Engadget Mobile's got five Bluetooth car kits to give away - Engadget

What better way to blow out the holiday than with a handful of Motorola T305 car kits? Does one of 'em have your name on it? Only one way to find out, we figure: enter the contest!

Have a look at our other contests, too, before it's too late:


Engadget Mobile's got five Bluetooth car kits to give away - Engadget: "What better way to blow out the holiday than with a handful of Motorola T305 car kits? Does one of 'em have your name on it? Only one way to find out, we figure: enter the contest!

Have a look at our other contests, too, before it's too late:"

100 GBP Sate Navi

TomTom buys VDO from Siemnce

Several European sites report that TomTom has bought all or part of a stake in Siemens VDO’s Eindhoven, Netherlands operations. Official details were not immediately available from either company. It’s not clear whether TomTom intends to acquire just VDO’s R&D staff, estimated at 90, or if TomTom plans to take over VDO’s OEM business, or just VDO Dayton, an aftermarket operation.

In any event, the move is in character with recent moves by TomTom and other large players in the navigation space. Last year, TomTom announced joint development with Johnson Controls to develop a Bluetooth device that could be moved from car-to-car, and at CES, showed, with Fujitsu Ten, a true portable, that could be used in the car and outside. Garmin recently announced a deal with Honda last month for entry-level in-vehicle units. Late last year, Navigon acquired NAVTEQ’s navigation technology, saying that it would pursue the automotive space. Navigon also recently introduced its own PNDs, the company’s first in its history. Until then, it had only developed software.

TomTom, Siemens Deal for Nav R&D - GPS LBS

GPS chip on SIM cards

Putting a GPS Chip Inside a SIM Card

Start-up company BlueSky Positioning says that it has managed to fit a GPS receiver and proprietary antenna inside a SIM card. This would enable network operators to launch location based services without either relying on network intensive cell-positioning, or requiring customers to upgrade to a GPS capable handset.

BlueSky Positioning has developed patent-pending technology and processes to embed Assisted Global Positioning System (A-GPS) capability in the SIM card (USIM in the case of 3G handsets), with minimal impact on signal strength and battery life. BlueSky Positioning's A-GPS SIM uses an assistance data server in the mobile network to reduce the location identification time (Time To First Fix) and increase accuracy, particularly within buildings and densely populated areas.

Risto Savolainen, BlueSky Positioning CEO, said "The LBS market has promised much and delivered little. This strengthened EU legislation to enhance public safety services will also catalyse the LBS market by putting the means of access into the hands of every user. Working with SIM card manufacturers, BlueSky Positioning enables mobile operators to embed the service in every consumer's SIM and USIM card, without compromising the existing levels of card security and privacy protection."

The company is pitching its product as a cheaper way for operators to comply with legislation which will shortly require all emergency calls within the EU to be locatable
Putting a GPS Chip Inside a SIM Card