On other blogs today…….

Garmin is Suing Tom Tom

PSP getting GPS?

LAPD and GPS enabled darts

Written by matt on February 10th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on GPS Vehicle Tracking.

Wherify Gears Up to Deliver GPS Child Safety Services

Wherify Wireless, Inc., a leading developer of wireless location products and services, today announced the company has secured a package of equity financing where the company can access up to $35 million of common stock equity over a two-year period. Wherify will utilize the funds for accelerating marketing efforts and expanding global operations toward the upcoming launch of its Wherifone GPS Locator Phone, assisted-GPS technology platforms, and continued product development.

The Wherifone is the world’s smallest GSM/Enhanced-GPS Locator Phone and provides a totally unique and affordable way for families with pre-teens, seniors, mobile workers, or those with special medical needs, to stay connected and in contact with each other. As well as two-way voice calling, the Wherifone features Enhanced-GPS location technology that lets it be located in lightly obstructed areas, such as many types of wood frame buildings and vehicles, and under dense foliage. The Wherifone gives a child or adult carrying it a new level of security knowing they can stay connected to friends, family and colleagues, and request an emergency response at the touch of a button.

“This equity financing is an important component of our overall financial strategy and provides us access to the capital necessary to continue our innovation and leadership position in the GPS location, family safety and communications markets,” said Timothy Neher, chief executive officer, Wherify Wireless. “We are excited to see that our Company has received such a strong vote of confidence as we prepare to launch our services worldwide.”

The Wherifone provides affordable peace-of-mind to the modern mobile family. The slim, small and lightweight Tri-Band GSM cell phone (900/1800/1900 and 850/1800/1900) weighs under 70 grams and features incoming and outgoing calling, five programmable buttons for one touch dialing, a headset jack, and a backlit LCD display. The absence of a traditional dial pad helps parents and caregivers manage the expense of out-going calls, and provides ease-of-use. As well as two-way voice calling, the Wherifone features Enhanced-GPS location technology that lets it be located in lightly obstructed areas, such as many types of wood frame buildings and vehicles, and under dense foliage. The cell phone is supported by a Location Service Center, which can be accessed 24 X 7, by telephone or the Internet to locate and plot a device’s position on both street maps and aerial photographs.

– PRE-TEENS: The Wherifone is a great “First Phone” for pre-teens. The small, compact design is a perfect fit for kids, and comes in a variety of great colors that will make them the envy of the neighborhood. The phone’s five pre-programmable buttons let kids stay in touch with close family and friends, or summon help with one-touch dialing — while letting parents manage outbound call costs. The Wherifone’s Enhanced GPS location technology also lets parents, caregivers and safety officials quickly locate a child in need of help, bringing peace-of-mind and added safety to the mobile family.

– SENIORS: The Wherifone makes an ideal “Companion Phone” for seniors on the go or with special needs. With simple one-touch dialing through five pre-programmed buttons, seniors can easily stay in touch with friends and family while having the ability to call for help at the push of a button. Not only can seniors use the Wherifone GPS location phone themselves to summon aid right to their location, but loved-ones and care-givers can contact the Wherify Global Location Service Center, or use the secure Wherify website, to identify senior’s location at anytime of day or night.

– SMALL BUSINESSES: The Wherifone can be used by small businesses as a mobile “Work Phone” to manage and communicate with mobile workers, to manage the location of small fleets of trucks or delivery vehicles, and to coordinate dispatch destinations with drivers. The preprogrammed one-touch dialing buttons also help the small business owner manage communications expenses. The absence of a traditional dial pad prevents workers from using the Wherifone for personal calls and incurring unauthorized expenses, while at the same time ensuring they can make necessary calls to up to five pre-defined locations.

Written by GPS Tracking Guy on February 10th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on GPS Child Tracking.

World’s Smallest Real-Time GPS Tracker Launched

The WorldTracker SMS is equipped with a SiRFstarIII chipset and a Siemens MC-46 tri-band GSM module, the unit measures just 2.56 by 1.7 by 1.1 inches (45 by 66 by 25 millimeters) and weighs a mere 3.1 ounces (87 grams). The device is completely self-contained and features built-in GPS and GSM antennas, as well as a rechargeable lithium ion battery. It is small enough to place on a belt or in a purse, hide inside of a vehicle, or easily integrate into machinery.

SiRFstarIII technology allows for extra sensitive reception outdoors, indoors and through metal. WorldTracker SMS provides real-time navigation in urban canyons as well as high sensitivity acquisition needed for indoor use.

WorldTracker SMS features a WAAS-enabled GPS receiver. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) developed the WAAS program for use in precision flight approaches. WAAS boosts GPS signal integrity and corrects for errors caused by atmospheric disturbances, timing, and satellite orbit errors. A WAAS-capable receiver will give you a position accuracy of better than three meters 95 percent of the time.

Location information can be reported to a cell phone or PDA using SMS messages without the use of a computer or website.

The WorldTracker SMS works worldwide thanks to its support of the three major GSM frequency bands: 900/1800 MHz worldwide and 1900 MHz in the U.S.

The WorldTracker SMS is designed to send short message service (SMS) messages containing location and status information. With its geofencing ability, users can define an area and set the unit in park mode. If the unit moves beyond its predefined limits, it will automatically send an alert message to a cell phone with its current location. The unit also features an emergency button, which a carrier can use to alert others in the event of an emergency such as a kidnapping.

The device is always active and has a rechargeable lithium ion battery that provides 24 hours of power. Optional battery packs can increase power life to as many as 30 days, and the unit also can be either plugged into or wired for 12-volt direct current power.

Security Concepts offers complete service for a monthly fee. Users can use Google Earth, which combines satellite imagery, 3D maps and the power of Google search to create a complete virtual earth. By using Google Earth, users eliminate the need to update separate mapping software and pay monthly licensing and maintenance fees for mapping software.

Written by matt on February 10th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on GPS Vehicle Tracking.

New Reference Platform for GPS-Enabled Multimedia Mobile Phones, Personal Navigation Devices

NeoMagic Corporation, SiGe Semiconductor and NordNav unveiled a reference platform that provides manufacturers with a cost-effective and fast route to designing feature-rich, GPS-enabled multimedia mobile handsets and Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs).

The reference platform includes NeoMagic’s MiMagic 6+ applications processor, NordNav’s cost-effective E5500 GPS software, and SiGe Semiconductor’s SE8088L high-performance positioning system. The MiMagic 6+ processor is capable of delivering rich content including video, 3D graphics, and mobile entertainment. SiGe’s SE8088L positioning system and NordNav’s E5500 GPS software together provide measurements and navigation information for complete GPS system implementation.

This new mobile GPS solution will be demonstrated at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona from February 13-16, at the NeoMagic stand D152 Hall 1, SiGe Semiconductor booth D82 Hall 1, and NordNav booth G81 Hall 2. It is expected to be available for customers in 2Q 2006.

“The major challenge facing handset and PND manufacturers is increased feature integration without compromising size, cost or battery life,” said Nadeem Rahman, Director of Product Marketing at NeoMagic. “The combination of our technologies offers a low cost, small footprint GPS solution for GSM handset and PND manufacturers. In addition to GPS, the MiMagic 6+ processor enables many multimedia features including Digital Mobile TV, VoIP, Audio/Video, Camcorder, Camera, and 3D gaming running on a single chip. Thus, providing a path to many rich features with significant savings of cost, footprint and power.”

Enabling multimedia and navigation services

Mobile handsets and Personal Navigation Devices based on the new reference platform will be capable of continuous real-time measurements at signal levels below -185dBW, and position information on demand in even the most challenging environments. SiGe’s SE8088L enhances performance with integrated features that minimize interference with the co-located cellular radio. Power control features are also integrated to minimize current consumption for longer battery life.

“The SE8088L was designed specifically to address the requirements of next-generation mobile handsets,” said Stuart Strickland, product line director, SiGe Semiconductor. “We are pleased with how the MiMagic 6+ processor and our offering of the SE8088L combined with NordNav’s E5500 GPS software exploit these features to deliver high performance GPS capability while still meeting the requirements for shrinking form factors and power budgets.”

Written by GPS Tracking Guy on February 10th, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on GPS Cell Phone News.