HTC Releases Three Series of Touch Smartphones

HTC storms the market with its three brand of Touch series smartphones namely Touch HD,

Touch 3G and Touch Viva. Apart from the fact that the three phones are manufactured by HTC they all have different features that perform distinctive functions.

With a dimension of 4.5 by 2.4 by 0.4 inches, weight of about 5.1 ounces, a wide screen of 3.8" and wide-screen VGA display with a resolution of 480 x 800, the Touch HD is larger and heavier than the Touch 3G which only measures 4 by 2.1 by 0.5 inches, weighs about 3.3 ounces and has a 2.8-inch screen with the TouchFLO interface. The Touch Viva is even smaller in length at 3.9 by 2.2 by 0.5 inches but weighs about 3.9 ounces some 0.6 ounces heavier than the Touch 3G.

Powered by Window Mobile 6.1, Touch HD comes with advanced features that confer great functionalities which include integrated Wi-Fi, assisted GPS, EDGE, and 3G connectivity capable of 7.2 Mbps with a browser that makes access to the internet very easy through which users can receive e-mail and use instant messaging, and the Pocket Office enables them to view and edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. The multimedia features include a 5-megapixel camera with auto focus the large screen has an accelerometer and can be used to watch videos. There's also a standard headphone jack and stereo Bluetooth capabilities.

Also powered by windows 6.0, the Touch 3G is a bit of a step down but nevertheless comes with enough great features that also make it an interesting mobile phone. It also has Wi-Fi, EDGE, 3G capabilities and a built-in GPS receiver that function as location-based services. The handset also has a multimedia player, Bluetooth version 2.0, built-in hands-free capability, and a microSD slot for expandable memory. Unlike Touch HD, the Touch 3G has a 3.2-megapixel camera.

Unlike the other two, the Touch Viva lacks 3G connection and GPS but has an integrated Wi-Fi and EDGE connections, and it can view and edit some Office files. For easy internet connection, it possesses a full HTML browser, Bluetooth version 2.0, expandable memory via a microSD slot, a 2-megapixel camera, and a multimedia player.

The company plans to make all the three available at the same time and envisage early October but however pricing has yet not been mentioned.

Team Rescues Elephant from Kenya Locals with the Aid of GPS Tracker

But for the GPS collared on Mountain Bull, one of the few fast disappearing elephants in the

Kenya's Samburu National Reserve, the animal would have gone been killed by the villagers who battle for spaces with these wild lives that are alleged to have caused great damages to their farmlands, homes and even their lives.

The elephant had absconded from his reserve home and astray to the near-by village in search for food that happened to be the villagers' only means of livelihood. Action such has this has sent uncountable elephants to their "early grave" and the animals were fast going into extinct but for the timely intervention of a conservation research group based outside Kenya's Samburu National Reserve named Save the Elephants.

This group is founded in order to find ways to let elephants better coexist with people across Africa especially those living far inside the jungles. The researchers track these elephants' whereabouts both for science and for salvation by attaching GPS to collars around their necks.

According to Iain Douglas-Hamilton, a biologist working with the research group, "We were surprised to hear he had been out with the crop raiders. We knew he usually stayed in safe places. He must have been taken in by some bad friends that night. His life was saved by our radio tracking data."

The team, with tracking software help from the Environmental Studies Research Institute of Redlands, Calif., hopes to spread such lessons across Africa, with similar projects underway in Mali, Gabon and South Africa. "Animal tracking is nothing new but we've really pushed the technology," says Douglas-Hamilton. Plotting elephant travels on Google Maps allows the researchers to follow their charges for years. In particular, tracking has revealed "streaking" undertaken by elephants, long straight-line treks from reserve to reserve sometimes covering dozens of miles in a few days. Preserving these corridors is a key requirement for elephant survival, Douglas-Hamilton suggests, much like corridors for wildlife in the American West. "I gave a talk in Montana on corridors and everyone nodded along and said it was just the same with the grizzlies from Canada," he says.

Team Rescues Elephant from Kenya Locals with the Aid of GPS Tracker

But for the GPS collared on Mountain Bull, one of the few fast disappearing elephants in the

Kenya's Samburu National Reserve, the animal would have gone been killed by the villagers who battle for spaces with these wild lives that are alleged to have caused great damages to their farmlands, homes and even their lives.

The elephant had absconded from his reserve home and astray to the near-by village in search for food that happened to be the villagers' only means of livelihood. Action such has this has sent uncountable elephants to their "early grave" and the animals were fast going into extinct but for the timely intervention of a conservation research group based outside Kenya's Samburu National Reserve named Save the Elephants.

This group is founded in order to find ways to let elephants better coexist with people across Africa especially those living far inside the jungles. The researchers track these elephants' whereabouts both for science and for salvation by attaching GPS to collars around their necks.

According to Iain Douglas-Hamilton, a biologist working with the research group, "We were surprised to hear he had been out with the crop raiders. We knew he usually stayed in safe places. He must have been taken in by some bad friends that night. His life was saved by our radio tracking data."

The team, with tracking software help from the Environmental Studies Research Institute of Redlands, Calif., hopes to spread such lessons across Africa, with similar projects underway in Mali, Gabon and South Africa. "Animal tracking is nothing new but we've really pushed the technology," says Douglas-Hamilton. Plotting elephant travels on Google Maps allows the researchers to follow their charges for years. In particular, tracking has revealed "streaking" undertaken by elephants, long straight-line treks from reserve to reserve sometimes covering dozens of miles in a few days. Preserving these corridors is a key requirement for elephant survival, Douglas-Hamilton suggests, much like corridors for wildlife in the American West. "I gave a talk in Montana on corridors and everyone nodded along and said it was just the same with the grizzlies from Canada," he says.

Russia Pumps Funds into GLONASS

The Russian news service, RIA Novosti, reports that the Russian government has decided to devote a total sum of 67 billion rubles equivalent to $2.6 billion to enable further development and improvement of its GLONASS as might be required.

This was announced by the Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, during a meeting with Sergei Ivanov, deputy prime minister who is responsible for state policies relating to industry development, defense, nuclear, and space industries and transportation. Ivanov said that the majority of the $2.6 billion would be devoted to acquiring additional new satellites to the GLONASS constellation in order to meet up with the terrestrial demands.

This became necessary to meet up with the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) plans to increase the current number of GLONASS satellites from 16 to 30 by 2011. While GLONASS now has 16 satellites in orbit, one is in a decommissioning phase, while two others are undergoing maintenance, leaving 13 operationally healthy. Another amount equivalent to ($1.8 billion) has been set aside to meet up with the country's space program.

This year budget for the GLONASS is considerably huge compared with previous years' allocations. In 2007, about $418.25 million equivalent was allocated to the project and a lower rate of $200 million was devoted in 2006 by the Russian federal budget.

The news also predicted that more funds would be budgeted in the nearest future in order to meet up with the scheduled plans.

Garmin Chooses Navteq Traffic's RDS Service

Seeking a foothold in the ever competitive PND market, Garmin has called on Navteq to deploy its Traffic's RDS service, which delivers traffic data via FM radio, to provide what the company called a lifetime traffic service for its Nüvi 2x5 and Nüvi 7x5 families of portable navigation devices (PNDs).

This would be the company's first advertising-supported, real-time traffic service in North America market. The company had earlier announced that it would offer lifetime traffic service for its selected series of PND.

According to Navteq, a standard with a traffic receiver that will provide alerts in covered areas with no subscription fee required will be incorporated into all the Garmin Nüvi 755T, 765T, 775T, and Nüvi 2x5 family. The company said the system will deliver what it describes as contextually relevant advertising along with traffic content over its RDS network. For example, a driver can click on an ad to view specific restaurant information and route to the restaurant's location.

The company also expressed confidence about the acceptability of this essential feature because the research earlier conducted by the company to such effect reveals that consumers accept and even expect advertising if there is a clear value exchange and if the advertising is relevant and unobtrusive.

Sensorlogic Announces its Latest GPS Software

The latest entry in the GPS software application market is the one from Sensorlogic which recently launched XpressIQ Position, GPS tracking software and location-based service that is compatible with the company's first GSM/GPS tracker.

The company said that various factors have put into consideration during the design to ensure that customers create and deploy a GPS tracking application in a matter of days without much difficulty. Some of the features incorporated in the software include a current and historical data plotting using a map interface, a notification engine for sending SMS, voice, and email alerts, a customized data alarm and response scenarios, and a geofence perimeters for creating customized safety zones.

The application is integrated with eLoc GL-100, Sensorlogic's latest GPS tracking device and is found very useful to tracking people, vehicles including boats, and animals.

Galileo in Good Conditions, SSTL Confirmed

The second Galileo satellite has been confirmed to be in good working conditions by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) following an in-orbit comprehensive test to analyze signals from the new GIOVE-B satellite undertook by the company.

The company also discovered that the technologies integral to the European Union-funded Galileo satellite navigation project are valid. The contract was awarded to SSTL by the European Space Agency (ESA) and was responsible for the funding of the project. During May and June SSTL's Galileo team processed data acquired by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) at its 25-meter dish in Chilbolton, United Kingdom, to analyze the center frequency, signal power, and structure of all three Galileo signals. The team validated the in-orbit signals, which met expectations and correlated with ground tests before launch.

Speaking on the occasion, Elizabeth Rooney, SSTL's GIOVE project manager said "The STFC's 25-meter dish provides excellent signal to noise ratio. This was further improved by the ESA- and BNSC-funded fast feed changer that allows fast changeover between customers."

Galileo in Good Conditions, SSTL Confirmed

The second Galileo satellite has been confirmed to be in good working conditions by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) following an in-orbit comprehensive test to analyze signals from the new GIOVE-B satellite undertook by the company.

The company also discovered that the technologies integral to the European Union-funded Galileo satellite navigation project are valid. The contract was awarded to SSTL by the European Space Agency (ESA) and was responsible for the funding of the project. During May and June SSTL's Galileo team processed data acquired by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) at its 25-meter dish in Chilbolton, United Kingdom, to analyze the center frequency, signal power, and structure of all three Galileo signals. The team validated the in-orbit signals, which met expectations and correlated with ground tests before launch.

Speaking on the occasion, Elizabeth Rooney, SSTL's GIOVE project manager said "The STFC's 25-meter dish provides excellent signal to noise ratio. This was further improved by the ESA- and BNSC-funded fast feed changer that allows fast changeover between customers."

Cemetery to be GPS-Enabled

Residents of New Zealand will now be able to trace their ancestors' cemetery through the initiative introduced by the Upper Hutt City Council. The council has finalized arrangement to use readings obtained from GPS designated for that purpose to record the exact locations of all 4782 plaques and headstones in the cemetery.

The idea was conceived by Graeme Chamberlain, an officer at the Upper Hutt geographic information system, who wanted to launch a new service for the community. Happy about the benefits his idea will offer the community he stated that council workers from the local swimming pool, closed for maintenance, spent a few weeks taking readings and photographing the headstones.

"It's a useful tool, particularly for some of the historical stuff. People will be able to use it for family tree genealogy, maybe if they've lost track of a relative or couldn't make the funeral,"

he concluded.

In addition to determining the precise locations of the plots, users will be able to see detailed photographs of each headstone on the council's website, where it will link with existing cemetery records. People would be able to print out a map with the names arranged in rows and cut down on long searches for ancestors or people of interest.

NAVIGON Showcases its Latest GPS Navigator, NAVIGON 2000S

Not only is it very portable and

stylish with its at 3.5" ultra thin feature which makes it compact enough to use anywhere whether travelling the world or the local neighborhood, the NAVIGON 2000S is also a device designed to provide a robust, easy-to-use navigation experience at a competitive price which goes beyond the basics with key advanced features not offered by competing products in its class. This time around NAVIGON has proven that it is indeed among the leading companies when it comes to GPS Navigation devices.

Little wonder its America Based President, Andreas Hecht, proudly stated that "With the 2000S, our goal was to bring NAVIGON's trademark features to a new, accessible level. The 2000S delivers an experience consumers have grown to expect from NAVIGON products with meaningful features, stylish design and performance that are unmatched in its class."

The NAVIGON 2000S has gone the extra miles to deliver some exclusive advanced features that could be found in the GPS market today. First on the list is the Reality View Pro(TM) which NAVIGON takes its trademark from. This feature displays photo-realistic 3D views with actual road signs and lane guidance for virtually every highway interchange and exit that drivers will encounter, thereby given drivers foreknowledge about the road they are traveling on.

With the Advanced Text-to-speech, drivers can fully concentrate on the wheel because there is an advanced phonetic text-to-speech technology that ensures proper pronunciation of street names embedded in the device. The Fast Destination Entry software makes entering and finding information very easy, on average requiring fewer clicks than any other GPS product to enter a destination.

Other features are DirectHelp(TM), which offers instant driving directions to and contact information for nearby hospitals, police stations, roadside assistance, and pharmacies; SIRF InstantFixII Receiver, which offers rapid global positioning with high accuracy; the Lane Assistant Pro(TM) helps drivers prepare to make an upcoming exit or turn by providing clear visual lane guidance and lastly NAVIGON FreshMaps keep the device as accurate as possible and it offers up to 12 map updates over a three year for $79.99.

NAVIGON 2000S sells for $199 (MSRP) in the U.S. and hits store shelves and online retailers in October 2008.

Man Faces Charges for Using GPS to Spy on ex-Girlfriend

According to a report released by the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office (YCSO), several charges have been brought against a 34-year old man, Dustin Keith Brown by name, who illegally spied on her ex-girlfriend using a GPS device. The charges brought against him include burglary, theft, and criminal damage.

The YCSO deputies said that a call was received from a woman late at Friday night reporting about a burglary in Oak Creek. The woman who suspected her ex-boy was responsible for the burglary said that he has been constantly harassing her for the past several weeks even confronted recently at a Phoenix restaurant.

Based on the report of the woman, the deputies of YCSO revealed that he ordered for a search of the woman's apartment and they were astonished to find that someone applied pepper spray all over her mattress threw her bedding out on the street and stole a box of personal mementos from the apartment.

Being the first suspect, the officers looked for Brown at his home but he was not available for immediate questioning. Following another report from the victim that someone threw a rock through her apartment window and she sustained a cut from the broken glass, the deputies ordered for immediate search for Brown.

Brown was later found at a Cottonwood motel we officers also found the victim's stolen property in his truck including her missing wedding dress. Deputies also found a shotgun, owned by the victim's new husband. It was during the search that a GPS tracking device attached to the underside of the vehicle was found.

Brown used the device to locate his victim at any time and thereafter determined the next line of action. It was during the interrogation that it was discovered Brown had left three children whom he has responsibility over alone at Oak Creek.

 

 

GPS-based GMLRS to be Acquired by U.S. Military

The U. S. military is set to acquire GPS-based Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), an all-weather, precision strike, artillery rocket system that achieves greater range and precision accuracy with fewer rockets compared to other similar systems, for its unitary rockets following a contract agreement worth $61 million awarded to Lockheed Martin.

According to Lockheed, the reliability of U.S. Army GMLRS missions exceeds 98 percent reliability. In addition to precision strikes, the system is also effective against counter-fire, air defense, light materiel, and personnel targets, the company says. GMLRS incorporates a GPS-aided inertial guidance package integrated on a product-improved rocket body; small canards on the guided rocket nose add maneuverability to further enhance the accuracy of the system.

Commenting on the need for U.S. Military to upgrade to the latest GPS-based GMLRS available, Scott Arnold, vice president for precision fires and combat maneuver systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control said that "Soldiers continue to tell us how satisfied they are with GMLRS, because it's ready when it needs to be and can hit precision targets from 85 kilometers away, a new distance record recently recorded at tests at White Sands Missile Range. Just as in previous orders, we are committed to delivering GMLRS to the quality and dependability on which our customers have come to rely."

Work on the contract will be performed at the company's facilities in Camden, Arkansas, and Dallas, Texas. Deliveries will begin in May 2010 and conclude in July of that year.

 

Analysts Predict Increase in GPS-enabled Handsets

Research has predicted a rise in the sales of GPS-enabled handsets
against PND by the end of this year. The company also forecast that
non-CDMA handset shipments will treble in 2008 compared to the
previous year and this has been attributed to hottest features now
incorporated by manufactures in those devices.
According to a GPS Research Director, Patrick Connolly, "We believe
the market will almost treble on 2007, with a range of handsets across
all tiers. Nokia, RIM and Apple will lead the way this year, but other
handset vendors, such as Sony-Ericsson, Motorola, Samsung, LG and a
plethora of smaller Asian manufacturers are driving this market from
both ends."
The research reveals that cellular shipments are set to outweigh PND
forecasts for 2008, IMS Research believes that talk of a saturating
PND market are premature. "Despite the huge success of PNDs, there is
still a comparatively small installed base of users, leaving plenty of
market upside. Both of these markets will continue to grow
concurrently in the medium term, but importantly, they are not
independent. Already, companies such as NiM, Telmap and TeleNav are
seeing increasing subscription numbers for their cellular sat-nav
services.
In conclusion, Connolly said that "GPS is becoming ubiquitous across a
range of portable devices. There are a limited number of drivers in
the world, and despite what some predictions indicate, all these
markets cannot continue growing forever."

The Portable Oregon 300 from Garmin

One of the lightest and easy to carry-about handheld GPS devices available in the market is the Oregon 300 manufactured by Garmin. By holding the device it is apparent that so many factors were considered by the designers who gave their best to ensure that it is one of the best of its kind in the market.

The first feature that would strike you is the physical design that comes with an IPX-7 rubber casing that can withstand the rigors of outdoor activity and a 3" touch screen basically used for control and that displays its content with high resolution that are easily readable in sunlight. Garmin has improved on the battery cover, unlike Colorado 300 which has a fiddly threaded battery lid at the lower-end; this has been replaced by a simple metal clasp. This design allows users to easily secure a carabineer to the clasp.

Although it takes some 3min 15sec for the device to start-up to full signal acquisition, the device has a HotFix satellite position memory cache which makes warm start-ups to be under 20sec. A 3-D view mode is available on the Oregon 300, providing a display similar to the standard automotive GPS navigation view. However, this doesn't work with the preloaded maps; it's intended for use with Garmin's aftermarket maps, including the country-specific City Navigator maps and TOPO topographical maps.

Unlike Garmin's lower-end models that have navigation problems, the Oregon 300 comes with a base map. The preloaded map is fairly basic, displaying major arterial roads and significant locations for each country. The Oregon 300 also boasts a Digital Elevation Model layer that displays topographical information in the form of shaded relief.

However, some negative features observed include the microSD card slot placed underneath the batteries, this means users must first remove the batteries before they can swap memory card; the screen is slightly more resistive than we would have liked, forcing us to press quite hard in order to get a reaction from the device, but this is probably a side effect of its protective layer.

 

Cheap Refurbished GPS Now Available

The refurbished TomTom GO 510 is one of the cheapest GPS devices available in the market, and not only is the device cheap it also comes with advanced features that users will find highly useful.  It is priced for just $124.99 (shipping included) and after a $36 mail-in rebate.

It comes with a 4" widescreen display which is considered better than the 3.5" square screens found in most devices in its category. One interesting improvement about the screen is the fact that it has a light sensor that'll automatically dim the screen when you're driving at night. It has a speakerphone which makes conversation very audible and convenient without the need to strain your hear before you can hear your caller. There is also Bluetooth feature which enables you to make and receive calls hands-free without having to interrupt what you might be doing at the time of the call.

Another great feature that could be very useful especially for travelers is the optional traffic and weather services which is subscription based and only those who are interested in using the service could activate it.

Although TomTom GO 510 comes with a 90-day manufacturer's warranty, the rebate is only valid till September 30 and after which the $36 mail-in rebate expires.

Commmunity Corrections Centres may Adopt GPS

In a bid to effectively monitor offenders and accused criminals, some centers have been considering adopting the GPS to replace the current electronic monitoring system. Many like the Winnipeg police are now eyeing the option of placing GPS-containing bracelets on high-risk sex offenders as well as perpetrators of domestic violence who continually violate non-contact orders. Young repeat car thieves in that city are already wearing GPS monitors as part of a year-long pilot project.

Commenting on the current EM system, the director of community corrections with Corrections, Public Safety and Policing, Carol Fieldelleck, said in a statement "We really, really like what we've got going right now and the company and the product that we're using is very, very reliable. We're really pleased. The comments I'm getting from the staff who actually work in this area are very, very positive. When the contract expires is when we can say we'll be doing some investigation and some analysis in terms of where we want to take this."

She however admitted that technology's changing and they might explore other better options available including GPS.

Also, the spokeswoman of the Regina Police Service, Elizabeth Popowich, hopes that the Province will consider moving towards GPS, both as a way to help reassure victims and to help police do their jobs. "From our perspective, anything that would help to locate and apprehend someone who's breached conditions is a positive thing and certainly GPS capability would let us know where the bracelet is, and so as long as it's still on the individual, then it gives you an advantage in locating that person. And if you know where the individual is -- for instance if the condition is that they are not within 1,000 feet of a particular address or something like that -- there's also a possibility that there could be an intervention before something bad occurs. And so rather than being reactive, it may have the capability of allowing police to be proactive," she said.

Weak Currency Slows Sales Growth

Despite the increase in output in terms of unit sold for the first half of the year, u-blox, the Swiss chip manufactures has confessed that sales has been slow and this has been attributed to the weak state of dollar in the international market.

The company also revealed that market prices for its mainstream products also decreased at a similar rate as in the same period in 2007. In addition, production problems with the manufacturing partner of its Antaris 4 chipsets have resulted in constraints on product deliveries and consequently limited sales growth.

According to a statement made available by u-blox, sales in the Americas declined by 13 percent, again because of the U.S. dollar and the continued shift in customers' production to Asia. In Europe, the Middle East, and Africa there was an increase of 17 percent. In Asia, numbers fell by 1 percent; the company noted that it did a significant business in the first half of 2007 in Asia that could not be repeated this year.

However, the company hopes that the second half of 2008 will show stronger sales than the first half and product capacity has been expanded accordingly. New customer projects will go into production phase and will generate additional demand. It expects a sales growth in the second half over the first half-year in the range of 10 percent to 20 percent.

In order to keep pace with development, the company is making arrangement to release some new products and these include a new technology platform in 2009 designed for application and sector specific products. Later this year u-blox plans to launch significant additions to its product line, including a new module form factor.

Live Tracking System for Buses and Passengers at Union Elementary

Described as the good thing since 9/11, the new GPS that helps track the location and movement of school buses at Shallotte area's Union Elementary is now being put to use. The device helps monitor the school buses and help to track where the bus is going, and offer first hand information as regards the condition of the bus.

There are also the scan cards that will scan students at Union Elementary School before boarding buses so the school district will know if they're on the right bus. The scan cards provide an electronic head count which reveals the number of students being by the bus to be known because all the scan results comes up on a computer.

Another feature that parents will find very helpful is that there is a panic button the driver can press in case of a break down or an accident, this will alert the school's transportation department to dispatch emergency personnel or send mechanics depending on the situation.

Realizing the importance of this system, several schools have decided to adopt the it into their transportation system. According to the Brunswick County Schools' transportation director, Bobby Taylor, his school has set aside about $300,000 which will be spent on live track system. He further explained that they decided to devote that sum because the district wants to start small. On the reason why Union Elementary was picked as the pilot Taylor said because it has fewer school buses than other schools in the county and is already familiar with the card-scanning system, having students clock in at the library and cafeteria.

The school Principal also expressed optimism that the system will go a long way to help them in term of security. Mrs. Rhoda Bento said, "I think it will help with safety, being able to keep up with students."

The card system also received similar acceptance from all the schools, according to Taylor five of Union Elementary seven school buses already have the GPS and the card reader. The way this card works is that as students step on the bus, they wave the card toward the reader, which will scan from as far as 12 inches. As soon as the card is scanned, the signal is transmitted from the GPS unit and logged at the schools' transportation office.

Although, Taylor expressed concerns about students losing their bus cards this is already being taking care of by their staff, they working  together to profile a solution, such as keeping the card s on the buses.

The county school system is working on a plan to ensure that by Christmas all the 187 schools and activities buses will have the GPS installed in them.

 

SiRF Seeks Appeal over GPS Infringement Rulings

The ruling passed by the ITC (International Trade Commission) over SiRF products infringement on Broadband subsidiary (Global Locate) GPS patents may have not gone well with the former; already the company has filed an appeal seeking for the review of the rulings which favored Global Locate.

SiRF has been found guilty of infringes six GPS-related patents held by Global Locate and an ITC Administrative Law Judge, Carl C. Charneski's has recommended that an import ban should immediately be placed on some SiRF's products. However SiRF has reacted to this and is now seeking for a thorough review of the allegations against the rightful ownership of the products in question.

Expressing optimism that the appeal results will favor his company, Kanwar Chadha, founder of SiRF Technology said "There is no ban on shipment of SiRF's or our customers' products. In fact, the ITC will not even make any final determination until December after they have finished their investigation including reviewing the ITC Staff's appeal and our appeal. Meanwhile we continue to provide our customers with products and services to address their needs and ensure that consumers get the full benefits of SiRF's innovations."

The company hoped that with the evidence presented at trial will proved Charneski's initial decision as not totally right. Meanwhile the company awaits the outcome of the appeal ruling before any further steps could be taken.

Launch of IR-20 Delayed till November

The launch of Block IIR-20 (SVN49) which was earlier scheduled to take place on October 6 has experienced a set back and the launch will not take place until November 7, hopefully.

This also has affected the date for last Block IIR satellite IIR-21 (SVN50) which was also scheduled for an earlier date of December 18 but now push back to the very last day of this year.

The information was made available by the National Geospatial-Intelligence's GPS Division who admitted that some technical logistics need to be put in place to ensure smooth running of the launch.

IIR-20 carries a demonstration payload built by Lockheed Martin subcontractor ITT that will temporarily transmit a third civil signal on the L5 frequency (1176.45 MHz). Originally slated for launch in June of this year, the U.S. Air Force subsequently pushed that launch date back, suggesting in late May that the date was indefinite.

The NGA is a U.S. Department of Defense combat support agency tasked with providing geospatial intelligence in support of national security.

 

 

Tru Trak, SAASM GPS Receiver Released by IEC

The Tru Trak Evolution is IEC latest portable GPS device designed for use in precision guided projectile, munitions, and land attack missiles under developments to mention but a few of its applications.

The device which is made up of a single board, L1/L2, 24 channel secure receiver comprises a security module, radio frequency down converter, and I/O logic. The receiver has been designed to perform multiple tasks that include provision of area navigation, accurate timing for radio time division multiple access (TDMA) operation, and specialized power management modes to optimize battery life. The receivers are also reportedly designed and tested to survive rugged environmental conditions while maintaining exact performance requirements, such as precision timing to within 10 microseconds.

According to the company, the device mean time between failures is greater than 25,000 hours, its JPO approved security design provides a time-to-first-fix in less than 6 seconds with no jamming, and obtains stabilized measurements even in high-jamming environments.

In order to enhance the secure GPS, the company embedded into the receiver the latest Key Data Processor (KDP) II Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) chipset in the XFactor module.

The company also said that TruTrak receivers also support the SAASM extended functions with XFactor SAASM module as a secure tamper-resistant, multi-chip module that decodes the U.S. Department of Defense GPS Precise Positioning Service Signal.

Nuvi 270, The Latest Garmin 200 Series

The Nuvi 270 is the latest GPS navigation from Garmin and it is the highest of all the 200 series. This new series is a lower cost device that also come with a standard 3.5" touch screen display with easy to read text and bright contrasting colors, buttons, and icons and a slim form factor which is just over 3/4" thick, allowing it to be compact yet versatile..

Just like other Nuvi, the 270 comes with what Garmin called its extra. Such features include clock, time zone viewer, unit converter etc. It is also compatible with Garmin Travel Guides and Savers Guide products.

Now let us examine what makes Nuvi 270 stands out. The biggest deal about this device is the pre-installed maps. The amazing thing about this is that not only do you get the North Americans maps but the Europeans maps are also installed and unlocked on the device. As such the device becomes a perfect one for travelers going to Europe who might need a cheap and features packed GPS.

However few features are missing and these include the text-to-speech, Bluetooth hands-free, no music player, no live traffic reporting and no multiple destination routing.  Because of the small screen, the Nuvi 270 has a great battery life with up to 5 hours on its own lithium-ion power source. Just like its previous counterparts, it has an SD card reader with a USB connection both for map and firmware updates.

The product will soon be available for sales and the retail price goes for $643

Navigon Unveils new PND, the 7200T

The quest for a PND that can offer real-time traffic updates by the German PND manufacturer has finally paved way; recently the company proudly announced that its 7200T is such a high-end PND that is set to offer its users with free traffic data.

The product is an updated version of its premium 7x5 series and its entry-level 2x5 series Nuvi PNDs. It also announced that it was offering lifetime subscriptions to the Navteq Traffic data service included in the purchase price of these Garmin models.

The pace at which these GPS manufacturers introduce new features to enhance functionality of the devices is well commended. Before now, GPS users were only confided to interesting features such as the touch screen and the text-to-speech. Now with the real-time traffic updates being included in the device, users get up to date information about traffic jam in the city and can plan ahead as may be required when going out.

In order to give it valued customers another reason to stay by them, Navigon now offers free real-time traffic updates for life on a wide range of its new products beginning this autumn. These free updates will span high-end to entry level devices with price points starting at $229, according to the company.

Speaking on the occasion of the launch, the

Navigon's president for the Americas, Andreas Hetch, said "We see traffic updates as being critical to the core navigation experience and felt it was very important to make it available across the entire product portfolio."