PNT Advisory Board Meeting Highlights

This article presents selective passages from the just-published minutes of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Advisory Board, Third Meeting, Washington, D.C., March 27-28, 2008. Most presentations have been abridged, and many of the ensuing discussions among the Board members have been shortened or eliminated in this rundown. Thus, many items of critical interest have been passed over in the name of brevity. Interested readers are encouraged to peruse the full meeting minutes posted at www.pnt.gov.

Topcon GRS-1

If you need up to 1cm accuracy from a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) Topcon GRS-1 is for you. This is a GPS network rover receiver, and the small, lightweight form factor combined with a relatively small price tag makes it quite attractive. It has DGPS capability with a regular L1 antenna for GIS and navigation and a the PGA-1 external antenna for your local GNSS network. The GRS-1 uses Windows Mobile 6.1 OS, has a 3.7 inch, touch screen display and a rugged construction that can stand a one meter drop.

Other features of the Topcon GRS-1 also include SD memory card slot, optional internal GSM or CDMA modem, built-in 2 MP camera, internal magnetic compass and wireless connectivity via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology.

Brought to you by your GPS navigation

HKC Mopad 8E

What we’re looking at here is the new HKC Mopad 8E. It looks a like sexy device with attractive curves that remind us of another highly popular device :)

Mopad 8E specializes with its ability to receive digital TV channels (DVB-H). But that’s not why we’re talking abou it here at Navigadget. HKC Mopad 8E also integrates an GPS receiver for navigation - but like most other device from far east we don’t have any clue about the software that works with this GPS receiver.

We do know all the other specs though:

• 3.2″ touch screen
• 8GB memory
• 624MHz CPU
• 1150mAh battery
• 128MB RAM
• 3MP camera

Oh, and that button like thing near the bottom between the green and red keys is a fingerprint scanner.via

Brought to you by your GPS navigation site NaviGadget.

Enfora's GPS/GPRS-Based Spider AT Crawls Forth

Enfora has rolled out its Spider AT asset monitoring and management platform, a combination GPS- and GSM/GPRS-based low-power system, according to the company.

Navigon on Android

Navigon will be announcing their GPS navigation system software for the Android platform in August – Navigon MobileNavigator 7.

A 30 day trial version will be available for free which will even include speed limit warnings, and POIs along the way. There will also be a pedestrian version of the GPS navigation system included in this trial version.

You may find a restaurant through the recommendations of the social network Skobbler, and can also save rating and even send them directly to the communication tool Twitter.

Navigon MobileNavigator 7 for Android will be completely over the air. The maps are stored on a server and routes are also calculated by the server and then downloaded to your device. Of course you’re strongly advised to have a high speed data service on your phone before anything else.

This will be the first time for Navigon to offer such GPS navigation platform over the air. Navigon will be competing with the U.S. publisher ALK which already sells its navigation software CoPilot Live 8 for Android smartphones. Navigon MobileNavigator for Android goes on sale in August for 69 € with regional maps and for 99 € for the complete European version…

via

Brought to you by your GPS navigation site NaviGadget.

Navigon on Android

Spirent's GSS800 Adds QZSS Signal Support

Spirent Communications plc has officially announced that its GNSS RF signal simulator, the GSS800, now supports the Japanese Quasi Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), in addition to GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, and satellite-based augmentation systems.

Vodafone’s twitter exploits

  With O2 customers receiving free SMS alerts from Twitter, it’s understandable that Vodafone wants to offer a perk for Twitter users. We’re not sure that the "first interactive real time top 40 for music lovers" is the way forward, however.

Vodafone commissioned developer Ben Marsh to "create a live top 40 chart of what people are listening to on Twitter, to promote the Vodafone Music store", he wrote on his blog. Using the #RealTimeTop40 hashtag, Twitter users can enter the artist and song they’re listening to and then check out www.realtimetop40.com to view what the most listened-to songs are right now.

It’s not exclusive to Vodafone customers, however if you want to purchase one of the songs currently riding high on the chart, you’ll have to be a paid-up customer to do so.

If Vodafone created an app for mobile phones we can see more use out of this scheme, but for now it’s just another way for Twitter users to pat themselves on the back that they all have such terrific musical taste. If Patrick Swayze’s ‘She’s Like The Wind’ can be considered taste.

Link: Real Time Top 40

[Source T3]

GIS

U&C Insights — August 2007

In June I wrote about telecom ignoring vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to- infrastructure communication efforts. Of course, as the winds of fate have my name and Social Security Number, one company made an interesting announcement just as my finger left the Send button. OKI Electric of Japan is starting trials of the first Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC)-equipped cell phone that communicates automated warnings between vehicles and pedestrians.

Continental Automotive Control Unit Uses GPS, Sensors

Continental AG's Interior Division has debuted a GPS- and sensor-based concept control unit for passenger cars that supplies data such as road topography and curvature, as well as location, speed, and other information continuously to a vehicle's control systems.

Getac's Rugged GPS Comes with Camera, Altimeter, E-compass

MiTAC's new Getac PS535F GPS has an autofocus camera, altimeter, and E-compass. Its features are designed so field-based employees can capture field data on site and transmit data back to headquarters in real-time, as well as provide pinpoint navigation support to improve location-based productivity.img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~r/GpsUtilitiesCommunications/~4/YLmQz1n_n4I" height="1" width="1"/

Out in Front: Raise a Red Flag

Young GNSS scientists and graduate students from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, China, and Myanmar who attended the International Symposium on GPS/GNSS 2008 impressed me with their enthusiasm, energy, creativity, and, well, youth. Satellite navigation has a very bright future in the Far East.br/br/[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~r/GpsWorld-LatestNews/~4/8N_-Mckbvfg" height="1" width="1"/

Samsung’s first Android™ smartphone (i7500) now on sale with O2

 

Samsung Mobile UK today announces that its Galaxy handset (i7500) is now available on the O2 network in the UK through O2 stores, o2.co.uk and O2’s telesales team. The Samsung Galaxy is the company’s first device powered by Android, giving customers instant access to familiar applications, as well as access to a range of ever-expanding services being developed for the Android platform.

“The Samsung Galaxy is one of the most innovative and high-quality Android-powered devices on the market. We’ve built in all the features people have come to expect from high-end Samsung devices, like the AMOLED screen and fast processing power, to provide a great user experience,” said Mark Mitchinson, VP, Samsung Mobile UK. “We’re fortunate to have the technical ability at Samsung to support a variety of operating systems and demonstrate real leadership in developing the technologies that customers want and understand.’

“O2 has become the home of smartphones and launching our first Android-powered phone with Samsung is a key part of this,” said Steve Alder, General Manager Devices, Telefónica Europe. “What I love about the Samsung Galaxy is the great user experience and the fantastic range of apps it brings to even more customers.”

Whatever your lifestyle, there will be an Android application for you and with its large memory, you can personalise your Samsung Galaxy with as many apps as you desire. Go directly to the Android Market on your Samsung Galaxy i7500 and download for free, a variety of unique apps (you will need to have a Google™Account in order to access the market).

• Shop Savvy – allows you to scan barcodes in store with your device and search online for the best prices
• Lightsaber – a fun application that means you can play lightsabers with friends
• Paceman – anyone can play this traditional arcade which is making a cult comeback

The familiar Google services on the PC are ready and waiting on the Samsung Galaxy including: Google Search™ Google Maps™, Gmail™, Google Talk™.  It also has an integrated GPS receiver meaning you can make full use of Google Maps to guide you in the car or on foot. 
As well as the world of applications, the internet really comes to life through the Samsung Galaxy’s 3.2inch AMOLED screen; watch great quality videos from You Tube, surf the web with the super-fast browser or view pictures you’ve taken with its 5 mega-pixel camera.

A device as powerful as this needs a long battery life and memory capacity so it can be enjoyed fully and the Samsung Galaxy doesn’t disappoint. Capable of storing up to 40GB of memory (8GB internal memory, external up to 32GB), this smartphone packs a lot into its slim, compact design (115 x 56 x 11.9mm).

The Samsung Galaxy (i7500) is available in the UK on O2 exclusively for 4 weeks from Monday 31st August 2009 and is free on a £45 per month tariff.

Operating System

Android™ OS

Chipset

Qualcomm: 7200A, ARM11 528MHz + DSP 256MHz

Camera

5MP AF + Power LED

Display Resolution/ Size

3.2’’ HVGA (320 x 480) AMOLED

3G Bearer and Band

2G Bearer and Band

HSDPA 7.2Mbps / HSUPA 5.76Mbps (900 / 1700/ 2100MHz)
EDGE / GPRS (850/ 900/1800/1900)

Connectivity

Bluetooth® 2.0, USB 2.0, WiFi, MicroUSB, 3.5mm ear jack

GPS

Yes

Radio

No

Video / Audio

Video: MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV
Audio: MP3, AAC, AAC+, e-AAC+, WMA, RA

Memory

Internal memory: 8GB
External memory: Micro SD (Up to 32GB)

Additional Applications

Browser, Google apps, Android market

Talk / standby time

1500mAh

Dimensions

115 x 56 x 11.9mm

news gadgets

CES: TomTom Debuts Connected PND for North America

Undaunted by the so-far lackluster market for connected portable navigation devices (PNDs), Netherlands-based TomTom unveiled a connected device for the North American market at the Consumer Electronics Show, promising a Q2 introduction for the $499 Go 740 Live.[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

u-blox Endorses Publishing of Schematics by Openmoko

Openmoko, maker of open-source mobile products, has taken another step in opening its mobile platform to the development community by announcing it will publish the schematics for the Neo 1973 and Neo FreeRunner mobile phones.

T-Mobile Pulse

Yay for more Android powered T-Mobile phones. This one is called T-Mobile and is only going to be available for the European market. It is actually a rebranded version of Huawei’s U8220.

T-Mobile Pulse will feature a 3.5″ screen, 3.2MP camera, 3G connection, bluetooth, WiFi, and of course GPS. It will have a microSD card slot, front facing camera, and a super slim body measuring only 13.5mm.

Not sure how much Pulse will cost.

via

Brought to you by your GPS navigation site NaviGadget.

T-Mobile Pulse

smallest GPS receiver ever

Epson and Infinion’s XPOSYS PMB 2540 chip is world’s smallest A-GPS receiver ever. Unless that’s a giant match we can see this fitting into every gadget that you carry.

XPOSYS PMB 2540 only measures 2.8×2.9 mm and will be mass produced starting late this year and will consume only half as much power as other A-GPS receivers… Yay? How do you feel about this? via

Brought to you by your GPS navigation site NaviGadget.

Nexus One Rises from the Ashes… As a Developer Phone

After Google killed the Nexus One commercially last month, there was great mourning amongst the geek community. But now Google has pumped life back into the Nexus One, by selling it as the official Google developer phone, which succeeds the previous developer phone which was the Google Ion. Apparently it is unchanged from the dead consumer model, but Google says that you will need to upgrade to 2.2 when you receive the phone, as it only comes with 2.1. To get the Nexus One, you first need to become an official Google developer, then pay $529 (about £333)  then get it shipped from the states. However, you are going stuck with T-Mobile, as it is carrier locked them.

Source

Sony Xperia X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro Rooted

The good people over at XDA-Developers have rooted the smallest android phones on the market, the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini and the X10 Mini Pro. Apparently it only takes a couple of clicks and a few minutes to root the X10 mini and the X10 mini Pro. Instructions for how to root are in the link below.

Source