| A few years ago, the FCC mandated that cell | | | | directions with a GPS cell phone is to subscribe to |
| phones have GPS capacity or some form of | | | | a GPS navigation service. Nextel offers two: |
| location mechanism so that the phone and its | | | | Televigation's TeleNav and Motorola's ViaMoto. |
| operator could be located in the case of a 911 call. | | | | Using the GPS and Nextel's network, TeleNav and |
| The law took effect at the beginning of 2005. | | | | ViaMoto can send driving directions to a Nextel |
| Today, over one hundred million cell phones in this | | | | phone. If you make a wrong turn or miss a |
| country have a chip that provides GPS capacity | | | | street, the service detects that you're off the |
| and increasingly, software services are emerging | | | | route and new route is calculated to put you back |
| that put them to use. | | | | on track. |
| GPS stands for Global Positioning Software and it | | | | Aside from the basic mapping and location |
| simply means that an equipped device can be | | | | support, if you're a Sprint-Nextel customer you |
| located by the satellites overhead in | | | | can subscribe to a service called Smarter Agent. |
| geosynchronous orbit that are built to pick up GPS | | | | This GPS supported technology is tied to a real |
| signals. While the cell phone companies initially | | | | estate database and can provide you with |
| were reluctant to participate, they have begun to | | | | information on home sales in the neighborhood |
| develop subscription services that provide | | | | where you and your cell phone happen to be |
| software to help you use the tracking system. | | | | located. It will identify which homes have sold in |
| The GPS technology without bells and whistles | | | | the neighborhood in the last few years, and for |
| simply pinpoints the location of your cell phone. A | | | | what price. |
| techie named Chuck Fletcher developed a | | | | Verizon has a service called getGOING. You can |
| freeware program called Mologogo that allows one | | | | download applications such as AtlasBook Places. |
| Mologogo equipped phone to locate other, similarly | | | | With AtlasBook Places you can get maps and |
| equipped phones. It's become a method for a few | | | | directions and navigate to nearby places. An |
| thousand cell owners to keep track of each | | | | option is a web-based planning tool. These |
| other, but hasn't moved much beyond that. | | | | functions are available on selected Verizon phones. |
| Verizon and Sprint have developed subscription | | | | There's an inherent privacy issue here that is a |
| services that will allow your phone to pinpoint | | | | challenge for the major cell providers. |
| your location, complete with overhead map. It's a | | | | Sprint-Nextel is the only company that has always |
| mobile driving assistance tool that should enjoy | | | | allowed access to the GPS chips in its handsets. |
| some degree of popularity. The cell phone | | | | They have a strict privacy agreement with any |
| companies have been reticent to provide general | | | | third party service providers such as Smart |
| access to the GPS feature in their phones, | | | | Agent. If you download software that is not |
| because it can be a sensitive privacy issue - | | | | provided through Nextel, however, you have no |
| especially if you're somewhere you're not | | | | such guarantee of privacy. This issue, aside from |
| supposed to be. | | | | dollar signs, is what has kept GPS functionality |
| More to the point, however, is the fact that the | | | | largely an in-house development of the cell phone |
| cell operators see the GPS technology as a | | | | companies. |
| potential profit center. One way to get driving | | | | |