Google is really narrowing the distance between a smartphone and dedicated GPS devices. At first, it was the all might Droid that was rocking out some serious GPS navigation action. Just today, Engadget reported the arrival of such navigation available for all Anroid 1.6 handsets (yes, the old G1 is part of this). I updated both MyTouch3G as well as my G1, pretty cool indeed!
Has hell frozen over? First we hear rumors about Nokia in talks with Microsoft regarding Windows Mobile. Now I am seeing pictures of the gorgeous Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 which is going to run on Windows Mobile OS. As reported by a couple of sources, this ultra-premium sexy looking phone will debut in second half of 2008. This phone is so feature-rich and supports every band-width known to man. The most amazing feature is the 3" VGA (800x600) resolution. Things will be more interesting with this phone in the market.
I didn't know how this one slipped under my nose. Nokia N82, the little brother to the N95 is available for sale at Buy.com for $480 unlocked. This bad boy is feature-packed. Like its N95 older bro, it has 3G (WCDMA 2100... not US friendly), integrated GPS, QVGA screen, WiFi 802.11b/g, Symbian S60 3rd edition, 5MP Carl-Zeiss, and 100MB of free memory with MicroSD expansion slot. This phone is basically functionally identical to the N95 w/o the dual slider function.
Nokia released a new maps application in beta 2.0 version. Integrating some new features. I've yet to get a chance for a download but here is what is in the description:"Nokia Maps is taking maps and navigation experiences to the next level and introducing Walk - pedestrian navigation, in addition to Drive - world class car navigation, multimedia city guides, satellite maps and other innovative features. With free maps of more than 150 countries, over 15 million points-of-interest, the world is in your pocket. Don't get lost or choose to get lost in the right places to explore, and let Nokia Maps show you the way."Nokia Maps 2.0 Beta comes with compatible Nokia Map Loader, also available for download from this site.
GPS cell phone is no doubt going to enhance our mobile experience. While Google and Apple are working on amazing technologies utilizing cell towers and wifi ip addresses to pinpoint your location over data, it still can not out perform the robustness of a well integrated GPS receiver in your phone. Put aside each telecom carrier's hidden agenda (charging for GPS service), lets gather a list of GPS-enabled phones that are available on the market today (2/14/2008). I'll attempt to manage this entry as days go on and keep it on the reference link on the right hand side for my readers. (Side Note: Its amazing that Cingular, Tmobile, do not have GPS in its Shop by Feature as I was researching for this project, this is severely under-estimating its attraction to consumers).
Garmin (one of the top players of aftermarket GPS maker) is officially in the smartphone arena with the "nuvifone". Imagine a typical Garmin nüvi GPS Navigator, add 3G HSDPA, phone, browser and what you have is a smartphone by Garmin.
I have been eyeing on the Nokia N95 smartphone for a while now. There are plenty of reviews around this phone, so I won't get into the details. The bottom line is it offers integrated GPS with free maps, WiFi, Quadband GSM phone, and HSDPA 3G at the WCDMA 2100 band - ouch!
Yesterday, on my train ride to Boston, I was browsing the web on my Cingular 8525 to pass the time. I noticed Google's homepage prompted me to download Google Maps. I always knew that GMM worked for selected Jave-based phones (like the BlackBerry, etc.). I downloaded the CAB file to my handset and installed the program. Unlike Microsoft's Virtual Earth Mobile, this mobile application works! Flawlessly!. I attempted to search for addresses using Microsoft's Virtual Earth and it always give me an "unexpected error" message.
Pairing GPS with cell phones is nothing new. I first noticed Sprint then Verizon bringing out GPS enabled phones to the masses about a year ago. Lately, however, I have noticed a bigger movement for phone makers to include a GPS chip/receiver to new handsets. First, I noticed BlackBerry released a 8703e through Sprint which enables turn-by-turn GPS. After some research, I found a video footage of the hot BlackBerry Pearl running GPS. Then, I found the new Helio Drift. Not only is this phone GPS enabled, it incorporates Google Map which brings a boat load of additional features such as real-time traffic status, satelite view and local listings.