Overview GPS Phones

GPS phones
It does not help you much if you can tell some-one over the cell phone that you are in trouble, but you can not explain where you are. This is rapidly changing with cell phones with incorporated GPS receiver, called GPS phones. These two techniques are so complementary to each other, that they should always go together.Where are you? is the most asked question over cell phones.
With a GPS phone you can tell your exact location and with the right service of the phone operator you can even project your position on a map in your friend s cell phone. The service will tell you where you could meet and by which route to get there. This exists today

Satellite phone + GSM + GPS
The Thuraya Hughes 7101 can be used as a Satellite only, GSM 900 only, or auto switching between the two, subject to the type of airtime package chosen. Satellite coverage for North and Central Africa, Middle East, India, Central Asia and Europe. You can use your SIM card in this GPS phone, which offers voice, data, fax and GPS location determination. You can store 25 GPS positions and transmit GPS locations via SMS.

GPS receiver + dual-band GSM (900/1800 MHz) + Organizer + WAP 1.2.1 MiniBrowser
We are talking about the Garmin NavTalk GSM for Europe and South Africa. It is the only dual-band phone that offers GPS mapping with automatic routing and voice-prompted turn-by-turn guidance. Comes with MapSource City Select on CD-ROM. POIs can be downloaded via the GSM. Your locations can be transmitted on a one-time basis, user-initiated, or continual updates through SMS. You have the ability to request location transmission from another NavTalk GSM. Transfer of waypoints is easy, using SMS. 5 Routes with up to 50 points per route can be saved as well as 500 waypoints with name and graphic symbol. The track log can contain 4000 points. There is a standard MCX-type connector for an optional external antenna and a RS-232 interface with NMEA 0183, RTCM 104 DGPS and proprietary Garmin data formats. The 132 x 160 pixel screen can display 10 lines of text. The GSM is unlocked. You only have to put in your own SIM card.

Dual-band GSM (900/1800 MHz) + GPS receiver + Organizer + Emergency Button
Here we are talking about the Benefon Esc! NT2002 for Europe. The GSM can be equipped with an optional cross-country antenna. The device is splash-proof (IPX4) and its casing is reinforced with stainless steel. Features predictive T9 text input for fast and easy text messages and notes. The Esc! tracks other users of Benefon Esc!, locates them on the map and can even guide you to them. The system connects to the Genimap Mobile Maps service for easy downloading of maps using any PC with web browser. Road maps, city maps, nautical charts and topographical maps from around Europe. The Emergency Button sends up to five SOS messages with your location and opens a voice connection to a predefined emergency number. The 100 x 160 pixel screen can display 15 rows of text. External NMEA 0183 interface. The external active GPS antenna comes from SiRF. Emergency 112 call is possible without SIM card or while phone is locked. Can be saved to the phone: 50 calendar and 6 notepad entries, 300 waypoints, 30 routes with each 30 waypoints, and 30 friends on a Friend Find list.

Important addendum for Benefon products Esc!, Track One and Track Pro
These products are sold in the USA as Dual Band 900/1900MHz devices by Airo Wireless Media Inc. Every US Benefon Esc! comes packaged with the software program Spitfire, which allows you to download any geo-referenced map to the Esc! and even create your own geo-referenced maps from any BMP, JPEG, TIFF, etc. file. The Spitfire Mapping Tool can be purchased from spitfire.barshop.co.uk.

With any Benefon handset, a T-Mobile calling plan with Text messaging and a subscription to the Airo Finder Service from Airo Wireless you can know where your Benefon handsets are at all times. Airo Finder is a web-based application for locating Benefon GPS mobile phones worldwide. Whether you are a parent who wants to keep track of your kids or a manager of a small fleet of vehicles, you can control risk, secure assets and protect people more easily and efficiently with Airo Finder. Airo Finder can:
-Locate an unlimited number of phones at any time, anywhere in the world, using GPS data and view them on one MapQuest map.
-View dates and times of most recent phone locations.
-Remotely view speed and battery life of each phone.
-Capture last 50 locations or 30 days of locations all on one map.
-Keep track of your friends /children s/parents Benefon phones.

Virtual Wave is the distributor for Benefon in Canada.

Rugged Nextel phones + GPS receiver
The Motorola i305 and i530 are wrapped in a tough rubber over mold shell and are certified to Military Standard 810F for dust, shock, vibration, temperature extremes, low pressure, solar radiation, blowing rain, humidity, salt fog, sleet, and snow. They are designed for workers and outdoor enthusiasts who need feature-rich wireless communications in many types of environmental conditions. The built-in GPS function supports non-Java location-enhanced services such as Nextel s Mobile Locator, a Web-based application for locating handsets used by field employees for day-to-day business activities and services and enables account administrators to easily view the location of their field employees in real-time, using the applications advanced map display. A laptop or PDA connected to the phone can also access the phone s GPS circuitry and location information appears on the phone s display. With a street-routing program on your pocketPC or Palm you always find your way anywhere and in the same time in the office they know exactly where you are, thanks to Mobile Locator. The i305 is a standard one-piece handset, while the i530 is a clamshell handset.

Benefon dual-band (900/1800 MHz) safety/security phones + GPS receiver
The Track One NT2.0 is a personal safety phone with an alarm button for activating emergency protocol and transferring user location to alarm centre. Can be easily integrated to 24 hour alarm monitoring centre. Personal safety applications range from elderly care to VIP protection or lone worker protection.

The Track Pro NT2.0 is a professional security device. Field workers can report on tasks with the status message function and receive job dispatches with location, saving time and money. Alarm button activates a predefined emergency protocol.

Both devices have an external NMEA 0183 interface, so you can connect to a PC, PPC or Palm and use the integrated GPS receiver to feed a street-routing program or moving topo map program. Both have a connector for an external active GPS antenna and the GSM antenna can be switched for a cross-country antenna. Both devices also have assisted GPS support (SMS point-to-point) and the position co-ordinates are displayed on the screen. Both use the Benefon Mobile Phone Telematics Protocol (MPTP), a sophisticated set of Telematic commands and both have Remote configuration.

Most differences between the two are situated in the Telematics Features. The Track One has Location update commands. The Track Pro has Location commands, position, history. Area tracking commands. Navigation & Route function. Mobile group function (requires third party application). Emergency and Status commands.

Nextel Java phones + GPS receiver
We are talking about the Motorola phones i88s, i58sr and i730. These phones have Voice Activation, enabling you to dial phone numbers and activate product features using only the sound of your voice through the Speakerphone. Digital Two-Way Radio feature (PTT) allows instant connection with an individual or an entire team. Caller ID displays the phone number of an incoming caller and the name if it is stored in the phonebook.

These phones are used by TeleNav for voice-prompted turn-by-turn routing and for TeleNavtrack, a car tracking and fleet management solution. Global Tracking Solutions use them for the same kind of solution.

uLocate (see our GPS Locators page) support these Motorola phones on the Nextel network and all Benefon models on the T-Mobile, AT&T, and Cingular networks. Additional phones and carriers will be supported as they become GPS compatible.

The free AccuTracking software turns your Motorola iDEN i58sr/i88s/i710/i730/i830 cell phone carried by Nextel (US) into a GPS tracking device. The free online GPS cell phone tracking service provided by AccuTracking.com lets you see locations, speed, and headings of your mobile clients, family members or valuable assets.

Also available on the Nextel network is Networks in Motion s AtlasTrack, an easy-to-use and extremely powerful wireless phone tracking application that works with Map Messenger. GPS phones supported are the Nextel i88s and i58sr.
These two phones are also used for Air-Track s Cloudberry Internet-based vehicle reporting and tracking system software as well as for the Diplomat PLS tracking service from DCS.

WorkTrack from Aligo offers a real-time job, time and location management of your mobile workforce on the Nextel network.

Vettro Mobile Service Contractor enables instant access over cell phones to detailed job-critical information and is suitable for small and medium-sized plumbing and HVAC businesses.

3G phones on Three(3) + GPS receiver
These are the Third Generation phones that we have been waiting for. Not for the Video Calling or the Voice Recorder, but for the Locate Services. On request, your 3 mobile phone can work out where you are in Britain and then display your location on a clear, easy to read map using a high resolution screen. NB:‘3 is the name of the mobile network operator.

Even better, type in a destination address such as a postcode and A to B will give you a straightforward map and direction on how to walk there. In the future this will be expanded to include car journeys by road as well.

Using the same real-time location technology as A to B, Find has three options, all of which display a clear map of your location and what you want to find.My Nearest can find your nearest banks, cash machines, shops, restaurants and petrol stations amongst others.Business Finder can find the location of any of 2m businesses from the Thompson Directory andQuick Map allows you to map any address in Britain.

Examples of these 3G phones are the NEC models e313 and e616 as well as the Motorola models A835, A920 and A925. The latter two have 208 x 320 pixels screens with 65,536 colors. This comes close to our pocketPCs. Just for comparison: the Garmin GPSmap60C has a 160 x 240 pixels screen at 256 colors. We have to admit that for maps 256 colors are largely sufficient.

World's First A-GPS Navigation System for 3G

The 3GEO mobile navigational system turns a customer's handset into a perfect travel companion by allowing quick and exact location searches. Maps available on the screen allow customers to find what ever they are searching for. This world first, using A-GPS or Assisted Global Positioning System technology, is now available in Austria, Denmark, UK and Sweden, and will become a key feature of 3 services in other worldwide 3 markets later. 3Mobile allows people to not only look at the detailed local maps, but also pinpoint the nearest restaurant, bank, office-anything they are looking for. 3 also offers other useful functions. For example, with 3GEO, customers can speed up the arrival of a roadside towing service from the OAMTC, access up-to-the-minute information on traffic conditions, accidents, road construction and parking. 3 customers are able to determine their position automatically through two different methods. Firstly through "approximate positioning", which offers precise results of up to about 15-30 meters and this also operates inside buildings. Secondly and more accurate is the "Exact Positioning" method, enabled by A-GPS. This precise location is derived through a number of steps that are hidden from the customer. The first step is the handset receives an approximate position, derived from approximate network position combined with NASA assistance data. Then the final accurate position is derived from data received from a number of satellites. This exact position is then delivered over the 3G network in real-time, to allow the delivery of position sensitive customer information back to the customers handset.

Nokia and GPS
Apparently Nokia has chosen to add GPS functionality to their phones by means of add-on modules. The LAM-1 turns the Nokia 9210 and 9210i into a navigator, helping you find places, get location information, and use route directions easily. The module comes with 2 CDs, containing TomTom CityMaps and RoutePlanner, as well as an extra external GPS antenna. RoutePlanner covers both Western and Eastern Europe and CityMaps covers more than 100,000 cities in western Europe. The unit is compatible with Mobile Location Services (MLS) applications.

The Xpress-on GPS Shell is for the Nokia 5140 and offers stand-alone GPS and map-based Travel Guide Service applications. Features include a Trip Computer, 100 waypoints or 30 routes, Route guidance, Tracking and return track. Up-to-date maps can be obtained online via the phone s network. Waypoints can be sent to others via SMS. A one-year subscription to a regional map package is included with the Nokia Xpress-on GPS shell.

Sprint PCS phones with a GPS chip
The following PCS phones all have a GPS chip incorporated and are allE911 Emergency Location Capable . From Sanyo the VM4500, RL-7300, RL2600 and RL2000. From Samsung the VGA1000, the A600 and the VI660. From Toshiba the VM4050 and from Nokia the 3588i and the new PM-6225. We could not find out what else the users of these devices could do with the GPS chip, besides eventually being rescued in case of an emergency, which alone is enough reason wanting to have these phones.

Universal E-911 Solution
It is no secret that most emergency calls with cell phones still do not result in a precise localization of the caller. The reason is the complexity of the chosen technical solutions and therefore the enormous expenses, related to the nation-wide implementation. Many lives will still get lost, due to late arrival of rescuers, before all counties and all public safety answering points (PSAPs) will be ready. And then, only the USA will be ready. With the exception of Japan and South Korea, all other countries in the world are even much father away from a satisfactory solution.

Tendler Cellular has created the FoneFinder, a chip set which is integrated into a cell phone along with a GPS receiver. The FoneFinder chip sets are due to be available in Audiovox and Nokia cell phones and integrated into hands free cradle kits for Motorola flip phones. The moment that you push the emergency button on your phone, the phone sends out a synthetic voice message: 3 times "Mayday", the co-ordinates of your position and your phone number over the voice channel. In the mean time it sends out your position and phone number through DTMF(Dual Tone Multi-Frequency) tones, also over the voice channel.
This will work anywhere in the world. The network technology has no importance, be it CDMA, TDMA, GSM, GPRS, UMTS, 3G, 4G or whatever.

As emergency calls are always recorded, the operator can always listen back the message, if (s)he was not fast enough to write it all down at once. A very small investment for a PSAP of $125 for a DTMF decoder and $100 for a mapping program will make that your position will automatically be indicated on a map of the PSAP coverage area, together with time of call and calling telephone number. With this system your chances to be found fast in case of an emergency increase enormously.

Japan and GPS phones
The Japanese mobile market is led by NTT DoCoMo with its popular i-mode service. Vodafone(formerly J-Phone) found success with its picture-messaging service. KDDI is currently the number 2 behind DoCoMo and ahead of Vodafone. In October 2001 DoCoMo introduced its 3G service FOMA, based on a standard, called W-CDMA. KDDI launched its 3G service, based on the CDMA 2000 1X standard, invented by Qualcomm, in April 2002.

Under the brandAU KDDI offers actually more than 15 GPS phones. DoCoMo offers only one GPS phone and Vodafone doesn t sell any GPS phone.

July 22, 2002. KDDI launched GPS MAP, a new location management service that took advantage of KDDI s third-generation CDMA2000 1X GPS KEITAI to provide corporate customers with a way to improve transport management, sales and marketing activities. GPS MAP allows users to see in real time the location of all personnel or vehicles with compatible handsets.

In December 2003, AU introduced their NAVI-Walk service and to-day KDDI offers one of the most successful location based services worldwide. Called EZnavigation, the service uses Qualcomm s gpsOne technology and allows users to take advantage of the latest emergency services, child finder services, detailed maps with directions, and many other location applications, both consumer and enterprise-oriented. To date KDDI has offered 130 unique applications taking advantage of gpsOne position location information.

More than a GPS phone and bigger too
The Gotive H41 Wireless Enterprise Communicator has integrated onboard GSM/GPRS (Dual Band 900/1800MHz) for voice, SMS and Data transfer, as well as a GPS chip for Localization and Navigation plus BCR for Bar Code Reading. The device has a finger operable QWERTY touch screen keyboard and programmable Action Keys. The 1/2VGA 640 x 240 pixels screen (153 x 58mm) can be read indoors and outdoors.

GPS Radios
Not exactly GPS phones, but anyway GPS devices that allow for communication with others. In lots of situations this is so important that we absolutely wanted to give these devices a place here. First we have the Garmin RINO series. RINO stands forRadio Integrated with Navigation for the Outdoors . The RINO 110, 120 and 130 are GPS-enabled handhelds that integrate radio functionality to provide two-way communications. They are waterproof, can send communications up to 5 miles, using GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) and canbeam your exact location to another RINO user within a 2 miles range, using FRS (Family Radio Service). Canadian versions use only the FRS channels.

All three models have a 12 channel, WAAS-enabled, GPS receiver and 22 communication channels: 1-14 FRS, 15-22 GMRS with 38 sub-audible squelch codes per transmission channel for semi-private radio communications and External voice activation (VOX). The RINO 110 has a built-in worldwide city point database, with 1MB of internal memory for downloading additional points-of-interest data from a MapSource Points of Interest CD.

The RINO 120 has also a voice scrambler and a vibration mode for silent calls as well as a built-in base map consisting of American road and highway detail, along with 8MB of internal memory for additional road, lake, marine, and points-of-interest data that can be downloaded from MapSource MetroGuide, Fishing Hot Spots, Topo or BlueChart CDs.

The new RINO 130 has everything the 120 has plus a built-in electronic compass, barometric sensor, weather receiver for seven NOAA weather channels, and 24MB of internal memory. And it has a polling feature, which allows a user to manually request GPS location information from other RINO units. The 130 offers a detailed base map of North and South America, displaying cities, highways, railways, rivers and lakes, and borders.

The Audiovox GMRGPS is a FRS/GMRS Transceiver with 15 channels (8 GMRS, 7 FRS) and 38 privacy codes. The incorporated GPS receiver allows you to set waypoints, navigate to your destination and track yourself along a route. A swivel belt clip and VOX feature allow hands-free operation of the transceiver. The unit is NOT waterproof as are the RINOs. Your position can be transmitted to another GMR-GPS unit, thereby allowing another party to know your exact position, your intended route, and how long it will take you to arrive at your destination.

Types of LBS Technology
Localization-Based Systems can be broadly divided into:

Network based
Handset based
Hybrid

Network Based
Network-based techniques utilize the service provider's network infrastructure to identify the location of the handset. The advantage of network-based techniques is that they can be implemented non-intrusively, without affecting the handsets.

The accuracy of network-based techniques varies, with cell identification as the least accurate and triangulation as the most accurate. The accuracy of network-based techniques is closely dependent on the concentration of base station cells, with urban environments achieving the highest possible accuracy.

One of the key challenges of network-based techniques is the requirement to work closely with the service provider, as it entails the installation of hardware and software within the operator's infrastructure. Often, a legislative framework, such as E911, would need to be in place to compel the cooperation of the service provider as well as to safeguard the privacy of the information.

Handset Based
Handset-based technology requires the installation of client software on the handset to determine its location. This technique determines the location of the handset by computing its location by cell identification, signal strengths of the home and neighboring cells or the latitude and longitude, if the handset is equipped with a GPS module. The calculated location is then sent from the handset to a location server.

The key disadvantage of this technique is the necessity of installing software on the handset. It requires the active cooperation of the mobile subscriber as well as software that must be able to handle the different operating systems of the handsets. Typically, only a smart phone, such as one based on Symbian or Windows Mobile, would be able to run such software.

One of the proposed work-arounds is the installation of embedded hardware or software on the handset by the manufacturers. However, the obvious difficulty of convincing different manufacturers to cooperate on a common mechanism and to address the cost issue means that this avenue has not made any significant headway.

Another difficulty would be to address the issue of foreign handsets that are roaming in the network.

Hybrid
Hybrid-based techniques use a combination of network-based and handset-based technologies for location determination. One example would be Assisted-GPS, which uses both GPS and network information to compute the location. Hybrid-based techniques give the best accuracy of the three but inherit the limitations and challenges of network-based and handset-based technologies.

Examples of LBS technologies
Cell Identification - The accuracy of this method can be as good as a few hundred meters in urban areas, but as poor as 32 km in suburban areas and rural zones. The accuracy depends on the known range of the particular network base station serving the handset at the time of positioning.
Enhanced Cell Identification - With this method, one can get a precision similar to Cell Identification, but for rural areas, with circular sectors of 550 meters.
TDOA - Time difference of arrival - The network determines the time difference and therefore the distance from each base station to the mobile phone.
TOA - Time of arrival - Same as TDOA, but this technology uses the absolute time of arrival at a certain base station rather than the difference between two stations.
AOA - Angle of arrival - AOA mechanism locates the mobile phone at the point where the lines along the angles from each base station intersect.
E-OTD - This is similar to TDOA, but the position is estimated by the mobile phone, not by the base station. The precision of this method depends on the number of available LMUs in the networks, varying from 50 to 200 m.

Assisted-GPS - A largely GPS-based technology, which uses an operator-maintained ground station to correct for GPS errors caused by the atmosphere/topography. Assisted-GPS positioning technology typically falls back to cell-based positioning methods when indoors or in an urban-canyon environment.