GPS phones to be next big thing - as if we didn't already know

I'm on the train, 16.463 miles outside St Pancras

By Nick Farrell: Monday, 10 March 2008, 8:00 AM

MOBILE phones kitted out with GPS satellites tracking will be the next
big thing, according to the Beeb.

Apparently Motorola is planning to flog more than 35 million GPS-
phones in 2008.

The Beeb notes that GPS is still a bit pricey, but investment in GPS
chips has reduced the cost.

Orem Nissim, head of GPS company Telmap said that the next phase of
development involves jacking a lot more content under the bonnet of
GPS systems.

He wanted to see more details on maps so that they could provide
details of the locations of restaurants, coffee shops, bars," he adds.

There will also be targeted, location based advertising to bring joy
to our hearts. =B5

All above taken from http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/03/10/=
gps-phones-big-thing

The GPS phones had shown up and been used by millions of users 3 years
ago. For example: HP iPAQ 6515.

/gps-phones-big...

The GPS phones had shown up and been used by millions of users 3 years
ago. For example: HP iPAQ 6515.


GPS will be on all phones in a few years, like cameras and MP3 players are
now even though they where once considered exotic.

Does anyone know how well the GPSs in "other" devices work? I have two
Garmin units, both fairly hefty and expensive, which need a good clear view
of the sky to get a good fix. How can the cheap little Razr in my pocket
have any chance of getting a good satellite signal? (I've never actually
used the VZW Navigator service, so I don't know how well it works.) I've
heard explanations of how phones get some assistance from the local cell
tower, but I've never heard a coherent explanation of how this is done. If
this is possible, then couldn't the GPS makers have their units listen for
these same hints from the cell tower to improve their accuracy?

units, both fairly hefty and expensive, which
Razr in my pocket have any chance of getting a
I don't know how well it works.) I've heard
I've never heard a coherent explanation of how
units listen for these same hints from the cell tower

The GPS support from moible networks (calles A-GPS which stands for assisted
GPS) does not improve the accuracy. The issue is that
if you do a "cold start" (i.e. the first time you start you GPS device) it can
take a few minutes to get your first position
estimate. The problem is that the receiver has no information on its current
location nor on the location of the satellites. The
mobile network can provide a position estimate (at a 50km accuracy (~30 miles))
and (more importantly) can pass the satellite
positions (i.e. the satellite almanac). With this information the GPS receiver
in the mobile unit can compute which satellites are
"visible" and thus can get a position fix within a few seconds. A additional
benefit of this feature is that the GPS part only has
to be on when the user "asks" for it. Since the GPS receivers typically consume
quite a bit of power in this way the batery life
of you mobile phone is not impacted very much.

Tim
http://gnss.servolux.nl