Monday, August 11, 2008

Mobile Phones With GPS Technology

By Stewart M. Russell


Global Positioning System, much better known as GPS, is a technology meant to track anything and everything. In mobile phones, GPS provides an invaluable service in case of emergencies. GPS is a special feature, integrated in some mobile phone brands and models, such as Nokia 6110 Navigator, Blackberry Curve 8310, HTC TyTN II, Blackberry 8800, HTC Touch Cruise and Nokia N95 (8GB version).

Right now, GPS functionality is reserved for the more expensive and high-end mobile handsets. As the demand for GPS-enabled mobile phones continue to rise, cheaper, smarter and sleeker GPS mobile phones are just around the corner. More mobile manufacturers are looking into investing in the GPS technology's evolvement.

Right now the main function of GPS is navigation functions. The future holds more uses for the GPS technology and that's what is getting the attention of investors. Eventually, GPS technology can be used to give services that are dependent on location. Emergency services will be able to track down accident victims, businesses will be able to use this technology to track company vehicles and individuals will find other people whenever they require.

While the ultimate GPS usage may seem to be a privacy violation, the idea is to safeguard the public and enhance business services through the technology. Government regulations in each country specifies the limitations of GPS utilisation and they restrict anyone from using the technology to gather intelligence on anyone without their explicit permission.

High-rise buildings and developmental areas are still a hindrance to GPS tracking systems and the improved technology aims to remove such barriers too. The existing GPS devices are able to locate landmarks, major roads and popular places, according to the user's current locale. Mobile phones with GPS-integration are capable of gathering and presenting relevant information according to the present location.

In the future, GPS mobile phones will be connected with social networking sites, allowing the two parties to communicate in real-time. So, the sites can be updated as and when things happen in one place.

MySpace and Facebook have already taken measures to integrate the technology, by introducing the mobile version of their sites. The primary aim in this integration is to allow user generated content to be uploaded efficiently and conveniently from where the user is.

GPS technology is still new and its uses in tracking children and other people who need to be monitored is being used effectively, but it can become a problem for the average person in future. This is because GPS technology can be used to advertise various products and services to persons using GPS-enabled mobile phones.

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Saturday, August 9, 2008

Comparing GPS Tracking Systems

By Gary Pearson


There are many kinds of tracking which you can do these days with GPS tracking system. These systems have become very versatile these days. You can simultaneously track different employees travelling in separate directions. This detailed tracking obviously has many uses. It will enable coordination of deliveries, save on costs and help widen the reach of services over the course of the day.

You can download all the data from the passive GPS tracking systems at the end of the day and check the drivers trips as well as stoppages. Activities like expense reports; mileage as well as employee time cards can be verified through it. As it is used by a number of companies the employees have become conscious from the beginning.

Then you have portable GPS tracking systems which find use in adventure sports such as mountain climbing and hiking. Such a device is also popular with golfers who use it to ascertain the hole location and the lie of the terrain ahead to help them in shot selection.

There are more sophisticated models of the same device used by high end golf resorts which can show to the golfers all the hole locations and the terrain of the golf course. These resorts monitor the entire course with the GPS technology which enables them to reach a golfer quickly in the case of an emergency.

There are other uses of the GPS tracking systems. Some parents use it to monitor the movement of their teenage children as they drive a car. Some people keep watch on the route followed by their old relatives so that they can come to their aid, in case of an emergency. Thus GPS tracking systems can not only locate a vehicle but can help save life.

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