did exist have been addressed," he said. "We have seen a lot of progress in the last year."
Helping hand
Developments in chip design and the increased processing power of mobile phones means that GPS can now more easily be incorporated into a handset.
GPS relies on a network of orbiting satellites
In addition, a new technology called assisted-GPS (AGPS), in-part developed off the back of the E911 programme, does away with the frustrating "lag-times" traditionally associated with GPS devices as they search for satellites.
AGPS takes advantage of the cellular network to speed up the process of finding a location.
Mobile operators divide the whole country into thousands of individual geographic areas known as "cells".
At the heart of each of these is a base station or mast, which communicates by radio with individual handsets within the cell.
In urban areas such as London, base stations are usually built about 200-500m (650-1,300ft) apart.
This cell information can be used to get a rough fix on the location of a phone user. Once this is known, a computer on the network can relay information to the mobile about which satellites it should be visible to in the sky.
The phone then only has to search for signals from specific satellites instead of scanning for all 32 in the GPS constellation.
AGPS is particularly useful for pinpointing locations in "urban canyons", under heavy tree cover, or even indoors.
Imaginative solutions
This new level of accuracy has allowed a host of "location-based services" to be developed in the US and Japan, which could now come to Europe.
These include "buddy finders" that alert you when a friend is in the same area or systems that track your morning run to show you how many kilometres you have covered and how many calories you have burned.
It still requires a bit of faith particularly in urban settings
Jonathan Raper, City University
"You can also have turn-by-turn navigation, family locators and maps with points of interest," said Shekhar Somanath from mobile GPS chip manufacturer Qualcomm.
Other proposals include location-based advertising, mobile blogging, location-based games and services that will allow you to geo-tag photographs with their locations.
"We just cannot predict all of the applications that will come about," said Mr Short. "We are making a capability available."
One boom sector in Japan and the US is for services that allow parents to track their children through their mobile phone. Entertainment giant Disney has even launched a service.
But privacy experts have already spoken out about the potential to abuse systems such as these for tracking and inappropriate use.
As a result, mobile operators have drawn up a code of conduct for all location-based services.
Power in hand
Riding this wave of new services are a raft of new handsets from mobile manufacturers that are now cheap enough for operators to offer them as upgrades or bundled with contracts.
In Europe alone, the number of GPS-enabled mobile phones is expected to soar from around three million last year to nearly 70 million in 2010, according to IMS Research. Globally, the figure will be close to 300 million.
GALILEO UNDER CONSTRUCTION
A European Commission and European Space Agency project
30 satellites to be launched in batches by end of 2010
Will work alongside US GPS and Russian Glonass systems
Promises real-time positioning down to less than a metre
Guaranteed under all but most extreme circumstances
Suitable for safety-critical roles where lives depend on service
But this meteoric rise will not be a completely smooth ride.
The new mobile phones will be battery hungry, particularly when they offer turn-by-turn navigation like the systems used in cars.
Consequently, manufacturers are working hard to pack more power into handsets.
In addition, the accuracy of GPS is still not quite good enough for all applications to work in all areas.
"It still requires a bit of faith particularly in urban settings," said Jonathan Raper, professor of geographic information science at London's City University.
One development on the horizon that could solve this is Europe's GPS equivalent, known as Galileo.
Life's necessities
The system's additional 30 satellites will offer greater coverage and precision than the existing GPS system alone.
"It's going to massively improve positional quality and accuracy," said Professor Raper.
The joint venture between the European Union and the European Space Agency should be launched in 2010 - but it is already behind schedule.
As a result, the mobile industry cannot start to prepare for the new system.
"Until we see more deliverables from the Galileo community, it is very difficult to plan for," said Mr Short.
The system will require new technology to be incorporated into mobile phones, particularly in mobile chip sets.
But regardless of potential hurdles with existing and future systems, some people believe the incorporation of GPS into mobile handsets is destined to happen in part because of the sheer number of mobile users - nearly half the world's population - and for some more deeply-rooted reasons.
"Time and place are the two most fundamental systems for framing our lives," said Professor Raper.
"Today, everyone has a watch to tell the time, but it's a glaring omission that we don't have a universal device for telling us where we are.
"Mobile phones are the only way of doing that."
Galileo Hesitance Hurts EU LBS Liftoff?
location based services
Following a UK National Physics Laboratory meeting on Jan 18, there were a bunch of rumblings coming out of Europe this week about how they cannot and should not rely on the US GPS system for mobile location-based services – one such remark was made from my former Professor Jonathan Raper. Carriers in Europe agree, but suggest waiting for Galileo is hindering market development and their objectives. Meanwhile, device manufacturers are hesitant to release GPS-based devices waiting for Galileo, so the projections for location-enabled phones is less than I would have expected in comparison to US shipment numbers over the last 6 years. Remember this bit of history – Europe launched LBS first back on 1999 with low-accuracy and there was little demand and therefore limited market success. At that time, the US looked to Europe for creative application ideas because they were there. However, the US lagged overall on commercial deployments, concentrating efforts on 911 and high accuracy. Now, the US has millions of GPS phones shipped, with hundreds of thousands of subscribers using commercial applications. The US has leapfrogged Europe. It’s now 2007, and Europe is moving ahead with high accuracy following the US lead. We have flip-flopped twice already. Ready for a third? I saw evidence this week from the social software community that 2007 could usher in high-demand for CellID-based low-accuracy in the US, where it is now unpopular in Europe. Seesaw…
Posted by Jon Spinney in LBS at 11:26 Comments (0)
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location based services
Following a UK National Physics Laboratory meeting on Jan 18, there were a bunch of rumblings coming out of Europe this week about how they cannot and should not rely on the US GPS system for mobile location-based services – one such remark was made from my former Professor Jonathan Raper. Carriers in Europe agree, but suggest waiting for Galileo is hindering market development and their objectives. Meanwhile, device manufacturers are hesitant to release GPS-based devices waiting for Galileo, so the projections for location-enabled phones is less than I would have expected in comparison to US shipment numbers over the last 6 years. Remember this bit of history – Europe launched LBS first back on 1999 with low-accuracy and there was little demand and therefore limited market success. At that time, the US looked to Europe for creative application ideas because they were there. However, the US lagged overall on commercial deployments, concentrating efforts on 911 and high accuracy. Now, the US has millions of GPS phones shipped, with hundreds of thousands of subscribers using commercial applications. The US has leapfrogged Europe. It’s now 2007, and Europe is moving ahead with high accuracy following the US lead. We have flip-flopped twice already. Ready for a third? I saw evidence this week from the social software community that 2007 could usher in high-demand for CellID-based low-accuracy in the US, where it is now unpopular in Europe. Seesaw…
Posted by Jon Spinney in LBS at 11:26 Comments (0)
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GEO 2.0 - Update
Map mash-ups are among the most visible & comprehensible phenomena in Web 2.0. There must be hundreds more than the accidental selection in the list below. There are only a few samples of web sites striving to go beyond the mere fun of it. I expect much more business cases to evolve around it once the telcos start offering standardized location based services.Remarkable volume of geo activities in Holland, since recently. Is that the same anywhere else on the planet?You’ll find more samples of geo-based concepts in some of the other categories, and some more lists in ABOUT 2.0.
Alkemis - Map mash-upBittercyclist - Bicycle accident map & community; map mash-upBliin~ - Share your experience in photos, videos, text etcBlipstar - Create your own store locatorBluepuddle - Create & enrich mapsBuddymapping - Assemble your friends on a map & publish itChicagocrime - Crime dbase map mash-upDIYmap - Create maps in FlashEurotopmodel~ - Rate photo models (map mash-up)Excio - Geotag your blog & share itFeedmap - Map your blogsFileindex~ - Real time traffic jam map mash-upFlagr - Bookmark the real worldFlashearth - Global maps mash-up in flashFlickrmap - Map Flickr photosFlyr - Search Flickr for geotagged photosFunda~ - Real estate locations mash-up (nice maps, nice zoom!)Gchart - Check local time globallyGeotagit - Upload & share geotagged collectionsGeotool - Map yourselfGeotracing.com~ - Share the geo-located photos you’ve made during a trip & your (animated!) route (and more?!)Geovector*** - LBS services with a usable interface.Globeassistant~ - Get your content mashed up with Google EarthGoogleearth* - Global mapsGooglemaps - Check local things globallyGooglemars - Own a red planetGutenkarte - Maps spatial components of classic literatureGvisit - Map your site visitorsHotelworldmap~ - Find a hotel (map mash-up)Housingmaps - Find housing (map mash-up)Jauntlet - Track & trace yourselfLocallive - Windows mapsLocalpoint~ - Google mash-up with several (Dutch) dbasesLowlandsguide~** - Explore the lay of the Lowland Festival with this mobile appMailinator - Disposable email + spam mash-upMap24 - Route finder; 3DMapbuilder - Mash-up your own mapsMapkit - Create & share your own mapMaplib - Turn every photo or illustration into an interactive mapMappr - Map Flickr photos per tagMapwii - Map your wii number & challenge other playersMashplanet - Find & submit mash-ups per categoryN2yo* - Realtime satellite trackingNeighboroo - Explore USA trends on mapNomos~ - Live reporting on sound levels around Amsterdam AirportOnonemap - Find housing (map mash-up) (UK)Openstreetmap - View, edit & use geographical dataPackagemapper - Track your package on a mapPanoramio - Store your geo-tagged photos on Google mapsPartyvibes~ - Publish & share parties in HollandPervwatch - Perv mash-upPheromonetrail - Share places & sites & personsPlaceopedia - Wiki + Google maps mash-upPlacestodo - Post & share places & thingsPlaniglobe - Create your own mapPlatial - Co-create atlas & share placesPlazesbadge* - Show where you are (e.g. on your blog)Powermap - Next level Google mapsPropsmart - Find housing (map mash-up)Publicloos - Share public toiletsRedfin - Find housing (map mash-up)Routecraft~ - Route planner; add your text to locations & share it; also for mobileSkibonk - Ski resorts (map mash-up)Sundaydash - Find housing (map mash-up)Tagzania - Share & map placesToeat - Map & share restaurantsTopspot-ornot - Spot & review locations (map mash-up)Treadr - Track & follow people onlineTreinvizier~ - Actual whereabouts of Dutch trainsTripmojo - Map & share hotelsVirtualcity - Navigate map with help of photos (Toronto)Virtualvideomap - Google Maps & Youtube mash-upVivirama - Put your home on this free international mapVlogmap - Map your vlogWayfaring - Create & share your mapsWeatherbonk - Mashes up 10 API’sWeb20map - Web 2.0 companies on map mash-upWereldkenner~ - Wikipedia & Google Earth mash-upX-moment*~ - Publish an event at a locationYahoomaps* - Global & local maps & mash-upsYourgmap - Map & publish your placesZeemaps - Create & share maps of/with friends & familyMapsack - Map, discover & share places
Italic = new. Update 061224, 070119.Content from: EVERYTHING 2.0
Map mash-ups are among the most visible & comprehensible phenomena in Web 2.0. There must be hundreds more than the accidental selection in the list below. There are only a few samples of web sites striving to go beyond the mere fun of it. I expect much more business cases to evolve around it once the telcos start offering standardized location based services.Remarkable volume of geo activities in Holland, since recently. Is that the same anywhere else on the planet?You’ll find more samples of geo-based concepts in some of the other categories, and some more lists in ABOUT 2.0.
Alkemis - Map mash-upBittercyclist - Bicycle accident map & community; map mash-upBliin~ - Share your experience in photos, videos, text etcBlipstar - Create your own store locatorBluepuddle - Create & enrich mapsBuddymapping - Assemble your friends on a map & publish itChicagocrime - Crime dbase map mash-upDIYmap - Create maps in FlashEurotopmodel~ - Rate photo models (map mash-up)Excio - Geotag your blog & share itFeedmap - Map your blogsFileindex~ - Real time traffic jam map mash-upFlagr - Bookmark the real worldFlashearth - Global maps mash-up in flashFlickrmap - Map Flickr photosFlyr - Search Flickr for geotagged photosFunda~ - Real estate locations mash-up (nice maps, nice zoom!)Gchart - Check local time globallyGeotagit - Upload & share geotagged collectionsGeotool - Map yourselfGeotracing.com~ - Share the geo-located photos you’ve made during a trip & your (animated!) route (and more?!)Geovector*** - LBS services with a usable interface.Globeassistant~ - Get your content mashed up with Google EarthGoogleearth* - Global mapsGooglemaps - Check local things globallyGooglemars - Own a red planetGutenkarte - Maps spatial components of classic literatureGvisit - Map your site visitorsHotelworldmap~ - Find a hotel (map mash-up)Housingmaps - Find housing (map mash-up)Jauntlet - Track & trace yourselfLocallive - Windows mapsLocalpoint~ - Google mash-up with several (Dutch) dbasesLowlandsguide~** - Explore the lay of the Lowland Festival with this mobile appMailinator - Disposable email + spam mash-upMap24 - Route finder; 3DMapbuilder - Mash-up your own mapsMapkit - Create & share your own mapMaplib - Turn every photo or illustration into an interactive mapMappr - Map Flickr photos per tagMapwii - Map your wii number & challenge other playersMashplanet - Find & submit mash-ups per categoryN2yo* - Realtime satellite trackingNeighboroo - Explore USA trends on mapNomos~ - Live reporting on sound levels around Amsterdam AirportOnonemap - Find housing (map mash-up) (UK)Openstreetmap - View, edit & use geographical dataPackagemapper - Track your package on a mapPanoramio - Store your geo-tagged photos on Google mapsPartyvibes~ - Publish & share parties in HollandPervwatch - Perv mash-upPheromonetrail - Share places & sites & personsPlaceopedia - Wiki + Google maps mash-upPlacestodo - Post & share places & thingsPlaniglobe - Create your own mapPlatial - Co-create atlas & share placesPlazesbadge* - Show where you are (e.g. on your blog)Powermap - Next level Google mapsPropsmart - Find housing (map mash-up)Publicloos - Share public toiletsRedfin - Find housing (map mash-up)Routecraft~ - Route planner; add your text to locations & share it; also for mobileSkibonk - Ski resorts (map mash-up)Sundaydash - Find housing (map mash-up)Tagzania - Share & map placesToeat - Map & share restaurantsTopspot-ornot - Spot & review locations (map mash-up)Treadr - Track & follow people onlineTreinvizier~ - Actual whereabouts of Dutch trainsTripmojo - Map & share hotelsVirtualcity - Navigate map with help of photos (Toronto)Virtualvideomap - Google Maps & Youtube mash-upVivirama - Put your home on this free international mapVlogmap - Map your vlogWayfaring - Create & share your mapsWeatherbonk - Mashes up 10 API’sWeb20map - Web 2.0 companies on map mash-upWereldkenner~ - Wikipedia & Google Earth mash-upX-moment*~ - Publish an event at a locationYahoomaps* - Global & local maps & mash-upsYourgmap - Map & publish your placesZeemaps - Create & share maps of/with friends & familyMapsack - Map, discover & share places
Italic = new. Update 061224, 070119.Content from: EVERYTHING 2.0
Putting mobile services on the map
location based services
(Business 2.0 Magazine) -- By the end of last year, all four major U.S. wireless carriers had launched location-based offerings such as turn-by-turn directions, mapping and "family finder" services for cell phones.
Indeed, ABI Research predicts that, within five years, 335 million North American consumers will subscribe to location-based mobile services on their handsets.
All of this begs the question: Are that many of us getting lost? And, more importantly, why are carriers and analysts so bullish on the future of location-based services?
As far as the first question goes - yes, most people I know are geographically challenged. As for the second question, what makes location based services so appealing as a business proposition is the fact that they can be marketed to consumers as a need, not just a want.
Gallery: Designer phones go Bling! Bling!
Take, for example, Sprint Nextel's Family Locator service. Launched last April, the feature lets parents track the geographic location of their child (or rather, the GPS receiver in their child's phone) for $10 per month.
For $10 a month, what mom or dad wouldn't sign up for a service that has the potential to save their child's life? Sprint's service even got an endorsement from the safety director at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, a non-profit organization that helps recover abducted and abused kids.
Like home alarm systems and pricey car seats, family-finder features have the power to make parents believe that if they don't shell out just a little bit of extra money, they're not doing their utmost to keep their kids safe.
Of course, arming your child with a GPS phone isn't foolproof. For one, the phones can only be tracked when they are turned on (so if the battery dies, you won't be able to tell where your child is). Also, GPS is spotty in heavily forested areas and doesn't work well indoors.
Location-based mobile services may also catch on as a cheap alternative to stand-alone navigational devices, like those made by TomTom and Garmin (Charts) (which typically cost anywhere from $200 to $600).
Last year, Verizon's (Charts) Verizon Wireless arm launched VZ Navigator, a service that uses GPS to give subscribers turn-by-turn directions to their destinations. Like Sprint (Charts), Verizon's navigation service is offered at a monthly fee of $10, but customers can also buy the service ala carte for $3 a day. That means users can get turn-by-turn directions for a few bucks (while on vacation, for example) without having to sign up for the monthly service.
"That really opened the door for other users," says Sean Ryan, a research analyst with IDC. "It's finally being priced right."
The downside to having a cell phone double as a navigational device is that you can't take calls while listening to directions. (Though perhaps so much multitasking while driving is unwise anyway.) Makers of stand-alone navigational devices also argue that the three-inch phone screen is too small to view maps, but most customers using the service while driving are probably listening to the spoken directions.
2007: The year of mobile TV
But standalone devices, while popular (especially in Europe), aren't likely to be a huge threat to location-based mobile services. The biggest challenges these services face is the lack of both customer awareness and capable phones.
Many customers don't even know whether or not their phone has built-in GPS - or why they'd want it. And while all of Sprint's devices have it, Verizon has a few high-end GPS-enabled handsets, and phones from AT&T's (Charts) Cingular unit require the use of a small, external GPS receiver. But who wants to carry (and charge) another device?
"We've just barely seen the launch of some of these devices," says Ryan.
But that could soon change: It's estimated that, by the end of this year, as many as 63 percent of phones sold in North America will have built-in GPS chipsets, up from 55 percent in 2006, according to Gartner Research.
"Within the next couple of years, we envision that navigation functions will be a standard on mobile phones," says Kim Fennell, CEO of deCarta, maker of the mapping software that powers most U.S. carriers' location-based offerings.
These days, the first question out of a caller's mouth is usually "Where are you?" But soon, we may not have to ask.
location based services
(Business 2.0 Magazine) -- By the end of last year, all four major U.S. wireless carriers had launched location-based offerings such as turn-by-turn directions, mapping and "family finder" services for cell phones.
Indeed, ABI Research predicts that, within five years, 335 million North American consumers will subscribe to location-based mobile services on their handsets.
All of this begs the question: Are that many of us getting lost? And, more importantly, why are carriers and analysts so bullish on the future of location-based services?
As far as the first question goes - yes, most people I know are geographically challenged. As for the second question, what makes location based services so appealing as a business proposition is the fact that they can be marketed to consumers as a need, not just a want.
Gallery: Designer phones go Bling! Bling!
Take, for example, Sprint Nextel's Family Locator service. Launched last April, the feature lets parents track the geographic location of their child (or rather, the GPS receiver in their child's phone) for $10 per month.
For $10 a month, what mom or dad wouldn't sign up for a service that has the potential to save their child's life? Sprint's service even got an endorsement from the safety director at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, a non-profit organization that helps recover abducted and abused kids.
Like home alarm systems and pricey car seats, family-finder features have the power to make parents believe that if they don't shell out just a little bit of extra money, they're not doing their utmost to keep their kids safe.
Of course, arming your child with a GPS phone isn't foolproof. For one, the phones can only be tracked when they are turned on (so if the battery dies, you won't be able to tell where your child is). Also, GPS is spotty in heavily forested areas and doesn't work well indoors.
Location-based mobile services may also catch on as a cheap alternative to stand-alone navigational devices, like those made by TomTom and Garmin (Charts) (which typically cost anywhere from $200 to $600).
Last year, Verizon's (Charts) Verizon Wireless arm launched VZ Navigator, a service that uses GPS to give subscribers turn-by-turn directions to their destinations. Like Sprint (Charts), Verizon's navigation service is offered at a monthly fee of $10, but customers can also buy the service ala carte for $3 a day. That means users can get turn-by-turn directions for a few bucks (while on vacation, for example) without having to sign up for the monthly service.
"That really opened the door for other users," says Sean Ryan, a research analyst with IDC. "It's finally being priced right."
The downside to having a cell phone double as a navigational device is that you can't take calls while listening to directions. (Though perhaps so much multitasking while driving is unwise anyway.) Makers of stand-alone navigational devices also argue that the three-inch phone screen is too small to view maps, but most customers using the service while driving are probably listening to the spoken directions.
2007: The year of mobile TV
But standalone devices, while popular (especially in Europe), aren't likely to be a huge threat to location-based mobile services. The biggest challenges these services face is the lack of both customer awareness and capable phones.
Many customers don't even know whether or not their phone has built-in GPS - or why they'd want it. And while all of Sprint's devices have it, Verizon has a few high-end GPS-enabled handsets, and phones from AT&T's (Charts) Cingular unit require the use of a small, external GPS receiver. But who wants to carry (and charge) another device?
"We've just barely seen the launch of some of these devices," says Ryan.
But that could soon change: It's estimated that, by the end of this year, as many as 63 percent of phones sold in North America will have built-in GPS chipsets, up from 55 percent in 2006, according to Gartner Research.
"Within the next couple of years, we envision that navigation functions will be a standard on mobile phones," says Kim Fennell, CEO of deCarta, maker of the mapping software that powers most U.S. carriers' location-based offerings.
These days, the first question out of a caller's mouth is usually "Where are you?" But soon, we may not have to ask.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Globecomm Systems Receives $13.1 Million Notice of Award from NATO for Additional Systems
location based services
Globecomm Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: GCOM), a global provider of end-to-end value-added satellite-based communications solutions, announced today that the Company has received a $13.1 million notice of award from NATO to provide additional systems in support of a multi-national global positioning satellite-based (GPS) friendly force tracking system (FTS). Globecomm previously announced a $7.8 million contract from NATO to design and install a GPS FTS, bringing the combined contract value to $20.9 million. The FTS provides NATO with high levels of tracking data and messaging traffic. It enables NATO to identify where its personnel are located at all times, identify other multi-national forces and have the ability to do so in routine and operational situations. This is critical in assisting with the identification of friendly versus enemy forces and helps prevent fratricide or "blue-on-blue" incidents. The system is operational and the Company will now expand the system's reach into hundreds of additional vehicles.David Hershberg, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Globecomm Systems Inc., said, "We are thrilled to have demonstrated the broad range of systems integration capabilities to NATO and very excited about this expansion of the system. NATO is an important customer and this is a very critical project. Globecomm intends to assure that they continue to recognize the high quality of work and professionalism the Company possesses. The Company intends to vigorously pursue additional NATO opportunities we have identified." About Globecomm Systems Globecomm Systems Inc. provides end-to-end value-added satellite-based communication products, services and solutions by leveraging its core satellite ground segment systems and network capabilities, with its satellite communication services capabilities. The products and services Globecomm offers include pre-engineered systems, systems design and integration services, managed network services and life cycle support services. Globecomm's customers include communications service providers, commercial enterprises, broadcast and other media and content providers and government and government-related entities.Based in Hauppauge, New York, Globecomm Systems also maintains offices in Washington, DC, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan.
location based services
Globecomm Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: GCOM), a global provider of end-to-end value-added satellite-based communications solutions, announced today that the Company has received a $13.1 million notice of award from NATO to provide additional systems in support of a multi-national global positioning satellite-based (GPS) friendly force tracking system (FTS). Globecomm previously announced a $7.8 million contract from NATO to design and install a GPS FTS, bringing the combined contract value to $20.9 million. The FTS provides NATO with high levels of tracking data and messaging traffic. It enables NATO to identify where its personnel are located at all times, identify other multi-national forces and have the ability to do so in routine and operational situations. This is critical in assisting with the identification of friendly versus enemy forces and helps prevent fratricide or "blue-on-blue" incidents. The system is operational and the Company will now expand the system's reach into hundreds of additional vehicles.David Hershberg, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Globecomm Systems Inc., said, "We are thrilled to have demonstrated the broad range of systems integration capabilities to NATO and very excited about this expansion of the system. NATO is an important customer and this is a very critical project. Globecomm intends to assure that they continue to recognize the high quality of work and professionalism the Company possesses. The Company intends to vigorously pursue additional NATO opportunities we have identified." About Globecomm Systems Globecomm Systems Inc. provides end-to-end value-added satellite-based communication products, services and solutions by leveraging its core satellite ground segment systems and network capabilities, with its satellite communication services capabilities. The products and services Globecomm offers include pre-engineered systems, systems design and integration services, managed network services and life cycle support services. Globecomm's customers include communications service providers, commercial enterprises, broadcast and other media and content providers and government and government-related entities.Based in Hauppauge, New York, Globecomm Systems also maintains offices in Washington, DC, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan.
Leading GIS Web Mapping Application Now On BlackBerry
location based services
Dayton, Ohio. TDC Group, Inc. announced today that Freeance, its industry-leading Web mapping application, has been extended to create geographic information system (GIS) and database applications for BlackBerry handsets from Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM). This new functionality brings the popular no-programming, plug-and-play Freeance software application to a new group of mobile users with unique capabilities that leverage the BlackBerry platform. GIS and IT groups can now quickly and easily publish their GIS and enterprise databases to BlackBerry handsets. Field workers using BlackBerry handsets can browse their local GIS data stored on ESRI server platforms and also read/write to their enterprise databases using custom forms. The new product, Freeance Mobile, also taps into the power of GPS location using GPS receivers built into BlackBerry handsets or Bluetooth enabled GPS receivers paired with a BlackBerry handset.TDC built Freeance Mobile for the BlackBerry platform because of its market leading position and the industry leading security and device management capabilities of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server. Freeance Mobile runs in either a BlackBerry Enterprise Server environment or over a secure connection on the BlackBerry Internet Service. Organizations can scale their use of Freeance Mobile from one to hundreds or thousands of BlackBerry users.Freeance and BlackBerry: Two Platforms, One Powerful Solution.Freeance Mobile includes three device-side applications that allow organizations to easily put their GIS and enterprise databases out into the field. Custom mobile applications can be constructed in just a few hours by in-house personnel, and then instantly published to BlackBerry users.MapViewer works much like a standard GIS Web browser. End users can display, zoom, pan, locate, and turn layers off and on for any standard, ESRI server-based mapping. System administrators using the Freeance Mobile configuration software can create numerous custom map viewers in a matter of hours. Specific tools and searches needed for individual mobile work groups can be simply deployed. Changes requested by users can be made within a matter of minutes and a modified application immediately delivered to users in the field.GPS Collector allows end users to use custom forms that write back to enterprise databases within the organization. System administrators use the GPS Collector to create custom forms in a no-programming environment and then link the forms to enterprise databases such as Oracle, DB2, SQL Server, MySQL and PostgreSQL. Forms can be populated in the field and automatically tied to a GPS location through a BlackBerry handset with integrated GPS or by pairing a Bluetooth GPS receiver, such as from Trimble or Garmin, with a Bluetooth-enabled BlackBerry handset.Search allows mobile users to effortlessly find records in enterprise databases within their organization. Custom searching and reporting are set up by system administrators enabling users to easily locate and reference records by means of customized displays when in the field. The database connections are live and connect directly to enterprise databases such as Oracle, DB2, SQL Server, MySQL and PostgreSQL.View Live GPS Field Mapping AnywhereBy combining the use of Freeance Web with Freeance Mobile software, organizations can set up Freeance Web-based GIS applications that display live data on a map as the data are logged by field crews. The interoperability of Freeance Web and Freeance Mobile makes it possible to display live map features and the location of field crews, while adding the ability to display and search records created in the field by mobile workers.BlackBerry Enterprise Server Compatible for Security and Easy IntegrationFreeance Mobile was designed to be compatible with BlackBerry Enterprise Server. BlackBerry allows organizations to make their GIS and enterprise mobile applications secure with a strong encryption scheme that keeps data encrypted while it is in transit between the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry handsets. Organizations running the BlackBerry Enterprise Server can now easily integrate their enterprise databases and ESRI map servers to securely publish applications to their BlackBerry users.AvailabilityFreeance Mobile is now available. The base package of Freeance Mobile is $14,950, with training and implementation included.Demo SignupLive, 30-minute Web demos of Freeance Mobile are available each Tuesday and Thursday at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. To attend one of these free demos, please call (866) 832-4768 extension 7226 and ask for Patrick Kiggins.Web SiteFor more information about Freeance Mobile, please visit www.Freeance.com. Pricing, information requests, technical details, use cases and other information are available there.About TDC Group, Inc.TDC Group, Inc. is a software development firm focused on building powerful, easy-to-use GIS and location products. With 18 years of experience in the GIS industry, our goal is to allow organizations to easily create Web mapping, and Mobile GIS and enterprise database applications, in a low-cost plug-and-play environment. TDC is dedicated to expanding the Freeance product line and continues to build additional functionality that allows organizations to use standard off-the-shelf software to integrate GIS and database platforms and create custom Web and Mobile applications.
location based services
Dayton, Ohio. TDC Group, Inc. announced today that Freeance, its industry-leading Web mapping application, has been extended to create geographic information system (GIS) and database applications for BlackBerry handsets from Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM). This new functionality brings the popular no-programming, plug-and-play Freeance software application to a new group of mobile users with unique capabilities that leverage the BlackBerry platform. GIS and IT groups can now quickly and easily publish their GIS and enterprise databases to BlackBerry handsets. Field workers using BlackBerry handsets can browse their local GIS data stored on ESRI server platforms and also read/write to their enterprise databases using custom forms. The new product, Freeance Mobile, also taps into the power of GPS location using GPS receivers built into BlackBerry handsets or Bluetooth enabled GPS receivers paired with a BlackBerry handset.TDC built Freeance Mobile for the BlackBerry platform because of its market leading position and the industry leading security and device management capabilities of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server. Freeance Mobile runs in either a BlackBerry Enterprise Server environment or over a secure connection on the BlackBerry Internet Service. Organizations can scale their use of Freeance Mobile from one to hundreds or thousands of BlackBerry users.Freeance and BlackBerry: Two Platforms, One Powerful Solution.Freeance Mobile includes three device-side applications that allow organizations to easily put their GIS and enterprise databases out into the field. Custom mobile applications can be constructed in just a few hours by in-house personnel, and then instantly published to BlackBerry users.MapViewer works much like a standard GIS Web browser. End users can display, zoom, pan, locate, and turn layers off and on for any standard, ESRI server-based mapping. System administrators using the Freeance Mobile configuration software can create numerous custom map viewers in a matter of hours. Specific tools and searches needed for individual mobile work groups can be simply deployed. Changes requested by users can be made within a matter of minutes and a modified application immediately delivered to users in the field.GPS Collector allows end users to use custom forms that write back to enterprise databases within the organization. System administrators use the GPS Collector to create custom forms in a no-programming environment and then link the forms to enterprise databases such as Oracle, DB2, SQL Server, MySQL and PostgreSQL. Forms can be populated in the field and automatically tied to a GPS location through a BlackBerry handset with integrated GPS or by pairing a Bluetooth GPS receiver, such as from Trimble or Garmin, with a Bluetooth-enabled BlackBerry handset.Search allows mobile users to effortlessly find records in enterprise databases within their organization. Custom searching and reporting are set up by system administrators enabling users to easily locate and reference records by means of customized displays when in the field. The database connections are live and connect directly to enterprise databases such as Oracle, DB2, SQL Server, MySQL and PostgreSQL.View Live GPS Field Mapping AnywhereBy combining the use of Freeance Web with Freeance Mobile software, organizations can set up Freeance Web-based GIS applications that display live data on a map as the data are logged by field crews. The interoperability of Freeance Web and Freeance Mobile makes it possible to display live map features and the location of field crews, while adding the ability to display and search records created in the field by mobile workers.BlackBerry Enterprise Server Compatible for Security and Easy IntegrationFreeance Mobile was designed to be compatible with BlackBerry Enterprise Server. BlackBerry allows organizations to make their GIS and enterprise mobile applications secure with a strong encryption scheme that keeps data encrypted while it is in transit between the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry handsets. Organizations running the BlackBerry Enterprise Server can now easily integrate their enterprise databases and ESRI map servers to securely publish applications to their BlackBerry users.AvailabilityFreeance Mobile is now available. The base package of Freeance Mobile is $14,950, with training and implementation included.Demo SignupLive, 30-minute Web demos of Freeance Mobile are available each Tuesday and Thursday at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. To attend one of these free demos, please call (866) 832-4768 extension 7226 and ask for Patrick Kiggins.Web SiteFor more information about Freeance Mobile, please visit www.Freeance.com. Pricing, information requests, technical details, use cases and other information are available there.About TDC Group, Inc.TDC Group, Inc. is a software development firm focused on building powerful, easy-to-use GIS and location products. With 18 years of experience in the GIS industry, our goal is to allow organizations to easily create Web mapping, and Mobile GIS and enterprise database applications, in a low-cost plug-and-play environment. TDC is dedicated to expanding the Freeance product line and continues to build additional functionality that allows organizations to use standard off-the-shelf software to integrate GIS and database platforms and create custom Web and Mobile applications.
Cellular Carriers Need to Develop WiMAX Strategy Now
location based services
US : The impact of WiMAX on the cellular industry is not currently known, but carriers need to put together their strategies concerning WiMAX now, reports In-Stat. For existing cellular carriers, WiMAX may potentially become a big competitor, a great ally, or a minor factor, the high-tech market research firm says. Nevertheless, it’s clear that a strategy for WiMAX is the biggest decision cellular carriers have had to make since planning for 3G deployment.“WiMAX faces many challenges, including multiple incompatibility standards, different frequency allocations in each country, and expensive consumer devices,” says Allen Nogee, In-Stat analyst. “But fixed-line WiMAX is here, and mobile WiMAX will be arriving in the next few years.” Recent research by In-Stat found the following:
Mobile VoWiMAX isn’t likely to be used much before 2009.
There are many “profiles” in different regions of the world, meaning that WiMAX devices will likely operate differently in different regions, unless device manufacturers are willing to accept extra expenses to make a universal WiMAX device that supports all profiles.
When WiMAX competes with cellular, cellular operators will be forced to decrease their prices for wireless data services over cellular. Even if WiMAX fails after that point, it is unlikely that cellular carriers will ever again be able to charge the amount they currently do for wireless data services.
Recent In-Stat research, In-Depth Analysis: WiMAX and Cellular: Threat or Opportunity—Cellular Carrier Strategies (#IN0602929GW), covers the impact of WiMAX on the cellular industry. It includes a detailed analysis of WiMAX drivers and challenges, and the potential responses by cellular carriers. It also contains a forecast of Voice over WiMAX subscribers through 2011.
location based services
US : The impact of WiMAX on the cellular industry is not currently known, but carriers need to put together their strategies concerning WiMAX now, reports In-Stat. For existing cellular carriers, WiMAX may potentially become a big competitor, a great ally, or a minor factor, the high-tech market research firm says. Nevertheless, it’s clear that a strategy for WiMAX is the biggest decision cellular carriers have had to make since planning for 3G deployment.“WiMAX faces many challenges, including multiple incompatibility standards, different frequency allocations in each country, and expensive consumer devices,” says Allen Nogee, In-Stat analyst. “But fixed-line WiMAX is here, and mobile WiMAX will be arriving in the next few years.” Recent research by In-Stat found the following:
Mobile VoWiMAX isn’t likely to be used much before 2009.
There are many “profiles” in different regions of the world, meaning that WiMAX devices will likely operate differently in different regions, unless device manufacturers are willing to accept extra expenses to make a universal WiMAX device that supports all profiles.
When WiMAX competes with cellular, cellular operators will be forced to decrease their prices for wireless data services over cellular. Even if WiMAX fails after that point, it is unlikely that cellular carriers will ever again be able to charge the amount they currently do for wireless data services.
Recent In-Stat research, In-Depth Analysis: WiMAX and Cellular: Threat or Opportunity—Cellular Carrier Strategies (#IN0602929GW), covers the impact of WiMAX on the cellular industry. It includes a detailed analysis of WiMAX drivers and challenges, and the potential responses by cellular carriers. It also contains a forecast of Voice over WiMAX subscribers through 2011.
Vodafone Navigator for Vodafone Blackberry Users
location based services
Europe : Vodafone España announced the launch of Vodafone Navigator, a complete GPS mobile navigation service, updated in real time, for Vodafone Blackberry* users powered by the Telmap Navigator solution.
The Vodafone Navigator solution works as a GPS to provide the user with the best possible route to their destination by using real-time updated maps and traffic information. It offers coverage and cartography for the whole of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Andorra, Portugal and Gibraltar). All data traffic for map downloads, routing and accessing information in real-time is included in the Blackberry Flat Rate.
The service is available at the price of €249 and includes:
• A GPS Bluetooth receiver/transmitter with charger
• One-year’s service
• All data traffic to download maps and for routing and information included in the Blackberry Flat Rate.
Vodafone Navigator provides an enriched navigation, cartography and travel-assistance experience. It guides the user – both in-car and pedestrian - to the best route for the desired destination, using high-quality voice and map instructions. If traffic is heavy, Vodafone Navigator will inform the user in real-time and all the maps are automatically updated without the need to purchase new versions or download additional applications. The service can currently be used with all Blackberry* devices and will shortly be expanded to other advanced mobile devices.
Vodafone Navigator also allows users to easily search for points of interest, such as restaurants, hotels or shopping centres. Once found the details can be shared with friends via SMS.
Vodafone Navigator is based on latest-generation technology patented by Telmap ‘MOND’ (Mobile Optimised Navigation Data); which optimises navigation- and map-data transfers from a central server to the users’ mobile devices. MOND technology uses an advanced compression protocol to transmit the most complete, practical, appropriate and reliable navigation data to mobile terminals. The system guarantees that Vodafone Navigator users can enjoy interruption-free navigation with dynamic rerouting without having to reconnect to the server.
“Telmap is very happy to extend the benefits of advanced, real-time mobile navigation to Vodafone España’s subscribers said Oren Nissim, CEO of Telmap. “Vodafone España’s trendsetting decisions to offer Vodafone Navigator is further proof that the world’s leading operators recognize the great potential of mobile navigation.”
location based services
Europe : Vodafone España announced the launch of Vodafone Navigator, a complete GPS mobile navigation service, updated in real time, for Vodafone Blackberry* users powered by the Telmap Navigator solution.
The Vodafone Navigator solution works as a GPS to provide the user with the best possible route to their destination by using real-time updated maps and traffic information. It offers coverage and cartography for the whole of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Andorra, Portugal and Gibraltar). All data traffic for map downloads, routing and accessing information in real-time is included in the Blackberry Flat Rate.
The service is available at the price of €249 and includes:
• A GPS Bluetooth receiver/transmitter with charger
• One-year’s service
• All data traffic to download maps and for routing and information included in the Blackberry Flat Rate.
Vodafone Navigator provides an enriched navigation, cartography and travel-assistance experience. It guides the user – both in-car and pedestrian - to the best route for the desired destination, using high-quality voice and map instructions. If traffic is heavy, Vodafone Navigator will inform the user in real-time and all the maps are automatically updated without the need to purchase new versions or download additional applications. The service can currently be used with all Blackberry* devices and will shortly be expanded to other advanced mobile devices.
Vodafone Navigator also allows users to easily search for points of interest, such as restaurants, hotels or shopping centres. Once found the details can be shared with friends via SMS.
Vodafone Navigator is based on latest-generation technology patented by Telmap ‘MOND’ (Mobile Optimised Navigation Data); which optimises navigation- and map-data transfers from a central server to the users’ mobile devices. MOND technology uses an advanced compression protocol to transmit the most complete, practical, appropriate and reliable navigation data to mobile terminals. The system guarantees that Vodafone Navigator users can enjoy interruption-free navigation with dynamic rerouting without having to reconnect to the server.
“Telmap is very happy to extend the benefits of advanced, real-time mobile navigation to Vodafone España’s subscribers said Oren Nissim, CEO of Telmap. “Vodafone España’s trendsetting decisions to offer Vodafone Navigator is further proof that the world’s leading operators recognize the great potential of mobile navigation.”
Apple iPhone - Did they forget about the location sensor?
location based services
I watched Steve Job's introduction of the new Apple iPhone. It truly looks revolutionary, but I could not find within any of the tech specs about a location sensor: No GPS chip. Yes, you can view maps...there's an icon to link to Google Maps via a Wi-Fi connector; sure you can see imagery as well which is nicely displayed on the very wide screen interface. But unless you can load something like Skyhook's location finder device that uses Wi-Fi, accurate positioning seems to have been left off the list of important features. Am I wrong; has anyone seen differently. So, there is no inherent LBS function that automatically identifies your location then routes you from your position to wherever.
Posted by Joe Francica in LBS at 11:26 Comments (7)
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Joe - no, you’re not wrong - you got it right. Apple’s lack of a handset-resident location capability is not that surprising though given they have chosen the GSM route with Cingular. The GSM world hasn’t yet solved GPS on the chipsets on a large scale like the CDMA and IDEN world has, but the emerging Secure User Plane Standard that GSM will use will help with that over time.
#1 Jon Spinney (Link) on 2007-01-10 12:38 (Reply)
What about the FCC mandate? Does this mean a fine and/or action by the Feds because they built a non-compliant device?
#2 Archie Belaney on 2007-01-10 13:20 (Reply)
Wait a minute...maybe Apple's finally noticed something.The truly vast proportion of people who own phones and personal digital devices know pretty much right where they are. Contrary to the experience of globe-trotting, plane-hopping new-age marketeers and sales people, Most people don't travel all that much outside their home towm or local area. So a GPS to "find yourself" on a map is irrelevant. Because as Josie Average, you know where you are. If you don't, it's because you're on the other side of town and looking for a new store, restaurant, or whatever. If that's the case, you look at a map. Which is what Apple's betting on here...the user interface is simple, Google is simple, and the idea of "placing yourself in context on the map" is pretty simple, too. Most folks can read a street sign, or in a general way figure out where they are on a Google-toon. So has Apple made the simplest location-enabled device yet...an actual MAP-CENTRIC device? Hmmmmm.I wonder if the utility of GPS is rendered irrelevant by the simple idea of someone navigating by looking at a map or an aerial photo? Imaging that, looking at a map to figure out where you are. You know, that just might work.Still doesn't solve the whole e-911 thing, but maybe that's for a future edition.
#3 Archie Belaney on 2007-01-10 13:38 (Reply)
During the address at MacWorld, Jobs said about the iPhone, "The way to bring the real internet to your phone". "Now, I want to show you something truly remarkable: Google Maps on iPod." The audience "oogled". I can't be impressed unless the phone provides location determination automatically. Despite the outstanding user interface of the phone, I'll still need to type in my existing address first before any routing can occur. If it was truly map-centric, it would place the phone owner at the center of the map first upon turning on the phone. Jobs made reference to the phone's 3 sensors...one that turned off the screen as the user placed the phone up to your ear to conserve batteries...that in itself was very cool. I was waiting for him to talk about the "location sensor". I guess I'll have to live with disappointment. Maybe version 2.
#3.1 Joe Francica (Link) on 2007-01-10 15:19 (Reply)
For GPS enabled phones checkout Nokia's N95. Comes with a 5MP camera to boot. Not sure about a Symbian OS though.
#4 Shane Ring on 2007-01-10 14:59 (Reply)
I agree many people would not need GPS, but admit for business it is great aid. Since many of us work for companies that use GPS to improve productivity, I would have at least figured this would be a add-on.
#5 Glenn Graham (Link) on 2007-01-11 09:52 (Reply)
A more base and probably realistic backgrounder on the lack of GPS...cameras and movies and music sells. Nobody's paying for location.Couple that (what more do you need, actually) with the battery suck of a GPS and the low adoption rate, and the mandate just ain't there.Kudos to Apple for being honest with the state of technology.
#6 Archie Belaney on 2007-01-13 22:59 (Reply)
location based services
I watched Steve Job's introduction of the new Apple iPhone. It truly looks revolutionary, but I could not find within any of the tech specs about a location sensor: No GPS chip. Yes, you can view maps...there's an icon to link to Google Maps via a Wi-Fi connector; sure you can see imagery as well which is nicely displayed on the very wide screen interface. But unless you can load something like Skyhook's location finder device that uses Wi-Fi, accurate positioning seems to have been left off the list of important features. Am I wrong; has anyone seen differently. So, there is no inherent LBS function that automatically identifies your location then routes you from your position to wherever.
Posted by Joe Francica in LBS at 11:26 Comments (7)
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Joe - no, you’re not wrong - you got it right. Apple’s lack of a handset-resident location capability is not that surprising though given they have chosen the GSM route with Cingular. The GSM world hasn’t yet solved GPS on the chipsets on a large scale like the CDMA and IDEN world has, but the emerging Secure User Plane Standard that GSM will use will help with that over time.
#1 Jon Spinney (Link) on 2007-01-10 12:38 (Reply)
What about the FCC mandate? Does this mean a fine and/or action by the Feds because they built a non-compliant device?
#2 Archie Belaney on 2007-01-10 13:20 (Reply)
Wait a minute...maybe Apple's finally noticed something.The truly vast proportion of people who own phones and personal digital devices know pretty much right where they are. Contrary to the experience of globe-trotting, plane-hopping new-age marketeers and sales people, Most people don't travel all that much outside their home towm or local area. So a GPS to "find yourself" on a map is irrelevant. Because as Josie Average, you know where you are. If you don't, it's because you're on the other side of town and looking for a new store, restaurant, or whatever. If that's the case, you look at a map. Which is what Apple's betting on here...the user interface is simple, Google is simple, and the idea of "placing yourself in context on the map" is pretty simple, too. Most folks can read a street sign, or in a general way figure out where they are on a Google-toon. So has Apple made the simplest location-enabled device yet...an actual MAP-CENTRIC device? Hmmmmm.I wonder if the utility of GPS is rendered irrelevant by the simple idea of someone navigating by looking at a map or an aerial photo? Imaging that, looking at a map to figure out where you are. You know, that just might work.Still doesn't solve the whole e-911 thing, but maybe that's for a future edition.
#3 Archie Belaney on 2007-01-10 13:38 (Reply)
During the address at MacWorld, Jobs said about the iPhone, "The way to bring the real internet to your phone". "Now, I want to show you something truly remarkable: Google Maps on iPod." The audience "oogled". I can't be impressed unless the phone provides location determination automatically. Despite the outstanding user interface of the phone, I'll still need to type in my existing address first before any routing can occur. If it was truly map-centric, it would place the phone owner at the center of the map first upon turning on the phone. Jobs made reference to the phone's 3 sensors...one that turned off the screen as the user placed the phone up to your ear to conserve batteries...that in itself was very cool. I was waiting for him to talk about the "location sensor". I guess I'll have to live with disappointment. Maybe version 2.
#3.1 Joe Francica (Link) on 2007-01-10 15:19 (Reply)
For GPS enabled phones checkout Nokia's N95. Comes with a 5MP camera to boot. Not sure about a Symbian OS though.
#4 Shane Ring on 2007-01-10 14:59 (Reply)
I agree many people would not need GPS, but admit for business it is great aid. Since many of us work for companies that use GPS to improve productivity, I would have at least figured this would be a add-on.
#5 Glenn Graham (Link) on 2007-01-11 09:52 (Reply)
A more base and probably realistic backgrounder on the lack of GPS...cameras and movies and music sells. Nobody's paying for location.Couple that (what more do you need, actually) with the battery suck of a GPS and the low adoption rate, and the mandate just ain't there.Kudos to Apple for being honest with the state of technology.
#6 Archie Belaney on 2007-01-13 22:59 (Reply)
Survey finds demand for 3G mapping services
location based services
3G.co.uk reports that after years of eagerly anticipating video would be the "killer application" for 3G, a new survey from In-Stat finds that existing and potential 3G customers are much more interested in high-quality mapping and navigation services. However, 3G carriers that want to capture that market will have to expand the availability of compatible handsets.
"Expanding the number of Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) or Assisted-GPS (A-GPS) handsets from today's levels will be an important step for 3G carriers to provide the applications their customers really want," says David Chamberlain, In-Stat analyst. "Unfortunately, technology choices left over from the 1990s make this difficult but carriers and handset vendors are starting to provide an increasing flow of products that better meet the 3G customers' needs."
In addition, the In-Stat report "3G and Mobile Multimedia," based on a survey of over 1000 mobile users, found the following:
Current 3G users are very enthusiastic about the service, which is in marked contrast with other customers who have expressed dissatisfaction with premium applications.
Customer awareness of 3G is not particularly strong, with over half the respondents indicating they don't know whether their carrier offers 3G.
An unprecedented number of respondents - nearly half - indicated that they would consider changing carriers in order to get 3G.
The research, "3G and Mobile Multimedia", covers carrier initiatives and marketing of 3G services in North America, Europe and Asia, and includes the results of In-Stat's survey of North American mobile phone users. The report explores the survey's results to gauge users' awareness of 3G, particularly their own carrier's 3G plans; uptake of 3G services, both to the handset and using a 3G wireless modem with a laptop computer; and interest in a variety of applications that have been considered important to 3G's future.
www.amta.org.au
Back to top
location based services
3G.co.uk reports that after years of eagerly anticipating video would be the "killer application" for 3G, a new survey from In-Stat finds that existing and potential 3G customers are much more interested in high-quality mapping and navigation services. However, 3G carriers that want to capture that market will have to expand the availability of compatible handsets.
"Expanding the number of Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) or Assisted-GPS (A-GPS) handsets from today's levels will be an important step for 3G carriers to provide the applications their customers really want," says David Chamberlain, In-Stat analyst. "Unfortunately, technology choices left over from the 1990s make this difficult but carriers and handset vendors are starting to provide an increasing flow of products that better meet the 3G customers' needs."
In addition, the In-Stat report "3G and Mobile Multimedia," based on a survey of over 1000 mobile users, found the following:
Current 3G users are very enthusiastic about the service, which is in marked contrast with other customers who have expressed dissatisfaction with premium applications.
Customer awareness of 3G is not particularly strong, with over half the respondents indicating they don't know whether their carrier offers 3G.
An unprecedented number of respondents - nearly half - indicated that they would consider changing carriers in order to get 3G.
The research, "3G and Mobile Multimedia", covers carrier initiatives and marketing of 3G services in North America, Europe and Asia, and includes the results of In-Stat's survey of North American mobile phone users. The report explores the survey's results to gauge users' awareness of 3G, particularly their own carrier's 3G plans; uptake of 3G services, both to the handset and using a 3G wireless modem with a laptop computer; and interest in a variety of applications that have been considered important to 3G's future.
www.amta.org.au
Back to top
The Blackberry 8703e
location based services
The BlackBerry 8703e provides complete BlackBerry functionality at broadband-like speeds (average download speeds of 400-700kpbs and up to 2Mbps peak speeds(2)) to deliver a dynamic, highly responsive experience when downloading attachments and graphics, browsing the Web and running wireless applications It can also be used as a tethered modem in conjunction with a laptop for high-speed Internet and data application access anywhere Sprint has Power Vision Network coverage.The BlackBerry 8703e includes integrated GPS (assisted-GPS) enabled through Sprint to deliver support for popular location-based services to mobile users, such as turn-by-turn driving directions to any address, anywhere on the Nationwide Sprint PCS Network.With additional key features like email, phone, browser, organizer, Bluetooth® wireless technology, speakerphone, high-resolution color display and full QWERTY keyboard the BlackBerry 8703e is designed to provide customers with a rich phone and messaging experience in an all-in-one, stylish device.
Key features include:Sprint Mobile Broadband enabled on the Sprint Power Vision Network, the nation’s largest mobile broadband networkFast Web browsing, application performance and attachment viewingGPS-enabled to support location-based servicesBlackBerry “push” technologyPhone-as-modem capabilityBluetooth® wireless technology headset and car kit supportHigh-resolution color LCD screen, automatically adjusts lighting for indoor and outdoor viewingComplete, high-end phone features including speakerphone, dedicated “send,” “end” and “mute” keys, plus user-definable “convenience” keysBluetooth® 2.0 to support wireless headsets and car kits64MB of flash memory to store and run powerful enterprise, personal productivity and game applicationsIntegrated attachment viewing for popular file formats."
location based services
The BlackBerry 8703e provides complete BlackBerry functionality at broadband-like speeds (average download speeds of 400-700kpbs and up to 2Mbps peak speeds(2)) to deliver a dynamic, highly responsive experience when downloading attachments and graphics, browsing the Web and running wireless applications It can also be used as a tethered modem in conjunction with a laptop for high-speed Internet and data application access anywhere Sprint has Power Vision Network coverage.The BlackBerry 8703e includes integrated GPS (assisted-GPS) enabled through Sprint to deliver support for popular location-based services to mobile users, such as turn-by-turn driving directions to any address, anywhere on the Nationwide Sprint PCS Network.With additional key features like email, phone, browser, organizer, Bluetooth® wireless technology, speakerphone, high-resolution color display and full QWERTY keyboard the BlackBerry 8703e is designed to provide customers with a rich phone and messaging experience in an all-in-one, stylish device.
Key features include:Sprint Mobile Broadband enabled on the Sprint Power Vision Network, the nation’s largest mobile broadband networkFast Web browsing, application performance and attachment viewingGPS-enabled to support location-based servicesBlackBerry “push” technologyPhone-as-modem capabilityBluetooth® wireless technology headset and car kit supportHigh-resolution color LCD screen, automatically adjusts lighting for indoor and outdoor viewingComplete, high-end phone features including speakerphone, dedicated “send,” “end” and “mute” keys, plus user-definable “convenience” keysBluetooth® 2.0 to support wireless headsets and car kits64MB of flash memory to store and run powerful enterprise, personal productivity and game applicationsIntegrated attachment viewing for popular file formats."
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Use satellite navigation and you'll miss the chance of finding your inner self
location based services
Alexandra Frean
Map reading skill at risk of being lost
Geography 'more than just location'
It may have seemed like an ideal Christmas gift for the sort of driver who does not normally like to ask for directions. But the proud new owners of in-car satellite navigation systems may like to think again.
The devices use satellite technology and map data to direct drivers along the quickest route to their destination.
Supposedly.
But while they are considered a defining marvel of the technological age, the gadgets are destroying our ability to read maps and undermining our very sense of self, according to one of the nation’s leading geographers.
Rita Gardner, president of the Royal Geographical Society, said: “I firmly believe that sat-navs are depriving us of our ability to read maps. This is a terrible thing because maps are more than pieces of paper that tell us how to get from A to B. They have so much extra that can benefit us.”
In a world where people are all trying to find their inner selves and to make sense of our place in the world around them, maps are essential, she adds. “Show me another sheet of paper that has as much information on it as a map. If you are looking at a road map of Great Britain, apart from looking at roads, you will get a feel for the built and the natural environment you are moving through and that will tell you something about the economy and the history.”
An ability to place oneself in a spatial setting in this way is important, Dr Gardner added, because it provides an insight into the societal, environmental and economic changes that govern all our lives. It also sharpens our hunter instincts and sense of discovery.
“Look, for example, at a map of rural East Anglia,” she said, “and you will see the route from Cambridge to the coast with the A14 running through it. You’ll see that Bury St Edmunds has grown dramatically in the last 15 years because there is lots of new development and new light industry. This tells you that it is on the route between the Midlands and the coast at Harwich and it has benefited from increased traffic to the Continent.
“You might also see that it’s a nice place to live because of the low population density. You would get none of that information from a sat-nav,” she said.
While emphasising the importance of being able to read a map, Dr Gardner is less concerned about teaching children to memorise maps of continents, rivers and capital cities. A recent survey by National Geographic Kids magazine, which found that 20 per cent of children in Britain cannot find their own country on a world map, had missed the whole point of geography, she said.
“It is much more important that kids know about about vegetation zones, major continents and different climate zones than that they know the name of a particular country, providing they know how to look it up on a map.
“What’s important is that when they fly on holiday from Manchester to Málaga, they have an understanding that they are moving into a different geographical zone and they know why the Mediterranean landscape and vegetation is different from what they see at home,” she said.
To ensure that children get a proper grounding in these principles of geography, Dr Gardner believes that they need to do more field work. She advocates a minimum of two weeks a year, including a field trip away, for each child at secondary school, in place of the one day a year that many get.
To allay the fears of parents and teachers about the risks involved in field trips to coastal plains or glacial valleys, she believes that pupils themselves should be involved with their schools in drawing up risk assessments for trips. “It will help them to understand the concept of risk and to devise strategies for coping with it. It will give them a real life skill and show that we all, children included, have a responsibility for managing risk,” she said.
location based services
Alexandra Frean
Map reading skill at risk of being lost
Geography 'more than just location'
It may have seemed like an ideal Christmas gift for the sort of driver who does not normally like to ask for directions. But the proud new owners of in-car satellite navigation systems may like to think again.
The devices use satellite technology and map data to direct drivers along the quickest route to their destination.
Supposedly.
But while they are considered a defining marvel of the technological age, the gadgets are destroying our ability to read maps and undermining our very sense of self, according to one of the nation’s leading geographers.
Rita Gardner, president of the Royal Geographical Society, said: “I firmly believe that sat-navs are depriving us of our ability to read maps. This is a terrible thing because maps are more than pieces of paper that tell us how to get from A to B. They have so much extra that can benefit us.”
In a world where people are all trying to find their inner selves and to make sense of our place in the world around them, maps are essential, she adds. “Show me another sheet of paper that has as much information on it as a map. If you are looking at a road map of Great Britain, apart from looking at roads, you will get a feel for the built and the natural environment you are moving through and that will tell you something about the economy and the history.”
An ability to place oneself in a spatial setting in this way is important, Dr Gardner added, because it provides an insight into the societal, environmental and economic changes that govern all our lives. It also sharpens our hunter instincts and sense of discovery.
“Look, for example, at a map of rural East Anglia,” she said, “and you will see the route from Cambridge to the coast with the A14 running through it. You’ll see that Bury St Edmunds has grown dramatically in the last 15 years because there is lots of new development and new light industry. This tells you that it is on the route between the Midlands and the coast at Harwich and it has benefited from increased traffic to the Continent.
“You might also see that it’s a nice place to live because of the low population density. You would get none of that information from a sat-nav,” she said.
While emphasising the importance of being able to read a map, Dr Gardner is less concerned about teaching children to memorise maps of continents, rivers and capital cities. A recent survey by National Geographic Kids magazine, which found that 20 per cent of children in Britain cannot find their own country on a world map, had missed the whole point of geography, she said.
“It is much more important that kids know about about vegetation zones, major continents and different climate zones than that they know the name of a particular country, providing they know how to look it up on a map.
“What’s important is that when they fly on holiday from Manchester to Málaga, they have an understanding that they are moving into a different geographical zone and they know why the Mediterranean landscape and vegetation is different from what they see at home,” she said.
To ensure that children get a proper grounding in these principles of geography, Dr Gardner believes that they need to do more field work. She advocates a minimum of two weeks a year, including a field trip away, for each child at secondary school, in place of the one day a year that many get.
To allay the fears of parents and teachers about the risks involved in field trips to coastal plains or glacial valleys, she believes that pupils themselves should be involved with their schools in drawing up risk assessments for trips. “It will help them to understand the concept of risk and to devise strategies for coping with it. It will give them a real life skill and show that we all, children included, have a responsibility for managing risk,” she said.
I Love My GPS: Hold The Unsolicited Ads
by Adrienne W. Fawcett, Tuesday, Jan 23, 2007 5:00 AM ET
NO NEED TO STOP FOR directions at the next gas station--or the one after that. Handheld navigators are headed for Main Street. And while their owners like the new technology, the majority don't want to see it turned into an unsolicited advertising vehicle.
Nearly 30% of American households either have a Global Positioning System device or plan to buy one this year, according to an exclusive Marketing Daily survey prepared by Synovate.
Similar to other new technologies, early adopters tend to be higher-income. One out of five, or nearly 20% of respondents with incomes of $75,000 or more, said they have a GPS device. About 10% of people earning $25,000 to $75,000 own a GPS, and 3% of people earning under $25,000 have one.
"We will see the GPS move more into the mainstream as prices continue to drop and consumers become more aware of its benefits," says Steve Levine, senior vice president for technology, telecom and consumer electronics at Synovate, which conducted the online survey of 1,000 U.S. adults over age 18. It's balanced to be representative of the general population.
Dollar sales reflect the growing GPS trend. U.S. sales grew to $338 million in the first nine months of 2006--up from $148 million in the same period a year earlier, reports NPD Group. The sales increase is attributed in part to new products, heavier marketing, and a drop in the average GPS price to under $800 from about $1,000.
There are so many new GPS products introduced each year, a person can get lost just thinking about them.
Market leader Garmin alone introduces 70 new GPS products annually, said spokesman Ted Gartner. The company, which sells the popular Nuvi brand, accounts for 47% of U.S. sales; No. 2 Magellan more than doubled its share to 19% between October and November 2006, and TomTom is No. 3 with an 11% share, according to NPD.
Competition is certain to intensify as more companies enter the field, including Sony, Nokia, Phillips, Rand-McNally and Michelin, along with GPS services provided by cell phone marketers and other suppliers.
Newcomer Dash Navigation claims to be the first to link the Internet to a GPS device. Its Dash Express navigator constantly updates road conditions and traffic patterns, and will offer alternative routes if things look grim. It also lets users conduct narrow, neighborhood searches. For example, if a user types "fajitas" into the search field, Dash Express will provide a list of nearby restaurants that serve the item, even if "fajitas" isn't in the name.
The Marketing Daily/Synovate survey found that nearly half of GPS owners consider safety to be the product's most important attribute. Other interesting nuggets:
Nearly 40% of owners said they get less frustrated because of their GPS
39% have tossed aside navigational aids such as MapQuest and Yahoo Maps
32% said they use printed maps, AAA and compasses less often
27% said they no longer have to ask for directions
15% of owners said their GPS has changed their life.
GPS owners are somewhat receptive to receiving marketing information on their GPS systems--but only if they ask for it.
Among respondents who own a GPS system, 44% said they are interested in having the device guide them to area restaurants and attractions. But 75% said they "would hate it" if their navigator started receiving unsolicited advertising.
"The GPS is an emerging form of advertising, like wireless and video games. But the companies have to carefully balance revenue potential with infringing on core functionality," said Ross Rubin, an NPD analyst.
location based services
by Adrienne W. Fawcett, Tuesday, Jan 23, 2007 5:00 AM ET
NO NEED TO STOP FOR directions at the next gas station--or the one after that. Handheld navigators are headed for Main Street. And while their owners like the new technology, the majority don't want to see it turned into an unsolicited advertising vehicle.
Nearly 30% of American households either have a Global Positioning System device or plan to buy one this year, according to an exclusive Marketing Daily survey prepared by Synovate.
Similar to other new technologies, early adopters tend to be higher-income. One out of five, or nearly 20% of respondents with incomes of $75,000 or more, said they have a GPS device. About 10% of people earning $25,000 to $75,000 own a GPS, and 3% of people earning under $25,000 have one.
"We will see the GPS move more into the mainstream as prices continue to drop and consumers become more aware of its benefits," says Steve Levine, senior vice president for technology, telecom and consumer electronics at Synovate, which conducted the online survey of 1,000 U.S. adults over age 18. It's balanced to be representative of the general population.
Dollar sales reflect the growing GPS trend. U.S. sales grew to $338 million in the first nine months of 2006--up from $148 million in the same period a year earlier, reports NPD Group. The sales increase is attributed in part to new products, heavier marketing, and a drop in the average GPS price to under $800 from about $1,000.
There are so many new GPS products introduced each year, a person can get lost just thinking about them.
Market leader Garmin alone introduces 70 new GPS products annually, said spokesman Ted Gartner. The company, which sells the popular Nuvi brand, accounts for 47% of U.S. sales; No. 2 Magellan more than doubled its share to 19% between October and November 2006, and TomTom is No. 3 with an 11% share, according to NPD.
Competition is certain to intensify as more companies enter the field, including Sony, Nokia, Phillips, Rand-McNally and Michelin, along with GPS services provided by cell phone marketers and other suppliers.
Newcomer Dash Navigation claims to be the first to link the Internet to a GPS device. Its Dash Express navigator constantly updates road conditions and traffic patterns, and will offer alternative routes if things look grim. It also lets users conduct narrow, neighborhood searches. For example, if a user types "fajitas" into the search field, Dash Express will provide a list of nearby restaurants that serve the item, even if "fajitas" isn't in the name.
The Marketing Daily/Synovate survey found that nearly half of GPS owners consider safety to be the product's most important attribute. Other interesting nuggets:
Nearly 40% of owners said they get less frustrated because of their GPS
39% have tossed aside navigational aids such as MapQuest and Yahoo Maps
32% said they use printed maps, AAA and compasses less often
27% said they no longer have to ask for directions
15% of owners said their GPS has changed their life.
GPS owners are somewhat receptive to receiving marketing information on their GPS systems--but only if they ask for it.
Among respondents who own a GPS system, 44% said they are interested in having the device guide them to area restaurants and attractions. But 75% said they "would hate it" if their navigator started receiving unsolicited advertising.
"The GPS is an emerging form of advertising, like wireless and video games. But the companies have to carefully balance revenue potential with infringing on core functionality," said Ross Rubin, an NPD analyst.
Transystem Incorporates GPS Technology into i-Blue
location based services
NemeriX, a leading fabless semiconductor company specialising in ultra low power semiconductors and solutions for GPS and location-based services, today announced that TransystemInc., has incorporated NemeriX's GPS chipsets into its i-Blue Wireless GPS Receiver.
Manno, Switzerland, January 23, 2007 (XTVWorld.Com) -- The i-Blue Model 727 is a cost-effective, portable GPS receiver that sits on the dashboard of automobiles, and connects to laptops or PDAs via Bluetooth technology to provide comprehensive LBS services. Its performance is enhanced by NemeriX's 42 channel architecture, which delivers world-class GPS time-to-first-fix times in cold start mode. Powered by NemeriX technology, the Transystem i-Blue GPS receiver consumes 40 per cent less power than other wireless GPS receivers, and extends its operating time for more than 27 hours. The i-Blue 727 model features the NemeriX NJ2020 hosted GPS baseband processor, which combines unmatched power, performance and accuracy, with one of the industry's smallest form factors, which utilises the memory and processor resources already available on the host platform of the wireless i-Blue receiver. As a result, the i-Blue GPS receiver is one of the highest performing, consumer-graded GPS receivers in the market today. "NemeriX is enabling a new class of Bluetooth-based GPS applications and the i-Blue GPS receivers combine amazing performance with efficiency that enables them to run for days, as opposed to hours," said Lew Boore, Vice President of Marketing for NemeriX. "NemeriX has built its reputation by providing the GPS industry's smallest and most efficient chipsets, and we're thrilled to continue our previous work with Transystem by powering their i-Blue offerings." "We've selected the NemeriX baseband processors for a number of reasons, including performance; minimal power requirements; the ease with which they can be integrated into the i-Blue family, and ultimately, because of the overall value they provide," said Casber Hsiao, Director of Sales & Marketing for Transystem, Inc. "By leveraging NemeriX's innovative technology, we're able to deliver the industry's best-performing GPS receivers to our customers."About NemeriX: Founded in April 2002, NemeriX S.A. (Manno, Switzerland) is a venture-backed fabless semiconductor company specializing in ultra low power GPS and LBS integrated circuits, software and firmware for GPS and wireless applications. NemeriX's devices enable battery powered location determination anywhere, anytime, facilitating the design and manufacture of truly differentiated products for both consumer and professional markets. For more information about NemeriX, please visit www.nemerix.com.Contact:Nicky Davis (Europe)EvokedSet PR for NemeriXPhone: +44 (0)7747 017654
location based services
NemeriX, a leading fabless semiconductor company specialising in ultra low power semiconductors and solutions for GPS and location-based services, today announced that TransystemInc., has incorporated NemeriX's GPS chipsets into its i-Blue Wireless GPS Receiver.
Manno, Switzerland, January 23, 2007 (XTVWorld.Com) -- The i-Blue Model 727 is a cost-effective, portable GPS receiver that sits on the dashboard of automobiles, and connects to laptops or PDAs via Bluetooth technology to provide comprehensive LBS services. Its performance is enhanced by NemeriX's 42 channel architecture, which delivers world-class GPS time-to-first-fix times in cold start mode. Powered by NemeriX technology, the Transystem i-Blue GPS receiver consumes 40 per cent less power than other wireless GPS receivers, and extends its operating time for more than 27 hours. The i-Blue 727 model features the NemeriX NJ2020 hosted GPS baseband processor, which combines unmatched power, performance and accuracy, with one of the industry's smallest form factors, which utilises the memory and processor resources already available on the host platform of the wireless i-Blue receiver. As a result, the i-Blue GPS receiver is one of the highest performing, consumer-graded GPS receivers in the market today. "NemeriX is enabling a new class of Bluetooth-based GPS applications and the i-Blue GPS receivers combine amazing performance with efficiency that enables them to run for days, as opposed to hours," said Lew Boore, Vice President of Marketing for NemeriX. "NemeriX has built its reputation by providing the GPS industry's smallest and most efficient chipsets, and we're thrilled to continue our previous work with Transystem by powering their i-Blue offerings." "We've selected the NemeriX baseband processors for a number of reasons, including performance; minimal power requirements; the ease with which they can be integrated into the i-Blue family, and ultimately, because of the overall value they provide," said Casber Hsiao, Director of Sales & Marketing for Transystem, Inc. "By leveraging NemeriX's innovative technology, we're able to deliver the industry's best-performing GPS receivers to our customers."About NemeriX: Founded in April 2002, NemeriX S.A. (Manno, Switzerland) is a venture-backed fabless semiconductor company specializing in ultra low power GPS and LBS integrated circuits, software and firmware for GPS and wireless applications. NemeriX's devices enable battery powered location determination anywhere, anytime, facilitating the design and manufacture of truly differentiated products for both consumer and professional markets. For more information about NemeriX, please visit www.nemerix.com.Contact:Nicky Davis (Europe)EvokedSet PR for NemeriXPhone: +44 (0)7747 017654
GpsGate.com launches tracking service
location based services
Franson Technology has launched GpsGate.com, a GPS mapping portal designed to enable people to share their locations from their Windows laptop or Windows Mobile-based Pocket PC device with friends they have personally approved to "spot" them online. GpsGate.com offers a way for a group of friends or colleagues to synchronise their positions allowing anyone that belongs to the same group to share their current location with the others in their group, which makes it easy to coordinate plans for group activities.By logging in to GpsGate.com, users will be able to see their friends moving in real-time on a map. To share their position with others in their group, they simply need to install GpsGate software on their Windows laptop or Windows Mobile Pocket PC. The software will enable them to share their GPS signal so that it can be received by fellow group members. GpsGate.com also offers a Google Earth plug-in so that friends' locations can be spotted on a satellite image rather than a map.The GpsGate software for Windows or Windows Mobile Pocket PC is US$29.95
location based services
Franson Technology has launched GpsGate.com, a GPS mapping portal designed to enable people to share their locations from their Windows laptop or Windows Mobile-based Pocket PC device with friends they have personally approved to "spot" them online. GpsGate.com offers a way for a group of friends or colleagues to synchronise their positions allowing anyone that belongs to the same group to share their current location with the others in their group, which makes it easy to coordinate plans for group activities.By logging in to GpsGate.com, users will be able to see their friends moving in real-time on a map. To share their position with others in their group, they simply need to install GpsGate software on their Windows laptop or Windows Mobile Pocket PC. The software will enable them to share their GPS signal so that it can be received by fellow group members. GpsGate.com also offers a Google Earth plug-in so that friends' locations can be spotted on a satellite image rather than a map.The GpsGate software for Windows or Windows Mobile Pocket PC is US$29.95
Location Based Services
Location Based Services, utilizing wireless communications and global positioning technologies, are poised for significant growth starting in 2007. Voice services have become commodities for carriers and wireless providers are beginning to pursue innovative uses of LBS to differentiate their products and create "stickiness" in their customer base. Businesses looking enhance their capture rate and improve their customer service are turning to mobile Location Based Services to meet these needs. (See our new, free, briefing described on the right for more information.) LBS is promising investment, but the highway to success has many challenges. Let us help you "find your way".Challenges
Carriers will act as "gatekeepers", hoping to create "walled gardens" that will allow them to create profitable LBS services and, unfortunately, this practice will increase the difficulty of success for non-carrier LBS providers.
Carriers are not well prepared to sell LBS and this may retard market development.
Developers of successful LBS applications, require access to comprehensive data sources, knowledge of positioning technology, mapping/routing technologies and advanced software techniques and strategies.
Delivering LBS may require development of a complicated support platform whose capabilities include the need to meet stringent Service Level Agreements set by telcos.
Business success in today's LBS market requires strong capabilities in strategic planning, market development and mastery of the industry's broad and ever changing technology base.
Success in the LBS marketplace requires innovative products, professional product design and integrated services that support the needs of the customers across the platforms they choose to use during location search.
TeleMapics has the background and the skills to help your company penetrate the attractive market for Location Based Services.
Monday, January 22, 2007
After 3G Mobile, is it HSDPA or WiMAX?
location based services
Europe UK : After the mixed fortunes of 3G mobile phones, the mobile phone industry is facing a tough choice on which technology to adopt for the next generation of internet-enabled handsets, according to a new short report from ReportBuyer.com. New developments for giving mobile phone users internet access and ‘data throughput’ are following two conflicting routes. The Wi-Fi concept, WiMAX, originally made for computers is super fast at 70 Mbps while HSPDA (high speed downlink packet access), based on cellular phone technology, only offers 3.6 Mbps at best. Mobiles using HSPDA reach the market next year. But the WiMAX method will require huge investment in network infrastructure to achieve its target speeds on a widespread basis.
The costs for both the new networks and phones could be prohibitive and yet the consumer’s appetite for multimode phones is uncertain, witness Hutchison’s 3G operator’s HK$ 34.6 billion loss in 2005. What is certain, says the report is that the consumer will expect the best service and not be concerned how the industry got there. It is anticipated that the largest revenue generators in the future will be voice, personalised access to ‘infotainment’, mobile access to the internet at high speed and MMS (multimedia messaging service). Business usage would also increase if phone emails were not restricted to text.
‘Beyond 3G Mobile’ by Marilyn Saliba, a telecom engineer, gives an overview of the different technologies and whether they might co-exist rather than compete, and considers the other influences on the mobile industry’s development such as the regulation by different countries of radio frequency allocation, and the future plans of the telecom industry.
‘Beyond 3G Mobile’ 20 pps, is part of a series of industry reports available as free downloads from new business information provider, ReportBuyer.com launching on 17 January, 2007.
http://www.reportbuyer.com/telecoms/mobile/beyond_3g_mobile.html
location based services
Europe UK : After the mixed fortunes of 3G mobile phones, the mobile phone industry is facing a tough choice on which technology to adopt for the next generation of internet-enabled handsets, according to a new short report from ReportBuyer.com. New developments for giving mobile phone users internet access and ‘data throughput’ are following two conflicting routes. The Wi-Fi concept, WiMAX, originally made for computers is super fast at 70 Mbps while HSPDA (high speed downlink packet access), based on cellular phone technology, only offers 3.6 Mbps at best. Mobiles using HSPDA reach the market next year. But the WiMAX method will require huge investment in network infrastructure to achieve its target speeds on a widespread basis.
The costs for both the new networks and phones could be prohibitive and yet the consumer’s appetite for multimode phones is uncertain, witness Hutchison’s 3G operator’s HK$ 34.6 billion loss in 2005. What is certain, says the report is that the consumer will expect the best service and not be concerned how the industry got there. It is anticipated that the largest revenue generators in the future will be voice, personalised access to ‘infotainment’, mobile access to the internet at high speed and MMS (multimedia messaging service). Business usage would also increase if phone emails were not restricted to text.
‘Beyond 3G Mobile’ by Marilyn Saliba, a telecom engineer, gives an overview of the different technologies and whether they might co-exist rather than compete, and considers the other influences on the mobile industry’s development such as the regulation by different countries of radio frequency allocation, and the future plans of the telecom industry.
‘Beyond 3G Mobile’ 20 pps, is part of a series of industry reports available as free downloads from new business information provider, ReportBuyer.com launching on 17 January, 2007.
http://www.reportbuyer.com/telecoms/mobile/beyond_3g_mobile.html
Personal Security and Identity Theft Expert Says Use of GPS Tracking on Mobile Devices Will Help
location based services
Boston, Massachusetts -- According to research, the chances that a laptop computer owner will lose her machine to theft are high, with low prospects for recovering the stolen machine. Amid the latest reports of major laptop thefts, Robert Siciliano, a widely televised and quoted personal security and identity theft expert, said the answer to the laptop security threat is clear: GPS tracking working in concert with encryption and other technologies.Siciliano, president of IDTheftSecurity.com, leads Fortune 500 companies and their clients in workshops that explore consumer education solutions for data security issues. The Privacy Learning Institute has featured Siciliano, a longtime speaker on identity theft. Author of "The Safety Minute: 01," Siciliano has discussed identity theft and data security on CNBC, on NBC's "Today Show," FOX News, and elsewhere."Any organization that fails to take the threat of laptop theft seriously is playing chicken with its stakeholders' data security," said Siciliano. "Smart companies leave sensitive data off laptop computers and track their machines with GPS."Research from Gartner Group has shown that the cost of laptop computer theft can exceed $6,000 for even just one machine. The Computer Science Institute/FBI Computer Crime & Security Survey has estimated the number to be much higher: $89,000 per machine, on average; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in fact, reported that losses due to laptop theft totaled more than $6.7 million dollars in 2005.On Jan. 8, Internet Business Law Services reported that laptop theft has become the second most frequent crime in Australia. Symantec has estimated that a laptop computer is stolen every 53 seconds, and that the prospects for victims are exceedingly poor: Just 3 percent of computers lost to theft, according to Symantec, are recovered.Numerous laptop thefts of potentially far-reaching implications in December and January continued to threaten Social Security numbers and other sensitive, personal information pertaining to hundreds of thousands of consumers:• In December, thieves stole five laptop computers the Manhattan offices of Towers Perrin, a pension consulting firm under contract with Altria Group, Inc., parent company of Philip Morris USA and Kraft Foods Inc. Personal information on 18,000 Altria employees resided on one of the stolen laptops.• On Jan. 11, the University of Idaho issued a press release to announce that they would be sending notices to 331,800 individuals possibly affected by the recent theft of three laptop computers from the institution. The machines had been home to the names, addresses, and Social Security numbers of approximately 70,000.Siciliano urged organizations wondering how to prevent laptop theft to consider using solutions from MyLaptopGPS. Recently mentioned at Law.com and, last year, on consumeraffairs.com, MyLaptopGPS combines Internet-based GPS tracking, which is more affordable and user-friendly than other types of GPS tracking, with encryption and other technologies to put laptop owners' minds at ease when theft occurs.MyLaptopGPS™'s software of the same name also encrypts and silently removes and retrieves files from machines as it tracks the hardware—at once returning the data to its rightful owner and deleting it on the stolen computer. Users can use all MyLaptopGPS's functions remotely."Laptop theft leaves the victim feeling helpless," said Dan Yost, chief technology officer at MyLaptopGPS. "We're interested in changing that. With Internet-based GPS tracking and the ability to retrieve and delete lost information before the thief can do bad things with it, MyLaptopGPS reduces the impact of laptop theft to virtually nil."About IDTheftSecurity.comIdentity theft affects us all, which is why Robert Siciliano, president of IDTheftSecurity.com, makes it his mission to provide consumer education solutions on identity theft to Fortune 500 companies and their clients. A leader of personal safety and security seminars nationwide, Siciliano has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, "The Suze Orman Show," "ABC News with Sam Donaldson," "The Montel Williams Show," "Maury Povich," "Sally Jesse Raphael," and "The Howard Stern Show." Visit Siciliano's Web site, www.IDTheftSecurity.com, or his blog, www.IDTheftSecurity.blogspot.com.About MyLaptopGPS Since 1984, the minds behind AIT Solutions, LLC (DBA MyLaptopGPS.com) have specialized in complete system integration. From real-time electronic payment processing software to renowned mid-market ERP implementations, the executive team at MyLaptopGPS has been servicing leading enterprises and implementing world-class data systems. With MyLaptopGPS™, AIT Solutions, LLC brings a level of expertise, dedication, knowledge and service that is unmatched. MyLaptopGPS™'s rock-solid performance, security, and reliability flow directly from the company's commitment to top-notch software products and services.
location based services
Boston, Massachusetts -- According to research, the chances that a laptop computer owner will lose her machine to theft are high, with low prospects for recovering the stolen machine. Amid the latest reports of major laptop thefts, Robert Siciliano, a widely televised and quoted personal security and identity theft expert, said the answer to the laptop security threat is clear: GPS tracking working in concert with encryption and other technologies.Siciliano, president of IDTheftSecurity.com, leads Fortune 500 companies and their clients in workshops that explore consumer education solutions for data security issues. The Privacy Learning Institute has featured Siciliano, a longtime speaker on identity theft. Author of "The Safety Minute: 01," Siciliano has discussed identity theft and data security on CNBC, on NBC's "Today Show," FOX News, and elsewhere."Any organization that fails to take the threat of laptop theft seriously is playing chicken with its stakeholders' data security," said Siciliano. "Smart companies leave sensitive data off laptop computers and track their machines with GPS."Research from Gartner Group has shown that the cost of laptop computer theft can exceed $6,000 for even just one machine. The Computer Science Institute/FBI Computer Crime & Security Survey has estimated the number to be much higher: $89,000 per machine, on average; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in fact, reported that losses due to laptop theft totaled more than $6.7 million dollars in 2005.On Jan. 8, Internet Business Law Services reported that laptop theft has become the second most frequent crime in Australia. Symantec has estimated that a laptop computer is stolen every 53 seconds, and that the prospects for victims are exceedingly poor: Just 3 percent of computers lost to theft, according to Symantec, are recovered.Numerous laptop thefts of potentially far-reaching implications in December and January continued to threaten Social Security numbers and other sensitive, personal information pertaining to hundreds of thousands of consumers:• In December, thieves stole five laptop computers the Manhattan offices of Towers Perrin, a pension consulting firm under contract with Altria Group, Inc., parent company of Philip Morris USA and Kraft Foods Inc. Personal information on 18,000 Altria employees resided on one of the stolen laptops.• On Jan. 11, the University of Idaho issued a press release to announce that they would be sending notices to 331,800 individuals possibly affected by the recent theft of three laptop computers from the institution. The machines had been home to the names, addresses, and Social Security numbers of approximately 70,000.Siciliano urged organizations wondering how to prevent laptop theft to consider using solutions from MyLaptopGPS. Recently mentioned at Law.com and, last year, on consumeraffairs.com, MyLaptopGPS combines Internet-based GPS tracking, which is more affordable and user-friendly than other types of GPS tracking, with encryption and other technologies to put laptop owners' minds at ease when theft occurs.MyLaptopGPS™'s software of the same name also encrypts and silently removes and retrieves files from machines as it tracks the hardware—at once returning the data to its rightful owner and deleting it on the stolen computer. Users can use all MyLaptopGPS's functions remotely."Laptop theft leaves the victim feeling helpless," said Dan Yost, chief technology officer at MyLaptopGPS. "We're interested in changing that. With Internet-based GPS tracking and the ability to retrieve and delete lost information before the thief can do bad things with it, MyLaptopGPS reduces the impact of laptop theft to virtually nil."About IDTheftSecurity.comIdentity theft affects us all, which is why Robert Siciliano, president of IDTheftSecurity.com, makes it his mission to provide consumer education solutions on identity theft to Fortune 500 companies and their clients. A leader of personal safety and security seminars nationwide, Siciliano has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, "The Suze Orman Show," "ABC News with Sam Donaldson," "The Montel Williams Show," "Maury Povich," "Sally Jesse Raphael," and "The Howard Stern Show." Visit Siciliano's Web site, www.IDTheftSecurity.com, or his blog, www.IDTheftSecurity.blogspot.com.About MyLaptopGPS Since 1984, the minds behind AIT Solutions, LLC (DBA MyLaptopGPS.com) have specialized in complete system integration. From real-time electronic payment processing software to renowned mid-market ERP implementations, the executive team at MyLaptopGPS has been servicing leading enterprises and implementing world-class data systems. With MyLaptopGPS™, AIT Solutions, LLC brings a level of expertise, dedication, knowledge and service that is unmatched. MyLaptopGPS™'s rock-solid performance, security, and reliability flow directly from the company's commitment to top-notch software products and services.
Want to be on Google Maps? Be in Sydney, Australia Jan. 26th!
location based services
Google is planning to take aerial photos of the city of Sydney, Australia on January 26th, 2007 and it has invited everyone to take part! They've set up a Google Maps powered plane-tracker website that will tell you what time the plane is expected for various times in the day by clicking within the fly-zone of the plane:Here is an excerpt from the site:"...Google Australia is celebrating Australia Day 2007 by photographing Sydney Harbour from the air, and we want to make sure as many of us as possible squeeze into the picture.So when you see the Google branded plane flying overhead this January 26th, hoist a sign, arrange your family into a fun formation or just get a bunch of friends together to wave. "Sites to read more:
location based services
Google is planning to take aerial photos of the city of Sydney, Australia on January 26th, 2007 and it has invited everyone to take part! They've set up a Google Maps powered plane-tracker website that will tell you what time the plane is expected for various times in the day by clicking within the fly-zone of the plane:Here is an excerpt from the site:"...Google Australia is celebrating Australia Day 2007 by photographing Sydney Harbour from the air, and we want to make sure as many of us as possible squeeze into the picture.So when you see the Google branded plane flying overhead this January 26th, hoist a sign, arrange your family into a fun formation or just get a bunch of friends together to wave. "Sites to read more:
Stolen tracking devices lead police to thieves
Thieves who stole global positioning systems (GPS) from a warehouse in the state of New York have been apprehended after authorities activated the tracking devices to locate them.
Fourteen GPS were stolen last week from a warehouse in Babylon, New York, which the town had planned to use to track its municipal fleet of vehicles.
Police and municipal staff say they remotely activated the devices and were led to the home of one of the culprits who was found fiddling with one of them.
"The GPS device is quite beneficial when we are looking for something, within 48 hours we had the individuals under arrest for this [crime]," Inspector Robert Casagne of the Suffolk County detachment said.
He says the thieves believed they had snagged cell phones and planned to sell them.
Three people face charges.
location based services
Thieves who stole global positioning systems (GPS) from a warehouse in the state of New York have been apprehended after authorities activated the tracking devices to locate them.
Fourteen GPS were stolen last week from a warehouse in Babylon, New York, which the town had planned to use to track its municipal fleet of vehicles.
Police and municipal staff say they remotely activated the devices and were led to the home of one of the culprits who was found fiddling with one of them.
"The GPS device is quite beneficial when we are looking for something, within 48 hours we had the individuals under arrest for this [crime]," Inspector Robert Casagne of the Suffolk County detachment said.
He says the thieves believed they had snagged cell phones and planned to sell them.
Three people face charges.
GEO 2.0 - Update
location based services
Map mash-ups are among the most visible & comprehensible phenomena in Web 2.0. There must be hundreds more than the accidental selection in the list below. There are only a few samples of web sites striving to go beyond the mere fun of it. I expect much more business cases to evolve around it once the telcos start offering standardized location based services.Remarkable volume of geo activities in Holland, since recently. Is that the same anywhere else on the planet?You'll find more samples of geo-based concepts in some of the other categories, and some more lists in ABOUT 2.0.Alkemis - Map mash-upBittercyclist - Bicycle accident map & community; map mash-upBliin~ - Share your experience in photos, videos, text etcBlipstar - Create your own store locatorBluepuddle - Create & enrich mapsBuddymapping - Assemble your friends on a map & publish itChicagocrime - Crime dbase map mash-upDIYmap - Create maps in FlashEurotopmodel~ - Rate photo models (map mash-up)Excio - Geotag your blog & share itFeedmap - Map your blogsFileindex~ - Real time traffic jam map mash-upFlagr - Bookmark the real worldFlashearth - Global maps mash-up in flashFlickrmap - Map Flickr photosFlyr - Search Flickr for geotagged photosFunda~ - Real estate locations mash-up (nice maps, nice zoom!)Gchart - Check local time globallyGeotagit - Upload & share geotagged collectionsGeotool - Map yourselfGeotracing.com~ - Share the geo-located photos you've made during a trip & your (animated!) route (and more…!)Geovector*** - LBS services with a usable interface.Globeassistant~ - Get your content mashed up with Google EarthGoogleearth* - Global mapsGooglemaps - Check local things globallyGooglemars - Own a red planetGutenkarte - Maps spatial components of classic literatureGvisit - Map your site visitorsHotelworldmap~ - Find a hotel (map mash-up)Housingmaps - Find housing (map mash-up)Jauntlet - Track & trace yourselfLocallive - Windows mapsLocalpoint~ - Google mash-up with several (Dutch) dbasesLowlandsguide~** - Explore the lay of the Lowland Festival with this mobile appMailinator - Disposable email + spam mash-upMap24 - Route finder; 3DMapbuilder - Mash-up your own mapsMapkit - Create & share your own mapMaplib - Turn every photo or illustration into an interactive mapMappr - Map Flickr photos per tagMapwii - Map your wii number & challenge other playersMashplanet - Find & submit mash-ups per categoryN2yo* - Realtime satellite trackingNeighboroo - Explore USA trends on mapNomos~ - Live reporting on sound levels around Amsterdam AirportOnonemap - Find housing (map mash-up) (UK)Openstreetmap - View, edit & use geographical dataPackagemapper - Track your package on a mapPanoramio - Store your geo-tagged photos on Google mapsPartyvibes~ - Publish & share parties in HollandPervwatch - Perv mash-upPheromonetrail - Share places & sites & personsPlaceopedia - Wiki + Google maps mash-upPlacestodo - Post & share places & thingsPlaniglobe - Create your own mapPlatial - Co-create atlas & share placesPlazesbadge* - Show where you are (e.g. on your blog)Powermap - Next level Google mapsPropsmart - Find housing (map mash-up)Publicloos - Share public toiletsRedfin - Find housing (map mash-up)Routecraft~ - Route planner; add your text to locations & share it; also for mobileSkibonk - Ski resorts (map mash-up)Sundaydash - Find housing (map mash-up)Tagzania - Share & map placesToeat - Map & share restaurantsTopspot-ornot - Spot & review locations (map mash-up)Treadr - Track & follow people onlineTreinvizier~ - Actual whereabouts of Dutch trainsTripmojo - Map & share hotelsVirtualcity - Navigate map with help of photos (Toronto)Virtualvideomap - Google Maps & Youtube mash-upVivirama - Put your home on this free international mapVlogmap - Map your vlogWayfaring - Create & share your mapsWeatherbonk - Mashes up 10 API'sWeb20map - Web 2.0 companies on map mash-upWereldkenner~ - Wikipedia & Google Earth mash-upX-moment*~ - Publish an event at a locationYahoomaps* - Global & local maps & search mash-upsYourgmap - Map & publish your placesZeemaps - Create & share maps of/with friends & familyMapsack - Map, discover & share placesItalic = new. Update 061224, 070119.
Labels: geo, geo location, gps, LBS, web 2.0, web-20, web20
location based services
Map mash-ups are among the most visible & comprehensible phenomena in Web 2.0. There must be hundreds more than the accidental selection in the list below. There are only a few samples of web sites striving to go beyond the mere fun of it. I expect much more business cases to evolve around it once the telcos start offering standardized location based services.Remarkable volume of geo activities in Holland, since recently. Is that the same anywhere else on the planet?You'll find more samples of geo-based concepts in some of the other categories, and some more lists in ABOUT 2.0.Alkemis - Map mash-upBittercyclist - Bicycle accident map & community; map mash-upBliin~ - Share your experience in photos, videos, text etcBlipstar - Create your own store locatorBluepuddle - Create & enrich mapsBuddymapping - Assemble your friends on a map & publish itChicagocrime - Crime dbase map mash-upDIYmap - Create maps in FlashEurotopmodel~ - Rate photo models (map mash-up)Excio - Geotag your blog & share itFeedmap - Map your blogsFileindex~ - Real time traffic jam map mash-upFlagr - Bookmark the real worldFlashearth - Global maps mash-up in flashFlickrmap - Map Flickr photosFlyr - Search Flickr for geotagged photosFunda~ - Real estate locations mash-up (nice maps, nice zoom!)Gchart - Check local time globallyGeotagit - Upload & share geotagged collectionsGeotool - Map yourselfGeotracing.com~ - Share the geo-located photos you've made during a trip & your (animated!) route (and more…!)Geovector*** - LBS services with a usable interface.Globeassistant~ - Get your content mashed up with Google EarthGoogleearth* - Global mapsGooglemaps - Check local things globallyGooglemars - Own a red planetGutenkarte - Maps spatial components of classic literatureGvisit - Map your site visitorsHotelworldmap~ - Find a hotel (map mash-up)Housingmaps - Find housing (map mash-up)Jauntlet - Track & trace yourselfLocallive - Windows mapsLocalpoint~ - Google mash-up with several (Dutch) dbasesLowlandsguide~** - Explore the lay of the Lowland Festival with this mobile appMailinator - Disposable email + spam mash-upMap24 - Route finder; 3DMapbuilder - Mash-up your own mapsMapkit - Create & share your own mapMaplib - Turn every photo or illustration into an interactive mapMappr - Map Flickr photos per tagMapwii - Map your wii number & challenge other playersMashplanet - Find & submit mash-ups per categoryN2yo* - Realtime satellite trackingNeighboroo - Explore USA trends on mapNomos~ - Live reporting on sound levels around Amsterdam AirportOnonemap - Find housing (map mash-up) (UK)Openstreetmap - View, edit & use geographical dataPackagemapper - Track your package on a mapPanoramio - Store your geo-tagged photos on Google mapsPartyvibes~ - Publish & share parties in HollandPervwatch - Perv mash-upPheromonetrail - Share places & sites & personsPlaceopedia - Wiki + Google maps mash-upPlacestodo - Post & share places & thingsPlaniglobe - Create your own mapPlatial - Co-create atlas & share placesPlazesbadge* - Show where you are (e.g. on your blog)Powermap - Next level Google mapsPropsmart - Find housing (map mash-up)Publicloos - Share public toiletsRedfin - Find housing (map mash-up)Routecraft~ - Route planner; add your text to locations & share it; also for mobileSkibonk - Ski resorts (map mash-up)Sundaydash - Find housing (map mash-up)Tagzania - Share & map placesToeat - Map & share restaurantsTopspot-ornot - Spot & review locations (map mash-up)Treadr - Track & follow people onlineTreinvizier~ - Actual whereabouts of Dutch trainsTripmojo - Map & share hotelsVirtualcity - Navigate map with help of photos (Toronto)Virtualvideomap - Google Maps & Youtube mash-upVivirama - Put your home on this free international mapVlogmap - Map your vlogWayfaring - Create & share your mapsWeatherbonk - Mashes up 10 API'sWeb20map - Web 2.0 companies on map mash-upWereldkenner~ - Wikipedia & Google Earth mash-upX-moment*~ - Publish an event at a locationYahoomaps* - Global & local maps & search mash-upsYourgmap - Map & publish your placesZeemaps - Create & share maps of/with friends & familyMapsack - Map, discover & share placesItalic = new. Update 061224, 070119.
Labels: geo, geo location, gps, LBS, web 2.0, web-20, web20
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