Google Maps adds real-time traffic data | CNET News.com

Google has added real-time traffic data for several major cities to its mapping service, the company said Wednesday.

The traffic information is integrated with Google Maps and is available in more than 30 American cities, including San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago and New York.

The data is provided for major highways and is color-coded to signify traffic conditions: green means no congestion; yellow is for minor holdups; and red means significant slowdowns.

According to Google product manager Carl Sjogreen, the data is aggregated from several sources, including road sensors, as well as car and taxi fleets.

As a result, Sjogreen said, there is sometimes not enough data to report road conditions. In that case, the roads appear gray.

For the time being, he added, Google will provide traffic data only for major highways, but it may expand the offering eventually.

Google Maps adds real-time traffic data | CNET News.com

Siemens GPS / GRPS for tracking

Siemens AySystem utilizes GPS / GRPS for emergency tracking, alerting

While Siemens HQ is probably still dusting itself from last year's invasion, that's not stopping the whole show 'round those parts, as the firm is introducing a new form of emergency communication with its AySystem. By utilizing worldwide GSM / GRPS networks (and optionally, GPS), the pocketable device can be tracked, modified, and used as a channel of communication between a caregiver and patient, parent and child, boss and subordinate, or any other useful combination of individuals. Essentially, the Ay token is given to the person who needs monitored, and the other party can adjust various "thresholds" such as motion (or the lack thereof), temperature, and sound, and if that limit is surpassed (i.e. a patient stops moving), the token will sound an alarm whilst simultaneously texting / calling a user-selected individual. Moreover, it can be remotely controlled and tweaked via a web-based interface, and users can add "SnapOns" such as GPS receivers and cameras to extend its functionality even futher. Thankfully, the platform in which the device runs on is entirely Java-based, which should please those looking to code their own programs to take full advantage of what's being offered. As of now, we're not exactly sure how much this fancy panic button will end up costing, but it is slated to be made available "via mobile carriers or through pre-paid plans" in the not too distant future.

[Via Gizmag

Why Parents Buy Mobile Phones for their Children

Asus WM GPS phone

This thin (15.4mm) and light (115g) GPS integrated mobile phone provides Quad-band GMS/GPRS/EDGE support for global roaming, and numeric keys and wheel for easy operation. With its high quality picture viewing (640 x 480) and 2M-Pixel camera with camcorder function, the P526 provides superb visuals for the user. The P526’s 2.6″ TFT (Touchscreen) display provides 65,536 colors at 240×320 pixels resolution. This mobile wonder also comes with Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6.0.

Asus P526 is now official -- NaviGadget

Highe end chipset for Media flo & agps

• Position-location capabilities of gpsOne® assisted-GPS technology and gpsOneXTRA assistance technology, which expands the capabilities of standalone GPS
  
  
• MediaFLO Technologies demonstration of 20 live-streaming television channels, including Spanish and European content from Abertis and Sky, and Clipcasting™ content from Warner Music Group on three OEM handsets
  
  
• IP datacasting demonstrations of news, sports and weather streaming
  
  
• The world's first demonstration of MBMS mobile TV technology, delivering multiple channels over the air using UMTS networks
  
  
• Mobile Station Modem™ (MSM™) MSM7XXX-series chipsets, showcasing stunning 3D graphics and gaming capabilities
  
  
• High-quality VoIP demonstration using HSPA technology, and running simultaneously with other leading data applications such as video sharing, video streaming and Web browsing
  
  
• HSPA video streaming, Web browsing and video sharing
  
  
• Commercial uiOne™ handsets and demonstrations of advanced uiOne capabilities
  
  
• BREW gaming and BREW locate signature solutions
  
  
• Dell, HP and Lenovo will demonstrate their latest HSDPA-embedded notebook computers in QUALCOMM's booth, all on the commercial Vodafone Spain HSDPA network

New tomtom comes with GL long term orbit hosted solustion

SAN JOSE, CA, Jan. 8, 2007 – Privately held Global Locate, Inc., (www.globallocate.com) a leading producer of A-GPS semiconductors and software, today announced that its Hammerhead™ GPS solution and software have been incorporated into TomTom N.V.’s (Amsterdam:TOM2.AS) portable navigation device TomTom ONE™.

Hammerhead, the industry’s first single die, single chip GPS solution, will begin shipping worldwide in the TomTom ONE™ in January 2007. In addition, Global Locate’s patented extended ephemeris technology known as Long Term Orbit (LTO™) will be made available through TomTom’s exclusive QuickGPSfix™ service to further enhance the navigation performance of TomTom’s devices.

Global Locate’s host-based, GPS architecture approach means that both the TomTom software application and the GPS chip and navigation software application share the same processor resources. The result is a highly integrated product solution that delivers superior turn-by-turn navigation performance for users. The host-based approach reduces system redundancy, avoiding the need for multiple CPUs, memory system and other costly components.

“Host-based GPS solutions are often perceived as being relevant only for the cellular handset market,” said Richard Najarian, Vice President of Sales and Business Development for Global Locate. “This new business initiative with TomTom shows that our solution delivers added value in other GPS product applications such as portable navigation devices, not just mobile phones.”

Global Locate - Press_Releases: "TomTom ONE"

some details on Motonav and T805 (and T815) -- NaviGadget

some details on Motonav and T805 (and T815) -- NaviGadget

LG GPS phone in korea, maybe in Europe

It’s been a while since we talked about a phone with GPS feature. Today we have SB-190, which is the latest phone from LG that features an onboard GPS chip. Other features of the SB190 include 1.3MP camera, DMB receiver, and an MP3 player. TFT-LCD screen on this slide phone supports 262K colors with 240 x 320 resolution.

It looks like it’ll only be available in Korea from SK Telecom for a while and it may also hit Europe. Don’t hold your breath if you live in NA.

More info in Korean and an annoying video available here.

http://www.navigadget.com/index.php/2006/12/30/lg-sb190-cell-phone-with-gps/

Blackberry 8800 GPS navigation with NaviGadget

In case you haven’t heard yet, the new Blackberry 8800 from RIM has integrated GPS capabilities. Today we know that the on board GPS software is from Telenav.

What makes this BlackBerry unique is its GPS capability. We were very impressed with the bundled TeleNav GPS Navigator. For a reasonable $9.99 per month, you get spoken turn-by-turn directions (including street names), 3D maps, and local search via the Biz Finder tool. We tested the system by asking the 8800 to get us home from a park-and-ride using local roads. The very natural-sounding female voice told us the distance before the next turn and alerted us at just the right time before the turn itself. TeleNav also pulls up addresses from your contact list. The local search function worked well, too, allowing us to map a business address, navigate to it, or dial the number.


Blackberry 8800 GPS navigation -- NaviGadget

video review of new Nokia 6110 GPS navigator -- NaviGadget

Here is a video review of the new Nokia 6110 GPS navigator. The video also includes an interview with Juha P Kokkonen, director of Mobile Experiences for Nokia’s Mobile Phones business. It is a great interview if you want to learn first hand about the different GPS navigation services offered by Nokia. They also talk about the N95 and discuss which maps come free and which don’t.

video review of new Nokia 6110 GPS navigator -- NaviGadget

GPS+GSM phone for Pet

The PetsCell™ is the first voice enabled waterproof GPS cell phone optimized for animals. It will be available for commecial distribution late in 2006 and consumer distribution in mid 2007.

Combining industry leading GPS technology with the ability of 2-way communication, the PetsCell™ delivers consistency and quality of locates across a spectrum of encompassing conditions that existing pet tracking devices simply will not match. With remote programmable geo-fence capability and an ambient temperature sensor accompanied by a variety of other attachable devices, the PetsCell™ is quite simply the standard against which all other pet tracking devices will be measured.

The PetsMobility™ PetsCell™ is the ultimate solution for lost pets.

The PetCell™ by PetsMobility™ Inc.

SiRF Deliver GPS-WiFi Hybrid Positioning

SAN JOSE, Calif. and BOSTON, Mass., February 9, 2007 – SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRF), a leading provider of GPS-enabled silicon and premium software location platforms, and Skyhook Wireless, Inc., provider of the Wi-Fi Positioning System™ (WPS), today announced that SiRF has licensed the WPS in order to create a single positioning system for wireless carriers that combines the best of both GPS and Wi-Fi technologies. This system, which is scheduled for release as part of SiRF’s Multimode Location Platform later this year, promises to boost the availability and adoption of location-based services. The two companies will present a demonstration of the new hybrid GPS/Wi-Fi location technology at the 3GSM World Congress 2007 being held February 12-15 in Barcelona, Spain.

The technology will be applied to special client software from SiRF for mobile handsets that synthesizes GPS and Wi-Fi measurements as well as to SiRF’s SiRFLoc Server to enable it to establish precise positioning from these measurements. As handset makers roll out a new generation of Wi-Fi-enabled mobile phones to enhance both data and voice communications, the SiRF-Skyhook hybrid technology will leverage this hardware ecosystem to provide greatly enhanced positioning availability and accuracy for location-based services. Using this new technology, carriers can boost their revenues by offering enhanced location-based services that are easier to use, handset makers can better differentiate their products, and application developers can create exciting new services that work anywhere, even when GPS signals are not present. The system will benefit consumers by enabling them to more quickly and reliably perform tasks such as planning a trip, finding friends nearby or locating the closest ATM machine.

“Our strategy is to enhance consumer experience with location enabled content and services by combining multiple sensors and signals to provide accurate location information everywhere. This is the first time a single positioning system has combined both GPS and Wi-Fi location data to get us a step closer to achieving 100 percent availability of accurate positioning,” said Kanwar Chadha, co-founder and vice president of marketing for SiRF. “By complementing our industry leading GPS performance with Skyhook’s Wi-Fi positioning in our Multimode Location Platform, SiRF is continuing to broaden its product line and pursue its mission to bring the benefits of location awareness to mainstream consumers.”

SiRF will be offering the new technology to mobile handset makers using SiRF’s SiRFstarIII and GSCi-5000 chips sets, as well as to wireless carriers using its SiRFLoc Server, a carrier-class, standards-compliant, multimode Assisted-GPS location server that incorporates SiRF’s patented multimode technology. Any SiRF-based mobile handset with a Wi-Fi radio subsystem built in will be able to take advantage of this new technology by including the client software.

“This partnership creates an availability breakthrough for location-based services, offering handset makers and carriers a new hybrid GPS/Wi-Fi technology for anytime, anywhere location reliability,” said Ted Morgan, founder and CEO of Skyhook Wireless. “Wi-Fi and GPS are ideal complementary technologies for mobile handsets, enabling a more comprehensive location solution and a more robust infrastructure for exciting new location-based applications.”

About Skyhook Wireless

Founded in 2003, Skyhook Wireless has pioneered the development of the first-ever metro-area positioning system that leverages Wi-Fi rather than satellites or cell towers to deliver precise location data supporting the growing market for location-based services. The Skyhook Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS) requires no new hardware, works indoors and outdoors, provides an instant location and is more accurate than current technologies in congested downtown areas. WPS serves over 70% of the US population and is expanding internationally. Skyhook Wireless is headquartered in Boston, MA, and is privately held. Investors include Bain Capital and Intel Capital. For more information visit www.skyhookwireless.com, send email to info@skyhookwireless.com or call 617-314-9802.

Sirf press release

SiRF And OpenWave Team to Bring Advanced Location Offering to Wireless Operators

SAN JOSE AND REDWOOD CITY, Calif., February 9, 2007 – SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRF), a leading provider of GPS-enabled silicon and premium software location platforms, and Openwave Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: OPWV), a leading provider of software products and services for the communications industry, today announced an alliance to accelerate the adoption of Aided-GPS location technology by wireless service providers and boost the deployment of location-based services. The two companies have worked together to integrate Openwave’s Location Manager with SiRF’s SiRFLoc Multimode location server, which Openwave has licensed and will resell globally, providing communications service providers with a robust, scalable location platform they can build upon to launch a broad range of distinctive and popular location-aware applications.

The addition of the SiRFLoc Server to Openwave’s portfolio of Adaptive Context products and solutions aims to simplify the adoption of A-GPS location technology by offering wireless carriers a “one-stop shop” for everything they need to build a location-aware infrastructure. By making it easier for carriers to adopt A-GPS, the two companies can help carriers more quickly deploy innovative, differentiated location-based services to subscribers and increase their average revenue per user (ARPU) through compelling, contextually aware content and services.

The reseller agreement enables Openwave to offer its customers a more comprehensive product portfolio for delivering accurate A-GPS location data to handsets and location applications, and provides SiRF with the opportunity to distribute its location server products through a leader in its industry. In addition to the SiRFLoc Server, Openwave will also offer the SiRF GPS Data Center, a software component required for obtaining precise GPS reference data.

“With Openwave’s industry leadership, this alliance creates exciting opportunities for SiRF to expand its location server distribution through this new channel, and we look forward to working with Openwave to address the needs of carriers as the adoption of location technology in wireless networks becomes commonplace,” said Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of marketing for SiRF. “Openwave’s thorough understanding of the intricacies of deploying value added services in unique operator environments will enable faster deployment of location based services through their proven, reliable infrastructure.”

SiRFLoc Server can be deployed by wireless operators or wireless application service providers, and is designed to support Multimode A-GPS (MS Assisted and MS Based) both in the control plane and in the SUPL compliant user plane architecture, as well as other advanced hybrid positioning methods. Depending on network loading, QoS and application requirements, SiRFLoc Server can dynamically mix various positioning methods and location service protocols. Taking advantage of SiRFLoc Server’s best-in-class scalability and throughput performance, operators can efficiently expand their networks as user traffic increases.

Sirf press release

smart2go: all the world’s maps for free, navigation not

Nokia just announced that its mapping and navigation platform smart2go would be free for all. The platform is a hybrid map solution combining map data from Tele-Atlas and Navteq which can be downloaded directly via wireless network (e.g. GPRS/3G/WLAN) and stored on the devices memory card as needed

smart2go platform allows for mapping and routing in over 150 countries and has support for full turn-by-turn satellite navigation in over 30 countries. The application allows people to view where they are on a map, search for points-of-interests (POI) around them and create routes to get them there free of charge. Nokia plans to start offering the smart2go application for free, on Saturday, February 10th, for selected Nokia S60 and Windows Mobile 5.0 devices initially and has plans to roll out support for most of the major mobile OS platforms including Nokia S60, Series 40, PocketPC, Linux and other Windows Mobile devices.

So you’ll be able to download all the maps for free but if you want a full fledged turn-by-turn navigation system you’ll have to upgrade and buy a licence. These licenses will be available in various terms, from a week to 3 years.

When traveling to a new country for holiday one can download the relevant maps via PC in advance and subscribe to the navigation service for the duration of the holiday at affordable cost.

The free downloads will be available starting today. We have no information on the pricing yet but the sample images give us a clue:

Perhaps 7.99€ per week? Oh by the way, you’ll probably need a bluetooth GPS receiver if your mobile device doesn’t have one. If you must have a brand name check out Nokia LD-1W.

GSM+GPS running shoes

A festive looking running shoe with fabulous colorful accentsMesh upper that provide the proven light weight needed to be named a fashionable high performance satellite shoe. This hi-tech shoe comes with Quantum Satellite Technologies, GPS enabled devices locate in a hidden part of the shoes. On the right shoe you will find the emergency button on the lateral aspect and the Antennae properly positioned to locate satellite at any given time you the wearer needs any emergency help. This product consists of the following: GPS Antennae, Panic/Reset Buttons, DC Charger Harness Battery and other communications devices that enable the product to function effectively.		Men Orange Blue Running $350 Color: orange blue Select Size ----------------------------- 7 7 1/2 8 8 1/2 9 9 1/2 10 10 1/2 11 11 1/2 12 Select Quantity ----------------------------- 1 Pair 2 Pairs 3 Pairs 4 Pairs 5 Pairs 6 Pairs 7 Pairs 8 Pairs 9 Pairs 10 Pairs

Skyhook Wireless teams with SiRF for location-based services - Engadget

It's quite possible that you're at least somewhat familiar with Skyhook's ability to use WiFi in order to track down various objects, and while you've likely become desensitized to SiRF after seeing it in just about every GPS / NAV device ever produced, the two are teaming up to deliver a GPS / WiFi hybrid module for wireless carriers. Skyhook's WiFi Positioning System (WPS) will be getting a boost after inking a deal to get inside SiRF's Multimode Location Platform, which "promises to boost the availability and adoption of location-based services." The new duo will join ACCESS (among the throngs of others) at 3GSM next week in order to showcase the new technology, which is slated to provide a new level of accuracy by giving handsets the ability to find your way with two tracking protocols. Additionally, the inclusion of WiFi is said to help lock onto an initial signal much quicker than a typical standalone GPS receiver can, and if all goes as planned, we could see the hybrid technology alive and well in SiRF's Star III series of chipsets "later this year."

Skyhook Wireless teams with SiRF for location-based services - Engadget

FYI NOKIA first A-GPS handsets in the European market :Nokia's 6110 quad-band HSDPA GPS navigator

Nokia 6110 navigator,

- flaunt both GPS and HSDPA data.

- GPS and AGPS (assisted GPS)

- quad-band GSM/EDGE and UMTS 2100 for up to 3.6Mbps of hot HSDPA data.

- 2.2-inch QVGA display throwin' 16 million colors,

- 2 megapixel camera with sliding lens cover and flash,

- MicroSD expansion to augment the onboard 40MB.

- expected to ship in Q2

- pre-carrier-subsidy price of EUR450/$583

http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/12/nokias-6110-quad-band-hsdpa-gps-navigator/

Hirofumi Ide

NEC Europe Ltd.

NEC House, 1 Victoria Road, London, W3 6BL, England

Tel:+44 (0)20 8993 8111 Fax:+44 (0)20 8752 3735

DDI:+44 (0)20 8752 3875 Mobile:+44 (0)7880 786766

Email:Hirofumi.Ide@uk.neceur.com

Website:http://www.neceurope.com/

Nokia's 6110 quad-band HSDPA GPS navigator

Nokia 6110 navigator,
- flaunt both GPS and HSDPA data.
- GPS and AGPS (assisted GPS)
- quad-band GSM/EDGE and UMTS 2100 for up to 3.6Mbps of hot HSDPA data.
- 2.2-inch QVGA display throwin' 16 million colors,
- 2 megapixel camera with sliding lens cover and flash,
- MicroSD expansion to augment the onboard 40MB.
- expected to ship in Q2
- pre-carrier-subsidy price of €450/$583


http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/12/nokias-6110-quad-band-hsdpa-gps-navigator/

Nokia Delivers Free Downloadable Maps to the Mobile World

Nokia today announced that it is making its smart2go mapping and navigation platform, available for free download ( www.smart2go.com ), enabling millions of people to use the most comprehensive map coverage offered on a mobile device. The platform allows for mapping and routing in over 150 countries and has support for full turn-by-turn satellite navigation in over 30 countries. The application allows people to view where they are on a map, search for points-of-interests (POI) around them and create routes to get them there free of charge. Nokia plans to start offering the smart2go application for free, on Saturday, February 10th, for selected Nokia S60 and Windows Mobile 5.0 devices initially and has plans to roll out support for most of the major mobile OS platforms including Nokia S60, Series 40, PocketPC, Linux and other Windows Mobile devices.

smart2go™ - Latest News