Archived news extracts about GPS and Wireless Technologies 2005

Here is our GPS/Wireless News archive for 2005.

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December 31, 2005. WiQuest Communications has announced the availability of its WQST110 and WQST101 chipset. The company claims that it is the industry's first commercially-available, high-performance silicon delivering wireless communication that speeds up to one gigabit-per-second. Based on the WiMedia UWB physical layer (PHY) and media access controller (MAC) specifications, the WQST110 builds upon and extends the performance capabilities of UWB communications systems to a new level, providing a solid foundation for high-speed wireless cable-replacement applications.

The companion WQST101 radio frequency (RF) transceiver chip combines with the WQST110 to provide the first complete UWB solution for manufacturers of PC and peripheral systems, consumer electronics, home entertainment, portable gaming, multimedia platforms, mobile devices and more. In addition to the new chipset, WiQuest is also announcing the immediate availability of the WQST100EVK, a complete UWB system evaluation kit that contains silicon and software for customer assessment, testing and product development. The WQST110/101 chipset provides full compatibility with existing USB peripherals and systems, thereby protecting consumers' existing equipment investments.

The WQST110 is a wireless CMOS integrated circuit (IC) combining baseband PHY, MAC engine, high-speed security processor, quality of service (QoS) manager and a rich variety of host interfaces, all in one highly-integrated design. Designed to optimise the UWB system bill of materials, the WQST110 contains a complete high-speed USB subsystem including controller and transceiver, removing any additional USB component cost. Unlike other UWB implementations, the WQST110 eliminates the need for expensive external memory, and the chip's innovative architecture provides excellent power control and management for longer battery life in mobile devices.

December 29, 2005. Mistral Software has announced design wins based on its Customisable Product Design - Sunada. Released in February 2005, the Sunada is a completely integrated and customisable product design built around TI's OMAP5912 processor. The Sunada can be customised for multiple applications like GSM Phone, navigation, digital audio, gaming, organiser, e-learning, video, internet access, VoIP, VGA camera, jukebox amongst others, enabling end users to harness the true potential of mobile computing.

The ultra-sleek device designed for a slim mechanical enclosure runs WinCE OS on a TI OMAP5912 processor and supports five Radio modules for GPS, GSM/GPRS, WLAN, bluetooth and FM and comes with a Quarter VGA resolution 3" LCD display with a touchpanel and keypad. It also includes a digital camera, SDIO/SD-MMC slot, and a 1" Hard Disk. It is among the first designs to converge five RF modules in one small form factor board based on OMAP5912.

December 28, 2005. Advanced ID Corporation, a Leading Provider of RFID technology solutions as well as the developer of DataTag a new ultra high frequency livestock identification system that provides superior reading distances and greater ease of use to the cattle and livestock industry, reports positive practical applications study results with Colorado Department of Agriculture with multiple herds and roughly 130 tags and readers in use.

Advanced ID Corporation is a complete solutions provider in the radio frequency identification (RFID) market. RFID provides a means for positive identification and trace-back of animals or objects that have been identified with a microchip or RFID tag. The company has realized growth of 62% in the first two quarters of 2005, primarily through the companion animal identification segment; Advanced ID Pet Microchip, the largest provider of companion animal identification in Canada. Since 1994, Advanced ID Corporation has offered a product line of over 100 items comprised of low frequency (LF) RFID microchips, identification scanners, and a proprietary pet recovery network database to the companion animal and biological sciences markets. Advanced ID Corporation supplies over 3,000 organizations such as animal shelters, veterinarians, breeders, government agencies, universities, zoos, research labs and fisheries with LF RFID devices for companion animals, equines, bovines, llamas, alpacas, ostriches, aquatic species, reptiles, migratory and endangered species. Advanced ID Corporation has implanted LF microchips in over 450,000 animals, currently tracks nearly one million animals in a proprietary pet recovery database, and reunites numerous lost pets with their families each month.

Since 2001 Advanced ID Corporation has been developing and commercializing its UHF line of food-animal and wildlife identification products and systems. Advanced ID Corporation continues to be actively involved with government and industry livestock identification and trace-back projects and pilots in Australia, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Thailand, Taiwan and the United States.

December 27, 2005. NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, is offering a map with navigable coverage throughout South Korea through its wholly owned subsidiary, PMI. This offering is another notable achievement in NAVTEQ's initiative to grow its map portfolio and to support its customers' efforts to service the rapidly growing Asian market.

The South Korea map covers 100% of the population (approximately 48 million people) of South Korea, and is a fully navigable roadway map enabling door-to-door route calculations and turn-by-turn route guidance throughout the country. Detailed road network information, such as one-way streets and turn restrictions, is linked to the map, which provides NAVTEQ customers with additional information to create the most efficient routes for their solutions. The map also includes more than 400,000 Points of Interest in more than 290 categories and subcategories, cartographic features (such as parks, waterways and woodlands) and more than 7 million listings from the Korea Telecom business directory.

In July 2005, NAVTEQ acquired Picture Map International (PMI) to establish its presence in and to offer a digital map of South Korea. NAVTEQ continues to focus on expanding its global map coverage, and offering coverage in South Korea is an important part of this initiative. South Korea boasts a rapidly growing automotive sector and one of the most advanced wireless markets in the world. Consumer adoption of location-based services exceeds that for Europe and North America, creating high demand for quality digital map data to serve as a foundation for these services.

December 22, 2005. AirLink Communications, Inc., a pioneer and leading provider of fixed and mobile wireless data solutions, announced another industry first, the introduction and commercial availability of its newest modems designed for CDMA 1x EV-DO wireless networks. The Raven-E and PinPoint-E modems are the first and only rugged intelligent modems available today for EV-DO networks, delivering maximum data speeds up to 2.4 Mbps. The commercial-grade products, which began shipping to customers in early November, have already been certified on Sprint and Alltel networks, and additional carrier certifications are scheduled for completion in early 2006.

The Raven-E and the PinPoint-E are designed with an Ethernet interface to enable easy configuration and installation, as well as take advantage of the higher data rates offered by EV-DO technology. The Raven-E platform is ideal for a wide range of business and industrial applications, such as remote monitoring and automation, primary and back-up data backhaul, disaster recovery, mobile enterprise and sales force automation.

The PinPoint-E combines the robust functionality of the Raven-E with a built-in high-precision GPS receiver and an embedded location service application, which makes it perfect for markets like public safety, AVL, automated dispatch and asset tracking. The PinPoint-E also has a serial connector with available input lines for event monitoring and reporting.

The Raven-E and PinPoint-E EV-DO modems are powered by the AirLink Embedded Operating System (ALEOS) -- the longstanding industry benchmark for reliable and feature-rich embedded intelligence. With extensive capabilities like remote monitoring and configuration, packet-diagnostics and over-the-air firmware updates, ALEOS technology simplifies installation and maintenance of any solution. EV-DO technology enables truly mobile broadband performance with typical data speeds similar to DSL. Combined with the robust intelligence of ALEOS, the AirLink solutions are optimal for countless industrial and enterprise applications that require reliable always-on, pervasive connectivity.

EV-DO stands for Evolution Data Optimized, the 3rd generation or 3G wireless technology from QUALCOMM. Offering high-speed data access to mobile users, EV-DO is also interoperable and backwards compatible to existing CDMA 1x networks, which have a broad nationwide footprint. With typical speeds of 400-700 Kbps and max speeds up to 2.4 Mbps, EV-DO offers a significant performance improvement compared to CDMA 1x.

December 21, 2005. AeroAstro, a microsatellite technology pioneer, announced the successful installation of a new AeroAstro SENS Applique at the ground station in Meekatharra, Australia operated by Globalstar Australia Pty Limited. The unit, one of several new SENS Appliques purchased by Globalstar LLC, will provide coverage to the western region of the continent.

The SENS Applique, an add-on to existing Globalstar ground stations, receives and decodes remote sensing data from field transmitters via the Globalstar LEO satellite network. It digitizes RF signals and extracts SENS message packets despite interference or overlapping transmissions, and transmits these messages through the Internet. The AeroAstro/Globalstar Simplex Data technology provides a total solution that is uniquely affordable and reliable with ubiquitous (outdoor) coverage. AeroAstro and partner AXONN, LLC combine hardware and services to deliver prices, power savings, compact size and ease of use previously unimaginable from satellite communications. To order remote tracking hardware, transmitters, or data management services, please visit AeroAstro's web based storefront at http://www.sensservice.com/.

December 21, 2005. Continuing to drive GPS further into the mainstream market, SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of GPS-enabled location technology, revealed that its flagship SiRFstarIII GPS technology is at the heart of TomTom's RIDER, a high performance portable navigation system specifically designed for use on motorcycles and scooters. TomTom is a leading provider of personal navigation products and services to the US and European consumer markets.

The TomTom RIDER includes an integrated GPS receiver based on SiRFstarIII technology with 20-channel all-in-view tracking and an integrated GPS antenna. The tough, weather-resistant case fixes easily to any motorbike, motorcycle or scooter, and can be transferred from one bike to another and even to a car. Its simple, easy-to-use touch screen has been designed to work even with gloves, and features an anti-glare face and integrated sun visor that ensures the best view of the screen possible.

With its 200,000 correlators combined with sophisticated navigation algorithms, the SiRFstarIII architecture sets a new benchmark for fast and deep GPS signal search, track and navigate capabilities, making it possible to achieve very fast and robust positioning even through dense foliage and urban canyons.

December 20, 2005. In the event of an earthquake or train derailment that results in mass casualties, hospitals are confronted with simultaneously treating hundreds of patients with varying degrees of injuries. To meet the challenge of managing patients, checking the availability of doctors and locating open beds and medical equipment in wide-scale emergency, Nagoya Ekisaikai Hospital in Japan has tested and successfully deployed the Real Time Location System (RTLS) from Ekahau Inc.

The Ekahau RTLS is a mission-critical location tracking solution that easily integrates with Wi-Fi networks that are already in use in many large public and private facilities, such as Nagoya Ekisaikai Hospital. Ekahau and IBS Japan Co. Ltd., an Ekahau-certified value added reseller and systems integrator in Japan, installed the Ekahau RTLS with T201 Wi-Fi tags at Nagoya Ekisaikai Hospital to support its emergency management operations.

During a recent disaster simulation drill, Nagoya Ekisaikai Hospital put Wi-Fi tags on each hospital staff member, so they could be dispatched quickly by finding their location on a central computer monitor. Each casualty in the triage area also was given a tag, so doctors could find the correct patient and maintain real-time treatment information in hospital databases that had been integrated with the Ekahau RTLS. Once the exercise was complete, Nagoya Ekisaikai Hospital reported that with the T201 Wi-Fi tags and the Ekahau Positioning Engine, it was able to locate patients and staff with an accuracy of three to five meters.

December 20, 2005. TeleType Company is launching an innovative product that blends cutting-edge vehicle GPS navigation with MP3 player technology. The all-in-one device, called WorldNav 3000 XL, is a portable, in-car navigation system that offers door-to-door GPS guidance with simple spoken instructions. The official launch for the product will take place at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) January 2006.

WorldNav 3000 XL's exciting convergence of portable in-car navigation with the immense popularity of the MP3 player makes it possible for travelers to not only reach their destination with greater efficiency, but to easily carry along their favorite music. There is no other product on the market that offers the exceptional utility, simplicity and affordability of this new piece of gadgetry.

Based on TeleType's award-winning GPS product line, WorldNav 3000 XL is a compact system that weighs less than 8 ounces. The device is user-friendly and simple to operate, making it easy for drivers to get from Point A to Point B. To operate the system, drivers simply touch the screen where a simple menu is presented similar to in-dash navigation systems. The driver is then guided along the desired route effortlessly. Drivers can navigate directly to a point of interest (POI) using the extensive POI database included, or an exact business or home address, or even a desired intersection.

The WorldNav 3000 XL is the latest in a long line of products created by TeleType to provide unique and versatile solutions for land, air and water navigation. Notable innovations by the company include: the first aviation navigation product for use on PDAs in flight, the first program to offer combination vector-based marine and car navigation for Pocket PCs, the first 16-channel Bluetooth receiver with 20 hours of battery life. Pushing the envelope of technology for Pocket PC computing, TeleType created the first program to offer the combination of street, air, water, land navigation with live weather, live traffic, topographic and aerial map support on Pocket PCs and Windows CE devices.

December 20, 2005. I.D. Systems, Inc. announced that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has published its final report on the company's wireless vehicle tracking/fleet management project at Newark Liberty International Airport. The report concludes that the three-phase project, under which approximately 80 vehicles were monitored, successfully demonstrated that I.D. Systems' RFID-based Wireless Asset Net system is an effective tool for securing and managing vehicles in the radio frequency (RF)-rich environment of a major U.S. airport.

Under the project, more than 100 distinct system elements were tested without a single requirement failure. The system hardware "proved highly reliable" and vehicle access control was extremely effective, with "not one instance during any phase of the trial" of unauthorized personnel being able to operate a monitored vehicle. The system was also found to provide "extensive planning/management tools that permit managers to maximize their resources, leading to a more efficient operation."

December 19, 2005. Bracketron, LLC has launched its new line of Custom Motorcycle Mounts (CMM's) solution, allowing motorcycle operators to enjoy the use of Satellite Radio, GPS, MP3 and other mobile electronics use. This solution allows motorcyclists to mount many mobile devices without drilling, engineering, custom manufacturing there own, one off mount. It also offers a complete solution that mounts on existing motorcycle hardware in just minutes.

Bracketron's consumer research shows that mounting the new electronic device is the major barrier to buying and using of mobile electronic products, with over 60 percent of consumers asked find it difficult to mount their new purchase in a manor that suits them.

Bracetron's website (http:www.bracketron.com) identifies which motorcycle model a user has and accesses the information in a database, automatically offering the correct configuration to the user.

December 19, 2005. Fastrax Ltd., a leading provider of open and portable OEM GPS Software Development Kit environments and programmable OEM GPS receivers, announced a distribution agreement with RUTRONIK Elektronische Bauelemente GmbH, one of Europe's leading broadband distributors for active, passive and electromechanical components in addition to displays and embedded boards.

RUTRONIK represents leading electronics manufacturers in a wide range of product categories. The company will distribute Fastrax GPS products in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Switzerland.

Fastrax OEM GPS receivers offer industry-leading benefits in performance, size, power consumption and versatility. Fastrax products enable the implementation of position-aware features into practically any device. The GPS modules are ideally suited for both industrial tracking systems and small battery-operated products such as mobile phones, asset tracking devices, handheld computers and sports accessories.

The Fastrax iSuite 3 SDK can be used to rapidly modify the features and functionality of a GPS receiver, allowing receiver performance and power management to be tailored for any usage scenario. By utilizing the spare CPU and memory resources of the GPS receiver, the Fastrax iSuite 3 SDK can significantly reduce the bill of materials and non-recurring expenses of GPS products.

December 19, 2005. A low cost, high accuracy positioning system, which locates vehicles and other valuable assets, is launched this week by HD Positions. The highly innovative and unique solution, which works across the UK, with coverage inside buildings and containers, uses CPS's Matrix technology and is based on the Orange UK network.

Matrix technology is available from HD Positions. In response to increasing demand from the growing number of location based service providers, for a low cost, robust and easy to implement positioning solution, HD Positions supplies the interface to Matrix, and facilitates related Machine to Machine (M2M) services, including network connectivity, billing and support.

One of the first complete solutions to use the Matrix system is that based around the "Boomerang Box", a robustly constructed device, combining low installation cost and a two year battery life. This is one of the first developed devices beginning to appear which address a wide range of potential applications. The use for such systems is considered enormous, extending to moveable assets which include amongst others, trailers, cars, motorcycles, caravans, and many other valuable assets.

The first end user of the service is the Altrincham based Cartwright group, a leading provider in the UK of vehicle transport solutions. The company plans to install Matrix enabled Boomerang Boxes in their vehicles to meet customer demand for tracking and vehicle recovery. Last year, over 4,000 trailers were stolen across the UK, with associated goods taken totaling more than £1bn.

December 15, 2005. Globalstar, the world's most widely used handheld satellite phone and a provider of satellite voice and data services to business, announced that its independent gateway operator Globalstar Australia Pty Limited plans to offer simplex, or one-way, data services to its customers throughout Australia and New Zealand. This asset tracking and enhanced data processing capability is the result of hardware upgrades to the ground station or satellite gateway operated by Globalstar Australia. The satellite gateway is used to provide Globalstar customers with access to the ground based telephone network via the Globalstar satellite constellation.

The Globalstar simplex data service has been available in the U.S. and Canada since 2003, and throughout Europe, the Middle East and across the north Atlantic region since earlier this year. It is one of the fastest growing Globalstar segments with the number of simplex data subscribers expected to increase in 2005 by approximately 300% to over 20,000 users, with a similar rate of growth forecasted for 2006.

The Globalstar simplex data offering is a low cost, one-way satellite data service that allows customers to use Globalstar simplex modems and integrated back office management solutions to track mobile assets -- such as vehicles, trailers, cargo containers and marine vessels, using GPS or other location-based software. Because of this, it is an ideal solution for marine and fishing vessel monitoring applications. The Globalstar simplex data service can also be used for a wide variety of industrial and security applications to monitor and send information from fixed assets, such as environmental measuring instruments and utility meters, or report the state of various mobile devices and their locations.

Using the Globalstar Satellite network and an approved integrated simplex modem solution, companies will be able to economically monitor their assets from virtually anywhere within the Globalstar simplex coverage area. The data is sent back to a customer's control and monitoring facility via Globalstar's constellation of low-earth-orbiting satellites. This information can be received at any time from remote installations far beyond the reach of ground-based communications systems.

December 15, 2005. Thales has introduced GPSDifferential for ArcPad, a software extension that seamlessly adds the power of post processing to ESRI ArcPad software when used on the Thales MobileMapper CE. With the GPSDifferential for ArcPad software extension, sub-meter post-processed mapping is possible, even where real-time corrections are not available, such as in Central and South America and when used in difficult signal environments required by applications such as forestry.

Behind the scenes and without interrupting normal workflow, GPSDifferential for ArcPad automatically logs the raw data that is required for reliable sub-meter post-processed differential corrections. GPSDifferential for ArcPad is a fully-integrated and easy-to-use extension for ESRI ArcPad 6.0.3 and 7.0.

GPSDifferential for ArcPad software comes on a secure digital (SD) memory card for easy installation on the MobileMapper CE. It is packaged complete with a CD of MobileMapper Office, powerful office software that provides an easy way to view, edit and export GIS data collected on the MobileMapper CE and a quick start guide.

December 15, 2005. Intelligent Spatial Technologies, Inc. (iST), a technology leader in location-based services for mobile users, announced the release of the iPointer Tour Guide software module for its iPointer system. iST's iPointer system empowers users to explore a defined area, pointing and learning at will. As a user selects an item of interest, the iPointer delivers multimedia information based on the user's geographic location and orientation. With iST's Tour Guide module, iPointer system operators create and upload customized tours around specific themes or areas of interest utilizing the software's easy to use tools. Users may then select a tour that most closely matches their interests and iPointer's hand-held unit guides them along the predefined tour via simple graphics and maps, delivering information to the user in full multimedia format.

The iPointer system is comprised of global positioning system (GPS) and digital compass technology integrated into a pocket PC, a wireless network, and iST's geospatial database. This allows users to move at their own pace as they interact with the tour information. When users wish to identify a landmark, they point iPointer's hand-held device at it and press a button. The iPointer device receives coordinate signals from GPS satellites and orientation information from the digital magnetic compass to identify the user's location and device's pointing angle. These coordinates are then sent over the wireless network to the database. iST's geospatial database's selection algorithms identify the selected landmark and send information back over the wireless network to be displayed in text, visuals and audio on the user's device.

December 14, 2005. A group of industry-leading companies announced an advanced Near Field Communication (NFC) trial for mobile phone applications including contactless payments, mobile content and premium arena services at Philips Arena in Atlanta. The trial is the first large-scale test of next-generation mobile phone applications in North America, and is the result of a collaboration between Chase, Cingular Wireless, Nokia, Philips, Visa USA, and ViVOtech, along with Atlanta Spirit, LLC, parent company of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, NHL's Atlanta Thrashers and Philips Arena. The trial has been designed to enable a secure, wireless system that simplifies payment and services for arena visitors.

"By 2010, we expect that over 50 percent of all mobile handsets will incorporate Near Field Communication chips to enable short-range, easy and secure transactions," said Erik Michielsen, director at market analyst firm ABI Research. "As a result, consumers will be able to download content by simply holding their phone close to a poster or advertising billboard. Users can purchase merchandise, food, tickets, and have these transactions charged to a credit card using account information stored in the mobile phone. The NFC implementation at Philips Arena demonstrates NFC stakeholders, including chipmakers, card issuers, device makers, mobile carriers, and content providers, are progressively more willing to collaborate on NFC solution development. This type of co-development is essential to NFC market growth and maturation."

The contactless transactions will create faster and simpler payments at concession stands getting fans out of the lines and back to the game. At checkout, the phone is simply held near a secure reader and the contactless payment transaction is automatically charged to the user via the same secure Visa payment network that processes traditional credit card transactions today.

December 13, 2005. AirTight Networks, the leading provider of wireless perimeter security solutions, announced Release 4.0 of its industry leading SpectraGuard Enterprise products. Release 4.0 includes the AirTight Networks application programming interface (API) allowing easy integration of wireless intrusion detection and prevention capabilities, along with precise device location tracking, into wireless LAN switching systems. In addition Release 4.0 includes new performance monitoring features and new sensors with external antennas for greater monitoring coverage.

The AirTight API encompasses three major components which can be used in various combinations by AirTight's partners and customers. These are:

the AirTight Server API
the AirTight Sensor API
the AirTight Applications API.

The AirTight API is targeted primarily at WLAN switch companies that desire fast integration of best-of-breed wireless intrusion detection and prevention, location services, and advanced monitoring and troubleshooting capabilities. Colubris Networks recently announced several new products based on this integration.

December 13, 2005. AutoFarm, the leader in GPS precision farming, announced the release of the Cultiva OnTrac assisted steering system. Delivering up to 2-inch pass-to-pass accuracy, the system integrates directly with the steering wheel thus eliminating manual steering obstructions caused by friction drive motors. OnTrac affordably installs on nearly all makes and models of tractors and other agricultural vehicles in as little as 30 minutes with basic tools. The Cultiva OnTrac drive integrates with the steering wheel to ensure precise vehicle control in all conditions. The OnTrac is controlled via the Cultiva ATC, which features an 8.4 inch color display providing the operator a Virtual Highway view of the field. Complete with where-applied maps and record keeping functions, Cultiva OnTrac with ATC is a feature-rich steering solution for under $8,500.

GPS assisted steering helps reduce input costs by minimizing skips and overlaps. Operator fatigue is also reduced ensuring consistent performance during peak seasons. Greater accuracy, reduced fuel consumption and increased farm productivity contribute to a rapid payback of less than one year for most growers. The steering system accurately navigates curves and compensates for vehicle tilt on hills, with the optional tilt compensation package. The integrated design allows the operator to safely disengage the Cultiva OnTrac system by simply gripping the wheel.

Existing Cultiva ATC with compatible GPS receiver owners may upgrade the guidance system to OnTrac assisted steering with the purchase of the OnTrac drive unit for $3,495. The system works well in WAAS and OmniSTAR HP differential correction modes. OnTrac will be available in the United States and Australia in late March 2006. The product will be available in Europe following completion of regulatory review.

December 12, 2005. XATA Corporation, the leader in onboard fleet management systems for private fleet transportation, announced that the company was awarded a contract for the deployment of 1400 systems into the fleet of a major government agency. XATA was selected for its unique ability to transform fleet intelligence into bottom line results by reducing fuel costs, improving driver productivity and increasing on-time delivery performance.

XATA systems automatically collect, transform and deliver fleet intelligence throughout the enterprise in an interactive, exception-based format -- unifying all aspects of the fleet to set and achieve higher standards for efficiency, productivity, utilization and customer service.

XATA integrates onboard computing, wireless communications and GPS technologies with powerful software applications to deliver a total fleet management solution that enables fleet owners to significantly lower operating costs while improving overall fleet performance.

December 9, 2005. Blue Marble Geographics announced the release of their new Geographic Map File Translator Version 3.0. This is a limited time only free beta release. The full major update to their translation software will be released before the end of the year, but Blue Marble has decided to make a special pre-release beta version available for a limited time.

Blue Marble, known for their coordinate conversion technology, is also the creator of industry leading map display, image re projection, referencing, GPS tracking, and Internet mapping technology. Their technology is used worldwide by thousands of GIS analysts at software companies, universities, oil and gas companies, civil engineering, surveying, technology, enterprise GIS groups, and military organizations.

The Translator has the latest support for ESRI Shape, MapInfo Tab and MIF, AutoDesk DWG and DXF up to and including 2006, Bentley DGN, and read of ESRI E00 format. The Translator also supports all of the latest updates included in the newest GeoCalc libraries featuring Well Known Text support, .PRJ file support, full EPSG database support, and creation of custom coordinate systems. If your map file has a custom coordinate system with it, the Translator can handle it. The coordinate system data source is also organized into a new geography based ordering that makes it easier to work with for novice users. There is no better coordinate conversion support available for map file translation than that found in the Geographic Translator.

The map file viewer window is also improved to include a full set of standard map viewing tools. The new map file viewer also supports raster formats so you can check your data against your DOQQ image libraries. Blue Marble has also improved the batch translation capabilities to allow for different coordinate systems for different files within the batch or grouping of files based on coordinate system selection, as well as translating files in different coordinate systems to the same coordinate system output.

December 7, 2005. u-blox AG, the leading Swiss provider of innovative GPS receiver technology, announced the release of a new module, the LEA-4H. Powered by u-blox' new ANTARIS 4 positioning engine, and just 17 x 22 mm in size, the LEA-4H offers SuperSense indoor GPS functionality, which enables unprecedented sensitivity, in a compact and efficient package. The module has the same functionality as its SuperSense predecessor, the TIM-LH, with the additional benefit of a USB port. The LEA-4H also consumes 40% less power than its predecessor, features advanced power management options, excellent navigation performance, high sensitivity and an outstanding performance-to-cost ratio.

SuperSense software is able to detect the weakest signals and to provide uninterrupted GPS reception and accurate position calculations in buildings, hidden places in motor vehicles and other locations with obstructed views to the sky. This state-of-the-art technology, which provides acquisition and reacquisition sensitivity of -148 dBm, cold start sensitivity of -142 dBm and unmatched tracking sensitivity of -158 dBm, does so without compromising on power consumption, which stays low at even the weakest signals.

Thanks to advances in hardware and software achieved with the 16-channel ANTARIS 4 receiver technology, ANTARIS 4 chipsets, a joint development of Atmel and u-blox, allow for 40% smaller modules, USB connectivity, full support of WAAS and EGNOS satellites and unparalleled low power consumption. This makes the LEA-4H module ideally suited for battery-operated products such as PDAs, smart phones and other portable devices where size, sensitivity and power consumption levels are critical.

ANTARIS 4 receivers are also endowed with Assisted GPS (A-GPS) functionality, which provides instant positioning upon request. This function drastically reduces Time To First Fix to as low as four seconds, as well as enabling signal acquisition in difficult environments. One use of A-GPS is the provision of emergency call and instant location services. A-GPS is also commonly used to access immediate location information in difficult environments.

December 6, 2005. Kyocera Wireless Corp., a leading global manufacturer of CDMA wireless handsets and devices, and TransData Inc., a leading manufacturer of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) products and solutions for the worldwide utility marketplace, announced their collaboration on TransData's MARK-V StarBurst meter. The MARK-V StarBurst is the first electricity meter to integrate the award-winning Kyocera 200 Module to bring real-time, CDMA2000 1XRTT wireless communications ability to commercial and industrial revenue metering installations.

The innovative MARK-V StarBurst Meter expands on the earlier success of TransData's IS-95A embedded MARK-V PCS Meter, which is in service at more than 50 leading utilities in the U.S. and Canada. The Kyocera 200 Module integration adds significant value with its configurable dual-mode operation supporting both 3G packet-data and circuit-switched data communication modes to retrieve metering information from commercial and industrial accounts.

The MARK-V StarBurst meter is a powerful, two-way smart metering system offering direct compatibility with existing data collection systems to ensure improved business productivity without the need for costly infrastructure upgrades. The high-speed, two-way communication ability offered by Kyocera's CDMA wireless technology provides an immediate, cost-effective solution to support the real-time data gathering requirements of newly established energy conservation programs currently being rolled out at many large utilities across North America.

December 6, 2005. Hemisphere GPS, a designer and manufacturer of GPS products used in more than 50 countries, announced the introduction of a new heading sensor module for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) that features Hemisphere's high-performance Crescent GPS technology.

The Crescent Vector OEM module, a printed circuit board, is a complete GPS compass and positioning system designed primarily for the marine market but also very applicable for other markets including agriculture and machine control. The integration of Hemisphere's patented Crescent GPS technology enables the Crescent Vector OEM module, in comparison with competing products, to deliver higher update rates, noise-reduced raw measurements, more memory, more processor capacity, lower power consumption, and more advanced applications and sophisticated configurations. Crescent technology also enables the module to simultaneously employ multiple front-ends - enabling tighter coupling of measurements from separate antennae for use with heading-based products. Users will achieve excellent accuracy and stability, due to Crescent's more accurate code phase measurements, improved multipath mitigation, and fewer components. The Crescent Vector OEM module offers maximum flexibility to OEMs and integrators by enabling them to choose their appropriate power supply and communications translation.

In addition to its discrete Crescent GPS components, the module integrates a single-axis gyro and a tilt sensor onto a small form factor. Its heading accuracy ranges from 0.1 degrees (rms) at 2.0-meter antenna separation to 0.25 degrees (rms) at 0.5-meter antenna separation. It provides heading and positioning updates of up to 20 Hz, and delivers positioning accuracy of 20 cm 95% of the time when used with Crescent's L-Dif differential GPS (DGPS) receiver product, and 50 cm 95% of the time when used with WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) DGPS.

The Crescent Vector OEM module also features Hemisphere's exclusive COAST software that enables Hemisphere receivers to utilize old DGPS correction data for 40 minutes or more without significantly affecting the quality of positioning. When using COAST, the Crescent Vector OEM is less likely to be affected by differential signal outages due to signal blockages, weak signals or interference.

December 6, 2005. Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. unveiled the industry's first wireless commercial building automation system, based on ZigBee-ready wireless networking technology from Ember Corporation. Siemens teamed with Ember to develop its new APOGEE Wireless Field Level Network solution. Through its inherent efficiencies, a building automation system deployed using an APOGEE Wireless Field Level Network can provide facility builders, owners and managers increased occupant comfort, greater flexibility, and more efficient control of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.

APOGEE Wireless includes easy-to-install radio transceivers embedded with Ember's IEEE 802.15.4 standards-based wireless semiconductors and software to create self-forming mesh networks. The mesh configuration ensures network reliability and integrity by creating multiple redundant paths of communication. Because it is inherently self-healing, owners and builders won't have to worry about losing communication with control devices across the building automation system.

December 5, 2005. WiQuest Communications, a leading fabless semiconductor company developing complete ultrawideband (UWB) solutions, announced the availability of its WQST110 and WQST101 chipset, the industry's first commercially-available, high-performance silicon delivering wireless communication speeds up to one gigabit-per-second. Based on the WiMedia UWB physical layer (PHY) and media access controller (MAC) specifications, the WQST110 builds upon and extends the performance capabilities of UWB communications systems to a new level, providing a solid foundation for high-speed wireless cable-replacement applications. The companion WQST101 radio frequency (RF) transceiver chip combines with the WQST110 to provide the first complete UWB solution for manufacturers of PC and peripheral systems, consumer electronics, home entertainment, portable gaming, multimedia platforms, mobile devices and more. In addition to the new chipset, WiQuest is also announcing the immediate availability of the WQST100EVK, a complete UWB system evaluation kit which contains silicon and software for customer assessment, testing and product development.

WiQuest is leveraging and extending the significant wireless performance advantage offered by UWB. With its unprecedented gigabit-per-second wireless technology, the WQST110/101 chipset enables a new breed of applications previously considered unfeasible. No longer constrained by bandwidth or wires, consumers will quickly appreciate the benefits of this newly-found wireless performance through enjoying and sharing digital content, gaming and multimedia anytime and anywhere, without the need for connectors or a fistful of cables. The chipset also provides full compatibility with existing USB peripherals and systems, thereby protecting consumers' existing equipment investments.

December 5, 2005. Newbury Networks Inc., introduced a new edition of its award- winning WiFi Watchdog wireless security solution -- WiFi Watchdog/EWS. Additionally, Newbury has announced API level integration with Cisco Aironet Access Points. This integration provides comprehensive scanning of the 802.11 RF (radio frequency) surroundings, as one of the multi-function capabilities of Cisco wireless AP's.

WiFi Watchdog/EWS delivers the industry's first Wi-Fi early warning system enabling organizations to secure and lockdown wireless network access based upon the detection and location of all WLAN devices. WiFi Watchdog/EWS not only identifies and isolates rogue clients and unauthorized access points, it also quickly pinpoints their location for immediate and efficient removal from the network. This detection and removal provides the type of "security blanket" many organizations require before moving to the next step, deploying wireless networks enterprise wide.

By locating and identifying all 802.11 traffic, WiFi Watchdog/EWS enforces wireless security policies and protects both wired and wireless networks from wireless attacks. WiFi Watchdog/EWS policies evolve with the organization's deployment, ultimately resulting in a more secure and productive environment for the global mobile workforce.

December 5, 2005. AeroScout, Inc., the market leader in the field of Wi-Fi based Active RFID solutions, announced a partnership with Alanco Technologies, Inc. to develop and deliver a 2.4 GHz real-time location solution (RTLS) for the corrections industry. The two companies have successfully completed joint development on the industry's first tamper-proof Wi-Fi Active RFID tag, and deployed the first pilot site for a European prison customer. Through the partnership, AeroScout and Alanco have developed an extension to Alanco's successful TSI PRISM tracking system, which provides real-time identification and tracking of inmates and officers within corrections facilities, both indoors and out. The system can accurately locate and identify any person wearing a small wireless "tag" device, and this information is integrated into prison monitors. It handles common prison complexities such as a multi-floor, mixed indoor/outdoor environment, as well as the need for cell-level accuracy (using AeroScout's compact Exciter choke point device.)

The two companies have developed the industry's first Wi-Fi-based RFID tag with tamper-proof capabilities. The tag, which can be read by standard Cisco wireless access points, immediately detects any attempt to remove or tamper with it. The joint development efforts have also enabled the TSI PRISM system to now use the popular Wi-Fi standard (2.4 GHz) as a communications protocol. The system was designed to be extended to other environments with similar needs, such as psychiatric facilities.

December 5, 2005. Digital Angel Corporation, an advanced technology company in the field of rapid and accurate identification, location tracking, and condition monitoring of high-value assets, announced that it will introduce its patented Bio-Thermo (temperature-sensing) implantable RFID microchip and related identity system to international poultry/bird markets with the initial geographic emphasis in Asia. The comprehensive identity system includes the implantable Bio-Thermo microchip and related identity and temperature-sensing scanners that allow early identification of temperature increases in individual birds which may permit rapid identification and control of an outbreak of bird flu or other avian diseases.

Until now the Company has focused its implantable RFID temperature sensing system on the companion pet and equine marketplace. The system is in testing phases for other livestock such as cattle and swine. "As disease and bio-terrorism increasingly threaten the global food chain and the health of humans and livestock, the Company has targeted new applications in this area," said Kevin McGrath, President and CEO of Digital Angel. He also noted that the Company's identity microchips have already been used in avian identification applications.

December 2, 2005. Ekahau Inc. announced that Hynix Semiconductor Inc., the leading supplier of Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (DRAM), has selected the Ekahau RTLS (Real-Time Location System) solution to improve the work flow in its Korean factory. Workers at this factory carry Wi-Fi-enabled computers onto which the Ekahau RTLS system is integrated to provide real-time location information, as well as history of the factory staff and asset movements. By incorporating a location solution into its operations, Hynix factory management is able to create savings and improve efficiency through a better workflow and timely personnel dispatching process.

Ekahau RTLS provides accurate and real-time location information of mobile enterprise assets and people, indoors and outdoors. Ekahau system can track mobile assets and people either by using the Ekahau T201 Wi-Fi location tag attached to the person or object, or tracking any device such as laptop and PDA, using an internal Wi-Fi radio for wireless communication. Unlike competing solutions, Ekahau RTLS can leverage the existing enterprise Wi-Fi access points as the wireless infrastructure, and can be therefore deployed as a software-only solution.

December 1, 2005. AND Automotive Navigation Data now provides detailed digital maps of Eastern Europe to leading product and service supplier of mobile location products Wayfinder Systems. The agreement allows Wayfinder to expand its existing coverage with in-demand but hard-to get areas for the mobile navigation products. With the new, street-level map data of cities around Central and Eastern Europe Wayfinder's strategy for geographical expansion continues. Wayfinder Navigator is compatible with the majority of mobile phones on the market today and the number of compatible mobile phones continuously increases.

November 30, 2005. Savi Technology and Intermec Technologies Corporation, two long-time, leading providers of real-time supply chain solutions for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), introduced a new active RFID reader system designed specifically to read bar codes and active radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. The lightweight, highly functional RFID reader system enhances the ability of DoD logistics personnel to identify and keep track of in-transit military supplies marked with bar code and active RFID technologies.

Savi Technology, a leading provider of RFID supply chain solutions, holds the DoD's procurement contract for active RFID technologies and related software and services. Intermec, which develops, manufactures and integrates technologies that identify, track and manage supply chain assets, is the DoD's prime contractor for mobile computing and related automatic identification technology (AIT) systems and services.

Drawing on a combined 30 years of DoD experience, the ruggedized reader system includes additional functionality and is lighter, smaller and more robust than previous generations of similar devices. It is able to read from and write to Savi's active, data-rich RFID tags and also can scan and process data from standard linear, matrix, stacked and composite bar codes.

November 30, 2005. Skyhook Wireless announced that it has expanded its network roll-out to now include uninterrupted coverage in the 70 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. Earlier this year, Skyhook announced that its Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS), the first wide-area positioning system leveraging 802.11, or Wi-Fi, rather than satellite or cell tower-based technologies, was available in 25 U.S. cities. With this milestone, the Skyhook Wireless database of over 3 million commercially mapped private and public access points is the single-most accurate and reliable Wi-Fi based location determination solution available. Today, the company is on track to complete the top 100 cities in the United States by the end of this year and has begun its network roll-out in Europe and Asia.

Skyhook Wireless' WPS has the unique ability to automatically identify a user's current location through a combination of Wi-Fi and IP location determination techniques and then publish that location to any location based service, application or device. Using a patent-pending data collection system, a proven operations model, extensive post-processing and quality control gates, Skyhook adds new coverage cities by mapping every street within a metropolitan area and then updating that network coverage through a continuous process of re-mapping. For more info see this article. Alternative data aggregators are dependent on individual volunteers that independently collect access point information using varying collection technologies and techniques that are not subject to a central quality control or management processes. As a result, WPS is the only solution that can provide the consistent and reliable performance required for commercial-grade services, applications and devices that depend on accurate location determination.

Until the availability of the Skyhook Wireless system, GPS or cell tower-based systems were the only potential platform for basing location-based services. As evidenced by slow growth in such services, these systems proved to be costly to implement and prone to problems with accuracy and reliability. Using WPS' software only model, any Wi-Fi enabled laptop, PDA or Wi-Fi enabled phone can be made 'location-aware' with greater consistency and reliability than traditional methods.

November 30, 2005. Geographic Enterprises (GE) has launched the GeoPrinter Wall Map Digital Printing Service at http://www.geoprinter.com making production of wall size map output fast, easy, and affordable. The GeoPrinter service provides high resolution digital map printing for PDF format files in sizes up to 9 X 12 feet.

To ensure the highest quality digital printing for customers, the GeoPrinter website offers the free GeoPrinter PDF Utility for download to enable GIS and desktop mapping users to easily create, save, and share map output in PDF format. The GeoPrinter PDF Utility is a Windows print driver that enables you to quickly and easily generate large wall size PDF format maps (in custom or 9 default sizes up to 9 X 12 feet) from any desktop mapping or GIS software package. It is accessible as one of the available printers from the 'Print' menu.

Printing large format maps via local retail print services has typically been slow, cumbersome, and very expensive. The GeoPrinter service streamlines the large format digital map printing process and delivers it to the GIS community at a fair price. Custom laminated wall size maps start at just $95.

GE has partnered with Intelligent Direct, a company who has been in the map production and printing business for more than 20 years providing large format digital printing services for prestigious clients like National Geographic and Rand McNally. The new partnership is now making their digital map printing expertise available to the global GIS community.

November 30, 2005. Bulldog Technologies Inc., premier provider of wireless security solutions and sensor networks that monitor, track and secure assets in the supply chain, announced that yet another undisclosed "Fortune 500" company specializing in grocery food products has issued their first purchase order for the Bulldog MiniBOSS covert tracking and loss-prevention solution. Bulldog honors the customer's request for anonymity to preserve the integrity of their DLR (Deter-Locate-Recover) operations.

After careful consideration and due diligence, this international multi billion dollar company has selected Bulldog's MiniBOSS units to protect their goods in transit. After this initial stage, the company intends to implement the system throughout their supply chain, securing delivery of their food products. The MiniBOSS System provides an advanced facility to secure, track and recover product shipments and also advances the company's cost savings model while providing the possibility of reduced rates for insurance coverage. As such, this Bulldog customer has expressed interest in taking full advantage of all direct and indirect benefits associated with the deployment of the MiniBOSS system.

The Bulldog MiniBOSS is a cellular-based true-AGPS covert asset recovery device. It is designed to work in conjunction with Bulldog's web-based software, allowing users to securely track their shipments using a standard PC. Since the MiniBOSS operates on an AGPS platform, its signal sensitivity is many times that of previous technologies. Additionally, the MiniBOSS can rely on both cellular tower triangulation and GPS satellite location to pinpoint the location of transportable materials throughout the United States.

November 30, 2005. In Motion Technology Inc. and Road Safety International Inc. announced they have entered into a partnership to seamlessly deliver driver performance and safety data collected in the vehicle to the EMS communications center for instant tracking of their fleet operations. Focusing on improving safety and reducing operating costs in emergency vehicles, Road Safety's RS-3000 On-Board Computer System (Black Box) monitors and records unsafe vehicle operating parameters such as speeding and high g-forces caused by rapid accelerations, hard decelerations and high speed turns. It also monitors use of seat belts, use of vehicle spotter while backing and proper emergency lights & siren operation. In Motion's onBoard Mobile Gateway (oMG 1000) enables secure, data transfer on any wireless network for any device deployed in the ambulance, including the RS-3000. The integration of oMG 1000 with RS-3000 enables reduced operational costs while providing the ambulance communications center visibility to driver performance data in real-time.

The RS-3000 Black Box, much like an aircraft "flight data recorder", monitors driver behavior and stores the information for retrospective analysis. It also provides immediate, in-vehicle audio feedback to the driver if they start driving unsafely. "Immediate feedback is important to the learning process and is critical in emergency situations to avoid ambulance collisions with other vehicles," says Larry Selditz, President of Road Safety International. "In partnership with In Motion, we can now bring that feedback to the control center instantly."

In Motion Technology's oMG 1000 offers a Mobile LAN infrastructure that seamlessly scales to enable multiple applications and devices access to any wireless network. oMG 1000's open technology enables multi-network support (802.11, 802.16, 1xRTT, EvDO, Wi/iDEN, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, Flash OFDM, and/or UMTS TDD) all in the same box for a flexible, reliable solution for mobile data operations. Additionally, In Motion Technology transparently provides 128-bit security to all data transmissions to protect confidential patient and billing information.

November 28, 2005. SaRonix, a Pericom Semiconductor Company, announces the production release of its NKS3 product series, a quartz crystal resonator contained in an ultra-miniature 3.2 x 2.5mm package. This new crystal, manufactured at Pericom's recently acquired eCERA factory in Taiwan, is mounted inside a small form-factor and robust ceramic package that is designed for portable electronic applications. Featuring operating frequencies from 14 to 54 MHz, the NKS3 series is an ideal component for use in small form-factor hard disk drives, GPS devices, portable multimedia players or recorders, blade servers, switches, & routers, portable/personal computing devices, wireless access devices, and SOHO networking equipment.

The NKS3 products are packaged in a hermetically sealed industry-standard 3.2 x 2.5mm ceramic package that is fifty-percent (50%) smaller than the popular 3.2 x 5mm package. This reduced package size facilitates the size-reduction of customers' platforms or the addition of more features/functions to existing platforms. The NKS3 crystals utilize the favorable properties of AT-cut fundamental-mode quartz, with output frequencies available from 14 to 54 MHz. Despite their small size, the NKS3 crystals achieve a relatively low ESR, thus providing an easy-to-use solution. Moreover, the products achieve an impressive +/-10ppM accuracy over commercial operating temperatures, performance that is critical for wireless applications such as GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, GSM, and WiMax.

November 28, 2005. Smartphone users can now take advantage of new mapping technologies and local search to find people, places, events and share user-generated content as a result of uLocate Communications' acquisition of Kmaps (http://www.alealea.com). Kmaps is available today on Treo devices and will soon be available on the Blackberry as well as other platforms. Treo users can download Kmaps today for free from http://kmaps.ulocate.com, get maps and directions, find local businesses, post and search user profiles and create their own location aware content to share with the community. In addition, Kmaps provides a free web 2.0 API for software developers to create Kmaps add-ons. The plans for Kmaps include rolling it out on several new devices as well as integrating with the uLocate platform to make additional features available to Kmaps users.

November 28, 2005. STMicroelectronics, a leading supplier of System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions for the wireless market, unveiled the industry's most comprehensive solution for pico-cell base-station modems. ST's unique offering combines the superior performance of the market's first SoC baseband processor for wireless infrastructure applications, the STW51000, with multi-standard software libraries, optimized for GSM, EDGE, W-CDMA, and WiMAX networks. Driving up base-station channel density, ST has tested and specified the device to be used with 20 concurrent voice users in a Release 4 WCDMA network.

Pico-cell base stations provide enhanced wireless coverage inside office buildings, college campuses, subways, airports etc. Their importance grows with the arrival of 3G services, where even a relatively small number of high- speed data users can consume all the available resources of the nearest macro- cell base station. Recent industry research also suggests that as much as 70 per cent of subscribers will be located indoors when accessing wireless broadband applications.

November 28, 2005. Alvarion Ltd., the world's leading provider of wireless broadband solutions and specialized mobile networks, announced that Ikatel, an affiliate of France Telecom offering broadband data services in the West African country of Mali, will install Alvarion's BreezeMAX 3500 system, including hundreds of CPEs based on the Intel WiMAX chip to deploy a WiMAX network in the capital city of Bamako. Ikatel, a leading GSM and Internet operator in Mali, expects to deploy the network by year-end.

BreezeMAX is Alvarion's award winning, WiMAX platform that has been designed from the ground up according to the IEEE 802.16-2004 standards using OFDM technology for advanced non-line-of-sight (NLOS) functionality. Its carrier-class design supports broadband speeds and quality of service (QoS) to enable carriers to offer triple play broadband services to thousands of subscribers from a single base station. Since its launch in mid-2004, BreezeMAX has been successfully deployed in over 130 installations in more than 30 countries around the world. Already an integral part of WiMAX networks in Europe and Latin America, this is the first deployment in Africa of the BreezeMAX PRO CPE with the Intel PRO/Wireless 5116 WiMAX chip.

November 28, 2005. The R&S CRTU-WC52 software option now allows the tried-and-tested Protocol Tester R&S CRTU-W to be used for tests on A-GPS-capable 3G mobile phones. The Global Certification Forum (GCF) has defined 21 protocol test cases for UMTS/A-GPS terminals. The first three test cases from Rohde & Schwarz have now been validated by the Combined Agreement Group (CAG #04) and the PTCRB Validation Group (PVG #31). The new option from Rohde & Schwarz now already covers two thirds of all the test cases required for certification. The company thus supports the development of the new technology, which allows the location of UMTS mobile phones to be determined quickly.

In the USA, the E911 law specifies that a mobile phone must automatically provide the location of the user in cases of emergency calls, even if the user is unable to indicate the location in such a case. Locating the position must be ensured either via the network or via the mobile phone itself. Many UMTS mobile phones are already equipped with a GPS receiver for this purpose. However, tracking a position by means of GPS can take up to ten minutes if conditions are unfavorable, for the mobile phone must first determine and evaluate the current satellite data.

A-GPS combines the normal GPS applications that are established among end users - navigation, for example - with the new requirement. The GPS almanac information is broadcast over the UMTS mobile radio network. This information includes the current time, satellite constellation and other data necessary for quickly determining the caller's location by means of the mobile phone. The time to first fix (TTFF) is reduced to just a few seconds on the basis of this information. America's large network operators as well as mobile phone manufacturers are therefore very keen on quickly getting their hands on reliable test solutions for A-GPS.

Rohde & Schwarz provides T&M equipment that is compliant with the specification, and thus supports the development and certification of such terminals. The R&S CRTU-WC52 software option makes the Protocol Tester R&S CRTU-W the world's only instrument that can handle 3G A-GPS test cases. Two thirds of all test cases prescribed in the GCF Work Item WI-015 are already available now. In combination with a generator for satellite signals that simulates up to six satellites prescribed in the test cases, the R&S CRTU-W clears the road for A-GPS.

November 23, 2005. The Lockheed Martin-led team developing the nation's next-generation missile warning system announced that it has completed preparations to enable the payload for the first Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellite to begin engineering thermal vacuum testing. The SBIRS GEO payload, developed by Northrop Grumman Corporation's Electronic Systems sector, consists of a scanning sensor and a staring sensor, with sensor pointing achieved by the spacecraft's Pointing Control Assembly (PCA). The scanning sensor is designed for continuous observation and surveillance of traditional intercontinental ballistic missile threats, while the staring sensor is designed to detect very low signature, short-burn-duration theatre missiles. The staring sensor recently completed its flight-acceptance test.

One of the most significant program milestones, thermal vacuum testing verifies the payload functionality and performance in a vacuum environment, where the payload is stressed at temperature extremes greater than those expected during on-orbit operations. The baseline ambient functional tests as well as radiometric tests will be repeated in this "test-it-like-it-flies" environment with the infrared sensors at their cryogenic operating temperatures.

November 22, 2005. Bulldog Technologies Inc., premier provider of wireless security solutions and sensor networks that monitor, track and secure assets in the supply chain, announced that Bulldog's RFID sensor network system has met FCC (US Federal Communications Commission) and Industry Canada radio frequency device regulatory requirements. Used for a variety of critical monitoring tasks involving commercial transportation and storage of perishable goods, Bulldog's RFID sensor network solution addresses the quality control requirements of producers, transportation elements, wholesalers and merchants.

The Bulldog-developed and deployed sensor network solution measures and monitors the temperature of produce containers, refrigerated trucks, milk tankers and grocery store coolers while delivering real time data to a PC based monitoring application. This wireless sensor network consists of 2.45GHz IEEE 802.15.4 (ZigBee; similar to Bluetooth) based RF tags and readers. The tags are designed to collect temperature data and transmit the data in real-time to a network of readers. The application monitors predetermined thresholds and, if exceeded, an alarm is issued via an email or a SMS text message. This alarm alerts personnel and enables corrective action to be taken before spoiling can occur, preventing complete or partial losses, insurance claims and delayed delivery.

ZigBee is a global standard that addresses the unique needs of remote monitoring & control, and sensory network applications; enables broad-based deployment of wireless networks with low cost, low power solutions; and provides the ability to run for years on inexpensive primary batteries for typical monitoring applications. Bulldog had selected ZigBee as the preferred platform to develop wireless security and sensor network applications.

November 21, 2005. Texas Instruments Incorporated introduced the industry's first single-chip assisted global positioning system (A-GPS) solution in 90 nanometer (nm) process technology for mobile phones. Through TI's innovative DRP technology, the GPS5300 NaviLink 4.0 single chip offers the smallest system area for a discrete GPS solution, lowest total system cost, low power consumption and high performance A-GPS functionality. To speed the development of A-GPS enabled handsets, the NaviLink single chip is optimized to interface with TI's 3G technology and OMAP processors to deliver a complete solution for handset OEMs.

The GPS5300 is the first product in TI's NaviLink A-GPS family of solutions providing enhanced positioning capabilities for the handset. The GPS5300 NaviLink 4.0 single chip uses TI's DRP technology and 90 nm advanced process manufacturing to deliver:

The industry's smallest discrete A-GPS solution with a board area less
The industry's lowest cost complete A-GPS system by delivering a total
A low power solution with power management integrated on-chip, as well
A high performing A-GPS solution with rapid time to first fix (TTFF)

November 19, 2005. The Hyderabad-based GPS-GIS solutions company, Citadel Research and Solutions, announced the launch of its advanced Vehicle Tracking Solutions (VTS) on the occasion of World GIS Day. Launched at the ongoing GIS, remote sensing, GPS and other spatial technologies exhibition here on "Digital India and Mapmela", VTS is a "complete" suite of solutions, which integrated advanced Vehicle Tracking System, third generation communication system with high precision maps of various cities in India, a senior official of the company said. The Solutions extend features that can help in locating and planning the routes to locations in the city, measure distances, find the shortest routes and GPS tracking. The Solutions would facilitate controlling Traffic, ensuring Security and tracking VIP Convoy in the city, tracking out of city VIP travel, tracking of City Police Patrol vans like Rakshak vehiclaes, Private Armored car tracking. VTS comprises of Digitized maps of the various cities in India, Vehicle Locater with GPS Receiver, GSM Communicagtigon, Base Station UNI (BSU), Interactive software for guided navigation and routing, Interface able with various kinds of databases, Easily customizable for various industries--E Cops and Dial 100 integration.

November 18, 2005. Bulldog Technologies Inc., premier designer and manufacturer of wireless security solutions and sensor networks that monitor, track and secure assets in the supply chain announced that, after an intensive and successful two month trial, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Global Manufacturing has commenced ordering Bulldog's MiniBOSS for the purpose of securing and monitoring high-value pharmaceuticals as they travel through Pfizer's supply chain. Pfizer will integrate the MiniBOSS into their North American supply chain during phase one, to be followed by expanded distribution-point deployment.

After competitive testing in real world conditions throughout the Northeastern United States, Pfizer has awarded the purchase order to Bulldog Technologies. Pfizer found that only the Bulldog MiniBOSS met or exceeded Pfizer's standards for securing and tracking high-value pharmaceutical shipments throughout the contiguous United States. Interestingly, the MiniBOSS was available to Pfizer at significant savings when compared to competitive products.

The Bulldog MiniBOSS is a cellular based true AGPS covert asset location and recovery device. It is designed to work in conjunction with Bulldog's web-based software, allowing users to securely track their shipments using a standard PC. The MiniBOSS is designed to be covertly placed in valuable and/or sensitive shipments and will enable Pfizer to track, locate and maintain contact with individual shipments, as mandated by its security and logistics management teams. Since the MiniBOSS operates on an AGPS platform, its signal sensitivity is many times that of previous technologies. Additionally, the MiniBOSS can rely on both cellular tower triangulation and GPS satellite location to pinpoint the location of transportable materials throughout North America and, in fact, over most of the world.

November 17, 2005. MHF Logistical Solutions Inc. (MHF-LS), a leading provider of packaging, transportation and technical services for generators and shippers of radioactive, hazardous and non- hazardous waste and materials, said that it will soon offer "smart" railcars equipped with remote monitoring and diagnostic systems to manage shipments of sensitive cargo.

The optional new MHF-LS asset tracking service will be available in early 2006, the company said. The new service will feature long-life, battery-operated wireless devices and monitoring equipment that track the exact location and operating status of railcars in use across North America, as well as the condition of their contents. The wireless devices incorporate global positioning satellite (GPS) technology linked to MHF-LS' back office reporting and operations systems.

Shippers can access detailed data about their shipments' whereabouts at any given moment through a secure, protected system, and can be alerted if railcars have been tampered with or have encountered an unusual event. Add-on features -- monitoring internal or external temperatures, pressure, impact and other variables -- also can be added to the basic unit.

November 16, 2005. Telmap, a world-leading provider of mobile Mapping and Navigation solutions, and Saunalahti, a Finnish provider of consumer Internet and telecommunications services, announced the upcoming launch of the first real-time GPS navigation service for Finnish mobile phone users.

The service, Saunalahti Kartturi, is set to be launched in the coming weeks. It will initially provide full real-time mapping, navigation, POI (Points of Interest) content, and connectivity throughout Europe and North America. Additional regions and extended real-time content will be introduced soon after. For the immediate rollout, the service will be available for Smart phones and Java phones, with support for additional handsets on multiple platforms to be added in phase two.

Telmap provides Saunalahti with a complete, branded and localized Finnish-language navigation solution based on its Polaris Mapping and Navigation technology. As a multi-platform solution, Polaris enables Saunalahti to roll out a single, all-inclusive mobile navigation solution to a wide range of customers and devices. Because the service is server-based, all mapping, navigation and content data is always up to date and delivered in real-time.

November 16, 2005. BSQUARE, a leading provider of smart device solutions, announced the integration of their Secure Digital Input/Output (SDIO) technology into HP iPAQ handhelds and their multi-year collaboration with HP. As a part of this relationship, BSQUARE will collaborate with HP to develop value-add technologies for HP mobile devices.

The HP iPAQ Pocket PC hx2200 and hx2700 series devices are currently shipping with SDIO Now! V2.1, BSQUARE's newest software stack. Customers can use Secure Digital (SD) technology to store music or video clips on removable cards or to extend device capability by adding peripherals such as GPS receivers or digital cameras. SDIO Now! V2.x enables mobile device customers to protect personal data, enjoy larger storage space, higher performance, and enhanced features when they use SD expansion capabilities on their devices.

SDIO Now! V2.1 features Fast Path technology, which boosts system throughput by up to 200%. SDIO Now! V2.1 also supports 2 GB MultiMediaCard (MMC) /SD memory cards and offers SD Password protection that allows HP iPAQ Pocket PC users to help safeguard their personal information and content on Secure Digital cards.

November 16, 2005. Gearworks, a leading provider of mobile workforce management software, announced the availability of the newest member of its flagship etrace product family - etrace:worksight.lite edition - designed to work with the Nextel Wireless GPS Platform from Sprint. etrace:worksight.lite is ideally suited for small-to-medium businesses seeking an economical solution for gaining mobile workforce visibility. The etrace product family, previously available only on Nextel Java phones, can now also support non Java-enabled handsets allowing businesses to leverage their existing investment.

The new etrace edition features GPS tracking capabilities using non Java-enabled handsets such as the i205, i305, i315 and i530 within Nextel's product line, and gives business managers and dispatchers a zero-field-training solution for monitoring their mobile workforce. etrace:worksight.lite edition provides near-real-time fleet and worker maps, location-intelligent alerts, and WorkZone reports that provide insight into daily activities such as drive time and number of worker stops.

The Nextel Wireless GPS Platform from Sprint is a network-based location tracking solution that works with a wide range of standard handsets (Java and non Java-enabled) to provide GPS location information without the need for an application on the device. etrace:worksight.lite is available now and can be Sprint direct billed for $19.95 per month, including Nextel data access charges.

November 15, 2005. Aperto Networks, a leading WiMAX systems provider serving over 200 operators in 65 countries, said that a growing number of its customers are using Aperto's products to deliver business-quality Voice-over-IP (VoIP) services, often at service prices that are significantly more competitive than those of existing service providers. TransAria is using Aperto Networks' solutions to offer business-grade Voice-over-IP services throughout the state of Montana. The service allows enterprises of any size to significantly reduce their telecommunications expenses by shifting from leased T1 circuits to transporting voice over packet networks.

Aperto has come up with an efficient solution for operators concerning the vexing issue of offering voice and data. While voice traffic is characterized by low bandwidth and a low tolerance for error and latency, data traffic is quite the opposite -- high-bandwidth and more tolerant of bit errors and latency. Aperto's patented technology can treat voice and data traffic uniquely, allocating appropriate levels of bandwidth to account for low latency requirements for voice services. Furthermore, the upcoming Software Release V5.4, due out later this week, will enhance the QoS system to support over-subscription of VoIP services, enabling operators to further optimize their wireless bandwidth and fine-tune their business models.

November 15, 2005. Wherify Wireless, Inc., a leading developer of patented wireless location products and services for family safety and communications, announced the award-winning Wherifone GPS Locator Phone has been approved by KORE Wireless Inc. for use on the KORE Wireless network in Canada. In addition, Wherify has signed a wholesale purchase agreement with KORE Wireless Inc., a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) of wireless voice and data airtime services, to resell airtime on the KORE Wireless Canadian network as part of a Wherify branded service using the Wherifone GPS Locator Phone. The Wherifone is the world's smallest GPS-equipped GSM locator phone and provides a totally unique and affordable way for families with pre-teens, seniors, or those with special medical needs, to stay connected and in contact with each other. Wherify expects to launch services in Canada in the first half of 2006.

November 15, 2005. Verizon Wireless, the nation's leading wireless service provider, and MobileGates, a leading provider of location-based services, announced that three new map-based applications -- MobileGates Traffic, FuelFinder, and StoreFinder -- are now available to Verizon Wireless Mobile Web 2.0(SM) customers. The perfect tools for people on-the-go, MobileGates' applications help customers avoid heavy traffic, locate the lowest priced gas, or find the closest Verizon Wireless store, by delivering interactive color maps to Verizon Wireless phones.

Available today, MobileGates' technology enables Verizon Wireless Mobile Web subscribers to receive up-to-date information about current traffic conditions as well as the location and price of fuel in their region or along their route. In addition, the new VZW StoreFinder, developed for Verizon Wireless by MobileGates, provides subscribers with interactive maps detailing the location and directions to Verizon Wireless stores in their area.

MobileGates has the only location-based mapping platform that offers seamless applications, allowing users to switch from one application to another using the same maps and locations. Users can also personalize these applications with multi-point routes and time-based alerts.

November 15, 2005. ORBCOMM, a global satellite telecommunications company, announced it has commissioned a new Gateway Earth Station in Almaty, Kazakhstan, near the southern border with China. The new station will be fully operational by December 1, 2005. Gateway Earth Stations (GES) are terrestrial links to the ORBCOMM network of low-earth orbit satellites. This new GES provides a 1,500-mile coverage radius enabling ORBCOMM to pursue regulatory approvals to expand near real time service into parts of China, Russia and the Middle East through the ORBCOMM low-earth orbit satellite network. LeoSat LLC, the country representative for Kazakhstan, has started marketing satellite data services to transportation, oil, gas, utility and government customers in Kazakhstan, which has significant undeveloped petroleum reserves. This new GES is ORBCOMM's latest effort to advance its international growth strategy, bringing the number of operating stations to 13.

ORBCOMM and its international network of licensees and representatives hold regulatory approvals to provide satellite data communications in more than 50 jurisdictions around the world. The commissioning of this new GES allows ORBCOMM's international value-added resellers to immediately begin deploying ORBCOMM subscriber communicator units in this rapidly developing region.

November 15, 2005. Cobra Electronics, a leading manufacturer of navigation and communication products, announced the launch of two new marine GPS portable navigation units, the MC 600Ci and the MC 600Cx, signaling a new direction for Cobra's marine line. The navigation devices, which will be available at marine retailers in early 2006, are being unveiled this week at the Marine Equipment Trade Show (METS). For the MC 600 series, Cobra offers industry-leading features, such as:

Cobra's exclusive iASAP GPS technology, which provides fast GPS
A six-inch color screen with anti-reflective coating - the largest in
Sunlight and NightWatch modes to ensure maximum visibility -
New C-MAP NT MAX NMEA award winning charts
Easy to operate with a user-friendly welcome page
Easy-to-use demo pages
In the MC 600Ci, an internal iASAP GPS antenna with a 12v DC
In the MC 600Cx, an external antenna and flush mounting accessories

Advanced MC 600 series functionality, enabled with the use of a C-MAP NT MAX C Card, includes: The MAX anti-grounding feature; embedded aerial photographs of marina and harbor entrances; and dynamic current arrows that indicate the direction and speed of tidal currents. These features are among the latest in marine GPS software and are available only in products using the new C-MAP NT MAX generation charts.

November 15, 2005. Ember Corporation announced EmberZNet 2.0, its ZigBee networking software, is now shipping. EmberZNet is a second-generation ZigBee protocol stack (as well as being Ember's fifth-generation mesh networking stack) designed for self-organizing, self-healing wireless networks using a variety of network topologies, including mesh, star, and cluster tree. It provides all the standards-based benefits inherent in the ZigBee specification, including high reliability, high security, broad interoperability, low cost, long battery life, and integrated network management. But beyond these standard benefits, EmberZNet 2.0 extends ZigBee functionality, simplicity and performance. For example, EmberZNet 2.0 supports application profiles for home controls as well as user-defined network applications. It also features an Ember transport layer to provide more reliable wireless communications between nodes and enable distributed bindings. The Ember transport layer, along with Ember's application programming interface (API), also makes it easy for Ember's existing customers to port their EmberNet applications to the new ZigBee platform. Using the same familiar API they've already mastered, they can migrate their applications to a ZigBee-compliant version with minimal changes and development costs. Future upgrades to their products can be easily deployed with EmberZNet's over-the-air bootloader. Customers can also accelerate EmberZNet application development using Ember WorkBench, an Eclipse-based integrated development environment. Ember WorkBench enables developers to develop and debug applications across an entire network, as opposed to debugging each node on the network as required by competitive development tools.

November 15, 2005. u-Nav Microelectronics, developer of the world's smallest and ultra low power Global Positioning System (GPS) chipsets, announced the successful implementation of a single-chip GPS receiver. This true monolithic GPS receiver is accomplished by combining u-Nav's all CMOS high performance RFIC core with its 3rd generation baseband IC core to form a true single-die GPS receiver. A new generation search engine has been added to support high sensitivity assisted GPS signal acquisition well beyond the levels specified in both the IS-801 and 3GPP standards. The single-chip GPS receiver will utilize u-Nav's Orion v2.0 software which provides support for conventional GPS operation as well as synchronous (IS-801 and 3GPP2) and asynchronous (3GPP) assisted GPS. Sampling of the single-chip GPS receiver is planned for the end of Q4-05 with production slated for the first half of 2006.

November 14, 2005. Sun Microsystems, Inc. announced the availability of the Sun RFID Industry Solution for Drug Authentication, a combination of software, hardware and services to addresses the specific requirements of the pharmaceutical industry. The Sun RFID Industry Solution for Drug Authentication helps to combat drug counterfeiting by verifying and certifying the authenticity of drugs using Electronic Product Codes (EPC) or electronic pedigrees across the supply chain.

The Sun RFID Industry Solution for Drug Authentication uses a scalable architecture that helps companies to start with EPC-based drug authentication for initial pilots and then evolve to more complex, pedigree-based drug authentication solutions. The EPC Authentication verifies point-of-sale EPC information, stored in an RFID tag, against a repository of valid codes. The Pedigree Authentication is more secure and complex and requires verification and authentication of each drug item at every step of the drug supply chain.

In addition to helping the pharmaceutical industry curb drug counterfeiting and diverting, Sun's RFID solutions can help healthcare providers reduce medical errors through the tracking of patients, critical medical information and records. Sun's RFID solutions can extend beyond medication tracking to help hospitals monitor instruments and disposables using RFID tagging, automated counting and alarms. Further, RFID tagging can assist hospitals with locating, taking inventory of and re-ordering high value assets in a timely manner, reducing staff search time and improving the timeliness of patient care.

November 14, 2005. Polaris Wireless, a pioneer in wireless location technology, announced the commercial availability of the company's Wireless Location Signatures (WLS) solution with the GSMDirect option, which eliminates the need for costly Abis Probe systems and hardware. Several US-based GSM carriers have deployed this solution over the past year as part of their compliance programs for the FCC E911 Phase II emergency call mandate.

Wireless Location Signatures (WLS) enables carriers to locate emergency and commercial callers without the addition of any RF infrastructure hardware and without modification of handsets, resulting in a total cost of ownership (TCO) significantly below any other commercially available network-based location systems. With the introduction of GSMDirect, the need for network-based Abis probe hardware has been eliminated, further increasing the TCO advantage of WLS over competing location technologies.

Polaris Wireless Location Signatures (WLS) is a breakthrough in wireless location technology. Performance tested in the United States and Europe, Polaris WLS resides on standard, centralized server platforms and requires no modifications to handsets or cell sites. This network-based, software-only solution simplifies and accelerates deployments, provides complete network coverage and dramatically reduces capital expenditures for wireless carriers. The WLS technology is applicable to all major wireless standards including TDMA, GSM, UMTS and CDMA.

November 14, 2005. Digital Angel Corporation, an advanced technology company in the field of rapid and accurate identification, location tracking and condition monitoring of high-value assets, announced that it has developed and will soon begin selling a new and significantly improved scanner that can electronically read or detect any implanted RFID microchip currently used for pet identification and ownership purposes in the U.S. companion pet market. The new scanners are now in production and are expected to be available for purchase by veterinarians, animal shelters and clinics in late November.

The new scanner was designed to read the vast majority of chips in the nation's expanding companion pet marketplace that use a 125 kHz radio frequency including chips that are encrypted. The new scanner can also detect the presence of a 134 kHz radio frequency chip, also called an ISO chip, which is commonly used outside the country but is present in a small number of pets in the U.S.

The new scanner was developed in response to recent Congressional action calling for a more universal microchip reader and to accommodate veterinarians, pet clinics and pet advocacy groups concerned that a lost pet could unnecessarily be harmed or euthanized if an implanted microchip could not be detected by older scanner models. In the case of the ISO chip, the new Digital Angel scanner will now indicate that a microchip is present in the pet, which will allow the necessary steps to be taken to insure identification of the animal and its ownership.

November 14, 2005. Royal Philips Electronics is the first major supplier to have its RFID chips certified by EPCGlobal as Gen2 compliant, according to the Metlab Conformance Test. The Philips UCODE EPC Gen 2 chips are available now. EPC Gen 2 is widely supported by end-users and manufacturers within the RFID industry and will facilitate the widespread deployment of RFID technology - especially in logistic applications and the retail supply chain. With broad deployment of the EPC standard, different RFID labels and readers are fully interoperable in different global regulatory environments. As a result, suppliers and manufacturers throughout the supply chain can realize significant improvements in performance, cost and reliability as well as easy migration to future EPC classes.

November 14, 2005. Privately held Global Locate, Inc., a global leader in assisted-GPS (A-GPS) products and services, announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued patent number USP 6,453,237 entitled "Method and Apparatus for Locating and Providing Services to Mobile Devices." This is one of 14 patents covering various aspects of the Global Locate Worldwide Reference Network (WWRN), a wide area network of GPS reference stations that provides assistance data to location-enabled devices anywhere in the world.

The company described the patent as covering the concept of a network of reference stations sending data to a server, which in turn creates a wide area model from which geographically specific GPS assistance data is derived and sent to mobile terminals. The patent has broad applicability to both MS-based and MS-assisted modes of operation. The WWRN has been in commercial operation since 2002, serving major Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) for both E911 and location-based services. With the emergence of the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) standard, MNOs worldwide can now take advantage of a single source of aiding data to support global roaming over SUPL.

November 10, 2005. Alcatel announced that it has been chosen by Orange, one of the most important worldwide mobile operators, as the main supplier for an A-GPS (Assisted Global Positioning System) solution in the framework of the first trial of this technology handled by the operator in France and throughout its European network. Over the course of a few months, this experiment allows trial users chosen by Orange and equipped with A-GPS handsets, to try out services which are specifically adapted to this technology, such as satellite navigation for cars and pedestrians. A-GPS allows the user to pick up the weakest satellite signals, and therefore makes finding difficult locations such as urban canyons (i.e. tunnels, business centers, and commercial centers which often consist of high rise buildings, narrow streets and light indoor environments) much easier. The immediate advantages of the Alcatel supplied A-GPS solution are the speed at which it finds a GPS signal (less than 2 seconds), and the accuracy and sensitivity of the solution, thanks notably to the efficiency of the assistance data provided by the EGNOS European satellite system.

Within the framework of this trial, Alcatel integrates for Orange an end-to-end Assisted-GPS solution including the Alcatel 8608 Enhanced Assisted-GPS server, which transmits data directly to the mobile terminal so that it can receive the GPS signals more quickly and effectively than a standard GPS, and Hewlett-Packard's iPAQ hw6515 Mobile Messenger, which integrates wireless voice, high-speed EDGE data networking and versatile GPS navigation technologies in one device to meet global business and personal communication needs. Both pieces of equipment use the Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) protocol which allows the A-GPS technology to be accessible from any mobile network. The SUPL platform has the advantage of being more cost-effective than the other solutions that are based upon control plane infrastructure, which demand costly upgrades to the mobile network infrastructure. The solution also includes an A-GPS connection which directly communicates with the mobile handset via an IP link, as well as Motorola's A1000 mobile phone combining 3G and PDA functionalities.

November 9, 2005. QUALCOMM Incorporated, a leading developer and innovator of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and other advanced wireless technologies, announced the new "Scorpion" mobile microprocessor delivering unsurpassed computing performance for wireless devices. The Scorpion core is the first microprocessor to be specifically designed and optimized for integration into the Company's Mobile Station Modem (MSM) solutions, and enables the convergence of mobile handsets with consumer electronics features by delivering superior performance and reduced power demands in mobile environments. The Scorpion microprocessor provides a superior power-to-performance ratio, enabling next-generation mobile handsets to deliver processing power comparable to many of today's personal computers. Possessing up to 1 GHz of processing speed, the Scorpion core provides up to eight times the performance of existing MSM solutions. The microprocessor features a sophisticated micro- architecture and advanced power management and circuit design techniques. The companion multimedia coprocessor to Scorpion implements ARM NEON technology to provide an additional 8 billion operations per second for added multimedia capabilities, a key requirement for next-generation advanced mobile devices.

November 8, 2005. AXCESS International Inc., a leading provider of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems announced the release of its comprehensive physical asset management solution, Asset Activator, which utilizes both active and semi-active RFID technology. This "On-Demand" solution provides automatic location, tracking, inventory counts, and protection of all types of enterprise assets. Built on AXCESS' proven ActiveTag technology, the unique low cost RFID asset management solution enables corporations to manage assets and effectively protect intellectual property and customer privacy data as noted under Sarbanes Oxley and the code of conduct stipulated for NYSE- listed companies. It is the first solution to provide both management and security in one package that is capable of interfacing with the full range of existing enterprise systems. Asset Activator is installed and operating in several corporate facilities worldwide.

Asset Activator seamlessly interfaces with existing security and access control systems to provide asset protection from loss or theft, while simultaneously integrating into asset management systems to enable automatic management and inventory accounting. An asset not designated as authorized to leave the premises or a secure area will trigger a standard alarm in the security system. Assets can be assigned authorized custodians for ease of movement. Dynamically accounting for assets reduces the manpower needed for inventory counts while increasing the accuracy of inventory accounting.

Asset Activator is more affordable and more accurate than RFID technologies which use signal power estimations or signal triangulation techniques for determining the location of assets. The Asset Activator solution utilizes a "Control Point" architecture to locate, track, count and protect tagged assets by activating the tags on-demand at key strategic points in and around the enterprise. Tags can be programmed to transmit only when requested, hence on-demand. Called "semi-active" in the RFID industry, on-demand operation conserves battery power and complies with regulatory requirements to avoid constant tag transmissions typical in many active RFID systems.

Key to the establishment of Control Points inside a building is AXCESS' new "Switch Plate" activator-antenna unit. The activator-antenna activates the tag as it passes, automatically and accurately transmitting only at that time so the asset's exact position is tracked as it moves throughout a facility. The palm-sized unit fits in with the aesthetic design of a building and avoids the objectionable portal structure typical of passive RFID tag systems. The areas between Control Points can be sized as needed by the customer's unique requirements for asset visibility and location precision.

The seamless interface into legacy security access control systems is accomplished using the industry standard Wiegand data interface from the RFID receiver to the security panel. The existing security system determines if assets are authorized to enter or leave an area without triggering an alarm. A simultaneous TCP/IP network interface from the receiver makes the system a standard enterprise network application complete with intelligent middleware to process the tag data and an interface with enterprise systems such as IT and accounting application software. Asset Activator is integrated with ActiveTrac, a desktop software package provided by AXCESS which enables easy and simple tag enrollment, asset tracking and security. Optionally, customers can use AXCESS' OnlineSupervisor browser-based software solution.

AXCESS' patented ActiveTag RFID product uses small, battery powered tags (generically called "semi-active" tags) that when automatically activated, transmit a wireless message typically 30 to 100 feet to hidden palm size receivers. The receivers are connected via an industry standard interface to existing security alarm equipment or networked on the existing corporate network. Optionally, the tag system can also be used to trigger security video recording and live remote video transmission. The tags are used for a variety of other security applications including automatic personnel access to facilities, automatic vehicle access to parking areas and yards, as well as special purpose sensing. Automatic email alerting and paging is offered for rapid response to security incidents.

November 7, 2005. TransCore, the largest global manufacturer of transportation-based radio frequency identification (RFID) products, announced the development of a combined dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) and long-range GPS and satellite communications modem for automobile safety products. Moving from multiple in-vehicle components to a highly integrated device will lower cost and provide ubiquitous coverage. The modem will also provide a more immediate means to support critical safety applications while the nationwide short-range communications (DSRC) infrastructure network is built out over the next few decades. As DSRC infrastructure becomes available, the system will take advantage of its low usage costs and tailored communication capabilities. In areas without DSRC, either the satellite communications capability or a conventional cellular link can be used to connect to the vehicle.

With GPS accuracy of up to one meter and the versatility of multiple channels to communicate with the vehicle, the modem will enable safety services in the near term as well as the foreseeable future. The new modem, based on TransCore's multimillion dollar research and development of a satellite-based modem for its GlobalWave asset tracking products, will not only be capable of using wideband DSRC locally for control and warnings (e.g., enabling "smart intersections"), but via its highly accurate GPS and satellite communications technology it will allow automated reporting of incidents, irrespective of the limitations of local terrestrial coverage. This blend of technologies will allow auto OEMs to deliver integrated preventative safety systems such as automated warnings and collision avoidance for fire, ambulance and police response.

Incorporating satellite technology was an essential element of TransCore's strategic vision to combine the inherent advantages of both short- and long-range communication devices. TransCore will team with Ottawa, Canada-based Carleton University to develop advanced radio frequency (RF) circuit integration technologies, central to making the resulting product viable and cost effective. TransCore's development of GPS and satellite communications technologies and its core involvement with 5.9 GHz DSRC development make this integrated product a natural extension.

November 7, 2005. NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, and DaimlerChrysler Research and Technology North America, Inc. will be demonstrating, at the 12th Annual World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) taking place November 6 - 10 in San Francisco, CA, a new technology prototype that showcases wireless delivery of digital map data from wireless hot spots to in-vehicle navigation systems. This technology will be showcased in a variety of locations at ITS including the NAVTEQ booth (#901) and in special NAVTEQ and DaimlerChrysler research prototype vehicles. NAVTEQ and DC RTNA are conducting this joint demonstration to focus on advancing the quality of drivers' overall experience with their navigation system. The dynamic nature of the road network makes the ability to quickly and accurately update the map data powering a navigation system a true competitive differentiator for car companies and location-based solution providers. The wireless map update technology is a significant step in making it possible for drivers to receive updated map data while in route, utilizing their existing navigation systems.

Currently, in-vehicle navigation systems use CDs, DVDs or hard disk drives to store map data. Due to the complexity and cost of the updating process, most automobile manufacturers release updated maps on CD or DVD media only on a semiannual or an annual basis, creating a need for a faster, more frequent updating process. This research prototype illustrates how, through the use of DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication) technology, wireless map updates would allow drivers to drive by a designated DSRC road side access point and download updates to their DSRC enabled navigation system. The server-based wireless delivery technology uses the commercial service channel of DSRC to transmit information at up to 27 megabytes per second over a distance of up to 1000 meters. This system which operates in real time is able to determine what new pre-processed map data the specific vehicle's navigation system needs and then prompts the driver to update their map.

November 7, 2005. Lowrance Electronics, Inc. announced that its new, compact, cordless iWay 350c Multimedia Automotive GPS Color Portable Automotive GPS won the "Best New Mobile Electronics Entertainment Product for 2006" at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) 2005 Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The SEMA show, where Lowrance introduced the new iWay 350c, is the premier automotive specialty performance products trade event in the world featuring performance, accessories, restoration and motorsports products.

The SEMA selection committee based their decision on the following categories: innovation; technical achievement; quality; workmanship, and consumer appeal. According to the selection committee, the iWay 350c excelled in each of the categories over all other competitive entries and deserved the highest acclaim. The iWay 350c features include built-in battery power, stereo MP3 music player, wireless full spectrum FM modulator, picture viewer, precise, easy-to-use turn-by-turn navigation with multimedia extras, cordless go-anywhere portability in a compact case and retails for $499.

Powered by dual internal lithium-ion rechargeable batteries and complete with a built-in battery charger, the iWay 350c offers up to 15 hours of portable cordless navigation, music and picture viewing. A 12v DC accessory cable is included to provide in-vehicle recharging.

The iWay 350c also includes a full-featured stereo MP3 player and incorporates a digital media card slot, enabling motorists to 'plug and play' their favorite audio files from an MMC or SD memory card. Although equipped with its own integrated speaker, the new iWay 350c features a built-in, full spectrum FM modulator for wirelessly streaming music and navigation voice directions through any open FM radio channel. Using the media card slot to insert an MMC or SD card with JPEG photo files, owners can enjoy larger images of their travel photos on the iWay 350c's color screen. Touting a bright, sunlight-viewable 3.5" diagonal, 16-bit color TFT touch-screen display with 320Hx240V pixel resolution, the iWay 350c delivers full 16-channel GPS+WAAS location precision via its built-in antenna. Simplified touch-screen menus put easy operation at the traveler's fingertips. With the integrated 4GB hard drive pre-loaded with NAVTEQ turn-by-turn map data detail for the continental U.S. and Canada, there is no need for owners to buy maps or pay fees or unlock codes. Also included are over 5 million points of interest to easily find and navigate to service stations, lodging, dining, entertainment, and many other services.

November 7, 2005. Telcontar, a leading supplier of software and related services for the Location-Based Services (LBS) industry, announced the availability of Drill Down Server (DDS) 4.0 platform and Traffic Manager 4.0, the latest version of its geospatial engine that powers leading Internet portal mapping services such as Google Local, Yahoo! Maps and Ask Jeeves. The new DDS 4.0 platform represents a breakthrough in real-time location services by enabling proactive notification of relevant, real time data to users for routes that they use everyday. The Traffic Manager 4.0 extension allows users to integrate the most accurate traffic feeds available with dynamic detour routing from DDS 4.0 to take drivers to their destination as fast as possible. DDS 4.0 enables personalized routes, giving users the ability to define favorite routes and then receive proactive notification of relevant information along those routes such as real time traffic, gas prices or custom offers from merchants. In the same way that one can have a personal watch list of stock prices or news, now it is possible to check favorite routes to see if traffic is bad getting out of town on a Friday, or to learn who has the lowest gas price on the commute home.

By combining DDS 4.0 with a standard Internet notification system, drivers can be notified to leave 20 minutes earlier, what exits to take, if streets should be used instead of freeways, as well as identify where the nearest ATMs and rest stops are located. Until now, this has not been practical due to the complexity of correlating time-sensitive data across potentially millions of personalized routes. DDS 4.0 offers a unique method of quickly and efficiently searching across stored routes to provide the first location platform that can scale to the volumes needed for the Internet. Traffic Manager 4.0 further enhances the personalized routes by integrating traffic data from Tele Atlas, Inrix and NAVTEQ with advanced detour routing to get drivers to their destinations as quickly as possible. DDS 4.0 with the Traffic Manager 4.0 extension uses real-time traffic data in the routing calculations and is the first routing platform to explore detours around these incidents on surface streets as part of an optimized solution. The result is that drivers now can not only know what traffic to expect, but can know what to do about it, with routes that minimize their time on the road.

November 7, 2005. The Rocket Racing League (RRL), an aerospace entertainment organization that combines the competition of racing with the excitement of rocketry, announced it has signed an exclusive agreement with GPS Industries Inc. (GPSI), a leading innovator of Wi-Fi and GPS-enabled multimedia communications and management solutions for golf facilities, resorts, sporting events and residential communities. Under the terms of the agreement, GPSI will provide complete GPS business solutions, including GPS technology with Wi-Fi enhancements and newly designed hand-held spectator GPS receiver units, to the Rocket Racing League. GPS Industries will design and supply GPS receivers for the cockpits of the Mark-1 X Racer rocket planes which will be used to navigate the three-dimensional race courses. The company will also design and supply hand-held GPS receivers for use by fans attending races who will be able to follow the rocket planes using a sophisticated mapping interface. The devices will be Wi-Fi-enabled to broadcast streaming video during the races from multiple camera angles including cockpit, side-angle and wing-to-wing views. The Rocket Racing League (RRL) was founded by Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, founder of the X PRIZE, which inaugurated the age of personal spaceflight, and Granger Whitelaw, two-time Indianapolis 500 champion team partner. The rocket races will take place on a two mile long, three-dimensional race course, complete with dramatic drops and sweeping turns, at an altitude of 5,000 feet.

November 7, 2005. STMicroelectronics has announced the availability of new software libraries for the company's STA2051 32-bit System-on-Chip (SoC) GPS baseband controller, enabling the delivery of both higher performance and additional functionality for GPS and telematics applications. The enhanced performance advantage provided by the new software libraries allows the STA2051 GPS baseband controller IC, also known as 'Vespucci,' to guarantee a high level of performance in urban regions or areas of dense foliage where GPS satellite visibility can be low. The new library offers a high-sensitivity feature, called STrack1, which allows tracking in poor satellite visibility, and also has high acquisition sensitivity when re- entering into areas of good satellite visibility.

Additionally, the new software libraries provide 'Dead Reckoning,' which uses vehicle-based sensors to carry out position determination during either failure or poor reception of GPS signals. For example, in tunnels or narrow valleys, positioning information can be fed to the STA2051's inputs by taking advantage of the sensors, such as an odometer for velocity and forward or backward movement, and an angular acceleration sensor, such as a gyro or ABS sensor, as a directional indicator.

The STA2051 single-chip baseband IC integrates, on the same piece of silicon, a 32-bit ARM7TDMI microcontroller, a 12-channel GPS correlation DSP, 2 Mbits of Flash memory, 64 kbytes of RAM and a full range of peripherals, including ADCs, and CAN and USB interfaces, making the chip one of most flexible devices on the market. The device's embedded Flash memory means easy upgrading of GPS and application software via the CAN or USB interface. A complete full functionality GPS chipset can be achieved with the addition of a single-chip GPS radio front-end, such as ST's STB5610.

November 4, 2005. Multispectral Solutions, Inc. (MSSI), the industry leader in ultra wideband (UWB) wireless technology, announced the latest in its series of active RFID tags for its Sapphire DART Precision Asset Location System product line. The new series of tags utilize a patented technique to achieve an operational life expectancy of greater than 10 years on a single Lithium button cell battery. MSSI's micro inventory tag, measuring only 39 x 11 x 21 mm (1.5 x 0.4 x 0.8 in) complete with antenna and battery, now achieves an operational life expectancy of greater than 10 years transmitting once every two seconds. Using a tiny button cell battery, 3.2 x 16 mm CR1632 rated at 125 mAh, MSSI's tag life expectancy actually equals or exceeds the manufacturer's specification for battery shelf life at room temperature, or 10 years. Utilizing MSSI's patented UWB technology, the Sapphire DART tags have read ranges in excess of 200 meters (650 feet) and can provide accuracy and precision of 10 cm (4 inches) in real time location system (RTLS) applications.

"Most active tag manufacturers claim multiple year battery life, yet this performance is only achieved at blink rates of once every 6 or 7 minutes and with much larger capacity and size batteries," stated Rob Mulloy, MSSI Vice President and COO. "If these active tags transmitted every other second, as required in many industrial safety, process flow management and dynamic warehousing applications, these same tags would operate for only 10 days. If these tags used a button cell battery instead of large Lithium AA's, they would need a battery replacement every 14 hours. No large scale RFID application can afford the costs involved with locating and replacing dead tags on a daily or even monthly basis. For this reason, MSSI's UWB solutions are revolutionizing the RFID and RTLS industries. We continue to be selected over conventional spread spectrum-based active RFID technologies whenever a full scale deployment of real time tracking solutions are required."

November 2, 2005. Iridium Satellite LLC and Impeva Labs, Inc. announced that they will further expand their current collaboration in the implementation of a real-time container monitoring, tracking and security system on behalf of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ). PANYNJ recently awarded a contract to Impeva Labs as part of the federal Operation Safe Commerce (OSC) Phase III. Iridium and Impeva Labs, an Iridium value-added manufacturer and reseller, have collaborated during the past four years in several platforms and products. This phase of field trials of Impeva's Global Sentinel system, which utilizes the Iridium constellation for global communications, will begin in December 2005.

The Impeva Global Sentinel and Impeva Device Management Center (DVC) system goes far beyond port-of-entry security, providing access to real-time data reports to logistics managers for even the most complex supply chains. Through the Iridium system and Impeva Labs' cutting edge technology, logistics managers will be able to monitor the location, security and internal conditions of assets in transit, anywhere and any time. Added-value factors include reduced shrinkage, lower insurance premiums and enhanced logistics management efficiency.

The PANYNJ contract to validate the Impeva system is part of Operation Safe Commerce (OSC), a U.S. Department of Homeland Security program trialing technology and commercial practices to make container shipping safer. PANYNJ is concentrating on testing internal sensor technology that tracks and reports a container's global location and detects if someone breaks into the box in transit. Of specific interest to PANYNJ is the ability to use sensors, intelligent processing and wireless communication systems to receive reports on the global location and condition of containers. The Impeva system securely notifies the PANYNJ within minutes of a container experiencing an abnormal event -- unauthorized entry, mishandling, environmental extremes, route deviation or unscheduled delay -- regardless of location. PANYNJ will work with two companies in Germany and Jordan to "stress test" the Impeva system for reliability and effectiveness by having these firms use Impeva's Global Sentinel security module on their container shipments. The port hopes to use the Impeva system to evaluate at least 1,000 container loads over the next year.

The Impeva monitoring system is based on the Global Sentinel, a rugged wireless module that mounts easily inside containers. The module is capable of integrating a variety of sensor types and a GPS receiver as well as intelligently processing sensor data and event identification. For the PANYNJ testing, Iridium's constellation of 66 low-earth orbiting satellites will be one of the primary means of global data transmission besides multi-band cellular and wireless LAN. The Global Sentinel communicates securely with the Impeva Device Management Center (DMC) to provide immediate and continuous reporting of location, condition and security status as required, without deployment of costly infrastructure.

November 2, 2005. Fujitsu's pacesetting WiMAX System-on-Chip (SoC), which was introduced in April 2005, has emerged as an industry leader in broadband wireless semiconductor technology, following the recent announcements by two leading system developers of indoor, self-install subscriber station equipment.

MiTAC Technology, a global leader in PC, networking and communications products, has introduced a new indoor subscriber station based on the Fujitsu MB87M3400. The indoor subscriber station, which complies with the IEEE 802.16-2004 and ETSI HiperMAN standards, supports network routing, WiMAX-based Broadband Wireless Access (BWA), and voice over IP (VoIP). It connects with a WiMAX base station using a 3.5GHz wireless link to deliver high-speed voice, data and multimedia content. The subscriber station incorporates a built-in antenna along with the option of an external antenna, providing maximum flexibility.

Aperto Networks, a leading WiMAX systems provider serving more than 200 operators in 65 countries, has announced that its indoor, self-install WiMAX broadband wireless products for consumers will be available in the first quarter of 2006. The company's intuitive WiMAX equipment will be marketed as the PM500 series product line, part of Aperto Networks' PacketMAX family. The products in this series, which feature the latest advancements in chip, radio, and antenna technologies, will facilitate broadband wireless access of a wide range of services, such as video, data, and voice, including VoIP.

November 2, 2005. Delphi Corp. has delivered its first shipment of the new DS300 model satellite transceiver modem to Stellar Satellite Communications. The DS300 is a sophisticated modem that utilizes sensors and software to relay vital information to and from equipment requiring advanced field intelligence using the ORBCOMM low-earth orbit satellite network. The modem enables information sharing through satellite data messaging on equipment such as pipelines, oil wells, energy meters and storage tanks. It is also used on mobile assets including fleets, airplanes and boats. The data from the modem is sent to a data center and then on to the subscribing company so they can keep up-to-date information on the performance of these fixed and mobile assets. Built rugged, the modems are capable of two-way tracking and monitoring of gas and oil production equipment, liquid petroleum operations and sharing weather and other vital information in adverse conditions.

Packed with feature and functions, the DS300 has an integrated user- programmable application processor, built-in 12-channel GPS receiver, and several input/output options, power conditioning and battery charging circuitry. The units are built using critical automotive-grade standards and are fitted with a rugged automotive grade enclosure. The DS300 is the second in a series of modems to be jointly developed by Stellar and Delphi. Delphi began shipping the first generation unit, the DS100 model, to Stellar in June. The DS100 is suitable for remote monitoring and tracking uses.

November 2, 2005. A new chapter in the Series 60 Platform success story starts this November when a fresh S60 identity is introduced to the market by Nokia and other S60 community members. The new S60 name along with a clear visual identity conveys the unique value of S60 smartphones in an easy to understand manner. The redefined identity will be visible at www.S60.com and in various co- marketing efforts with S60 licensees, operators, developers and portals. The S60 platform, built on the Symbian OS, is the leading smartphone software in the world and it is licensed by some of the foremost mobile phone manufacturers in the market. The flexibility of the S60 platform allows for various hardware designs and software configurations. This is demonstrated through the multitude of S60 devices already available on the market. Through its award-winning user interface, extensive support for new mobile services and the innovation potential for partner solutions, the S60 provides an open and scalable business opportunity for mobile operators and 3rd party developers. Please visit www.s60.com for further news and information.

November 2, 2005. NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, announced a demonstration that expands the existing 511 travelers information system's capability. The current Bay Area 511 system, provided by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), provides standard travelers services, such as traffic and weather reports, transit schedules and high level directions. The enhanced My511 service includes voice-enabled dynamic content in automated, personalized routes, enables a caller to input specific starting point and end destination information and to generate a driving route based on their unique selections. NAVTEQ is providing the map data, off-board routing capabilities and processing of the dynamic data. Also a leading provider of dynamic traffic data information for vehicle navigation, NAVTEQ is leveraging its existing dynamic data processing and aggregating capabilities to power the My511 demonstration.

To further enhance the current 511 system, NAVTEQ has collaborated with ATX Group, a leading provider of telematics services and integrated voice technologies, and ACME Innovation, an applied technology company for converged communications and enhanced points of interest. ATX provides the automated voice-enabled driving directions, with ACME Innovation providing its patent pending ParkingCarma technology to enable real-time parking availability at selected downtown San Francisco parking garages.

November 2, 2005. Trimble announced it has supplied Global Positioning System (GPS) reference stations and Trimble VRS (Virtual Reference Station) software to establish five new infrastructure networks throughout China. Located in Shanghai, Wuhan, DongGuan, Tianjin and Beijing, the multi-purpose networks will provide a geo-spatial infrastructure in each area. The networks will supply fast and accurate GPS positioning for a variety of applications including surveying, urban planning, urban and rural construction, environmental monitoring, resource and territory management, disaster prevention and relief, precision agriculture, scientific research and transportation management.

October 31, 2005. NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, and Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. announced the StreetPilot 7200, StreetPilot 7500 and Streetpilot 2730, will offer XM NavTraffic powered by NAVTEQ Traffic, the first satellite-based data traffic information service that enables an overlay of current traffic conditions. The latest StreetPilot automotive GPS navigation devices offer optional traffic management systems that make driving with GPS essential, even if the driver is familiar with the route. The unit notifies the driver of accidents, road construction, and weather-related traffic delays before they are encountered, and then offers an alternative route to avoid the traffic or road hazard.

The StreetPilot 2730, 7200, and 7500 graphically represent accidents, road construction or other incidents affecting traffic as icons on the navigation map. Information relating to a traffic incident is also available including the precise location, lanes affected, and the predicted duration. Roadways are color-coded to indicate directional traffic flow speed. NAVTEQ Traffic combines data from multiple sources, including the leading commercial traffic data providers, government departments of transportation, police and emergency services, road sensors, cameras and airborne reports. NAVTEQ Traffic data includes planned incidents (such as construction), unplanned incidents (such as accidents and disabled vehicles) and flow (speed and movement of traffic). Once received, traffic data is linked to the map for wireless delivery to the navigation system via XM NavTraffic.

NAVTEQ Traffic is currently available in 22 markets including: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Francisco/Oakland, San Diego, San Jose, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington D.C. All three StreetPilot models offer turn-by-turn voice prompted navigation and announce the name of upcoming streets and points of interest -- letting drivers keep their eyes on the road while navigating to addresses or nearly six million points of interest throughout North America. Motorists can also receive XM Weather data (information like current conditions, forecasts, and storm warnings) as well as over 150 channels of XM Satellite Radio. The StreetPilot 2730 features a 3.8" diagonal display, while the StreetPilot 7200 and 7500 feature seven-inch displays.

October 31, 2005. NEC Corporation announced that it will start delivery of its recently launched new Assisted Global Positioning System (A-GPS) solution that boasts global roaming capability. The A-GPS solution is compliant with an early version of the Secure User Plane for Location (SUPL). SUPL, a standards-based interface that enables a mobile handset client to communicate with a location server where inter-connection is realized by a network independent U-Plane, is a standard promoted by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA). NEC's new system realizes the world's first commercial deployment of an OMA SUPL-based system, and is already drawing significant attention in Europe and other continents worldwide.

NEC's A-GPS solution works on a network-assisted basis to combine location information of both GPS and base stations, realizing highly accurate positioning. This network assistance achieves a significant decrease in positioning time and mobile handset power consumption.

The advantages of the SUPL-based A-GPS solution toward deployment of location-based services include the following:

Employment has only a minimal effect on existing mobile infrastructure
Quick and easy deployment
Realization of global roaming of location services

In collaboration with other services, this A-GPS service platform solution enables creation of new value-added services for consumers, mobile operators and business users who utilize mobile GPS in daily business. For more info on SUPL, see this article.

October 31, 2005. Privately held Global Locate Inc., a leader in Assisted - GPS products and services, announced that its Assisted - GPS (A-GPS) chipset and services solutions are incorporated into HP's latest smart device, the HP iPAQ hw6500 Mobile Messenger. Global Locate's patented LTO technology -- also known as "extended ephemeris" technology -- is supported by the HP iPAQ Mobile Messenger. Supplied by Global Locate as a hosted service, and marketed by HP as Quick GPS Connection, this service provides the GPS chipset with access to worldwide assistance data through a variety of connection options. This data accelerates the device's integrated receiver's time to fix and greatly improves sensitivity in weak signal conditions regardless of where the device is operated, how often it roams or when the GPS feature is used. This service, when combined with powerful signal processing inside the Global Locate chipset, enables a wider range of location-based services and applications than with traditional autonomous GPS receivers. The HP iPAQ Mobile Messenger features on-board personal navigation through its integrated GPS receiver. The increased sensitivity allows use of an internal antenna adding to the sleek appearance of the HP iPAQ Mobile Messenger.

October 31, 2005. Peugeot Motor Company Plc is announcing its adoption of best of breed by fitting award winning Smartnav, satellite navigation by Trafficmaster, on its innovative Peugeot 407. Smartnav will be available on all new Peugeot 407 Saloon and SW estate models in Peugeot's Winter campaign that starts on 1st November 2005. Smartnav was chosen above other satellite navigation systems because it offers more than just navigation and it has proven suitability for the fleet and business market, of which 80% of 407's are sold into. All routes are calculated using Trafficmaster's live traffic information provided by 7,500 roadside traffic sensors, which helps Smartnav actively guide vehicles around traffic jams and help drivers save valuable time and money wasted in delays.

In addition Smartnav is the only navigation system that stores its mapping on a central computer. This means that mapping can be updated regularly, ensuring that drivers are sent on the quickest and most up-to-date routes. This reduces the risk of getting lost or being sent on the wrong road, thereby eliminating unnecessary miles and ultimately cutting fuel costs. Smartnav on the 407 comes with Touchscreen, a visual display that allows you to download routes through a personal assistant, postcode entry or by selecting a favourite - a destination that is stored via the Smartnav website. Touchscreen can also be used as a hands free phone for in-coming calls. The round the clock personal assistants, who are accessed through the Touchscreen or a simple button, help find your destination and will log details onto the central computer so that the route can be quickly calculated and sent to the car. They also provide emergency and breakdown support.

Peugeot 407 drivers will also benefit from 3 years free navigation, which includes the quarterly mapping updates and the personal assistance service. Smartnav also integrates a safety camera warning service, of which 3 months come free for Peugeot customers, and one month free RAC Trackstar, a stolen vehicle tracking service.

October 30, 2005. KEE Technologies, a leader in the manufacturer of precision agriculture and farming solutions, announced the release of its next generation ZYNX X20 system at the Farm Equipment and Manufacturers Association (FEMA) Convention in Las Vegas today. The ZYNX X20 complete farming solution provides an advanced precision agriculture system for farmers including: automatic steering; satellite guidance; up to five bin/tank one-pass variable rate seeding/planting applications including granular, liquid and NH3 control; up to 30 auto boom section sprayer control; fertilizer spreading; and harvester control and monitoring. All from a single, rugged, Windows® XP cabin console. The ZYNX X20 also supports the industry standard ISO11783 CANBUS

October 28, 2005. Navtrak Inc., the leader in GPS-based fleet productivity solutions, announced the release of Street Suite 4.0, the latest version of its GPS-based fleet tracking software. Street Suite 4.0 incorporates numerous enhancements developed with input from its thousands of fleet users, Navtrak's own dedicated team of programmers, and its own technical and customer support teams. As a result, it features the latest available technology in real-time GPS-based tracking and powerful, user-friendly reporting.

Fleet owners and mobile workforce managers will find many useful new features, such as the ability to place customer locations as "points" on an interactive map, enabling reporting on arrival and departure times, and the length of time spent at a particular site. In addition, Street Suite 4.0's powerful new Google-like reporting interface enables the user to monitor employee vehicle usage outside of scheduled time-frames, and to view vehicle engine-hours statistics for proactive maintenance. Navtrak's Street Suite 4.0 also offers a host of valuable plug-ins and reports, including a preventative maintenance module, a report that monitors a vehicle's time spent idling , and an exclusive report that tracks -- in real time -- quarterly fuel taxes for commercial vehicles under the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA).

Street Suite 4.0 is the software component of Navtrak's GPS-based mobile workforce solution, and dynamically interfaces with Navtrak's highly anticipated nTouch 2-way text messaging service and the nGauge plugin, which monitors vehicle engine-hours data and mileage statistics, enabling timely, proactive vehicle maintenance. nTouch and nGauge are scheduled for release in December 2005. Navtrak's Street Suite 4.0 software is cross-browser compatible and is currently available for Microsoft® WindowsXP and Windows2000 users.

October 28, 2005. Astrata Group Incorporated, an international provider of innovative location- based IT services and solutions that incorporate the use of GPS and wireless communications technologies, announced that it had been awarded a contract to track the new fleet of Road Oil Tankers utilised by Brunei Shell Marketing. The contract is for the supply of Astrata's vehicle tracking system, which will be installed in newly designed road tankers that were unveiled in Brunei earlier this month. The tankers will transport oil on the roads of Brunei whilst being tracked and monitored using Astrata's vehicle tracking system.

The Astrata-GLP integrates customizable global positioning and wireless communications with a sophisticated computer processor and operating system in a device half the size of a modern mobile phone. Astrata's system has been designed for tracking, monitoring and controlling large fleets of vehicles in a high-security control-center environment, supporting multiple clients seamlessly from a single central server. It offers access to a complete client/server-based fleet management solution and hosts numerous functions appropriate to vehicle tracking and fleet management, but remains practical and simple to use.

October 27, 2005. SecureRF Corporation has developed the world's first commercial-strength security solution to address both passive and active radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. Its solution is several thousand times more efficient than any currently available commercial security system and can also address other resource-constrained environments including smart cards and wireless devices. Initial target markets for SecureRF include applications for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, and high value supply chains. Many commercial markets are turning to RFID technology to help improve the integrity and efficiency of their supply chains, and the pharmaceutical sector is one of the early-adopters. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration estimates that as much as 10 percent of medications globally could be counterfeit. The World Health Organization puts the value of counterfeit drugs at more than $32 billion. Pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors are looking to RFID to close the gaps in their supply chains and ensure product safety. However, until now there has been no solution available to secure the RFID tag itself from spoofing and repurposing by counterfeiters.

October 27, 2005. Guidepoint launched a new service that lets drivers track and control their vehicles with a cell phone, BlackBerry or other Web-enabled wireless device. The Pontiac, Mich.-based telematics supplier said it has created a wireless access protocol (WAP) version of Guidepoint that allows subscribers to track their vehicle, unlock doors, start the engine and honk the horn with a wireless device or cell phone. The new service, which is standard with several of Guidepoint's annual service plans, allows users to log onto the Guidepoint website (http://www.guidepointsystems.com ) to access the services with the push of a button. The vehicle tracking service displays a map pinpointing the vehicle location, as well as a text readout of the street address where the vehicle is located.

Guidepoint is a stolen vehicle recovery, driver safety and convenience product sold through finance departments at more than 500 new-car dealerships throughout the United States and Mexico. Developed with Cingular and other industry leaders, Guidepoint's digital technology operates on the Cingular Wireless GSM/GPRS/EDGE network in the U.S. and internationally through roaming agreements.

October 26, 2005. Stellar announced the introduction and commercial availability of the DS300 satellite modem. The company will ship the first 3,000 units to customers in the next few days. The DS300, designed by Stellar and Delphi and manufactured by Delphi Electronics & Safety, is a two-way programmable satellite communicator. It was designed to support the needs of companies in a variety of industries including transportation, heavy equipment, marine and aeronautics that share data over the ORBCOMM low-earth orbit satellite network. The DS300 is a complete hardware solution for companies using a wide variety of applications to track, monitor and communicate with their fixed and mobile assets around the world. The DS300 is available at an unprecedented low price point of under $200. Features of the DS300 include an integrated user-programmable application processor, built-in 12-channel GPS receiver, several I/O options, power conditioning and battery charging circuitry packaged in a rugged, automotive-grade enclosure. Stellar is also offering a DS300 developer kit to help new users rapidly develop applications, while reducing time to market.

The DS300 has received type approval from ORBCOMM and the FCC to operate on the ORBCOMM network. It has also met the rigorous performance and reliability standards of Delphi products. It has been approved by the Mexican government, and is in the final stages of ETSI testing in Europe. The DS300 is the second in a series of modems to be jointly developed by Stellar and Delphi. This unit follows the DS100 model introduced this past June to meet the needs of the remote monitoring and tracking markets.

October 26, 2005. Sun Microsystems, Inc. announced the availability of the Sun RFID Industry Solution for Physical Asset Tracking, a combination of products and services to help simplify and accelerate the process of designing and integrating an RFID solution for tracking physical assets. The Sun RFID asset tracking solution enables organizations to more effectively manage their physical assets, keep an effective inventory of exactly what assets they own and determine how those assets are used throughout their life cycles, from beginning to end.

Asset tracking is increasingly becoming a more important issue as companies try to get a better handle on the status and location of their critical assets and inventories. Companies are looking to reduce operating costs by implementing improved asset tracking to decrease shrinkage, lower maintenance costs, and optimize asset utilization. The Sun solution leverages RFID technology to determine the real-time location of critical assets and issue an alert when an asset is not in its designated location. In addition, the solution allows managers to effectively analyze and plan asset utilization and deployment.

The Sun RFID asset tracking solution provides customers with specific, RFID-enabled mobile asset management features such as:

Real-time visibility and audit trail of asset movements and maintenance records
Maintenance and management of asset configurations and product master
Active monitoring of asset movements and utilization against activity plans
Management dashboard and reports on asset utilization statistics and key performance indicators
Integrated control and management of RFID infrastructure health
User-friendly, browser-based user interface and handheld clients

October 25, 2005. Rosum Corporation, the leader in reliable position location technology, announced that it has received the prestigious Frost & Sullivan 2006 IP Communication Market Enabling Technology of the Year Award. The award recognizes Rosum's innovative TV-GPS positioning technology as a robust solution to an important public safety issue -- Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) E911 -- and particularly in resolving the location of nomadic VoIP E911 callers. Rosum's TV-GPS positioning system utilizes unmodified broadcast TV signals for position location. There are 2,800 TV transmitters and 4,500 TV transmitters in the United States alone, and they are well-correlated with population centers where broadband use -- and therefore VoIP telephony use -- is highest. Rosum designs and manufactures the chipset, software, and infrastructure components of its TV-GPS system. Rosum also has developed a local-area TV-GPS technology that is portable and deployable for supporting first responder police, fire and rescue personnel. Over 50 pending or approved patents protect Rosum's technologies.

According to Frost & Sullivan, Rosum excelled compared to competitive offerings based on the following criteria:

Value of the new technology in developing solutions that deliver greater benefits to end users
Potential of the technology to become an industry standard
Impact of the technology on market participants and their business strategies
Recognition by industry participants as to the leadership of the company in this technology
Capabilities of the company to deliver this technology to the market as an innovator
Dissemination of information of benefits, and potential to the end users for quick acceptance by the market.

October 25, 2005. Icron Technologies Corporation, the developers of ExtremeUSB, announced it's joining of the UWB Forum as a contributing member to offer UWB Forum members a standard wireless USB 2.0 over Ultra-Wideband (UWB) solution. Icron's ExtremeUSB technology is a USB 2.0 compatible solution that is designed to support all existing USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 devices in the market today. It will allow manufacturers of PCs, Peripherals, and Consumer Electronics to wirelessly enable their products without making any changes to the USB ecosystem, meaning that users will truly have a "plug and play" experience right out of the box. The primary benefit of Icron's Wireless USB solution is its existing USB 1.1 and 2.0 support, requiring no additional drivers, host controller changes, or users configurations. It is a true USB "plug and play" solution that gives the user a wire-like USB experience. It supports all USB supported operating systems including Windows, MAC OS, Linux, Unix and Solaris. Icron's solution can be implemented over any Ultra-Wideband platform and offers true USB 2.0 support, allowing for rapid time to market, and full legacy device and USB host support.

October 25, 2005. TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS), a leading provider of mission critical wireless communications, announced a strategic partnership with Thrane & Thrane, a leading manufacturer of terminals and land earth stations for global mobile satellite and radio communication. The partnership provides for TCS to integrate Thrane & Thrane's Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) terminal technology into its proven SwiftLink family of secure, deployable communications solutions. The companies plan to co-market BGAN-based solutions to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), first responders, and foreign military markets. Thrane & Thrane BGAN terminals have the capability to operate nearly everywhere in the world on the new Inmarsat-4 satellite constellation, which offers a 60-fold increase in capability over the current generation system. This increase in capacity translates into faster data rates (up to 492 kbps). Linked with TCS' SwiftLink secure, high-speed connectivity, the system is designed for mission critical situations providing flexibility and ease of use.

October 25, 2005. QUALCOMM Incorporated, a leading developer and innovator of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and other advanced wireless technologies, said the adoption of its gpsOne position-location technology is accelerating globally, with more than 150 million handsets featuring the gpsOne solution shipped and more than 250 different handset models from more than 40 manufacturers commercially available. Location-based services leveraging the accurate and ubiquitous positioning capabilities of gpsOne technology have already been deployed and widely adopted in many major markets around the world. Most recently, four major operators -- two operating WCDMA (UMTS) networks in Japan and two operating CDMA2000 networks in the United States, have launched or plan to launch consumer and enterprise location-based services (LBS) featuring gpsOne-enabled handsets.

The gpsOne solution uses Assisted-GPS technology (A-GPS) that is integrated into most of QUALCOMM's complete Mobile Station Modem (MSM) baseband solutions, offering unparalleled cost, footprint and power-efficiency benefits for mobile handsets and enabling seamless interoperability with multimedia features from the Launchpad suite of multimedia capabilities. The gpsOne solution offers industry-leading sensitivity of up to -160dBm that enables performance indoors and in other areas where traditional GPS solutions are not effective. gpsOne also operates in Standalone-GPS mode to ensure that GPS position information is available to handset LBS applications even when the handset is outside wireless coverage.

QUALCOMM pioneered the development and commercialization of Assisted-GPS technology, and today has more than a thousand patents related to positioning or location-based service capabilities either granted or pending worldwide. With more than 150 million gpsOne-enabled handsets at more than 45 operators globally, QUALCOMM is the most widely-deployed GPS technology in the world, enabling dramatically more devices than any other GPS provider.

QUALCOMM's location solutions also include the QPoint location server and associated tools comprising the infrastructure element that enables location-based services. QUALCOMM works with system integrators to deliver QPoint to wireless operators. Together, QUALCOMM's QPoint and gpsOne solutions provide the most complete, integrated mass-market location based services solution available today.

October 25, 2005. Honeywell announced the release of the new GG1178 MEMS Rotational Rate Sensor; an angular rate sensor that enables low-cost Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) for advanced GPS assisted navigation systems. These new MEMS rotational rate sensors are small, high performance devices designed to significantly reduce errors from acceleration and off-axis rotations. Applications include: GPS-aided navigation, automotive stability control, medical orthotic, down hole energy steering, agricultural equipment, and camcorder stabilization.

The GG1178 sensors deliver excellent performance over a wide temperature range and in high vibration environments. Other unique features include:

Broad dynamic range
Low noise, high resolution
Compact 14-pin LCC SMT package

The GG1178 utilizes a MEMS sensing element and a CMOS ASIC in a ceramic package. The sensing element utilizes differential capacitance and device symmetry to significantly reduce errors from acceleration and off-axis rotations. The ASIC detects and transforms changes in differential capacitance into an analog or digital output proportional to angular rate. Both sensitivity and output bandwidth are factory programmable.

October 25, 2005. BB Mobile, a SOFTBANK Group company, LG Electronics (LGE) and Nortel have demonstrated wireless 'triple play' - the ability to deliver simultaneous broadband voice, video and data services - across multiple wireless broadband access technologies. This demonstration showcases the powerful potential of wireless operators to provide uninterrupted communications to subscribers using one device as they roam among 3G cellular, WiMAX and WLAN networks accessing services such as VoIP, video conferencing, mobile TV and multimedia. The BB Mobile, LGE and Nortel tests were conducted across BB Mobile's live trial HSDPA 3G cellular network and LGE and Nortel's pre-WiMAX (802.16e) and WLAN networks in Japan's Saitama prefecture, located northwest of Tokyo. The demonstration also included Nortel's Multimedia Communication Server 5100, which delivers SIP-based multimedia and collaborative applications to end users.

October 24, 2005. Ordnance Survey is offering Licensed Partners and other interested parties the chance to develop positioning services based on a revolutionary national framework for correcting signals from orbiting satellites. OS Net is a network of more than 80 GPS base stations designed to enable different levels of improved real-time accuracy from the Global Positioning System (GPS) anywhere in Great Britain. OS Net is already delivering efficiencies for Ordnance Survey field staff where it is enabling centimeter-level positioning for their data-collection operations.

Now, Ordnance Survey is planning to make the service publicly available through a tier of partner organisations. These are likely to be application service providers working in the geographic information industry and companies already involved in GPS hardware, software and services. OS Net works by improving the standard accuracy of raw GPS readings, which is typically around 10 meters. The accuracy can be enhanced by sending the user a correction data stream containing the error sources within the GPS. OS Net is designed to offer such error corrections in real time on a nationwide scale and could be used to augment any application that requires GPS positioning.

OS Net comprises a permanent national network of GPS base stations linked in real time to a server hub at Ordnance Survey's Southampton head office. When Ordnance Survey staff dial into the hub, they relay their approximate location and the server delivers the GPS correction to enable a positional accuracy of between 1 m and 1 cm, depending on the user's GPS equipment. Outside Ordnance Survey, OS Net has the potential to benefit all users of highly detailed GPS technology such as surveyors, engineers, construction companies and utilities. An OS Net partner would generate GPS-correction products to serve their customers.

October 24, 2005. Atmel Corporation announced the release of its AT73C239 Power Management standard product, the smallest 4x Power Supply Power Management Unit (PMU) available on the market with a QFN 3x3 mm package. The AT73C239 integrates three channels of high-accuracy power supply compatible with RF and Analog sections and one very Low Drop Out (LDO) Low Power regulator for backup battery/capacitor recharging. The AT73C239 small form factor makes it ideal to support wireless chipset reference designs (Bluetooth, WLAN, GPS, Zigbee) as well as provide voltage supply to multimedia sections of mobile phones, smartphones, PDAs, Portable Multimedia Players, etc.

October 22, 2005. With the Public Records "Search" function found on the www.ScoringAg.com Home page, reading (RFID tag), scanning (barcode tag), or entering (manually) the animal's ear tag number into the search page's entry block gives the user access to the public information for the animal: such as, breed, other ID tag data, name, date of birth, sex, brand, tattoo, color, and dam / sire names. In addition, the animal's traceback history from origin to the present is displayed by unique premises ID (PIDC), activity name, and activity date / time. The expanded details of the animal's history are accessible only by the animal and Web page owner, available only by entering the owner's login and password. The public information page for the animal can be found with ScoringAg's search function in two other ways: by entering the unique ScoringAg number for the animal (SSI-EID); and by entering the premises ID (PIDC) for the location where the animal is found.

For an example of how quickly and easily ScoringAg's instant public access system works, go to the www.ScoringAg.com Home page and enter the following numbers in the appropriate blocks in the "Search" drop-down menu:

RFID 804000000045821
SSI-EID 030053744
PIDC 011M13N47222310MW0874409+000

Instead of waiting for hours or days, ScoringAg system is able to deliver this level of public information in a matter of seconds -- like no other system. The Public Records pages also show a photo of the animal, giving an additional means of animal ID when ear tags are lost or stolen, and only unique identifying characteristics can give positive ID for the animal. Another exclusive feature of ScoringAg's Web-based system is animal and location premises ID data entry using 2D DataMatrix barcode labels and the Nokia 6610 cell phone with Semacode programming. This unique cell phone application allows users to access ScoringAg Web pages by scanning DataMatrix barcoded labels in the field using 2D DataMatrix labels for a variety of product and location identification labeling.

October 21, 2005. Arc Second, Inc., the developer of facility-wide Indoor GPS measurement and positioning products, announced the introduction of a complete line of portable and expandable systems. The new product line, called X-Station, is designed for increased application flexibility and affordability without sacrificing high-accuracy performance. The X-Station line will fill a void between surveying instruments and high precision industrial measurement equipment. Traditional surveying instruments, including total stations and theodolites, are valued primarily for their low cost and portability. At the other end of the spectrum, high precision industrial measurement instruments - including measurement arms, laser trackers, photogrammetry based systems and horizontal CMMs - are very expensive and cumbersome to use. The X-Station line is designed to bring low cost, portability, and ease of use together with high accuracy - thus offering a combination unmatched by existing instruments in the marketplace.

X-Station will initially be available in two basic configurations: X-Station and X-Station Advanced. The X-Station product is designed for typical surveying, as-built modeling, and mapping applications that require 1-3 mm of accuracy. The X-Station Advanced is a true portable CMM that delivers 0.1 mm accuracy for typical metrology and inspection tasks. Most importantly, both products use only a PDA as the sole processor in the system - there is no laptop or PC required. Both products also work outside, although most X-Station Advanced applications typically occur inside. Ease-of-use and short setup times are specifically designed into each system. Using an intuitive touch screen interface, a user can setup either product in about 10 minutes.

The X-Station products come standard with 2 laser transmitters, but can be upgraded to as many as 6 transmitters. In addition, X-Station components are fully compatible with Arc Second's facility wide Indoor GPS systems so that a portable X-Station system can be easily transformed into a permanent installed solution if needed. Arc Second, and INDOOR GPS are registered trademarks of Arc Second, Inc.

October 20, 2005. Ember Corporation announced a strategic investment and development agreement with In-Q-Tel, a private venture group established by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Ember, a leading ZigBee wireless semiconductor systems company, will use the investment to develop wireless sensor, monitoring and control technology. ZigBee is a wireless, standards-based radio technology designed for low-power networking applications including home control and awareness, building automation, medical monitoring, industrial automation, asset management and homeland security. Ember develops tiny, low power ZigBee systems for creating wireless sensing and control networks that automatically configure and heal themselves, and work for years on very little power. Ember's ZigBee system is already being used in a variety of consumer and industrial applications, such as home automation and control, automatic meter reading and cold chain monitoring. The government has a variety of low-power, low-data-rate applications that will benefit from Ember's proven commercial platform. Ember's ZigBee leadership is reflected in its long involvement and contributions in helping to forge the standard. Ember is a promoter of the ZigBee Alliance, with its employees serving in strategic and technical roles in the organization. Ember's semiconductor system is also the National Technical Systems' (NTS) "Golden Suite" for evaluating IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee products for interoperability.

October 20, 2005. Continuing to invest significantly in R&D to offer leading-edge mobile and Web-based software applications for workforce management and field service delivery, ViryaNet announced the integration of its Service Hub product with TomTom technology, an advanced GPS navigation and resource tracking system. The new product will enable customers to improve the speed and accuracy of field force operations by delivering real-time task management, resource tracking, and navigation information to management and field engineers equipped with wireless devices. The integration of GPS navigation provided by TomTom Navigator with ViryaNet Service Hub will allow field engineers to automatically navigate to their next site without the need to manually enter the destination. For management, the system will provide improved resource tracking through real-time pinpointing of current location, enabling more dynamic and accurate scheduling. Management also gains an audit trail tool with which they can replay the actual route taken by field engineers.

In addition, the new system will dispel the need for field organizations to source two separate suppliers for resource tracking and navigation tools, reducing customization costs and eliminating problems associated with overlap. TomTom Navigator enables navigation to any destination using detailed 3D or 2D maps and audio directions. Compatible with Windows-based PDAs, TomTom complements ViryaNet Service Hub, which helps field service organizations effectively manage mobile and distributed workforces through real-time information sharing. The converged system was developed for a user of ViryaNet Service Hub located in the United Kingdom, which is a customer of ViryaNet's strategic partner Aspective. The product was demonstrated at the Service Management 2005 conference in England earlier in the month.

October 20, 2005. Sequiam Corporation, through its wholly owned subsidiary Sequiam Biometrics, Inc., a premier provider of biometric technology and services, announced that it has deployed its Sequiam BioDriver biometric access and tracking control system with Coca-Cola Canners of South Africa. Africa's leading soft drink vendor is using the BioDriver biometric fingerprint system to track all activity of the independent truckers entering the canning site. The system verifies the identity of any third party trucker entering the site, tracks their time of arrival, verifies inventory pick up and departure time. The driver's details are captured through name, ID, license, transport company, fingerprint and photo. On recurring visits, drivers entering the plant will be recognized by their fingerprint and photo, which is displayed for verification by plant security and recorded in a database. Upon exiting, the driver is again recognized by fingerprint and the security boom is opened automatically producing an un-forgeable, time-stamped and lasting record of all activity on the site which effectively reduces the opportunity for illegal access or on-site fraud.

October 20, 2005. 2-Track Global Inc announced it had launched its new and latest product, the Starfish Express, to supplement the existing Starfish products. Starfish is a web-based commercial vessel and leisure yacht tracking system which has additional functionality as a ship security alert system (SSAS) and e-mail messaging through low-earth orbit satellite. Most e-mails are currently sent through laptops or notebooks, however the new Starfish Express is specifically designed for the PDA which is far easier to use and carry whilst at sea. 2-Track Global Inc intends to add to the Starfish Express functionality by adding a navigation function which will enable access to marine charts on the PDA. This will revolutionise navigation charts and usage whilst at sea. 2-Track Global Inc is a technology development and marketing company which owns, operates and licences proprietary telematics solutions combining hardware and software applications run over wireless or satellite networks to deliver remote security management of marine and cargo fleets (including consumer solutions aimed at the leisure, marine and domestic security markets) and commercial vehicle plant and machinery management and security. The company has communications architecture technology which provides global logistics solutions for the remote monitoring of freight containers over multiple transport mores.

October 20, 2005. FOCUS Enhancements, Inc. introduced the company's TALARIA Ultra Wideband (UWB) Evaluation System for computer, mobile communications and consumer electronics companies designing next generation wireless audio/video products. The company is currently taking orders for evaluation kits, which are expected to be available around the end of 2005, and include all elements needed to test UWB radio performance in typical home and office user environments. The company's UWB Evaluation System enables manufacturers to validate the performance of FOCUS Enhancements' UWB radio modules in real-world environments. Featuring its exclusive TALARIA UWB technology, FOCUS Enhancements' radios are compatible with the WiMedia standard while exceeding the standard's overall performance. TALARIA is expected to provide transmission rates up to 880 Mbps at ranges up to 8 meters and 37 Mbps at a range of 40 meters. Both specifications exceed existing published competitive capabilities.

October 20, 2005. Following a competitive tender, the Danish State Railways (DSB) S-train has awarded Motorola, Inc. and TetraNet the contract to provide a new TETRA (TErrestrial Trunked RAdio) network. The new network will deliver seamless communications for the DSB's service personnel, including train inspectors and drivers. As a result of this agreement, all public transportation organisations in the capital, Copenhagen, will now be relying on TETRA technology and services to meet their communication needs. The contract covers a voice and data network and the provision of Motorola MTH800 portable radios. In addition equipment for DSB S-train's command and control centres will be provided, as well as air-time service and maintenance. The network will be delivered before the end of 2005 as part of a rapid rollout as part of DSB S-train's IT strategy to improve efficiency.

The MTH800 portable radios are capable of traditional voice calls and sending and receiving data, meaning mobile users can access DSB databases in the field. The portable radios are equipped with a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) browser for internet access and include a GPS receiver, meaning users' locations can be pinpointed even from inside the trains. The GPS features are a key part of the system for DSB S-train. In the case of an incident or issue, the control centre can quickly and easily see who is in the best location to solve it. GPS also has an effect on personnel safety, as each radio has an emergency button which shows the user's exact whereabouts providing greater peace of mind and personal safety. TETRA technology was chosen because of its proven operational reliability and its ability to prioritise traffic. The decision is part of DSB S-train's overall strategy to improve and future-proof its IT facilities as much as possible.

October 18, 2005. NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, released a new data set, specifically tailored for the trucking industry, that provides truck access restriction and recommended truck route information linked to the NAVTEQ map of North America. This data enables transportation and logistics solution providers that leverage NAVTEQ maps to enhance routing solutions, multi-vehicle optimization applications and truck navigation products. The first version of this data set is available with the Q3 2005 release of the NAVTEQ map of North America.

The NAVTEQ North American truck attribute data provides both restriction and recommended route information. The restriction attributes include legal, height, weight, length and width specific information for segments of roadway. The data set also offers Surface Transportation Assistant Act (STAA) routes: Federal Highway Administration designated highway networks that can best accommodate truck traffic. State designated truck routes for 12 states (Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, West Virginia and Virginia) are also included in the product. These two types of information will allow solution providers to develop more 'informed' routes, optimized for fleets.

The use of NAVTEQ North American truck attributes in conjunction with the NAVTEQ map has the potential to deliver multiple benefits to solution providers including: cost savings (less damage to trucks and gas used due to detours); improved safety (fewer accidents involving bridges and overpasses); and planning efficiencies (specifically better 'last five mile' route calculation.)

To build the NAVTEQ North American truck attribute data set, NAVTEQ collaborates with both private and public data sources. NAVTEQ conducts rigorous quality testing on the third-party data to make sure that it meets NAVTEQ's quality requirements. Once qualified, the data is linked to the NAVTEQ map and made available to NAVTEQ customers on a quarterly basis in ESRI Shapefile, MapInfo TAB and Oracle Export formats.

October 18, 2005. Nokia announced that its Networks business group has completed a data call as part of its WiMAX (802.16e) development program. The error free call was made between computing and baseband modules at Nokia's research and development facility in Germany according to Nokia's WiMAX development timetable, and was conducted on a high-speed pre-product test platform. Nokia will be expanding to WiMAX trials during 2006. The WiMAX e-version will offer nomadic and portable mobility, providing fast data connections for consumers and business users. Nokia sees the WiMAX e-version as a complement to 3GPP technology, or deployed as a stand-alone data network.

Nokia is a member of the WiMAX forum, an industry-led non-profit corporation formed to promote and certify the compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless products. WiMAX, which stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a standards-based wireless technology that provides high-throughput broadband connections over long distances. WiMAX can be used for a number of applications, including "last mile" broadband connections, hotspots and high-speed enterprise connectivity for business. The WiMAX IEEE 802.16e version is expected to be standardized later this year.

October 17, 2005. Trimble and Connected Innovation LLC have worked together to develop Trimble Navigator Sample Application software that provides mobile workers with in-field access to the real-time maps and driving directions capabilities of the Microsoft MapPoint Web Service. The Trimble Navigator Sample Application software will be offered with Trimble's rugged handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) devices that run Microsoft Windows Mobile software for Pocket PCs. Purchased separately, the Microsoft MapPoint Web Service is a programmable Web service hosted by Microsoft that provides customers and partners with a familiar development platform for more easily creating mapping and location-aware applications and services to help them visualize business processes and data.

The Trimble Navigator Sample Application software uses the wireless LAN and GPS capabilities of the recently introduced GeoExplorer 2005 series handhelds and Trimble Recon GPS systems, and also demonstrates the connectivity to back-office services such as MapPoint Web Service. This functionality demonstrates how Trimble products are ideally suited for mobile enterprise applications.

Organizations that can benefit from this service include those whose personnel navigate to multiple customer locations, facilities or job sites in a vehicle during a typical day and those whose plans often change throughout the day. Specific examples include data collection and field service personnel in the utilities and telecommunications industries.

October 17, 2005. T-Mobile Slovakia and Siemens announced the launch of Europe's first commercial mobile broadband service using Flarion Technologies' FLASH-OFDM network technology. As of today, the service is available in selected areas of Bratislava, and in 19 other cities around Slovakia. Customers of T-Mobile Slovakia's service will experience mobile data speeds of 1Mbps average in the downlink and 300-500Kbps average in the uplink, making it suitable for both business and residential customers. As part of this deployment, Siemens and Flarion are delivering to T-Mobile a complete FLASH-OFDM solution for the 450 MHz frequency spectrum: RadioRouter base stations, desktop modems and PC cards. Furthermore Siemens had the task of integrating the FLASH-OFDM network into T-Mobile Slovakia's existing mobile network.

With Flarion's FLASH-OFDM technology, mobile operators can seamlessly connect enterprise customers to corporate LANs and consumers to the internet with the speed and low packet latency that exceed stringent wired network requirements, with mobile broadband and cellular coverage. Using a FLASH-OFDM data card, users do not need to make any modifications to their user settings to experience broadband connectivity in a mobile environment. The spatial extension of the FLASH-OFDM cells in the 450 MHz frequency band makes this technology ideal, for example, for providing coverage in rural areas.

October 17, 2005. GeoLogic Solutions, the transportation industry's leading provider of Multi-Mode communications and tracking systems, announced that its customers now have Cingular Wireless' nationwide digital wireless data network as an additional communications option for users of its MobileMax mobile communications and fleet management system. This new communications choice for GeoLogic customers will provide MobileMax users with expanded terrestrial wireless coverage and increased data capabilities such as wireless downloads of mobile software. Southeastern Freight Lines, one of the nation's premier LTL carriers, is the first joint GeoLogic and Cingular Wireless customer. The Southeastern Freight Lines solution is utilizing Cingular's General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network, which is based on GSM technology, a worldwide standard for wireless communications. Cingular's GPRS network offers the largest digital data coverage in the U.S. with service in 13,000 cities and towns, and along more than 40,000 miles of major highways.

MobileMax users will now have multiple communications options: satellite with the current land-based network, satellite with the Cingular network or a combination of both throughout their fleet. The Cingular GPRS network will be available to all new customers as well as an upgrade option for all existing customers.

October 17, 2005. QUALCOMM Incorporated, a leader in providing mobile communication solutions to the transportation and logistics industry, and Tele Atlas, a leading global geographic content provider, announced that Tele Atlas will provide digital mapping and other geographic information for use in QUALCOMM's wireless business solutions, including the upcoming OmniVision mobile computing platform. OmniVision is a next-generation platform for wireless fleet management solutions, the revolutionary successor to QUALCOMM's highly successful OmniTRACS mobile communications solution. Under this agreement, QUALCOMM will deploy Tele Atlas' Dynamap/Transportation and Logistics databases to enhance its line of platforms, applications and services offered to the transportation and logistics, and construction equipment industries. To provide more extensive information for fleet operators, Tele Atlas will enhance its Logistics database -- which currently provides bridge, height and weight limits, as well as hazardous materials and road restriction information -- with commercial points of interest, such as the location of truck stops, customers' loading docks and weigh stations.

October 16, 2005. Following a multimillion dollar research and development effort, TransCore introduced a smaller, faster, more power efficient, and compelling value proposition for satellite-based asset tracking technology to expand opportunities within the trucking, rail, security and marine markets. At the heart of these innovations is a new core modem that reduces the size of the terminals and extends battery life from the usual three years up to seven years, doubling battery life of trailer tracking products on the market. By eliminating the need for frequent battery replacement or using unreliable and expensive rechargeable batteries, TransCore resolves a long-standing impairment to widespread adoption of un-tethered tracking applications. Through this technical advancement, TransCore introduces two new GlobalWave satellite data communication terminals, one for basic tracking applications and one that enables both tracking and monitoring with a full suite of sensors. Both enable two-way, all-satellite, nationwide communication between fleet operators and assets.

What makes these satellite communication units particularly appealing are design modifications that yield various benefits, such as:

Third-generation core modem: Faster response -- under a minute compared to some systems that can take as long as 90 minutes; efficient power management with less battery drain; and integrated GPS.
Streamlined design: Lowest height profile of any unit on the market, reducing the height to just above three quarters of an inch (0.8 inches), making it less visually obvious and reducing the potential for theft or dismantling.
Reduced power usage: Longest battery life on the market, increasing battery life from the usual three years up to seven years, and ultimately reducing the number of times equipment is taken out of use for maintenance or additional expense associated with rechargeable batteries.
Easier installation: Can be installed in under 10 minutes on loaded or unloaded trailers.
Seamless integration: Interfaces with leading transportation management software (TMS) providers.

TransCore, the largest global manufacturer of transportation-based radio frequency identification (RFID) products, acquired GlobalWave satellite technology in March of 2004. Adding satellite communication technology was an essential element of TransCore's strategic vision, and today's introduction solidifies the company's commitment to expanding GlobalWave products through R&D funding. Earlier this year, TransCore launched several low-cost sensors, including a first-of-its-kind infrared cargo sensor.

October 14, 2005. Sprint and Research In Motion (RIM) announced the launch of the BlackBerry 7100i from Nextel, which has all the functionality of a traditional BlackBerry handheld in a slimmer, phone-like design. Operating on the Nextel National Network, the BlackBerry 7100i is ideal for mobile professionals who desire an integrated device with email, a wireless phone, personal organizer, Bluetooth Technology, speakerphone, Web browsing and support for third-party Java Applications. The BlackBerry 7100i from Nextel also combines the power of BlackBerry with real-time GPS navigation and walkie-talkie services. The BlackBerry 7100i features a high-resolution color display (240 x 260 pixels) to view Web pages, pictures and attachments in full, vibrant color. The BlackBerry 7100i also incorporates SureType keyboard technology. SureType effectively converges a phone keypad and a QWERTY keyboard to fit elegantly within the size of a traditional wireless phone form factor. Through an integrated keyboard and software system, SureType provides users with an instinctively familiar look and feel and enables them to dial phone numbers and type messages quickly, accurately and comfortably.

The BlackBerry 7100i can also support full wireless synchronization of calendar, contacts, notes and tasks as well as text messaging and the ability to send, receive and store pictures. In addition to standard BlackBerry features, the Blackberry 7100i offers GPS technology for real-time, audible and visual turn-by-turn driving directions. For example, BlackBerry handhelds operating on the Nextel National Network support GPS-enabled navigation with TeleNav in the United States. On the Nextel National Network, assisted-GPS (A-GPS) technology and data service support outstanding performance so the customer can quickly get driving directions and update them in real time, even when the driver misses a turn at high speeds and immediately needs a new route.

The BlackBerry 7100i provides unmatched walkie-talkie capabilities, including domestic and international Nextel Walkie-Talkie services. The BlackBerry 7100i also offers the Talkgroup service, enabling instant connection with up to 100 other Nextel users who are on the same Fleet or Nextel Walkie-Talkie network within the same home market.

October 12, 2005. Pharos Science & Applications Inc., a leading provider of mobile GPS solutions and location-based services for Windows-based devices and laptops, has announced their renewed supply agreement with Microsoft. Pharos continues to supply its high quality SiRFstar-powered GPS receiver for Microsoft's Streets & Trips 2006 with GPS locator, the latest version of the best-selling mapping and travel planning software. In addition Pharos has launched three new GPS accessories designed especially for Microsoft Streets & Trips 2006: the Pharos Bluetooth Dock, the Pharos CompactFlash Adapter, and the Pharos Bluetooth Receiver. The accessories allow users to connect via CompactFlash or Bluetooth, to turn their Windows-based laptop or Windows Mobile-based device into a real-time GPS navigation solution. The Microsoft Streets & Trips advanced GPS Locator hardware, provided by Pharos, makes it easier than ever to turn a laptop PC, Tablet PC, or Microsoft Windows Mobile-based Pocket PC or Smartphone into an all-inclusive GPS tracking device with the Pharos GPS Bluetooth Dock and the Pharos CompactFlash Adapter each sold separately. Travelers can easily connect their sleek and stylish GPS locator to the Pharos Bluetooth Dock or CompactFlash Adapter and start viewing intuitive and up-to-date maps, travel information, and text or voice-prompted driving directions in real time.

October 12, 2005. Telmap, a world-leading provider of mobile Mapping and Navigation solutions, announced the launch of a native Symbian version of its Polarisä solution. As the Polaris Mapping and Navigation System already supports all the other major mobile platforms and works on all networks, the addition of a Symbian native version establishes Polaris as the first and only truly worldwide, cross-platform solution for mobile navigation. Telmap will demonstrate the new Polaris native Symbian solution on the Nokia 6680 mobile handset at the upcoming Symbian Smartphone Show at the Excel Centre, London, October 11-12. As the only cross-platform mobile navigation solution available, Polaris builds on its years-long success as a solution for Java devices. It revolutionizes the way people interact with their cellular phones by enabling users to utilize their cellular phone or wireless device as an all-in-one, multi-purpose device for all their mapping, navigation, and travel-related content needs. This includes Points of Interest (POIs), real-time traffic and weather updates, restaurant reviews and hot spots.

Offering a complete navigation experience, Polaris enables users to find their way quickly and easily following Polaris' pinpoint-accurate turn-by-turn navigation with map, text and voice instructions. It features a worldwide database of millions of POIs, including restaurants, hotels and theaters, and enables users to direct dial to any POI from within the application and share locations, and points of interest via SMS. All geographical data is delivered in real time via the wireless network to provide unmatched worldwide mapping, routing and content coverage.

October 12, 2005. picoChip announced a family of complete reference designs that extends its offering to cover both fixed WiMAX (802.16-2004) and mobile WiMAX (802.16e and WiBRO) for mobile station (MS) and base station (BS) designs. picoChip is the only company to offer a full range of systems in this way: the first to offer reference designs for 802.16e; the first to support both 802.16d and 802.16e; and the first to deliver the advanced options of the standard. These reference designs are complete implementation of a Base Station or Mobile Station, including PHY, MAC, radio (via partners), hardware designs and management software. They are participating in WiMAX Forum Plugfest (interoperability) and CETECOM certification processes. The company's existing PC6520 WiMAX reference design for 802.16d base stations is widely used in the industry. The addition of the new PC6530 (802.16e BS) and PC6620/6630 (802.16d/802.16e SS or MS) products build upon its success to make picoChip's WiMAX portfolio the most complete available. The designs are compatible with all aspects of the WiMAX specifications and are fully upgradeable, whether for new versions of the standard or for advanced features such as active antenna systems (AAS) and multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) systems. All four software versions run on the picoChip PC102 processor, which is in volume production.

The PC6520 is the industry standard base station reference design for 'fixed' WiMAX, with more than 15 major licensees. WiMAX systems using picoChip are available from Airspan, Intel, Ericsson, Nortel, Fujitsu, Marconi and a number of other manufacturers. It is being used in publicly declared deployments in Japan (Yozan), UK (Pipex) and Italy (Marconi and Italian Ministries). The new PC6530 is a software-only upgrade to the existing PC6520 reference design for 802.16d base stations that adds the capability to support the new 802.16e standard - to suit fixed, nomadic and mobile applications - as well as working with options for Korea (WiBRO) and China.

October 11, 2005. PanGo Networks, Inc., announced the integration of its market-leading location based application to Cisco's new Clinical Connection Suite. Based on a single, converged Cisco Medical-Grade Network, the Cisco Clinical Connection Suite provides real-time communications, monitoring, collaboration and resource tracking, delivered as a four-part, integrated clinical solution. In conjunction with the industry's leading application and medical device partners, Cisco Clinical Connection Suite offers world-class wireless asset tracking solutions focused on optimizing clinician workflow and communications, improving patient and staff satisfaction, and reducing costs through effective management and use of assets. Designed for end-users - e.g., nurses, doctors and biomedical engineers - PanGo Locator is an intuitive, web-based Real-Time Locating System (RTLS) including Active RFID Tags, asset monitoring, reporting, notification and management capabilities all in a single system. Unlike alternative single-use proprietary tracking systems that require a separate network of readers and wireless infrastructure, Locator requires no additional network hardware overlay. PanGo's Active RFID Tags can operate over any existing Wi-Fi network to allow users to track assets that are not wireless-enabled. They are the only Wi-Fi-based active RFID tags on the market with two location and reporting modes. The tag's Wi-Fi mode is fully compliant with the IEEE 802.11 b/g standards, and enables intelligent features like over-the-air configuration and tag motion and status updates. In a second mode, the tag reports identification information in a short radio-frequency "beacon," which further extends battery life and is interoperable with third-party location technologies including Cisco's Series 2700 Series Location Appliance.

October 11, 2005. Alvarion Ltd., the world's leading provider of wireless broadband solutions and specialized mobile networks, announced that multiple operators, through Alvarion's local partners, have purchased its WiMAX-ready platform, BreezeMAX 3500, to conduct 11 WiMAX trials across Italy--the most of any vendor participating in the program. Pilot systems are now operating in Milan, Rome, Arezzo, Piedmont, Val d'Aosta, Sardinia, Abruzzo, Sicily and Parma with the trials scheduled for completion by the end of this year. The Ugo Bordoni Foundation, a research center chosen by the Italian Communications Ministry to conduct WiMAX field trials across Italy, is responsible for handling the pilots and selecting the proposals. BreezeMAX is Alvarion's WiMAX-ready platform, which was designed from the ground up according to the IEEE 802.16-2004 standards using OFDM technology for advanced non-line-of-sight (NLOS) functionality. Its carrier-class design supports broadband speeds and quality of service (QoS) to enable carriers to offer multiple broadband voice data and services to thousands of subscribers in a single base station. Since its launch in mid-2004, BreezeMAX has been successfully deployed in over 100 installations throughout more than 30 countries around the world.

From the beginning, Alvarion has been at the forefront of broadband wireless standards serving as both a founding and board member of the WiMAX Forum, as well as having several of its employees holding executive positions in the organization. In addition to numerous BreezeMAX deployments worldwide, Alvarion has achieved many industry milestones, including having the first commercially available WiMAX CPE using the Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 5116 WiMAX chip. WiMAX stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, a technology based on the IEEE 802.16 air interface standard and the ETSI HiperMAN wireless metropolitan area network (MAN) standard. WiMAX technology has the capacity to deliver sufficient bandwidth to enable triple-play applications, including high-speed data, toll-quality voice and multimedia content.

October 11, 2005. Alcatel signed an agreement with NextGenTel, one of the leading service providers in Norway, to conduct its first field-trial of WiMAX in Oslo and Bergen. Under the terms of this agreement, Alcatel will supply, install and support NexGenTel with its WiMAX end-to-end solution. Selected customers will benefit from wireless broadband internet access with a symmetric or asymmetric data throughput of several Mb/s per user, within a distance of up to 20 kilometers from the WiMAX base station. WiMAX is a new set of standards aimed at providing broadband connectivity through wireless networks for fixed and nomadic use in both urban and rural areas. Thus, it can offer broadband access where DSL is unavailable for technical or economic reasons or a last-mile alternative to unbundling for operators who are offering a combination of voice and broadband access offers.

October 11, 2005. Utilizing the Freescale Semiconductor ZigBee-compliant platform, NESA, a leading Danish Electricity company, will deploy the first ZigBee-enabled systemfor Automated Meter Reading (AMR) in Europe. This heralds a new method for automated communications updates to utilities and energy and security-conscious consumers. The innovative system uses Freescale's ZigBee-compliant platform along with system design by alliance partner Develco. The AMR system provides utility companies the ability to wirelessly monitor electricity usage. Additionally, consumers will have the capability to monitor and control home appliances and receive home intruder alerts remotely through short messaging system (SMS). As other manufacturers deploy the ZigBee standard, the NESA system will expand its level of service to include additional features such as allowing customers to access and control the temperature of their home and receive security alerts while they are miles away, or even in another country. The NESA wireless utility system consists of the following features:

Electricity meter, GSM/GPRS communication capabilities and an embedding ZigBee-enabled modem
230V AC switch/dimmer with ZigBee modem
Infra-red battery-powered detector, embedding ZigBee-enabled modem

NESA expects to deploy the automated meter system to all its customers in Q4 of 2005 in Denmark, followed by further adoptions in the Nordic region expanding through Europe.

October 11, 2005. Navman has announced the latest addition to its highly successful GPS module product line: the Jupiter 21 receiver module. The new Jupiter 21 is backwards compatible both electrically and mechanically with the industry-recognized Jupiter 12 product family, and also offers an enhanced combination of low power consumption and cost-effectiveness to produce an advanced GPS receiver solution. Incorporating a powerful SiRFstarIIe/LP chipset, the Jupiter 21 receiver allows system designers and integrators to apply the technology to a wide array of demanding applications requiring faster acquisition times and enhanced sensitivity. Designed for a wide range of modular OEM GPS design applications such as asset tracking, fleet management, and marine and vehicle navigation, the Jupiter 21 is a single board GPS module solution that also provides an easy migration path from Navman's popular Jupiter 12. The Jupiter 21 receiver is available in 2 configurations: the standard Jupiter 21 with GSW2 navigation software for most applications, and the high- sensitivity Jupiter 21 S with SiRF Xtrac software for general navigation in low GPS signal situations. The ultra-sensitive Jupiter 21 S extends the operating range of GPS, providing the optimum solution in extremely challenging environments such as dense foliage, multi-level bridges/freeways, and deep urban canyons. Key features of the Jupiter 21 include a form factor made popular by the Jupiter 12 (40.6mm x 71.1mm x 11.5mm); upgradeable Flash memory; state-of-the- art algorithms for optimized urban environment tracking; on-board Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) that supports both active and passive antennas; low power consumption: 75 mA, power management options to further reduce current consumption; user-selectable WAAS/EGNOS compatibility; and RoHS & WEEE compliance (available in 2006).

October 10, 2005. NavCom Technology, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deere & Company, announced that 6 of the finalist teams in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) 2005 Grand Challenge for autonomous robotic ground vehicles, used NavCom's SF-2050 GPS receiver with the reliability of the StarFire Network, providing them superior reliability and decimeter positioning accuracy throughout the course. The selection of the 23 DARPA Grand Challenge finalists who were competing for a cash prize of $2 million was based on each teams robots' ability to operate autonomously through a treacherous and challenging desert terrain. After receiving the route waypoints just two hours prior to "launch," each robot set out to navigate a 132-mile off-road course accurately, while detecting and avoiding obstacles such as bumpy desert roads, dry lakebeds, freeway underpasses and narrow mountain passes while moving at military relevant rates of speed. The finalists participated not only in a race of great challenge but in a real turning point in military technology that is one step closer to saving lives of soldiers in combat. NavCom's StarFire Network is a global satellite based augmentation system (SBAS) that provides precise positioning accuracies within a few centimeters of truth. The StarFire Network is used in land, marine and aeronautical applications in fields ranging from surveying and machine control to offshore and defense.

October 7, 2005. Tele Atlas, a leading global geographic content provider, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Warsaw-based PPWK GeoInvent, a pioneer in mobile mapping systems. The company was acquired for 6.5 million Euros in cash and assumed liabilities. Tele Atlas President and COO George Fink said that following a longstanding alliance with PPWK GeoInvent in Europe, the acquisition will deliver significant benefit to Tele Atlas customers and partners worldwide. PPWK GeoInvent's mobile mapping system uses a series of still and movie cameras, attached to a mobile van, that captures a detailed, 360-degree digital view of a road. The system captures specific road details, such as traffic restrictions, lane counts and speed limits, as well as actual images of streets, storefronts, road signs and complex intersections. As a result, portable and in-car navigation system users have a rich combination of content to help them find a destination, and safely navigate through complex or dangerous intersections along the way.

Tele Atlas' map database is the foundation for many of the world's leading personal and in-car navigation systems, mobile and Internet map applications. The company uses a sophisticated network of thousands of sources to regularly update its maps, enabling it to cost effectively deliver a highly accurate view of an ever-changing world to partners and customers. The PPWK GeoInvent system is the latest addition to that network, which includes aerial photography and information from government agencies, public utilities, fleet trucks, postal services and Tele Atlas drivers.

October 7, 2005. Sears Holding Corporation (SHC) now deploys a wireless field geographic information system (GIS) solution that provides 10,000 SHC home services technicians with an in-vehicle navigation and mapping system. Developed by SHC and ESRI Professional Services, the solution leverages onboard GPS, satellite and terrestrial data communication, verbalized directions, and ruggedized laptop technology that makes available a touch-screen interface. Known as the Sears Smart Toolbox (SST), the application launches automatically when the ruggedized Itronix laptop, also known as the GoBook, is powered on. The entire suite of technologies runs within an Internet Explorer browser. When the vehicle is stationary, the users have the option to view their daily routes, view their current progress along the route, geocode new stops, and make some modifications to their routes in the local database. When the vehicle begins to move, the mapping component switches into navigation mode and takes over the entire screen of the GoBook. In navigation mode, the application displays the vehicle's current position on the route along with turn-by-turn navigation symbols and verbalizes voice directions as the vehicle approaches turns. In navigation mode, the technician is prevented from interacting with the application for safety reasons and must stop the vehicle to do so. The mapping and navigation functionality allows technicians to get to their stops more efficiently, saving time and money and providing greater value to SHC customers.

October 6, 2005. MapInfo Corporation, the leading global provider of Location Intelligence solutions, and Cognos, the world leader in business intelligence and corporate performance management (CPM), announced a global alliance to jointly market and sell MapInfo's location intelligence capabilities with Cognos 8 Business Intelligence (BI). MapInfo is Cognos' preferred provider of location intelligence technology. Cognos 8 BI is the first solution to deliver full BI capabilities in a single product, on a proven single Web services-oriented architecture that was first made available with Cognos ReportNet. Easy to integrate, deploy and use, Cognos 8 BI delivers a simplified BI environment that drives high user adoption, enables better decision-making and serves as an enterprise-scale technology foundation for performance management. For users who want to augment the capabilities of Cognos with more sophisticated mapping capabilities, MapInfo offers added functionality such as the ability to geographically query their data as well as add additional geographic data, such as postal carrier routes for direct mail, rate center boundaries for telecommunications taxation analysis and customized trade areas for retail sales. MapInfo also provides unique, industry-specific, geographic data sets that can be used to supplement the standard data provided by Cognos.

October 6, 2005. Cambridge Positioning Systems Ltd (CPS) announced that it will partner with LogicaCMG in a major pan-European project to drive new mobile location technology and applications development for the multi-billion Euro Galileo satellite programme. The Application of Galileo in the Location-Based Services Environment (AGILE) project aims to foster widespread adoption of Global Navigation Satellite Services (GNSS) for both enterprises and consumers.

AGILE will create a detailed development roadmap for new high accuracy Location-Based Services (LBS) leading up to the launch of the first Galileo satellites in 2007. The project will also promote the benefits of new location technologies to a broad stakeholder group, including key government decisions makers, investors, regulators, mobile operators as well as services and applications developers.

LogicaCMG, which is already working on four Galileo-related contracts worth more than 6 Million Euros, invited CPS to participate in this project because of the key role its network-based Matrix high accuracy location technology plays in improving satellite system performance.

Earlier this year, CPS announced the launch of its Enhanced Global Positioning System (E-GPS), which combines satellite positioning with its Matrix technology to deliver high accuracy location technologies across all environments, including indoors and dense urban areas where satellite technologies face major performance challenges. E-GPS provides faster location fixes than standard GPS - a critical factor in the take-up of mobile data applications. CPS is already working with leading GPS companies, such as Trimble and SiGE, on the development of low cost E-GPS solutions.

Initially, LogicaCMG and CPS will focus on the development of trial systems for European network operators, based on the integration of CPS' Matrix technology with LogicaCMG's Location Enabled Server and applications portfolio. The integration of CPS's Matrix location technology enables any handset or device to be rapidly located to an accuracy of sub-100m in GSM - and less than 50m in W-CDMA networks. The modules use the existing GSM/W-CDMA network infrastructure to transfer location information to the network using standard GPRS or SMS. This greatly reduces the rollout costs traditionally associated with high accuracy mobile location technology. CPS's E-GPS technology combines the benefits of the CPS Matrix solution with those of GPS to provide a location technology ideal for every environment. When operating in obstructed environments, such as deep indoors, an E-GPS equipped handset can access the CPS Matrix system to provide position information.

October 6, 2005. NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, announced that it is collaborating with GeoTel Communications, a leading provider of telecommunications infrastructure datasets, to associate its NAVSTREETS center line data to GeoTel's MetroFiber database. This linked dataset will support multiple industry functions, from operations and network management, to capacity planning and disaster preparation. The NAVSTREETS centerline data is a spatially accurate representation of the nation's road network. The GeoTel metro fiber layer contains telecommunications fiber optic network map data from more than 285 carriers and network providers, for cities throughout the United States. When the NAVSTREETS data is merged with GeoTel's database, a highly accurate picture of communication services becomes available to drive insightful business decisions. The new offering will enable users to easily visualize a carrier's metro fiber network, current areas of fiber market penetration and competitive threats. Users outside telecommunications, including real estate, emergency response and town planning can employ the data to determine the location of new buildings, potential impact of an emergency on telecom facilities, potential for economic development in a specific area and the extent of available communications services in a particular market area.

October 6, 2005. Privately held Global Locate Inc., a global leader in Assisted-GPS products and services, announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued to the company two new patents that cover multiple aspects of a GPS system utilizing satellite tracking data that is valid for an extended period of time into the future. The patents claim the fundamental steps of generating, distributing and utilizing long term orbit (LTO) assistance data. LTO assistance data (sometimes known as "extended ephemeris") allows mobile devices to have pre-calculated ephemeris for every satellite in view, as well as clock models, allowing the GPS receiver to operate with enhanced performance, and without reliance on decoding broadcast navigation data models. The patent numbers USP 6,542,820 and 6,560,534 are entitled "Method and apparatus for generating and distributing satellite tracking information" and "Method and Apparatus for distributing satellite tracking information," respectively. Global Locate now holds 38 patents and has approximately 110 additional patent applications pending in the United States and jurisdictions throughout the world. Global Locate's LTO technology has been commercially used since 2002 and has recently been incorporated in the HP HW6515 iPAQ Mobile Messenger products. The LTO data -- called Quick GPS Connection data in HP's products -- helps ensure that the GPS feature has fast startup and enhanced signal reception sensitivity -- attributes key to operating in challenging satellite signal reception environments such as urban areas.

October 5, 2005. Combining two of the most promising wireless technologies available today, Freescale Semiconductor is hosting the industry's first demonstration of high data rate Ultra-Wideband (UWB) silicon operating under existing Bluetooth software stacks. The demonstration, held at WiCon Americas this week, leverages partners Open Interface and Frontline Test Equipment to stream UWB signals using Bluetooth protocols and track the protocols via an analyzer. The combined functionality allows Freescale's direct sequence-UWB (DS-UWB) to meet the higher-speed demands of streaming high quality video applications and usage scenarios where large data files must be transferred instantly. It also takes advantage of the strong ecosystem created by the 250 million consumers that use Bluetooth wireless technology in a variety of mobile applications today.

October 5, 2005. Nitronex Corporation, a developer and manufacturer of high performance RF power transistors for the wireless infrastructure market, is pleased to announce the introduction of a family of RF power transistors, based on its unique SIGANTIC (GaN on silicon) technology, for the WiMAX market. The products' ability to simultaneously deliver high frequency, high power and broad bandwidth provides better performance than alternative technologies to current and future WiMAX infrastructure designers. The family of WiMAX power transistors will initially consist of 10 and 50 Watt devices supporting both the 2.5GHz and 3.5GHz segments of the WiMAX market. Target customers are OEMS developing RF power amplifiers for fixed and mobile WiMAX infrastructure. The devices are designed to support broadband operation in these segments (2.3GHz to 2.7GHz and 3.3GHz to 3.8GHz) to allow greater design re-use and flexibility for OEMS. Devices for the 5.8GHz segment of the WiMAX market are planned for introduction in 2006. The NPT35050 (3.5GHz, 50W) is the first device in this product line to be released. It is designed for WiMAX power amplifier output stages. GaN's higher power density enables the design of packaged devices with higher input and output impedances (20 ohms), eliminating the need for output matching, and making the device very easy for power amplifier developers to use. Using a typical single carrier OFDM (802.16d) waveform, the performance at Vds of 28 Volts and Idq of 1000 mA is 5 Watts of average output power with an EVM of 2%, efficiency of 18% and gain of 10 dB.

October 4, 2005. Trimble introduced the GeoXH handheld receiver-the first integrated Global Positioning System (GPS) field computer to deliver subfoot (30 cm) accuracy for Geographic Information System (GIS) data collection and mapping. The GeoXH handheld is based on Trimble's revolutionary H-Star technology, first introduced in the GPS Pathfinder ProXH receiver earlier this year. A significant advance from previous solutions, the H-Star handhelds and receivers greatly reduce the time it takes to collect high accuracy GPS data in the field. An all-in-one cable-free solution, the GeoXH handheld surpasses all other high performance GPS handhelds for ease of use. A high accuracy GPS receiver inside a rugged handheld computer, the GeoXH is designed to deliver the subfoot (30 cm) accuracy required by electric and gas utilities, water/wastewater services, land reform projects and other applications where positioning is crucial. In recent years, these sectors have experienced increased requirements for subfoot (30 cm) accuracy that could only be addressed by long location occupation times or the use of survey grade systems that deliver a much higher accuracy than needed. Trimble H-Star technology utilizes advances in GPS receiver design and improvements in field and office software to achieve subfoot (30 cm) postprocessed accuracy in the GeoXH handheld. With the addition of an external Zephyr antenna, eight-inch (20 cm) postprocessed accuracy can be attained. The GeoXH handheld is part of the new GeoExplorer 2005 series that includes the submeter GeoXT and the 1-3 meter GeoXM handhelds. All three feature a 416MHz processor running the latest Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 software for Pocket PC, rechargeable battery for all day use, 512MB of onboard memory, expandable Secure Digital (SD) memory and Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity as standard. The GeoExplorer 2005 series are among the world's first integrated GPS handhelds with Microsoft Windows Mobile version 5.0 software for Pocket PC. Windows Mobile 5.0 has more flexibility to customize devices and solutions and has persistent memory storage for more efficient data management.

October 4, 2005. Leading WiMAX equipment and semiconductor vendors with products poised to receive an official WiMAX certification stamp from the WiMAX Forum are preparing for a fast rollout of their newly certified products. In August, Airspan Networks, Aperto Networks, Proxim, Sequans and Wavesat delivered their respective WiMAX solutions to Cetecom Labs, in Malaga, Spain, for conformance and interoperability testing. This critical exercise ensures the stability of the test suite and readiness of the various solutions for formal conformance and radio testing. With this essential step completed, formal conformance and interoperability testing will begin later this month. The products that pass both protocol and radio conformance, then interoperability testing, will be tagged "WiMAX Forum Certified" for IEEE 802.16-2004. More importantly, certification will enable these companies to begin "risk-free" deployment of their newly certified products. The new, standards-based WiMAX products, built predominantly with off-the-shelf components, are expected to lower the cost of vendor equipment to service providers, ultimately serving as a catalyst to ignite the global market demand for WiMAX solutions.

October 3, 2005. Telogis, a designer and manufacturer of real-time, Web-based GPS fleet management and vehicle tracking systems, announced the release of a new version of its fleet management and vehicle tracking application, OnTrack 3. OnTrack 3 is based on Linux infrastructure and was designed to be scalable and secure. It is the foundation of a powerful Location-Based System (LBS) platform for telemetry and telematics applications. The platform uses open-source spatial databases and operating systems combined with Telogis' proprietary GeoBase GIS engine. Telogis uses carrier-grade data centers located throughout the United States. The Linux infrastructure also has grid characteristics such as automated resource discovery and configuration, automated fail-over, and distributed processing. OnTrack 3 includes new and enhanced features for a more spontaneous user experience. Users can import their own markers, create fully automated reporting, and choose from a variety of advanced user options. OnTrack 3 also features master-user controls and permissions, and an unlimited number of sub-users.

October 3, 2005. Strix Systems, the leader in high-performance wireless mesh networking, announced its strategy for implementing WiMAX in its products. The company's Access/One products provide WiMAX-like performance today, and their modular design means moving to WiMAX and ultimately to mobile WiMAX is a simple field upgrade. The company also announced that it has joined the WiMAX Forum, a community of leading WiMAX product and service providers that are committed to developing solutions based on Intel technologies. With per-channel network performance of 54 Mbps, Strix's Access/One products already handle the kind of demanding applications such as VoIP and video streaming that WiMAX will support. Also, Strix's WiFi-based mesh technology already provides ubiquitous broadband coverage with a range of several hundred meters outdoors. WiMAX promises to increase range and quality of throughput with an Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM)-based modulation technique that will achieve a maximum coverage radius outdoors using OFD Multiple Access (OFDMA)

Strix's Access/One solutions employ a unique modular, multi-radio, multi-channel, and multi-RF wireless mesh architecture that provides the high throughput and low latency needed to support wireless voice, video, and data applications today. This modular architecture is fully flexible and scalable, and can be easily upgraded to support emerging standardized wireless technologies such as WiMAX. Strix can offer its customers in-network WiMAX simply by adding WiMAX-enabled radios to their existing nodes, which will provide 802.16 backhaul. Strix's architecture already provides mechanisms to support QoS, solving problems such as bandwidth degradation, network latency, and application priority contention. The architecture also provides end-to-end prioritization of voice traffic. When mobile WiMAX becomes available, the company will be able to support seamless, end-to-end QoS for VoIP and other real-time applications across its integrated WiFi and WiMAX systems.

Because Strix networks operate at both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz unlicensed spectra, they can separate client access from the mesh backbone, enabling the system to dynamically optimize data paths, circumnavigate network congestion and interference, and adjust in real time to avoid network failure. Strix's WiMAX solution will allow the company to address the needs of service providers who operate in the licensed spectrum as well and to cater to those providers that want to move up to licensed spectrum.

October 3, 2005. QUALCOMM Incorporated, a leading developer and innovator of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and other advanced wireless technologies, announced improved sensitivity, enhanced indoor accuracy and the seamless simultaneous operation of voice and GPS positioning for location-based services and E911 calls. The enhancements to the Company's gpsOne technology are featured on the newly announced Mobile Station Modem (MSM) MSM6125 for CDMA2000 1X networks, providing a cost-effective way to include advanced location-based capabilities on mainstream multimedia handsets and further extending the global ubiquity of wireless location services. The enhancements to QUALCOMM's gpsOne solution featured on the MSM6125 are also found on the MSM6500 and MSM6550 chipsets for CDMA2000 1xEV-DO networks to give handset manufacturers several compelling options to address the expanding worldwide demand for location solutions. The enhancements include support for Simultaneous-GPS, which provides uninterrupted and seamless operation of GPS with voice-based location services such as voice concierge, roadside assistance and E911. Improved accuracy of navigation applications delivers a better user experience and enables exciting new navigation applications for the consumer and enterprise markets. The gpsOne solution supports both Assisted-GPS to offer increased sensitivity of up to - 159 dBm for more precise location information indoors and in dense urban areas, and Standalone-GPS mode, which extends the service coverage of many location-based service applications to out-of-network areas.

QUALCOMM's gpsOne technology is the most widely deployed GPS technology in the world. With more than 100 million gpsOne-enabled handsets at over 40 operators globally, QUALCOMM is enabling dramatically more devices than any other GPS provider. QPoint is QUALCOMM's location server and associated tools comprising the infrastructure element that enables location-based services. QUALCOMM works with system integrators to deliver QPoint to wireless operators. Together, QUALCOMM's QPoint and gpsOne solutions provide the most complete, integrated mass-market location-based services solution available today. The Company's chipset solutions support QUALCOMM's Launchpad suite of advanced multimedia, connectivity, position location, user interface and removable storage functionality, and the BREW solution, which enables the download and monetization of advanced applications and content, allowing operators and OEMs to differentiate their products and services and increase revenues. QUALCOMM's chipsets are also compatible with the Java runtime environment (J2ME) which can be built entirely on the chipset as an extension to the BREW client.

October 3, 2005. TeleCommunication Systems (TCS), a global leader in mission critical wireless communications, announced that Sprint has selected TCS' hosted Xypoint Location Services (XLS) in order to meet the strong and growing consumer and enterprise market demand for proven, value-added precise Location-Based Services (LBS). TCS' Xypoint Location Services provides Sprint PCS subscribers with TCS' advanced location technology capable of capturing the precise location of select handsets equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) chipsets. TCS' hosted XLS is based on TCS' proven Assisted Global Positioning System (A-GPS) technology, its award-winning Xypoint Location Platform (XLP), and integration of TCS' Geo-spatial Information System (GIS) platform and applications. By simultaneously supporting both Internet Protocol (IP)-based, handset-based and call-based network-initiated location access methods, TCS' hosted XLS provides a single technology interface to deliver location-based services to Sprint PCS subscribers. TCS' hosted XLS solution has the capability to deliver a robust suite of applications on a variety of platforms and provides interoperability across diverse network environments including Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA).

September 28, 2005. MachineTalker, Inc. announced the successful field testing of its rugged new Container Tracking and Security Device, the ToughTalker. Rigorous tests, conducted by a Fortune 500 Corporation, involved Internet access to groups of small, in-container, ToughTalkers in real-time around the globe. The ToughTalkers record and report the freight manifest, service on-board sensors, and activate controls. They can operate with satellite transponders, cellular modems and local hand-held PDAs. Both the hardware and software components have been designed to minimize the need for oversight by personnel until changing conditions mandate such oversight. Summarizing ToughTalker merits, Roland F. Bryan, President of MachineTalker, Inc. emphasized, "The tests conclusively demonstrate that ToughTalkers have several unique advantages over recently announced similar devices:

ToughTalkers are programmable and 'Intelligent' - They can detect information and share it;
ToughTalkers recognize and automatically form wireless relationships with each other;
ToughTalkers, built with off-the-shelf, low-power components, drastically reduce costs;
ToughTalkers are 50% the size of alternatives that perform few, if any, control functions.

September 28, 2005. NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, announced that it will collaborate with PSMA Australia Limited to create its first map of Australia. PSMA Australia provides comprehensive, quality Australian digital mapping data derived from authoritative government sources. NAVTEQ will integrate PSMA Australia information with detailed navigable data that has already been collected by NAVTEQ field teams. The blending of NAVTEQ and PSMA Australia data will deliver a premium navigation experience in the major metro areas where the majority of the population lives and drives -- while providing complete coverage of Australia. NAVTEQ maps currently span over 50 countries and, with the addition of Australia, six continents. For accuracy, NAVTEQ has field researchers strategically located in 122 offices in 21 countries, actually driving the roads, verifying and updating road network and detailed road attribute information. NAVTEQ delivers data to the same database specification utilizing the same technology at a consistently high level of quality and support around the world.

September 28, 2005. Inrix, Inc., the first company to deliver real-time and predictive traffic information, announced that it has partnered with Tele Atlas, a leading provider of digital geographic content, to deliver Inrix Traffic Services to Tele Atlas partners and customers through a reseller agreement. As part of the agreement, Tele Atlas will also provide Inrix with the rights to resell and internally use Tele Atlas map data with Inrix's services. Inrix aggregates and enhances traffic-related content from hundreds of public and private sources for key metropolitan areas throughout the United States. This metadata includes existing speed and incident data, historical data, weather conditions and forecasts, school calendars, major events, construction, holidays and other local variables unique to each market. The company then detects and corrects erroneous sensor data and uniquely utilizes sophisticated Bayesian analysis, initially developed by Microsoft Research and exclusively licensed to Inrix, to calculate current and future traffic conditions with a high degree of accuracy.

September 28, 2005. IDENTEC SOLUTIONS, a leading global supplier of long-range RFID-based Intelligent Asset Management solutions, will present i-CARD CF, the world's first RFID read/write device in Compact Flash format with a range of up to 100 meters (300 feet), at two trade shows in October. The i-CARD CF is compatible with IDENTEC SOLUTIONS' Intelligent Long Range (ILR) transponders from the i-Q and i-B series and can easily be integrated into laptops, handhelds, and other mobile devices. The software on the CF card also enables the pre-processing of data and firmware updates via the CF interface. The i-CARD CF is supplied with software libraries that enable users to rapidly develop customized applications. Drivers for a range of operating systems, including Windows CE/9x/NT/2000/XP and Linux, are also supplied as standard.

September 28, 2005. Ellisys, a leading supplier of USB test solutions, demonstrated the Wireless USB Explorer 300 protocol analyzer at the Wireless USB Developers' Conference in Tokyo. This new product is the industry's first protocol analyzer that supports analyzing WiMedia ultra wideband (UWB) and Certified Wireless USB standards over the air. Since commercial devices based on Certified Wireless USB from the USB-IF are not to be expected before 2006 and the need for a protocol analyzer is immediate, Ellisys decided to develop its own simulation hardware. The setup demonstrated in Tokyo contains three Wireless USB Explorer 300 units: two of them were modified to simulate traffic between a host and a device, and the third one analyzes simulated traffic over the air. The demonstration was a great success and the crowd present at the Wireless USB Developers' Conference was amazed to see a fully integrated product already at this early stage of the market. The Wireless USB Explorer 300 is proficient in smoothing firmware and driver development, preventing interoperability issues, verifying data encryption, optimizing performance, tuning power management and improving communication reliability. With this new product, Ellisys unleashes all the power of Certified Wireless USB.

September 28, 2005. Ekahau Inc, announced Ekahau Tracker, a software application that provides real-time tracking and management of mobile assets and people throughout the enterprise campus, indoors and outdoors. Ekahau Tracker is the latest addition to the award winning Ekahau RTLS (Real Time Location System) application suite, a complete wireless location-tracking solution that leverages the existing Wi-Fi infrastructure. Unlike competing solutions, Ekahau is the only RTLS system available on the market that does not require proprietary antennas, readers or portals, and can be deployed as a software-based solution over any standard Wi-Fi network. Ekahau Tracker transforms location data into actionable information and streamlines many business operations - from maintenance of medical equipment to alerting security personnel of the prohibited location of a person or high-value item. With its event management functionality, Tracker is capable of triggering rule-based alarms through SMS, e-mail and paging. This feature enables a variety of new security related uses for Ekahau RTLS, in healthcare, manufacturing, military/government and corporate settings.

The location history log of the Ekahau Tracker can help enterprises review historical data in order to analyze the asset utilization or workflow patterns. Ekahau Tracker also includes a powerful graphical user interface (GUI) and statistical analysis tools. The GUI is very easy and intuitive to use. It provides a clear map-based view of mobile assets, people and tools to define rules for external alarms. For example if a person is entering a forbidden area, or an asset is being taken away from the building, the application can automatically escalate notifications to the security personnel. Ekahau RTLS with the Ekahau Tracker is currently deployed at the Wisconsin Veterans Home in King, WI, to improve the lives and care of their long-term members by being able to locate them anywhere on the large campus in case of emergency. The member wears an Ekahau Wi-Fi tag, with a programmable call button, which provides locating and alerting information back to the Tracker application. This combined solution gives the caregivers visibility in real time to the location of Veterans Home members, and thus allows members more freedom, satisfaction and overall improved quality of life.

September 27, 2005. Kyocera Wireless Corp., a leading global manufacturer of CDMA wireless handsets and devices, and Snap-on Incorporated's NEXIQ Technologies, a leading provider of diagnostic and telematics products, solutions and services for the automotive and commercial vehicle industries, announced that NEXIQ has integrated the award-winning Kyocera 200 Module in its Prism Telematics On Board Unit (OBU) to improve wireless data communication for the NEXIQ eTechnician fleet and vehicle management solution. The Kyocera integration enables real-time communication from virtually anywhere and has been approved for use with QConnect, QUALCOMM's managed network service. The Kyocera-enhanced Prism OBU collects and sends critical vehicle information via CDMA wireless technology to the NEXIQ eTechnician vehicle telematic ASP (application service provider) Web site. The eTechnician site allows manufacturers, owners and/or operators of commercial vehicles to remotely access vehicle operating data, perform diagnostics and configure equipment from the road, office or service bay. The Kyocera 200 Module integration has significantly advanced the NEXIQ Prism OBU functionality by enabling anytime, virtually anywhere communication ability for critical vehicle and fleet information including: diagnostic data communications for all electronically controlled components such as engines, transmissions, and braking systems; vehicle location (mapping & tracking); vehicle mileage capture and fuel economy; route management and more.

September 27, 2005. NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, announced the launch of a Consumer Content Program. The new content will initially include pedestrian and location data that enhances localized search and mobile applications -- enabling solutions that turn any user into someone who knows the neighborhood like a long-term resident. A Beta release is expected by year-end with initial production releases expected in Q2 2006 on four continents (Asia, Europe, North America and South America). This content will empower a new wave of mobile enthusiasts to move beyond destination-based searches to searches based on their immediate location.

Already the leading provider of navigable data to location-aware systems in North America and Europe, NAVTEQ's Consumer Content Program will provide content that brings the map down to the level of the mobile consumer. This involves a level of data granularity that facilitates immediate proximity search capabilities. This comes at a time when service providers and device manufacturers are increasingly focused on personalized, location-relevant applications. Program offerings will include content collected using NAVTEQ's custom field collection (the company already has 500+ field analysts deployed in 20 countries driving millions of miles annually to collect data). Other content will leverage NAVTEQ's proven capabilities at sourcing, evaluating, cleansing and integrating both static and dynamic data, and appropriately geo-coding data to the most widely used navigable map in North America and Europe.

September 27, 2005. NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation and location- based solutions, is providing Nokia with map data for its newly launched Nokia Wireless GPS Module LD-1W through NAVTEQ's Chinese joint venture, NAV2. The Nokia LD-1W offers a complete integrated solution for mobile navigation in the Chinese market. It is a compact and lightweight product which integrates the hardware, software and digital map data needed for a navigation experience. It is compatible with all smartphones based on the Series 60 platform, and a wide range of compatible PDAs or PCs. The Nokia LD-1W will be available in China in the fourth quarter of 2005.

The Nokia LD-1W provides users with an easy-to-use mobile navigation solution. Its standard sales package includes the GPS module and a 256MB multimedia card (MMC) that contains a mobile navigation application from ROUTE 66 and the map of Greater China provided by NAV2. Users can use the navigation application by inserting the MMC card into a compatible smartphone and launching the application. The device then establishes a Bluetooth connection between the phone and the Nokia LD-1W.

September 27, 2005. Motient Communications Inc. announced the addition of a new product to its iMotient Solutions Platform for the wireless data market. The new L.A.T. service will provide Location Based Services and Asset Tracking as well as SMS capabilities. The iMotient Location Asset Tracking (L.A.T.) Service enables real-time location of mobile devices so that clients can improve location-based applications for fleet management, asset tracking and worker mobility management. This service can help mobile applications to optimize routes, determine events that happen along a route, accurately forecast arrival times and to identify the closest vehicles with the right capacity to make unscheduled pickups. The ability to track valuable assets is key to minimizing lost or stolen assets and lowering costs. Asset tracking services may include wireless devices attached to pallets, containers, boxes or any valuable item.

September 27, 2005. Aeris.net, the leading network services provider for wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) fixed and mobile communications services, announced the availability of AerFrame, the company's premium M2M service delivery platform. Aeris has created a powerful new paradigm in wireless M2M -- rugged connectivity combined with standby availability of higher bandwidth network services. AerFrame is a major telecommunications utility, the industry's first open network management platform delivering robust, on-demand connectivity for multi-layered network services. AerFrame enables a full range of communication solutions required for M2M applications -- supporting messaging requirements from short packet bursts to streaming data, and even voice for those applications requiring occasional, on-demand voice connectivity.

Leveraging the strength of its MicroBurst service and its partnership with more than 30 North American wireless carriers, AerFrame delivers rugged, real-time managed data delivery for mission critical applications, combining always-on connectivity with the ability to utilize high bandwidth services as needed to upgrade software in the field, open a video channel to verify an alarm or fix a bug in devices deployed throughout North America. AerFrame's dedicated network operating centers provide access, connectivity and managed data delivery across disparate networks, such as CDMA, GSM, AMPS, satellite, Wi-Fi or wireline. AerFrame seamlessly integrates customer solutions into a network infrastructure which serves the unique communications requirements of industries such as telematics, transportation, security and mobile asset tracking. Aeris's development services focus on reducing development costs, with support for .NET environments, standard SOAP (XML) services, CORBA, JAVA, and socket-based communications.

September 27, 2005. Wireless security software developer Columbitech announced the first secure WiMAX-ready VPN solution. This solution will help virtually any enterprise interested in WiMAX feel safe in knowing full security support is available to secure not only WiMAX but also any network that supports TCP/IP protocols. Acceptance testing of the new version of WiMAX-ready Columbitech Wireless VPN will be done in cooperation with leading WiMAX equipment suppliers. "WiMAX has great potential and will be a very interesting complement to existing technologies such as WiFi and Cellular 3G networks," said Asa Holmstrom, President of Columbitech. "The Columbitech mission has always been to offer full security with total mobility. This makes it a natural step for us to include WiMAX among the different networks supported by the Columbitech Wireless VPN."

The WiMAX-ready Columbitech Wireless VPN (WVPN), a session-based security solution, provides users with a seamless and secure connection, allowing the use of a combination of different and emerging network technologies. For example, a user can log on to a corporate network from home using Wi-Fi or any broadband connection available such as ADSL. The user can then travel to the airport, where the secure WVPN session to the corporate network can be resumed over the airport Wi-Fi network as soon as the laptop session has been resumed from hibernation. There is no need for the user to log in again, as the mutual authentication of the secure session is performed in the background and requires no user intervention.

Initially available for CDMA network-assisted GPS handsets, the Hosted User-Plane PDE supports multiple user-plane application types including MS resident and trusted applications. The Hosted User-Plane PDE features proven A-GPS technology and is compatible with all BREW and J2ME handsets, supplying the functionality to support handset-based location applications. It easily integrates into existing network infrastructure reducing risks and minimizing costs for faster time-to-market. With its open platform, wireless carriers can easily develop new applications or utilize existing content when launching location services. Deploying location services in the Intrado hosted user-plane environment allows wireless carriers to minimize deployment, management and maintenance costs by leveraging the scalability and cost-saving advantages of hosted or outsourced communications services.

September 26, 2005. Telcontar, the leading supplier of software and related services for the Location-Based Services (LBS) industry, announced a new partnership with Automotive Navigation Data, NV ("AND"), a leading provider of map data for location-based services that allows Telcontar to expand its existing coverage with in-demand but hard-to-get areas from all around the globe. With the new, street-level map data from cities in Australia, Eastern Europe, North Africa, and Latin America, Telcontar customers can extend their cutting-edge location-based services to most of the world.

Location-based services present many types of data-including traffic, weather, and local business information-in ways that are geographically relevant to the user. Historically associated with car navigation applications, location-based services are rapidly expanding into the Internet and wireless markets, creating demand for global map coverage. To reap the full value of location-based services, Internet portal, logistics, travel/hospitality, and other global businesses require that these services deliver access to complete, worldwide map data that supports their global operations. By combining the industry's widest mapping coverage with Telcontar's developer platform, which enables fast and customizable access to the largest selection of real-time data, Telcontar allows its customers to create high-quality, globalized applications.

AND's map data will be made available to users of Telcontar's Drill Down Server (DDS), the leading geospatial software platform providing all the core capabilities required for location-based applications, including geo-positioning, routing, map rendering, geocoding and reverse geocoding. Using its patented data management capabilities, DDS drives a variety of real-time applications, including navigation, traffic and vehicle tracking; offers unequaled performance and scalability; and can deliver advanced location-based services to any mobile, PC or telematics device.

September 26, 2005. BelAir Networks, Inc., the first company to offer scalable wide-area wireless broadband solutions for metro-scale deployments, and PacketHop, Inc., the leader in mobile mesh networking software and multimedia applications for instant wireless group communication, announced a strategic partnership. Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will co-market their standards-based products in order to provide a complementary wireless broadband solution for police, fire, emergency services and other first responder agencies. This agreement demonstrates that the companies' solutions are purely synergistic and non-competitive.

The wireless broadband capabilities of the BelAir Networks-PacketHop solution address the mission-critical need for real-time, multimedia communication and collaboration between first responder agencies at incident areas. The companies will co-market BelAir Network's wide-area wireless networking infrastructure and the PacketHop Communication System - consisting of TrueMesh networking software and the Aware for Public Safety suite of multimedia applications - to offer mobile broadband communication on 802.11-enabled devices.

The PacketHop Communication System works seamlessly with BelAir Network's infrastructure equipment since both wireless systems are standards-based. By themselves, the companies' systems are extremely powerful: the PacketHop Communication System instantly creates wireless broadband networks wherever needed and offers tremendous communication capabilities via its Aware for Public Safety application suite; BelAir Network's infrastructure design delivers high throughput wherever its system is deployed.

September 26, 2005. Intrado Inc., a global provider of integrated data and telecommunications solutions, announced the availability of the Intrado Hosted User-Plane Position Determining Entity (PDE), which provides enhanced functionality needed to successfully launch and manage location-based applications. The Intrado User Plane PDE utilizes the most broadly deployed position location solution, resulting in more reliable and precise services. It is capable of accurately identifying a subscriber's location to within five meters -- even working indoors and in dense urban canyons. Initially available for CDMA network-assisted GPS handsets, the Hosted User-Plane PDE supports multiple user-plane application types including MS resident and trusted applications. The Hosted User-Plane PDE features proven A-GPS technology and is compatible with all BREW and J2ME handsets, supplying the functionality to support handset-based location applications. It easily integrates into existing network infrastructure reducing risks and minimizing costs for faster time-to-market. With its open platform, wireless carriers can easily develop new applications or utilize existing content when launching location services. Deploying location services in the Intrado hosted user-plane environment allows wireless carriers to minimize deployment, management and maintenance costs by leveraging the scalability and cost-saving advantages of hosted or outsourced communications services.

September 26, 2005. C-Chip Technologies Corporation (North America), a wholly owned subsidiary of Manaris Corporation, announced the availability of its new two-way wireless Credit Chip 100 and 100C to warn, disable, locate and recover vehicles from delinquent car owners. The Credit Chip 100 is the smallest and most cost-effective vehicle tracking device on the market today. Using our web applications and an extensive wireless network in North America, it provides credit grantors a location map, in real-time, via the Internet right on their computer screen. The Credit Chip 100C enhances the remote location capabilities of the Credit Chip 100 and allows for immobilization of the vehicle, if payment is not made. Using two-way wireless communications and C-Chip's Internet web applications, credit grantors can sound a pre-warning, and then disable a vehicle after the right-to-cure period has expired. If suitable payment arrangement is not made, the vehicle can be located on a map in real-time for repossession and recovery. Once payment is made, the vehicle can be re-activated just as easily.

September 26, 2005. Stellus System, Inc., a leading system integrator of wireless communication products, announced that their StarNet GPS SDIO receiver - a high-performance, rugged GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver with a SDIO (Secure Digital Input/Output) interface is now compatible with the Samsung i730 Smartphone. Simply plug in the StarNet GPS receiver into your i730 and you can use it for in-car navigation, recreation, surveying or other location-specific information applications."The i730 Smartphone is growing rapidly in popularity because Verizon Wireless is offering it, and because of its unique design and technology features," said Craig Conkling, CEO of Stellus Systems. "The i730 has Wi-Fi connectivity as well as cellular, and together with Stellus' StarNet SD GPS receiver, can promote additional location-based services such as location-specific traffic or weather and other information," he added.

StarNet is a GPS accessory that puts navigation and find-and-locate capabilities for home or business addresses, ATMs, restaurants and recreational activities (such as golf, boating and hiking), at your fingertips - a map-in-your-hand that helps you get where you're going. The Pocket PC handheld market is expanding its market share, and with the growing use of Smartphones, Stellus' StarNet SD GPS receiver is poised to enable additional functionality and services. Stellus' innovative design combines a high-performance GPS antenna and receiver, with a SDIO interface IC (integrated circuit), in a compact housing that fits in your brief case or pocket and weighs less than one ounce. StarNet consumes less than 200 mW in tracking mode and has an accuracy of 3 meters (CEP - 50% of the time) and 6 meters (2DRMS - 95% of the time).

September 26, 2005. Sprint announced the availability of TeleNav GPS Navigator on the Nationwide Sprint PCS Network, making it the first location-based service available on both the Nextel National and Sprint PCS networks. TeleNav GPS Navigator application extends affordable and accessible GPS services to Sprint customers, offering the ability to instantaneously receive destination location details and directions at the touch of a button or verbal command prompt. TeleNav GPS Navigator is similar to in-car GPS navigation systems found in luxury vehicles and provides audible turn-by-turn directions, displays maps and provides graphical driving cues to help drivers get to their desired locations easily, right over their mobile phone. Unlike in-vehicle systems, this application is portable, and updates to road information are automatic, saving time and expense. The TeleNav GPS Navigator service is available on Sprint's Sanyo 5600, 7400 and LG 535 mobile phones as well as most GPS and Java-enabled phones currently in the Nextel portfolio, as well as the new BlackBerry 7520 from Nextel.

September 26, 2005. Chinese mobile data equipment provider Beijing Timespower has announced plans to integrate CPS's Matrix high accuracy location technology into its product range. Initially, Matrix will be integrated into vehicle-tracking units, but the two companies are also working towards further location-enabling devices to meet growing demand for asset tracking solutions in the Chinese market. In recent months, the company has announced a number of deals with Chinese location-based service providers that are targeting the enterprise market with a range of vehicle and asset tracking offerings. The integration of the company's Matrix location technology enables any handset or device to be rapidly located to an accuracy of sub-100m in GSM -- and less than 50m in W-CDMA networks. The modules use the existing GSM/W-CDMA network infrastructure to transfer location information to the network using standard GPRS or SMS.

September 23, 2005. Televigation, Inc., North America's leading provider of wireless Location Based Services (LBS), announced it has changed its name to 'TeleNav, Inc.' The new name comes from Televigation's leading mobile phone navigation brand TeleNav, which, over the last two years, has become synonymous with mobile phone navigation. TeleNav is North America's original mobile phone GPS Navigation service and is similar to in-car GPS systems found in luxury vehicles, but only costs a fraction of the price. TeleNav, Inc. was started in 1999 with the vision of bringing turn-by-turn GPS Navigation to all via mobile phones. TeleNav launched North America's first mobile phone GPS Navigation service in January 2003 bringing true GPS turn-by-turn navigation to North American subscribers. Since then TeleNav has clearly established itself as the dominant provider of mobile phone GPS Navigation services and LBS. TeleNav, Inc. has two product lines as of today: TeleNav GPS Navigator for the consumer market and TeleNav Track, a Mobile Resource Management service for businesses that want to effectively manage field assets and resources. TeleNav Track combines fleet tracking, workflow automation and GPS Navigation, all in one fully integrated solution.

September 23, 2005. WiFi Wireless, Inc. recently returned from South Korea where they presented live demonstrations of their revolutionary new WiFi technology product to many high-level officials and well-known companies in Korea. This demonstration included a combination of three integrated communications technologies: 1) Satellite, 2) Terrestrial, and 3) WiFi Wireless. The satellite service will be provided through Inmarsat, known for over twenty-five years for their worldwide Ocean communications. As a result of these successful demonstrations, WiFi Wireless, Inc. is proud to announce that Hyundai Shipping, the largest shipping company in Korea, has formerly requested an official quote to outfit a 60-ship fleet of vessels with this new high-tech product. When finalized, this groundbreaking agreement between WiFi Wireless and Hyundai Shipping will put Hyundai at the forefront of ship and container tracking worldwide, which will make WiFi Wireless the first company to install and service a 60-ship Hyundai / WiFi-enhanced fleet, which will firmly establish WiFi Wireless' position as the acknowledged leader in this field.

This new WiFi innovation will provide real-time, diagnostic monitoring to detect and solve mechanical malfunctions that can occur on-board ship, while at sea. For example, with WiFi audio-visual technology they can instantly transmit information back to qualified shipyard engineers, who will view and analyze the severity of the needed repairs for the ship. The Engineers will then immediately determine the solution to the problem, and either give live assistance to the ship's maintenance crew to make repairs while underway, or instruct them to make an immediate return to Dry-Dock. This WiFi product can result in millions of dollars of savings for shipping companies.

The WiFi technology has many other benefits as well, such as helping with stringent security needs, by reducing the risk of terrorism and tampering with containers. One of the WiFi products will be set for detection of bomb-related chemicals and dangerous substances, similar to the current proven airport technology. In addition, other WiFi products will be able to track containers from the factory to their final destination, and instantaneously alert technicians if any containers have been opened at any point during the journey. This WiFi technology will also aid in speeding up the entry process of ships into Foreign Markets by helping to facilitate easier access to full cargo information for Homeland Security and other important import issues. Shipbuilders, Ship-owners and their customers, and Homeland Security port officials globally will then have constant container monitoring access. This service will be available through standard Internet services, providing instant notification of any problem event and also insuring safe and expedient product delivery.

September 23, 2005. AirLink Communications, Inc., a pioneer and leading provider of fixed and mobile wireless data solutions, announced the commercial availability of its newest intelligent rugged modems for EDGE networks, which it will showcase at next week's CTIA Wireless IT and Entertainment 2005 show (M2M Zone, Booth #322). Developed with the Siemens MC75 quadruple band EDGE module, the rugged modems will enable enterprise and industrial customers to ubiquitously monitor and control fixed and mobile assets. AirLink's offering includes three distinct products: Raven, Raven Ethernet and PinPoint, which have passed field-testing and have formal certification from Cingular Wireless, the nation's largest wireless company. Additional carrier certifications are expected to be completed in 2005, and the products are fully compatible with all existing GSM/GPRS frequencies worldwide. All AirLink EDGE modems are equipped with the AirLink Embedded Operating System (ALEOS) intelligent software, making them ideally suited to handle complex asset management applications across several broad industry sectors.

Raven is an intrinsically safe, Class I Div 2 certified intelligent rugged wireless device designed for telemetry, SCADA, intelligent transportation, utility management, remote monitoring and homeland security.
Raven Ethernet functions as a gateway or network appliance - providing a robust, high-speed wireless alternative when Ethernet connectivity is optimal, but cable and DSL options are too costly, not available or when true mobility is desired. Applications include primary and backup router connectivity, automation, ATM machines and point-of-sale.
PinPoint combines the rich intelligence of ALEOS with a high-precision GPS receiver to provide a robust and cost effective solution for countless mobile workforce and asset tracking applications such as fleet management, real-time dispatching, automatic vehicle location and public safety.

September 23, 2005. QUALCOMM Incorporated, a leading developer and innovator of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and other advanced wireless technologies, announced that QUALCOMM's Mobile Station Modem (MSM) chipsets will support Philips' wireless local area network (WLAN) module. This integrated solution will offer connectivity to WLAN networks as well as to existing cellular networks and will feature compatibility with 802.11b and 802.11g protocols on both CDMA2000(R) and WCDMA (UMTS) networks. The WLAN solution allows mobile handsets to use high-speed wireless local area networks when available for connections of up to 54 Mbps. Initially supported on the MSM6550 chipset, the 802.11b/g-compatible broadband capabilities enabled by Philips' WLAN module are scheduled to be commercially available by the end of 2005. WLAN technology offers support for applications such as voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), voice calls with simultaneous data transfer and other data-intensive applications.

September 23, 2005. The U.S. Air Force is preparing to launch the first modernized Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite built by Lockheed Martin aboard a Delta II rocket on Sept. 25, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The satellite is the most technologically advanced GPS satellite ever developed and will provide significantly improved navigation performance for U.S. military and civilian users worldwide. The satellite, designated GPS IIR-14 (M), is the first in a series of eight GPS IIR satellites that Lockheed Martin is modernizing for its customer at the Navstar GPS Joint Program Office, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. The modernized series will offer a variety of enhanced features for GPS users, such as a modernized antenna panel that provides increased signal power to receivers on the ground, two new military signals for improved accuracy, enhanced encryption and anti-jamming capabilities for the military, and a second civil signal that will provide civil users with an open access signal on a different frequency. The current GPS constellation of 28 spacecraft includes 12 fully operational Block IIR satellites, which were developed to improve global coverage and increase the overall performance of the global positioning system. The Global Positioning System enables properly equipped users to determine precise time and velocity and worldwide latitude, longitude and altitude to within a few meters. Air Force Space Command's 2nd Space Operations Squadron (2SOPS), based at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., manages and operates the GPS constellation for both civil and military users. GPS IIR-M production occurs at Lockheed Martin facilities in Valley Forge, Pa. The modernized navigation payload is provided by ITT Industries in Clifton, N.J.

September 22, 2005. Locatrix Communications heralded the arrival of the next generation of consumer wireless application services with the announcement of Locatrix/Finder, the first mobile "friend finder" application to be fully integrated with a multi-network subscriber presence service. "Analysts regularly cite tremendous subscriber interest in using mobile handsets to locate and connect with their friends, family and colleagues," said Mark White, Founder and CEO of Locatrix Communications. "Locatrix/Finder goes one step further by integrating presence and location information from any IP network within the cellular WAP service".

Based on the Locatrix Applications Server, Locatrix/Finder provides mobile operators with the opportunity to cost-effectively launch consumer location services, while providing a clear path to advanced presence-based collaboration services. Features of Locatrix/Finder include: * WAP 1.x, WAP2.0, SMS, cHTML, HTML and PC interfaces * Presence-ready, with prototype plug-ins for Skype, MSN and Yahoo! Instant Messaging (IM) services * Customizable interface templates for operator application branding * Subscriber-managed privacy profiles to share location information according to defined criteria such as date, time, day of week etc. * A "viral" subscription manager to ensure maximum application uptake * Text and map-based location representations * Extensible APIs for billing and advanced application requirements

September 22, 2005. u-Nav Microelectronics, developer of the world's smallest and ultra low power Global Positioning System (GPS) chipsets, announced the availability of its Orion Navigation and SDK Software package. Orion is a powerful and versatile GPS navigation software package designed to support u-Nav's family of low power GPS chipsets across multiple frequency plans. The software is responsible for all GPS functions such as signal acquisition, tracking, data extraction, and GPS navigation. Orion's message-based architecture supports both self-contained as well as hosted applications. Orion provides both industry standard NMEA and u-Nav binary protocols. This versatile GPS Navigation package supports autonomous operation and multiple assisted operating modes including 3GPP, 3GPP2, and IS-801 that are required by GSM, WCDMA and CDMA cellular networks. Unlike many competing A-GPS solutions in the market today, u-Nav's approach allows simultaneous operation of GPS without interruption of a user's cellular call. The Orion Software Development Kit (SDK) provides developers the freedom to customize and add functional software blocks to meet application specific requirements. In addition, this user friendly SDK allows users to modify operating parameters of the navigation software and develop custom applications to run on the internal DSP of u-Nav's GPS chipsets. The Orion SDK also provides a complete set of performance analysis tools and support for production flashing of the Orion software.

September 22, 2005. Ultra Wideband (UWB) and Wireless USB solutions provider Wisair demonstrated "detect and avoid" technology at a CEPT Electronic Communications Committee meeting (ECC TG3) held in Copenhagen. The demonstration aimed to assist European and Japanese regulators in defining conditions and measures for UWB radio spectrum usage, while protecting other radio services such as WiMAX or 3G/4G cellular networks from excess interferences. Last month, Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) made an initial regulatory proposal for a UWB emission policy, requiring "detect and avoid" techniques for the 3.4- to 4.8-GHz band. These techniques can mitigate interference by searching for broadband wireless signals and then automatically switching the UWB device to another frequency to prevent any conflict. The Wisair demo consists of two UWB devices communicating through a UWB link on a specific band. Once a broadband signal is detected the UWB devices automatically switch to a free band to avoid interference.

September 22, 2005. IDENTEC SOLUTIONS, a leading provider of active long-range Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems, announced the release of a wireless temperature logging RFID tag targeted at food processors and handlers who must comply with new EU requirements implemented on January 1, 2005 and pending USA traceability legislation. This patented wireless temperature logger samples, time stamps, and stores up to 13,000 temperature readings in memory, which can be retrieved on demand using a handheld PDA or dock-door reader at distances of up to 100 meters (300 feet). An optional tag feature is an external temperature probe, which can be used to monitor and log the internal temperature of food product during processing and cool-down. The temperature logger is rated for operational temperatures from -40 C to +85 C (-40 F to +185 F) and has a six-year battery life. Temperature measurements are accurate to within 0.25 C (0.5 F) and logging intervals are programmable from one minute to 18 hours, which means that users can capture product history from source to destination even when shipments are in transit for several weeks or suffer unexpected delays. Tag communications are 115 KBaud at distances of up to 100 meters (300 feet), allowing for quick retrieval of temperature logs at dock doors, so that product which has been subjected to a temperature excursion can automatically be flagged, stopped and quarantined before it is even unloaded from the truck.

September 22, 2005. SouthernLINC Wireless, a Southern Company announced the availability of the Motorola i560 and the Motorola i850 phones. These multifunctional phones appeal to a wide range of users including public safety professionals, government workers, outdoor enthusiasts and families. The Motorola i560 is one of the smallest ruggedized iDEN technology phones ever made and exceeds military standards for extreme temperatures, shock, and vibration while also offering GPS capability. The Motorola i850, which also has a compact design, features a digital camera and was created for users with fast-paced lifestyles and offers LINC View which enables users to send pictures and other contact information with the push of a button. The i560 is designed with a sculpted rubber grip for superior handling and comfort. This user-friendly phone includes InstantLINC Mobile to Mobile, speaker phone, an internal color screen, external caller ID display and is available in solid black or highly visible yellow. The i850 phone boasts a large color display with an updated Version 7 microbrowser for improved viewing and navigation of the Web. Additionally, the i850 comes standard with all of the features associated with Motorola's iDEN technology including Instant LINC Mobile to Mobile, cellular service, text messaging and data access. The phone also allows for off-network two-way private and group communication between users up to six miles apart, depending on terrain, with its LINCaround feature.

September 21, 2005. Frost & Sullivan's recent analysis, Wireless Location Positioning, selected Ekahau, Inc. as the recipient of the 2005 Technology Leadership of the Year Award for its wireless fidelity (WiFi)-based real time locating system (RTLS). This system is one of the most sophisticated, yet adaptable and cost- effective solutions for tracking assets and people over standard WiFi networks. It is an open, standards-based solution that can offer significant value for any industry segment that has adopted WiFi for data and voice purposes. Each year Frost & Sullivan presents this Award to the company that has pioneered the development of an innovative technology, which has either impacted, or has the potential to affect, several market sectors. This Award recognizes the recipient's successful technology development, which is expected to significantly contribute to the industry in terms of adoption, change, and competitive posture. Since the entire system uses standards-based hardware such as 802.11a/b/g, a standard WiFi-based solution can optimally make use of the installed bases, economies of scale of the networks, and end-user devices that are proliferating today. Without requiring additional hardware, a company can install the system much faster and significantly reduce initial and long-term support costs. Apart from saving on hardware costs, Ekahau's WiFi-based positioning system significantly reduces likely radio frequency (RF) interference. As the total WiFi positioning system shares the network with other clients, it effectively reduces the need for additional installation of a separate wireless network. Its cost-effective scalability also enables users to start with a small deployment and then enlarge the positioning system as the number of access points increases.

For info on more Positioning Systems see this article.

September 21, 2005. Universal Guardian Holdings, Inc., an emerging global leader in non-lethal protection products, security systems and services to protect against terrorist, criminal and security threats to governments and businesses worldwide, publicly unveiled and demonstrated its ISR Systems' integrated and interoperable, Transportation Security platform designed to protect inter-modal transportation worldwide at the United States Maritime Security Expo held in New York City at the Javits Convention Center on September 20 - 21, 2005. The Company's end-to-end supply chain security program, including its SupplyChain Guardian source-based RFID system and its Container Guardian "smart container" system that features an internally mounted container tracking module with on-line tracking capability, which combines cellular and satellite communications and multi-channel sensing in a durable unit that is smaller than a pack of cigarettes, drew considerable attention from attendees during the company's live demonstrations. The Container Guardian is believed by the company to be the only container tracking system that can be mounted on the inside of a container while being capable of independent stand alone communications without the need for an external antenna. Universal Guardian's Trusted Shipper platform combines its configurable container modules, international data centers and a sophisticated supply chain and border security program that creates real savings and turns a security expense into a real cost advantage for company's that employ the system. In the "just-in-time" logistics world expedited supply chain efficiencies translate into reduced shipping costs, faster shipping times, and most importantly, less inventory tied up on ships, and more inventory in stores. This can generate significant profits for the companies that use the system.

September 21, 2005. Globalstar LLC, the world's most widely-used handheld satellite phone provider, have begun construction of a new satellite gateway in Wasilla, Alaska, to enhance satellite voice and data services, including e-mail, internet access and enterprise data solutions in Alaska and the Yukon. Globalstar expects the gateway to become fully operational in mid-2006, subject to Federal Communications Commission approval. The new Wasilla satellite gateway will allow Alaskans reliable access to Globalstar services, including voice, e-mail, fax and internet access, and Globalstar enterprise data services to track, monitor and control mobile assets such as vehicles, shipping containers, marine vessels or other high- value assets. Customers in Alaska and the Yukon can choose mobile satellite handsets for approximately USD $749.00, or fixed units that can be installed in residences, offices, lodges for as little as USD $625.00. Many users have reported that the quality, reliability, and affordable service pricing make Globalstar ideal for primary telecommunications service throughout the state. Because of the high concentration of companies in the commercial fishing, forestry, oil and gas and mining industries, Alaska is a high growth region for Globalstar, evidenced by increasing demand for reliable communications services where wireline or traditional wireless services are impractical or impossible. The addition of service from the Wasilla satellite gateway will greatly improve coverage along Northern Pacific fishing grounds such as Dutch Harbor, allowing more users cost-effective voice telephony shipboard, as well as extending the range of vessel monitoring services. Globalstar's maritime kits are currently deployed on craft ranging from recreational vessels to seiners and other fishing boats, container ships and tankers.

September 20, 2005. Symbol Technologies, Inc., The Enterprise Mobility Company announced that Asiana Airlines, a South Korean airline, has deployed Symbol's radio frequency identification (RFID) readers and tags for its baggage tracking and monitoring systems at six local airports in South Korea. This is Symbol's first implementation with an airline of passive, UHF RFID technology. Symbol's RFID solutions have been deployed in conjunction with the Korea Airport Corporation and HiTrax Co., Ltd., a local Symbol RFID distributor who participated in the project by providing consulting services and implementation. Symbol's high performance AR400 RFID reader and RFID baggage tags are enabling Asiana Airlines to manage security issues such as passengers traveling with prohibited items including drugs or weapons. Symbol's RFID solution is also enabling Asiana Airlines to significantly improve the efficiency of its baggage tracking and monitoring systems by 20 percent by replacing existing bar code systems with RFID readers and tags. By providing visibility for baggage track and trace with RFID tags that can be read with near 100 percent accuracy, Asiana Airlines will be able to improve airline operations by reducing costs, improving customer satisfaction, and providing a means for more security in baggage handling with an audit trail and reporting system.

September 20, 2005. TeleCommunication Systems (TCS), a leading provider of mission-critical wireless communications, Skyhook Wireless, a provider of the industry's first Wi-Fi based metro-area positioning system, and deltathree, Inc., a leading provider of proven, high-quality Internet telephony products, solutions and infrastructure, to deliver Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) 9-1-1 services, announced the companies are demonstrating Nomadic VoIP E9-1-1 call support at the VON Conference, TCS booth # 337, September 20-22 in Boston. The combination of TCS and Skyhook technologies with deltathree products will enable VoIP service providers and wireless carriers to better meet the full-range of FCC mandated E9-1-1 VoIP requirements. The demonstrations will be conducted inside the Boston convention center and will showcase deltathree's VoIP subscribers using soft client phones (PC Phone) provided by deltathree to place mobile E9-1-1 calls while near a Wi-Fi access point. This groundbreaking solution represents a significant milestone toward the goal of addressing the need to provide E9-1-1 services in the nomadic VoIP marketplace. The location of calls made from these devices will be determined using Skyhook's Wi-Fi positioning system; the calls will be subsequently routed to the appropriate phone bank using TCS' proven VoIP E9-1-1 solution.

For more information on the Skyhook positioning system, have a look at this article.

September 19, 2005. Internet In Motion, a mobile Internet solution provider, and Kyocera Wireless, a leading global manufacturer of CDMA wireless handsets and devices, announced that Airstream, Inc. will install the companies' cutting-edge solution for always-on, wireless Internet access and communication in many of the world's finest travel trailers and motorhomes. Internet In Motion is one of the first enterprises to apply "mobile hot spot" technology to mobile markets such as recreational vehicles, public safety, transportation and others. The solution has been approved for use with the three largest CDMA wireless carriers in the U.S. Gone are the days of searching for the nearest Internet cafe or coffee house -- Internet In Motion provides users with mobile high-speed Internet access that goes where they go. By incorporating the Ctek 4100 SkyRouter enabled by the award-winning Kyocera 200 Module, a wireless LAN connection, a high-gain antenna and CDMA wireless carrier service, Internet In Motion essentially creates "mobile Wi-Fi hotspots" where users can easily access the Internet, send emails, pictures and more, while on the move.

September 19, 2005. Savi Networks LLC, a provider of RFID-enhanced information services for global container shipments, announced the operational launch of its SaviTrak information network with the first commercial shipments of consumer product goods from a factory in China to a distribution center in Southern California. Savi Networks and Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.) Inc. (Mitsui USA) are providing real-time information and logistics services within the Network to a large Japan-based supplier of consumer goods to major U.S. retailers, including Wal-Mart. The shipments, currently on the water, are proving the commercial benefits the Network brings to major consumer goods suppliers in meeting and exceeding Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) compliance mandates while improving security, logistics data accuracy, visibility, and the operating metrics of containers and their contents. The information services, called SaviTrak, are provided on a per-container trip basis. An innovative aspect of the project is "source tagging" of cases with EPC-compliant passive labels at the manufacturing facility, and tagging the containers they're stuffed into with active RFID tags. This is called "Nested Visibility," and enables the customer to automatically build the container manifest, and then automatically track the container and its contents along its end-to-end journey throughout the shared Network.

September 19, 2005. Motorola, Inc. has doubled its MOTOwi4 wireless broadband backhaul portfolio with the addition of three carrier-grade Canopy backhaul products, including a WiMAX compatible point-to-point 300 Megabit solution. The Canopy OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) backhaul series increases range and point-to-point link reliability and performance. In addition, the backhaul portfolio will include new 30 and 60 Mb solutions. All three OFDM products operate in near line of sight and non line of sight environments. The Canopy 5.7 GigaHertz backhaul solutions can interconnect cellular sites, replace leased T1/E1 lines, connect Canopy access point clusters, serve as a backbone for mesh networks or link corporate and institutional campuses and remote sites. Additionally, Canopy backhaul solutions feature: -- Dynamic frequency selection, which automatically changes channels to avoid interference and combat link fading without user intervention, -- Adaptive modulation to ensure maximum throughput optimized for the radio path even as path characteristics change, -- Built-in security protection via a complex proprietary signal with scrambling applied, -- Multi-beam space time coding, which transmits two redundant signals spaced in time to bring multi-path signals into phase, resulting in better performance and link availability, -- Long-range line of sight capabilities that reduce the number of hops to establish a robust link.

September 19, 2005. Viisage, a leading provider of advanced technology identity solutions, announced the release of contactless smartchip capabilities for its iA-thenticate product line, incorporating RFID (radio frequency identification) capability to authenticate travel credentials across Viisage's widely deployed product set. The integration of RFID into Viisage's iA-thenticate smartchip is expected to streamline border crossing processes, simplify the authentication of identity documents, including both old and new passports, and improve identification and security at border crossings. The Viisage iA-thenticate system is currently deployed at many border crossings, airports and embassies around the world, including such countries as Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Canada and Australia, and at multiple airports in the United Kingdom and the US for the validation of credentials of airport contractors. The combination of the already proven document authentication capabilities with new RFID data capture capabilities is designed to provide border control agents with a higher level of assurance that submitted documents are valid. Imbedded RFID or smartchips add considerable storage space for critical data, including biometric information such as digitalized fingerprints and facial images. The Viisage iA-thenticate system facilitates the secure transfer of biometric identity information from the document to the border control systems while at the same time meeting all necessary standards to prevent unauthorized access to data on the smartchip. This combination of iA-thenticate smartchips with identity proofing software, biometric technology and ten years of experience in the production of secure credentials has created a robust, inclusive solution for border management that is scaleable across a wide variety of applications.

September 19, 2005. LogicaCMG will work on a project initiated by the Galileo Joint Undertaking (GJU), valued at around six million Euros. The project will lead the way in introducing next-generation satellite navigation (satnav) technologies into mass-market Location-Based Services (LBS) - which use a mobile telephone's position as part of value-added services, such as emergency response, traffic information, local shopping details or a child locator. Almost half of the funding is being provided by the industrial partners, which demonstrates the strategic, commercial importance of the project. The "Application of Galileo In the LBS Environment" (AGILE) project aims to foster the take-up of Global Navigation Satellite Services (GNSS) in the key sector of mass-market LBS, with special emphasis on the use of EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) and Galileo (Europe's next generation satnav system). The ultimate objective of AGILE is to define, in detail, a roadmap that will efficiently bring Galileo-based, value-added applications to reality; this will benefit mobile telephone users and the service providers who create and manage location-sensitive value-added services. The AGILE project will be run in close partnership with Alcatel Alenia Space which will bring its skill in LBS products and its expertise in the Galileo system. Location-Based Services and personal mobility is widely expected to be the largest Galileo mass-market in terms of number of users and revenue opportunities. The LogicaCMG team will involve and promote awareness for key decision makers, investors, institutions, regulators, industries, service and data providers around the use of GNSS technology in this sector.

September 19, 2005. With successful WiMAX trials and deployments now underway, the evolution of broadband wireless access (BWA) is gaining momentum. Freescale Semiconductor is helping to drive this evolution by providing advanced communications processing to Alvarion Ltd., a leading supplier of broadband wireless access solutions based on the 802.16-2004 and 802.16e standards for WiMAX systems. Alvarion has chosen Freescale's most advanced PowerQUICC III processor containing a PowerPC core to handle the complex, multi-protocol host-processing functions for a WiMAX base station designed to support both fixed and mobile broadband connectivity. WiMAX stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, a technology based on the IEEE 802.16 air interface standard and the ETSI HiperMAN wireless metropolitan area network (MAN) standard. WiMAX technology has the capacity to deliver sufficient bandwidth for seamless mobility and triple-play services, including high-speed data, toll-quality voice and multimedia content. Currently, WiMAX provides last-mile broadband access and backhaul for carrier infrastructure, enterprises and Wi-Fi hotspots and will support personal broadband connectivity in the future. WiMAX is designed to provide high-capacity symmetric digital subscriber line (SDSL) access to businesses and the equivalent of cable/ADSL access for home users. WiMAX enables scalable, carrier-class solutions to support thousands of users with a single base station, while providing differentiated service levels. Based in Tel Aviv, Alvarion is a global provider of point-to-multipoint BWA solutions to telecom carriers, service providers and enterprises worldwide. Alvarion's BWA solutions enable building-to-building, last-mile, wireless LAN and cellular connectivity for the growing residential and small-office/home-office (SOHO) market, the small and medium enterprise (SME) market and the multi-tenant unit/multi-dwelling unit (MTU/MDU) market. With more than two million units deployed in 130 countries, Alvarion is the worldwide leader in wireless broadband. The company provides systems to carriers, ISPs and private network operators, as well as full GSM and CDMA specialized network solutions and cost-efficient cellular mobile network extensions. More than 100 carriers have installed Alvarion's WiMAX-ready platform since its launch in 2004. Alvarion is currently developing mobile WiMAX solutions targeting the emerging IEEE 802.16e standard to provide personal broadband services.

September 19, 2005. Fujitsu Media Devices (FMD) and Fujitsu Microelectronics Europe (FME) introduced a new compact AGPS/GPS module suitable for mobile devices. The small size makes it ideal for incorporating within products such as mobile phones and other portable equipment, where it may be used under any network environment. Demo samples are currently available, with volume production planned for October 2005. This ultra compact device of just 10.9mm × 9.1mm × 1.4mm, with a low power consumption of 180mW in Search mode, or 0.1mW in Deep Sleep mode (when TCXO is turned off), and high receiver sensitivity of under -150dBm, has been achieved through Fujitsu proprietary techniques in conjunction with e-Ride Inc., a leading provider of GPS/AGPS IP, AGPS servers and GPS reference networks. In response to the rising demands for the inclusion of AGPS functions within mobile phones, Fujitsu Media Devices develops and offers AGPS modules for precisely this purpose. The company already designs and provides both Wireless LAN and Bluetooth Modules, and is particularly expert in the production of compact, low power modules for mobile devices. This new GPS/AGPS device has been developed utilizing the knowledge gained from FMD's design & miniaturization techniques for wireless modules. All components necessary for the GPS functions (including TCXO) are built-in. The new module can operate in Autonomous, MS-Assisted (Mobile Station assisted) and MS Based (Mobile Station based) operating modes. It functions in the temperature range of -20°C to + 85°C.

September 15, 2005. RFDomus, Inc., a fabless semiconductor company specializing in advanced, very low power radio frequency (RF) semiconductor devices for the wireless communications marketplace, announced the availability of pre-production samples of the RFD1400, the industry's lowest power, highest level of integration and smallest footprint RF front-end solution for global positioning systems (GPS). "With ever increasing levels of adoption of GPS in cellular handsets and portable consumer electronic devices, and the requirement for always-on location tracking in those products, low power consumption is a critical factor in the selection of the GPS RFIC," said Kevin Strong, executive vice president, Business Development, RFDomus, Inc. "The RFD1400's ultra low power consumption, single 1.8V supply, very low external component count, and 4 x 4 mm 24-pin QFN package, make it an ideal choice when low power consumption and small form factor are crucial. We are already collaborating with customers for integration of the RFD1400 into several end products and systems." Compact, flexible evaluation modules of the RFD1400 are now available, simplifying customers' evaluation and integration of the device into a broad range of cellular handset and portable navigation and consumer electronics devices. The RFD1400 includes built-in flexibility and programmability to support multiple GPS base band processors and also has the unique capability to output data directly via its standard serial data/control port, simplifying the interface to general-purpose processors and DSPs for enabling emerging software GPS applications.

September 15, 2005. Nortel announced plans to offer fixed and mobile WiMAX products based on the latest industry standards, and to work with WiMAX leaders Intel and Airspan Networks in bringing these products to market. These efforts are expected to complement work already underway with the LG-Nortel joint venture. Nortel's WiMAX products will be designed to allow wireless and wireline carriers, cable providers, media companies and other ISPs to deliver broadband connectivity to consumer and enterprise users by leveraging existing networks and 'last mile' wireless links. They will also complement and extend the reach of existing 3G cellular networks. WiMAX is a long-range wireless broadband access system that can deliver large amounts of bandwidth very economically. It will give businesses and consumers uninterrupted access to a rich variety of high bandwidth applications like networked gaming, streamed digital music, TV, videoconferencing, and other real-time services. Fixed WiMAX (IEEE 802.16-2004) is anticipated to operate in the 3.5GHz and 5.8GHz bands of spectrum and to deliver end-user data rates greater than 1 Mbps, comparable to many North American cable broadband and DSL connections. Mobile WiMAX (IEEE 802.16e) will initially operate in the 2.5GHz band and provide even higher speeds and the added convenience of 'anytime, anywhere' access.

September 15, 2005. Alvarion Ltd., the world's leading provider of wireless broadband solutions and specialized mobile networks, announced that Bezeq, the Israel Telecommunication Corporation incumbent, has purchased and deployed a pilot using its WiMAX-ready equipment, BreezeMAX 3500, to provide broadband in the southern Israeli city of Rahat, an underserved community located in the Negev desert. The first WiMAX system in Israel, operating in the 3.5 GHz range, is initially serving public institutions, such as schools and medical facilities where the need for broadband is greatest, and it will have the most impact on people's daily lives. Bezeq is now developing plans to extend the network to other communities in southern Israel. This WiMAX pilot builds on an already strong relationship between the two companies. Over the years, Alvarion has supplied Bezeq with wireless systems to deploy thousands of wireless connections for voice and data services throughout Israel. BreezeMAX is Alvarion's WiMAX-ready platform that uses OFDM technology for advanced non-line-of-sight (NLOS) functionality to enable operators to offer broadband IP-based data and voice services over a large service area. Its carrier-class design supports broadband speeds and quality of service (QoS) to enable carriers to offer multiple services to thousands of subscribers from a single base station. BreezeMAX networks are already installed with over 100 operators in more than 30 countries.

September 15, 2005. DataLogic International, Inc.,a provider of consulting services and communication solutions including GPS-based mobile asset tracking, secured mobile communications and VoIP, announced the acquisition of the assets of CBSi Holdings, Inc., an Arizona-based, privately held provider of complete vehicle and mobile asset tracking solutions for commercial and government customers. CBSi Holdings' BounceGPS automatic vehicle location (AVL) solutions are built on DataLogic's AeA award-winning Panther Trak technology and provide complete collateral protection for auto dealers, secondary lenders and subprime lenders as well asset utilization for commercial and government customers. The system is affordable, easy to install and provides theft protection and location tracking that allows for fast recovery times of stolen vehicles or vehicles that are subject to repossession. The system also permits business owners to monitor the location and use of their mobile assets and provides them with key performance metrics. The BounceGPS solution is offered through a unique pricing model, which eliminates recurring monthly airtime charges typical among competing products.

September 14, 2005. Multispectral Solutions, Inc. (MSSI), an industry leader in ultra wideband (UWB) wireless technology, applauded the United Kingdom's Office of Communications (Ofcom) latest position on UWB which is being submitted to the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) Electronic Communications Committee (ECC) tasked with establishing rules for the use of UWB technology within all of Europe. Ofcom concluded that a Detect & Avoid (DAA) mechanism be mandated in the band 3.1GHz to 4.2GHz, requiring that UWB systems operating in this band incorporate techniques to detect the presence of broadband fixed wireless access (BFWA) systems and to reduce their emissions by an additional 44 dB should such BFWA systems be detected. Systems without DAA mechanisms are mandated to always operate at the significantly reduced levels. Furthermore, Ofcom identified the 6-10 GHz band as the one frequency range which "would meet the protection criteria for outdoor fixed services" and recommended consideration of higher power levels (above the FCC limit) for UWB operation in this band. (The UK submission can be found on the Web at www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/uwb/uwb_statement/uwbstatement.pdf).

September 14, 2005. NemeriX SA further extends its technology leadership in the GPS and AGPS markets. As well as providing the lowest power GPS solution with 25mW at 1Hz fixes, NemeriX is announcing a hosted GPS baseband processor which achieves indoor sensitivity as low as -158 dBm while consuming just 40mW. The NJ2020 is available in a 6x6mm BGA package and utilizes the memory and processor resources already available on a host platform such as a PDA or mobile phone. This architecture allows for fast integration and reduced system costs as resources on the host are often more readily available. The NJ2020 is air interface agnostic, consuming 40mW at 1Hz fixes and less than 7 MIPs with no realtime requirements from the host when paired with the NemeriX NJ1006A GPS RF IC and NemeriX Navigation Software. The NJ2020 provides a simple path for integrating GPS/AGPS functionality into an end product. It achieves its -158 dBm sensitivity in autonomous or assisted mode across various wide area networks (GSM, WCDMA, CDMA, and iDen networks). The total solution footprint when utilizing NemeriX's GPS RF NJ1006A is less than 90sq. mm. NemeriX's NJ2020 also places no real time demands on the host CPU and permits simple interfacing via UART, SPI, or I2C. Source code for NemeriX Navigation Software is also provided permitting faster time to market.

September 14, 2005. eSpatial, leaders in spatial information management, announced a strategic partnership with Dotted Eyes, a class-leading Geographical Information System (GIS) Consultancy based in the United Kingdom. Driven by the requirements of the UK Public Sector, eSpatial and Dotted Eyes will be delivering Confedera - a solution that will meet both internal efficiency requirements and those associated with the e-Government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF) issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM). The solution will provide a seamless framework to Local Government for the publication, update and management of location based assets based on the latest OS MasterMap® product sets. The framework will address the challenges of OS MasterMap loading, positional accuracy improvement, data quality, web publishing, user & data management and spatial & attribute data capture. Confedera will provide a framework for the delivery of eGMS and UK GEMINI Metadata requirements, Digital National Framework and requirements around the use and management of the Local Land & Property Gazetteer (LLPG).

Confedera will be delivered in a pure web environment based on eSpatial's iSMART GeoPortal and the Oracle Spatial/Locator platform. The integration of Dotted Eyes ResponseMX will offer rich Internet applications, whilst Laser-Scan's Radius Topology will improve data quality. Dotted Eyes and eSpatial are already working on joint client implementations of Oracle based solutions within the UK Local Government sector.

September 14, 2005. NowAuto Group introduced the Navicom GPS Personal Locator device. It's a revolutionary full-featured GPS unit with the capability for unlimited GPS tracking/locating, E911-emergency feature, push button concierge service, two-way voice speakerphone, programmable buttons for one-touch dialing, and is about the size of a key chain. The Navicom GPS Personal Locator unit features: Programmable GeoFence, battery saving sleep mode, USB port, 256K of flash memory, a data logger and unlimited GPS tracking. The Navicom GPS Personal Locator is available directly through Navicom with retail pricing around $489 plus a small unlimited usage fee. The Navicom GPS Personal Locator can be used as emergency cellular phone with speed dialing for two-way voice communication, it can silent call E911 or any emergency number in the world, for immediate assistance with personalized voice to report location and time stamp, it can send SMS messages to a control center and can also be monitored as real time on internet. Find out about many more GPS Locators here.

September 14, 2005. MMT announced, at the Institute of Navigation Show, the availability of their MN1010 Module. It is the world's smallest complete global positioning system (GPS) receiver. The ultra small design is packaged into a 10x10x1.8mm, RF shielded 36 pin package. This module is a low power, high performance GPS Receiver solution designed for portable consumer electronic applications. It draws less than 75mW making it an ideal solution for battery operated, PDA and wireless applications devices. It is a complete 12 channel GPS receiver that only requires power and an antenna to operate. The 12 channel receiver allows all satellites in view to be tracked, providing a solution to minimize position jumps caused by individual satellite blockage. The GPS chipset integrated into the MN1010 is from u-Nav microelectronics and features the uN1008 CMOS RF Front-End and the highly integrated uN8130 Base-band Processor. This chipset provides a low power, high performance cost competitive solution. The MN1010 is supported by an evaluation kit which includes software and references designs to reduce time and cost for the OEM development. Samples are currently available with full production quantities scheduled for October 2005.

September 14, 2005. NovAtel Inc., a precise positioning technology company, introduced OEMV, its next generation of Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers. The OEMV family of receivers supports modernized GPS frequencies and signals, and incorporates NovAtel's new Vision Correlator, an innovative technology that virtually eliminates multipath errors. The announcement was made at the 18th international technical meeting of the Institute of Navigation Satellite Division. NovAtel's latest receiver technology sets a new standard in performance, feature set and integration. The OEMV receivers incorporate new high-fidelity radio frequency (RF) designs and a highly integrated System-on-Chip digital ASIC. The OEMV receivers feature fully integrated satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS), Omnistar and Canada-wide Differential GPS (CDGPS); faster processing speed and improved memory for expanded Application Programming Interface (API); 100 Hz measurements; and lower power consumption.

The first single, dual, and triple frequency models will be available to customers at the end of Q1, 2006. Three different form factors include: the OEMV-1 with L1; the OEMV-2 with L1, L2, L2C; and the OEMV-3 with L1, L2, L2C and L5 (initial release hardware capable only). The OEMV-2 and OEMV-3 models have been designed as drop in replacements for existing OEM4 engines. All of the OEMV receivers are designed to meet the European Union's new Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive, which comes into effect in mid-2006. The OEMV family also features Vision Correlator - a ground-breaking technology that virtually eliminates multipath, a significant remaining error component in GPS measurements, resulting in improved measurement accuracy and positioning reliability. Multipath errors are GPS measurement errors caused by the interaction of the direct GPS satellite signal and its reflections in environments that include urban canyons, foliage canopies and overhead obstructions. NovAtel's Vision Correlator flags poor signal quality and removes affected measurements, even on low elevation satellites, practically eliminating multipath in even the harshest environments. According to Pat Fenton, NovAtel's Vice President and CTO, "Our OEMV family of receivers addresses key industry requirements, from new signal tracking to improved API and data update rates. The Vision Correlator was developed to meet industry needs for better accuracy in multipath environments where the reflecting surface is within meters of the GPS antenna. Current multipath mitigation techniques fall short of this and leave the user with the task of sorting through data to determine what is valid. Our OEMV receivers with Vision Correlator significantly improve on current standards for high accuracy and reliability of positioning data in challenging environments."

September 14, 2005. In an effort to broaden and accelerate the deployment of location-based services (LBS), SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc. and TruePosition, Inc., will collaborate on the integration of SiRFLoc -- SiRF's patented, multimode A-GPS architecture -- into TruePosition's location services platform, TrueNorth MLS (Managed Location Services). The anticipated result is that wireless operators can now deliver a lucrative LBS offering based on superior location technology more quickly and cost-effectively, with greater levels of accuracy and yield. Consumers, in turn, will benefit from reliable and ubiquitous services even in the most challenging of conditions. TruePosition and SiRF will work to deliver these solutions to carriers on a global basis. TrueNorth MLS is a unique location based services platform offering operators a turnkey, end-to-end solution with minimal up-front capital investment and full maintenance and platform management services. By integrating all the elements necessary, from location technology and middleware to applications and devices, TrueNorth MLS enables carriers to bring lucrative LBS applications to market quickly, with minimal operating expenses. SiRF provides carrier-grade, standards-compliant assisted GPS (A-GPS) location server technology with its SiRFLoc Multimode Location software. SiRFLoc will power TrueNorth MLS with a standards-compliant control plane and secure user plane location (SUPL) solution. This MLS platform can be deployed within an operator's network or hosted as a managed service by infrastructure suppliers such as TruePosition. See also other positioning systems.

September 14, 2005. Silicon Laboratories Inc. announced the availability of its ZigBee development kit at the ZigBee Alliance Open House in Chicago. Silicon Laboratories' ZigBee development kit provides the optimal industry-compliant development platform allowing customers to easily develop ZigBee network applications for wireless automation, industrial, medical and residential monitoring and control applications. The 2.4 GHz ZigBee development kit provides all of the hardware and software needed for a customer to immediately begin developing a ZigBee network solution. Silicon Laboratories' ZigBee development kit provides six development boards with antennas, a power supply, cabling software and documentation. Pre-loaded with an easy-to-use demonstration GUI, the kit provides a graphical representation of 13 typical ZigBee topologies and supports three demo applications to monitor data from any of the networked devices. The development kit also includes a full set of application development software and tools, including the Silicon Laboratories' IDE, an 802.15.4 MAC and ZigBee network layer protocol stack library. Silicon Laboratories' family of ZigBee-ready solutions leverages the company's leading 8-bit microcontroller (MCU) products, which combine high-precision analog peripherals with a low-current consumption, high-throughput (up to 100 MIPS) 8051 CPU and up to 128 kB on-chip Flash memory. Silicon Laboratories and ZigBee protocol stack provider Helicomm has also co-developed a family of ZigBee-ready turnkey modules that includes an optimized Silicon Laboratories' 8051-based MCU, an 802.15.4 compliant radio and the applicable MAC and ZigBee protocol software offering high performance, ultra low power and highly-integrated solutions.

September 13, 2005. NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, has added a new country to its Eastern European database. Beginning in the third quarter of 2005, digital map data of Romania will be available to direct customers for the first time*. Included in the map data release is detailed road network information for Romania's capital, Bucharest and coverage of the main roadways linking 15 cities with a population of 25,000 or more. The addition of Romania to NAVTEQ's Eastern European coverage makes navigable travel between neighbouring countries Bulgaria and Hungary possible. This means navigation devices can now navigate across more borders: For instance from Germany via Austria and Hungary to Romania. NAVTEQ now covers more than 11,400 kilometres of roads in Romania including Points of Interest (POI's) such as restaurants, hotels and banks for 60 of the country's towns and cities including: Arad, Bucharest, Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Constanta, Craiova, Focsani, Galati, Iasi, Timisoara, Targu Mures, Oradea, Pitesti, Satu Mare and Sibiu. The database contains over 1,500 points of interest (POI) in 40 categories such as service stations, restaurants and train stations. Famous tourist attractions like the Transylvanian Bran Castle, legendary home of Bram Stoker's Dracula, are also included in the Romanian map data. Romania joins Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and Slovenia in its expanded European coverage. *Due to the highly complex process of updating and integrating NAVTEQ data into navigation systems and location-based solutions, it may take up to a year before these new maps are available to end customers in their navigation systems.

September 13, 2005. The Siemens Communications Group will be upgrading T-Mobile's wireless net-works in Germany and Austria with the 3G/W-CDMA data turbo HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access). In addition, Siemens will also be expanding T-Mobile's 3G/W-CDMA networks in both countries. Beginning in spring 2006, the HSDPA solution will enable T-Mobile customers in Germany to initially download data to their mobile devices at speeds of up to 1.8 megabits per second. This is another major commercial high-speed 3G/W-CDMA contract for Siemens, together with NEC the market leader in the 3G sector and one of the first providers to offer an end-to-end commercial HSDPA solution. T-Mobile's 3G/W-CDMA data turbo is scheduled to go live commercially to coincide with CeBIT 2006. Until then, Siemens will be implementing its HSDPA solution and expanding the capacity of the existing 3G/W-CDMA networks in Austria and Germany to include additional NodeB 880/881 base stations and radio network controllers for seam-less handovers between 3G/W-CDMA wireless cells. In an initial phase, the HSDPA solution from Siemens will achieve download rates as high as two megabits per second and uplink speeds of 384 kilobits per second. As recently demonstrated by a field test on the autobahn in the vicinity of Ulm, Germany, these high data rates are also possible when traveling at high rates of speed; the tests were conducted at 130 kilometers per hour. The download rates will gradually increase, reaching 7.2 megabits per second in the future. This means that HSDPA considerably exceeds the speed of wireline broadband links as with today's DSL, for example. As one of the first to offer an end-to-end commercial HSDPA solution consisting of network components and data card, Siemens is a market leader in the 3G sector. Over 30 percent of the 3G base stations (NodeBs) in commercial service with wireless operators worldwide come from Siemens and NEC (Source: MultiMedia Research Institute, Worldwide W-CDMA Cellular Base Station Market Report, Tokyo 2005). This represents coverage of 90 percent of all 3G subscribers worldwide. The NodeB 880, the third generation of W-CDMA base stations from Siemens, is considered to be the technological market leader as a result of its high channel capacity, scalable carrier density, flexible applicability, unrivaled reception sensitivity and other factors (Source: Current Analysis Report, July 2005).

Together with NEC, Siemens is already driving the expansion of its 3G/W-CDMA/ HSDPA solution toward HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access). This will accelerate high-speed uplinks from today's rate of 384 kbit/s to 1.4 Mbit/s initially and subsequently to 5.8 Mbit/s. Siemens and NEC expect to be able to accept the first orders for HSUPA beginning in the second half of 2006.

September 13, 2005. AT&T announced customer trials starting early next year of a managed, end-to-end, hosted Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) service, making AT&T the first U.S. network and managed services provider to offer such a service. AT&T also announced that it has joined EPCglobal US, an affiliate of EPCglobal Inc, serving subscribers in the United States to help foster the adoption of the EPCglobal Network and related technology. The EPCglobal Network combines RFID technology, existing communications network infrastructure, and the Electronic Product Code (EPC) to enable accurate, cost-efficient visibility of information in the supply chain. During the 90-day RFID service trials, AT&T will design, deploy and manage integrated, end-to-end RFID solutions, which extend from AT&T's IP network and Internet Data Centers into customer-premises infrastructure, including RFID readers, edge devices and software, local area networks, firewalls and routers. Although AT&T customers have been using the company's services to piece together their own custom-built RFID solutions for some time, the new AT&T service integrates its services-network integration and consulting, IP transport, hosting, storage, managed applications and security-into a single managed service specifically for RFID. The managed RFID service is intended to help businesses and government agencies rapidly deploy and scale trusted end-to-end RFID solutions without significant capital investment, while securely storing and protecting their RFID data in AT&T's Internet Data Centers. The service is designed to support contactless payment, the latest trend in retail payment applications because of its speed and convenience, as well as asset tracking, asset management and security applications for the manufacturing, transportation, retail and government sectors.

September 13, 2005. Ember Corporation announced that the industry's lowest power ZigBee networking platform, which it developed jointly with Texas Instruments Inc. will start shipping next month. ZigBee is a wireless, standards-based radio technology designed for remote monitoring, control and sensor network applications including home control and awareness, building automation, industrial automation, asset management and Homeland Security. Ember also announced that customers have already attended training at Ember to get an early start in the development of wireless applications based on the new platform, which is currently undergoing final quality assurance testing. These include a sensor application being developed by a U.S. government defense agency, and a wireless, wearable, non-intrusive monitor for the healthcare and eldercare markets being developed by AFrame Digital, a Virginia based healthcare products and technology company. The new ZigBee platform integrates Ember's proven and ZigBee compliant EM2420 radio transceiver, and EmberZNet software platform with TI's 16-bit MSP430F1612 microcontroller (MCU) into a complete, dual-chip ZigBee/802.15.4 solution. It is designed for OEMs building ZigBee applications that require the lowest possible power requirements, as well as for companies who have already standardized on the TI MCU and wish to ZigBee-enable their products quickly and easily. The 2.4 GHz Ember EM2420 is the highest performing, most power-efficient radio transceiver in its class, providing a flexible, simple interface to a wide range of microcontrollers. The low power TI MCU will also be paired with Ember's recently announced EM260, network processor solution which will be available early next year. The MSP430F1612 ultra-low-power MCU offers the industry's lowest current consumption with only 1.1 micro-amps standby mode with real-time clock operation, as well as a 300 micro-amps (1 MHz) active mode that allows engineers to tune system clocking to meet precise power requirements. With fast instruction execution enabled by a modern 16-bit RISC CPU, a start-up time of less than six microseconds from standby and a fully synchronized, high-speed system clock, the chip's total power consumption is 10 times lower than competing devices.

September 13, 2005. 2-Track Global announced it had successfully completed the final trial for its land-based Starfish product that tracks vehicles and assets via low earth orbit satellites in territories where no cellular-based networks are available. The rally took place on what is known as the "silk route" between Tianjin and Huhehaote. It was extremely hostile terrain and the product was entirely successful. Following on with its success, 2-Track Global Inc has now announced that it will sponsor the overland "Five Oceans and Six Continents" race through some of the most inhospitable terrain. The rally will commence from Patagonia on the southern extremity of South America and will proceed through the American continent vertically from south to north then cross the Bering Sea. The rally will then pass over the silk route and then across Eurasia towards the Himalayas, Central Asia and the Middle East. 2-Track will supply the tracking devices for all vehicles and UHF radios. 2-Track Global Inc (TOTG) is a technology development and marketing company which owns, operates and licenses proprietary telematics solutions combining hardware and software applications run over wireless or satellite networks to deliver remote security management of marine and cargo fleets (including consumer solutions aimed at the leisure, marine and domestic security markets) and commercial vehicle plant and machinery management and security. The company has communications architecture technology which provides global logistics solutions for the remote monitoring of freight containers over multiple transport mores.

September 13, 2005. HP and Royal Philips Electronics announced that they are partnering to accelerate the adoption of the latest global RFID standard, which is designed to provide customers with interoperable technology, solutions and services for migration from previous RFID standards. This new global EPC Class 1 Generation2 (Gen2) standard allows a single tag to now travel globally and still be read by most readers, something that wasn't previously possible. For example, most first-generation Class 1 RFID tags used in the United States cannot be read in Europe due to bandwidth limitations. Gen2 makes it possible to track a tag sent from the United States through Europe with ease. Having already successfully embraced RFID technology in their respective supply chains, both companies will leverage their complementary leadership in RFID chip development, business process design and systems integration to further drive adoption of Gen2 RFID technology. Announced at the EPC Global Conference, the joint effort is primarily focused on the consumer products/retail, high-tech and pharmaceutical industries. The goal of the HP and Philips collaboration is to ensure that adopters of RFID achieve a seamless migration from the previous infrastructure while capitalizing on the global interoperability and increased performance that Gen2 offers. A key part of the collaboration will take place at HP's Sao Paolo, Brazil facility, where testing of advanced RFID supply chain concepts occurs and through which new technologies are introduced to HP's vast supply chain. HP will use Philips' Gen2 RFID technology at the location, replacing the UCODE EPC 1.19 currently in use. HP plans to use the Philips technology in other locations in the future.

September 13, 2005. NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, and ATX Group, the world's second largest telematics service provider to the automotive industry, announced an agreement to pursue a prototype automated driving directions service that will integrate NAVTEQ's latest developments in digital, dynamic content and ATX's recent advances in automated, voice recognition technology. The joint initiative involves an application that provides personalized driving directions to users dialing MY511 on any communications device. The result is a capability that can transform any communications device into a navigation system. The two companies said they expect to demonstrate the result of their collaboration before select automotive industry customers and government officials during the Intelligent Transportation Society's World Congress in November in San Francisco. NAVTEQ maps will provide the foundation for the personalized directions while ATX's voice technology shapes the user interface experience, a critical component of a mobile phone-based system. NAVTEQ currently supplies mapping content for a variety of ATX's location- based telematics services. ATX's services store NAVTEQ content off-board on servers within ATX's response centers rather than in computers in the vehicle. Voice automated, destination entry is uniquely suited to off-board telematics systems. These systems not only can keep up with changes -- added street names, improved map data, new construction, etc., but also can leverage computing power and databases comparable to self-contained navigation within a vehicle or device.

September 13, 2005. Atmel Corporation, a global leader in the development and fabrication of advanced semiconductor solutions, and u-blox AG, a leading maker of innovative GPS technology, announced the availability of their latest GPS technology and product generation, ANTARIS 4, which sets new standards in GPS performance, system architecture and functionality. ANTARIS 4's advances ideally suit battery-operated products such as PDAs, mobile phones and other portable devices, as well as automotive GPS applications. The ANTARIS 4 architecture combines ultra low power consumption with an outstanding sensitivity performance of up to -158 dBm tracking sensitivity. Enabled by Atmel's advanced CMOS technology for the ATR0621 baseband and RF-proven BiCMOS technology for the RF-frontend IC ATR0601, power consumption levels of 62 mW during 1 Hz update rate in Continuous Tracking Mode are achieved. This means a power consumption reduction of 40% compared to the previous chipset generation. The power consumption can be further reduced with the FixNow power saving mode. ANTARIS 4 also requires fewer external components, allowing for more space- and cost-efficient designs and modules. Like its predecessor, the 16-channel ANTARIS 4 engine will feature u-blox SuperSense-enabled indoor GPS, Assisted-GPS (A-GPS) and full support of WAAS and EGNOS satellites. In addition to the serial ports, the ANTARIS 4 baseband ATR0621 provides a USB port, making data retrieval and sharing much simpler. It eliminates the need for an expensive USB or RS-232 converter making ANTARIS 4 products suitable for plug-and-play devices on any PC environment. Emulating a standard COM port to the operating system, these products integrate seamlessly into any available navigation software. This makes them ideally suited for GPS applications such as smart antennas, solely powered and operated via a USB interface. ANTARIS 4 technology also supports serial EEPROM, which is a cost- and space-efficient alternative to Flash EPROMs for storing custom configuration settings.

September 13, 2005. Continuing its tradition of technology innovation, SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of GPS enabled location technology, unveiled the SiRFstarIIx family of chipsets and software that is designed to bring a market leading combination of small size, low power and cost-effectiveness to the popular SiRFstarII architecture. Available in three different flavors (GSC2x, GSC2xr and GSC2xrx) the SiRFstarIIx product family consumes one third the power and is literally half the size of its predecessor, SiRFstarIIe/LP, the high volume market leader for GPS chipsets. GSC2xr and GSC2xrx further reduce size and overall system cost by eliminating the need for an external flash memory. Utilizing a combination of innovative architecture and packaging combined with more advanced process technologies, SiRFstarIIx is able to achieve all this without compromising on performance. As a result, manufacturers can build products that are smaller and less expensive, thus helping further drive GPS into the consumer mainstream. The SiRFstarIIx product line, which offers SiRFstarII class performance, whittles the need for three chips to one or two by integrating the RF and baseband into one package and in the case of GSC2xr & GSC2xrx, removing the need for external flash -- a measure that also simplifies implementation for manufacturers. The size itself has been reduced from a baseband chip measuring 10 x 10mm and an RF chip measuring 5 x 5mm to a single chip measuring 10 x 7mm. Power is also dramatically reduced: full power operation is reduced from 180mW on the SiRFstarIIe/LP to 60mW on the SiRFstarIIx and TricklePower is reduced from 80mW to 25mW. SiRFstarIIx's internal software is highly flexible, allowing use of a variety of configurations from blinking LEDs, varying baud rates and protocols. This makes the internal software more usable to a larger cross-section of GPS customers.

September 12, 2005. Blue Marble Geographics (www.bluemarblegeo.com) is pleased to announce that GeoMapServer, the COTS version of the award-winning BeyondGeo Internet Mapping technology, has been enhanced with an automatic web publishing tool. GeoMapServer is a complete re-write of the BeyondGeo MapServer that has been developed according to the Open GIS Consortium (OGC) specification, and is scalable and cost effective. Blue Marble is known worldwide for their geographic software tools and in particular, coordinates conversion technology. GeoMapServer is a robust, powerful and flexible toolkit for creating, customizing and publishing interactive maps on public and private websites. The automatic web-publishing tool now makes the product even easier to use. Simply create your map with the GeoMapServer map composer and save it off as an xml file. When the map is ready to be published simply use the "publish to web" tool and the map will be automatically published to the mapserver. GeoMapServer contains a web mapping server, a Map Composer application, and a customizable web interface for on-line display of maps. The product is available for both internal and external or revenue generating projects through a flexible pricing model and open architecture.

September 12, 2005. Chipcon, the world's leading provider of low system cost, low power RF chipsets and networking software, announced the availability of the CC2430 family, the world's first available true One-Chip ZigBee solution. Chipcon will demonstrate the CC2430 at the Embedded Systems Conference September 12-15, 2005 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston (booth number 1217) and at the ZigBee Open House September 14, 2005 at the Hyatt Regency Woodfield Hotel in Chicago, IL. The CC2430 is the first true SoC Zigbee one-stop-shop offering, providing on-chip programmable flash memory as well as a certified Zigbee software stack, all on a single silicon die. It is a key part of Chipcon's SmartRF(R)03 product family, and is based on Chipcon's industry leading CC2420 ZigBee radio transceiver, which has already surpassed 1 million units shipped. Measuring approximately the size of a 1 ct diamond (7x7 mm), the CC2430 represents an extremely clean design combining a robust radio, programmable micro-controller, flash memory, and both IEEE802.15.4 and ZigBee software -- all in one easy-to-use and cost-effective chip. The CC2430 SoC family will be available as three different products (CC2430-F32, CC2430-F64 and CC2430-F128). The difference between these three products is the size of on-chip flash memory, each cost-optimized for different IEEE 802.15.4/Zigbee applications.

September 12, 2005. Artimi Inc., the single chip Ultra Wideband (UWB) systems semiconductor company, announced that it has won the Frost & Sullivan 2005 Technology Innovation of the Year Award in the field of short-range high bandwidth wireless technologies. Artimi was presented the award in recognition of the company's pioneering efforts toward the development of the world's first complete single chip solution for UWB technology based high bandwidth wireless communications. According to Frost & Sullivan, the Technology Innovation of the Year Award was presented to Artimi for the quality and depth of the company's research and development program as well as the vision and risk-taking that enabled it to undertake such an endeavor. "Frost & Sullivan recognizes Artimi's high degree of technological innovation and the strong commercial potential for its highly innovative single chip UWB solution," stated Sivakumar Muthuramalingam, Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst. "Artimi's flexible platform based architecture is capable of scaling to support a variety of RF front ends on a core MAC engine that is standards compatible but also offers extensions for advanced performance in throughput and robust QoS. One key challenge in developing practical UWB solutions is the lack of a single unified standard for interoperability and use. However, Artimi is addressing this issue through collaborative efforts with key industry players, as well as standard-setting industry organizations such the IEEE, WiMedia Alliance and the Bluetooth SIG. Artimi is endeavoring to create a UWB device-friendly ecosystem."

September 10, 2005. TeleType Company is launching an innovative product that blends cutting-edge vehicle GPS navigation with MP3 player technology. The all-in-one device, called WorldNav 3000 XL, is a portable, in-car navigation system that offers door-to-door GPS guidance with simple spoken instructions. The official release date for the product is scheduled for Sept. 15, 2005. WorldNav 3000 XL's exciting convergence of portable in-car navigation with the immense popularity of the MP3 player makes it possible for travelers to not only reach their destination with greater efficiency, but to easily carry along their favorite music. There is no other product on the market that offers the exceptional utility, simplicity and affordability of this new piece of gadgetry. Based on TeleType's award-winning GPS product line, WorldNav 3000 XL is a compact system that weighs less than 8 ounces. The device is user-friendly and simple to operate, making it easy for drivers to get from Point A to Point B. To operate the system, drivers simply touch the screen where a simple menu is presented similar to in-dash navigation systems. The driver is then guided along the desired route effortlessly. Drivers can navigate directly to a point of interest (POI) using the extensive POI database included, or an exact business or home address, or even a desired intersection.

September 9, 2005. WiNetworks Inc. presented an application of real-time streaming video over WiMAX integrated with an existing DVB infrastructure. The WiNetworks patented Hybrid WiMAX DVB (HWDV) technology creates a two-way broadband network with an always-on return channel for interactive TV services such as Video on Demand and interactive gaming and polling. The WiNetworks' solution enables the customer to order a streaming video from a typical DVB set-top-box. The request is transmitted in real-time to the DBS regional VoD server, over the always-on return channel provided by the WiMAX network. Once the IP video content is delivered through the WiMAX connection, the Hybrid WiMAX DVB (HWDV) technology converts it into the DVB format and delivers it to the existing set-top-box for customer viewing. The embedded QoS algorithm assigns higher priority to the video content over the other WiMAX-delivered data services allowing high quality viewing. The WiNetworks solution enables DBS operators to deliver Interactive TV and VoD over the large installed-base of customers' set-top-boxes eliminating the need for expensive equipment replacements.

September 8, 2005. WiNetworks announced the availability of a ground-breaking WiMAX-based solution designed to enable Digital Broadcast Satellite (DBS) operators to leap from their one-way TV broadcast network to a two-way broadband network able to offer Triple Play (voice, video, and data) services. The WiNetworks patented Hybrid WiMAX DVB (HWDV) technology allows DBS Operators to leverage their customer premise infrastructure (e.g. dish, existing coax wiring, existing STB, etc.) to deploy a WiMAX network at a very low cost while offering a fully integrated triple-play bundle. WiNetworks is the first company to use the new WiMAX protocol (IEEE 802.16 d/e) to deliver a solution uniquely designed for the DBS industry. WiMAX is the new broadband wireless standard backed by over 300 telecom technology and service providers. WiNetworks is using the Intel ProWireless 5116 broadband interface silicon. WiNetworks is a member of the Intel WiMAX Alliance committed to develop leading WiMAX products and services.

September 8, 2005. Benefon Oyj, a leader in navigation solutions and location based services and Satelinx, a developer of location technology products, announced that they had entered into a Letter of Intent (LOI). According to this LOI, Benefon would acquire the product designs of a GPS/GSM/GPRS watch currently owned by Satelinx Inc. Benefon will be testing the capability of the GPS/GSM/GPRS watch in relation to its own core technology and will be integrating its' proprietary protocols into the Satelinx watch to test its compatibility and integration into Benefon's back-end solutions. The LOI is subject to the successful testing of the GPS/GSM/GPRS watch and once proven to work will be subject to a royalty based payment arrangement with a maximum payment amount. Benefon would then launch a bundled solution, which will enable the company to sell its new integrated GPS/GSM/GPRS handheld due out in the 4th quarter of 2005 with multiple watches as a set. This will then enable parents to track their kids as well as Benefon will then be able to provide solutions linked to the elderly.

September 8, 2005. AirTight Networks announced the integration of its customer proven SpectraGuard Enterprise Wi-Fi IPS Firewall with Cisco System's Wireless LAN Solution Engine (WLSE). This integration stems from AirTight's active participation as a Wireless Alliance member in Cisco's Technology Development Partnership Program. This cooperation between these two technology companies builds on Cisco's wireless security capabilities to create comprehensive wireless intrusion prevention to protect both wireless LANs and wired networks against all categories of Wi-Fi threats. Through integration with the APIs offered by Cisco, AirTight Networks can more precisely track the location of wireless intruders and take additional preventative actions by sending wire-side port tracing and switch port shut down commands through Cisco's WLSE. The resulting solution allows administrators to accurately track and take immediate pro-active action against any rogue Wi-Fi device. The close integration with Cisco's WLSE enhances AirTight's patent-pending location tracking technology to provide improved mapping of these rogues by gathering statistics from both the Cisco APs as well as AirTight's sensors.

September 8, 2005. Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd., announced that Garmin Mobile -- a new suite of applications delivering maps, directions, and turn-by-turn navigation -- will be offered by Sprint Nextel on select handsets. Garmin Mobile represents Garmin's first product offering that targets the emerging wireless handset applications and location-based services market. Based on Garmin's highly acclaimed StreetPilot "c-series," Garmin Mobile is easy to use and offers users extreme utility especially when traveling in unfamiliar areas. Users can navigate to an address anywhere in the United States and Puerto Rico, or search millions of points of interest (POI's) -- places like hotels, restaurants, shopping, and tourist attractions. Users can also dial the POI's phone number automatically -- for reservations, hours of operation, or other information. Once users choose a destination, Garmin Mobile automatically calculates the fastest route to the destination, and provides voice-prompted turn-by-turn directions along the way while the customer is on the Sprint PCS Nationwide Network. Garmin Mobile's text-to-speech functionality allows the unit to audibly announce the name of upcoming streets -- letting drivers keep their eyes on the road while navigating through busy traffic and tricky roadways. If users stray off course, Garmin Mobile will automatically calculate the quickest way to get back on track. Map data is provided by NAVTEQ -- a world leader in premium-quality mapping. Garmin Mobile is also the first server-based navigation application that visually depicts and constantly updates the user's position on a detailed moving map -- giving the user additional situational awareness. The user interface also announces upcoming turns in an easy-to-read text and arrow format.

September 7, 2005. WhereNet Corp., the leader of wireless solutions for tracking and managing enterprise assets, announced that the Broekman Group is deploying the WhereNet active RFID real-time locating system (RTLS) technology at its 750,000+ square-meter automotive logistics terminal at the Port of Rotterdam. Spanning the Rotterdam Car Terminal and Rotterdam Car Center, both part of the Broekman Group's automotive division, the WhereNet wireless tracking system will precisely locate any one of 40,000 vehicles parked in the facility at a given time. To implement this system -- the world's largest active RFID/RTLS installation -- WhereNet is partnering with Mieloo & Alexander, a European consulting firm specializing in optimizing business processes by implementing innovative technology for its clients.

The Broekman Group currently uses time-intensive manual data collection processes to handle more than 250,000 new vehicles each year at its Rotterdam terminal. The company selected the WhereNet system to automate these data collection processes in order to increase throughput and expedite delivery of vehicles to dealerships across Europe while cutting costs, improving quality and customer service, and accommodating growth. When new vehicles arrive at Broekman's Rotterdam Car Terminal, each vehicle is assigned an active RFID WhereTag transmitter that is "married" to the vehicle identification number (VIN). The WhereTag remains on the vehicle until it has been processed and is ready to ship to one of several hundred European dealerships. The Rotterdam Car Terminal installation also includes 125 WhereLAN locating access points and 400 WherePort devices that trigger each WhereTag to emit a signal when entering or leaving a specific zone; this design enables the system to automatically record such information as arrival, dwell, and departure time.

September 7, 2005. Panasonic Electronic Devices Corporation of America has chosen Freescale Semiconductor to provide ZigBee technology for its wireless communication modules. Panasonic's communication module enables its customers to integrate ZigBee technology into their monitoring, control and sensing applications that require long battery life and mesh networking capabilities. According to a report by analyst firm In-Stat published earlier this year, the estimated worldwide market for ZigBee chipsets is expected to reach 150 million units by 2009. Designed for remote control and wire replacement in industrial systems, home automation, inventory management, RF ID tagging and automated meter reading (AMR), the PAN802154HAR module is expected to be sold to leading industrial and home automation companies. The Panasonic PAN802154HAR module is available now from the North American Components division of Arrow Electronics, Inc. The module will be showcased at the Freescale Technology Forum in Tokyo, Japan on September 8, 2005. Freescale's ZigBee-compliant platform, which includes the MC13193 2.4 GHz RF chip, a low voltage, low power HCS08 MCU and the Figure 8 Wireless Z-Stack ZigBee software, provides a robust, cost effective, and easy-to-deploy solution. ZigBee-enabled on-chip features and enhancements reduce external components and total bill of materials, while providing battery lifetimes of up to several years.

September 7, 2005. WebTech Wireless announced the release of Quadrant 7.0 wireless fleet management services for Transportation fleet operations. WebTech's latest release includes new and enhanced services, such as Automated Driver Logs, to help trucking and transportation companies improve the quality of their service and save significant dollars in operating costs. Most noteworthy of the new services are Automated Driver Logs and Driver Performance functionality. Automated Driver Logs provide users with the ability to electronically track hours of service information in compliance with US and Canadian Department of Transportation regulations as well as automatic status change functionality through direct vehicle integration. Driver Performance provides Transportation organizations with driver/vehicle performance data, such as speeding, hard braking, excessive idling - a means for creating increased safety and additional cost savings.

September 6, 2005. Socket Communications, Inc., an innovative provider of mobile productivity products, announced the availability of the CF RFID Reader-Scan Card Series 6. Designed for Pocket PCs or other mobile devices running Windows Mobile software, the CF RFID Reader-Scan Card is an industry first, and combines both RFID and bar code technology within the same CF housing, enabling users to scan bar codes and read/write to high frequency (13.56MHz) RFID tags with a single, affordable mobile device. To meet the rapidly growing demand for the use of RFID technology as a replacement of and/or supplement to bar codes, the Socket CF RFID Reader-Scan Card combines the functions of Socket's CF Scan Card for bar codes and the CF RFID Reader Card. Unlike large, bulky, ruggedized expensive data collection devices from other auto ID vendors, the CF RFID Reader-Scan Card scans linear bar codes and reads and writes to high frequency (13.56MHz) RFID tags, enabling users to support both technologies with a single plug-in accessory for Pocket PC-based applications. Dual functionality is supported by SocketScan keyboard wedge software, which sends the RFID tag and/or bar code data to any Windows application as virtual keystrokes. The product is ideally suited for data collection implementations requiring both technologies, or for companies seeking ways to future-proof solutions with a migration path from bar codes to RFID. The CF RFID Reader-Scan Card is available with either a Class 1 laser (model 6M) that is extremely safe for patient care applications or a more powerful Class 2 laser (model 6P) for more demanding scanning requirements. A single software developer's kit (SDK) supports all Socket Auto ID products, making it easy for developers to incorporate support for any and all products in their applications, and allows end users to use the Socket Auto ID product that best addresses their needs.

September 6, 2005. Boost Mobile, a lifestyle-based telecommunications brand that develops and distributes wireless communications products for the youth market, is bringing high quality and afford ability together with the launch of the Motorola i415 and i450 handsets. Both phones come equipped with large color screens (130 x 130), Java-enabled games and applications, picture viewer, Boost Multi-Media Messaging, Text Messaging, and Wireless Web, polyphonic and voice ringtones, and GPS functionality - all at a price under $100. As with all phones available from Boost Mobile, the Motorola i415 and i450 also include Boost Walkie-Talkie, which offers instant nationwide communication at the touch of a button. By pressing the walkie-talkie button on the side of the phone, users can connect to anywhere from anywhere on Nextel's National Network, in less than one second, for distances of thousands of miles. As the only wireless service provider to offer any true service differentiation by making Nextel's Nationwide Walkie-Talkie service available as a pay-as-you-go feature, Boost Mobile enables today's youth to communicate on their terms, at their own pace. Motorola i415 and i450 users can also take advantage of Boost's recent launch of location-based GPS (Global Positioning System) games. Last month, Boost customers became the first and only mobile phone users in the nation to be able to download and play location-based GPS (Global Positioning System) games on their wireless phones. Motorola i415 and i450 users can download the location-based applications directly from phone or from Boost LIVE, a virtual video game arcade available on the Boost Mobile Web site (www.BoostLIVE.com) that enables Boost customers to browse and download over-the-air Java games, ringtones and wallpapers. Each game costs $5.99 for the first month and $2.99 for each additional month.

September 5, 2005. Omron Corporation, a global leader in automation, sensing and control technologies, announced it will ship an IC tag inlay compliant with Class 1 Generation 2 (C1G2) of EPCglobal specifications. Sample shipments, the first from any Japanese manufacturer, will start in October to suppliers of major retailers, label converters and others. Mass production is scheduled to begin in February 2006. The sample shipped IC tag inlay conforms to the UHF band 902-928 MHz used in the U.S., and is also compliant with EPCglobal Class1 Generation 2 (C1G2), as defined by EPCglobal, the international standardization organization. The IC tag inlay will be produced by applying a propritary ultrasonic bonding technology. This OMRON technology uses ultrasonic waves to mount IC chip to the module substrate with less time and can strongly join the module to the antenna by metal welding. As a result, it realizes a high quality IC tag inlay mass production and can provide tags to customers at lower prices. Omron will continue to manufacture the current Class1 IC tag inlays (96 bits) for users until the new C1G2 becomes more widely adopted in the marketplace.

September 1, 2005. Telabria, the award-winning UK regional network operator, has launched its wide area wireless broadband network after six months of intensive trials in Kent, South East England. Targeted at both residential and business markets, the Skylink service offers customers symmetric broadband speeds up to 10Mbps, as well as voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephone service. Skylink is the first network of its kind in the UK to offer combined data and voice over a WiMAX-class network to homes and businesses. The Skylink backbone of high-capacity fiber and licensed band microwave links encompasses over 1,300 square kilometers (850 square miles) making it one of the largest next-generation wireless broadband networks in Europe, and brings a whole new class of broadband services to Kent's population of 675,000 households and 60,000 businesses. The initial roll out of Skylink includes the city of Canterbury and borough of Swale, with additional urban, suburban and rural areas planned as part of Telabria's ongoing Skylink network expansion throughout 2005 and 2006.

Skylink subscribers benefit from speeds unavailable over xDSL in most of the UK, and unlike many ADSL subscriptions usage is not subject to monthly limits. Skylink Pro, a 20:1 symmetric service, sets a new standard in symmetric broadband pricing at just £49.99 for a 1.5Mbps service and £79.99 for a 3Mbps service, which is up to 75% cheaper than equivalent SDSL services over copper networks. Skylink Ultra, Telabria's premium 10:1 business-class package, offers 5Mbps for £249 and 10Mbps for £369, both backed by a service level agreement and response time commitment not usually found in SDSL services. The maximum speed of SDSL from British Telecom, the UK's incumbent operator, is just 2Mbps.

Telabria also offers a residential asymmetric service, Skylink Home, which is available at speeds of 1.5Mbps (£24.99/month) or 3Mbps (£34.99/month), with an upload speed of 512Kbps which is double the 256Kbps UK ADSL limit. Subscribers will connect to the Skylink network via a small outdoor radio, typically mounted at roof height, which connects to the nearest Skylink base station; service is then delivered to a standard Ethernet jack located in the customers premises. Telabria utilizes the 5.8GHz spectrum to deliver 'last-mile' WiMAX-class connections, a band which is lightly licensed by the UK regulator Ofcom for fixed broadband wireless operations.

September 1, 2005. QUALCOMM Incorporated, leading developer and innovator of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and other advanced wireless technologies, announced that it has integrated sound enhancement technology onto the Company's Mobile Station Modem (MSM) chipsets. Designed to improve the acoustic performance of 3G mobile handsets and improve the clarity of conference and hands-free calls, the echo-canceling technology is enabled by LifeVibes Voice software from Royal Philips Electronics. Echo-canceling sound enhancement technology enables users to make clear and full-duplex conference, videoconference and hands-free calls without audial interference from stationary background noise. QUALCOMM will initially provide support for echo-cancellation software on Enhanced Multimedia Platform MSM6550 and MSM6275 chipsets, both of which are compatible with CDMA2000 and WCDMA (UMTS) networks. Additional acoustic performance improvements to remove background noise using a dual-microphone spatial filter are planned for the Convergence Platform, achieved through the integration of another LifeVibes Voice product, the Noise Void background noise eliminator.

September 1, 2005. The French equipment supplier Alcatel has been chosen by WiMAX Telecom of Austria to deploy a broadband wireless network. The first phase of the rollout is scheduled to be completed by the end of this month in the southern regions of Styria of Burgenland, with customers being offered broadband internet access at speeds of 2Mbps. Swiss-owned WiMAX Telecom was the only firm to win WiMAX frequencies in the Austrian government's spectrum auction in October 2004.

September 1, 2005. Navini Networks announced that it will bring 802.16e-based Mobile WiMAX solutions to the Australian marketplace, in partnership with Unwired Australia. Navini and Unwired Australia have built the largest personal broadband network in the world, using Navini's Smart Antenna technology that delivers portable high-speed Internet access today. As part of this partnership, Navini will work to seamlessly and rapidly transition Unwired Australia to the IEEE 802.16e Mobile WiMAX standard through Navini's Ripwave-MX product line. Navini has already announced its Ripwave-MX product line which includes the industry's first dual mode CPEs, PCMCIA cards and software-upgradeable base stations that promise to 'future-proof' operators' move to mobile WiMAX. The first dual mode CPEs have already been shipped.

August 31, 2005. Opera Software announced that their popular Web browser will come standard on the new 3G handset from NTT DoCoMo Inc., the M1000. The M1000 is an advanced 3G phone for the business market, with full Internet and e-mail connectivity through both 3G and GSM networks, WLAN and Bluetooth. The M1000 is the first 3G phone to take advantage of the dynamic functionality of Opera's Extensible Rendering Architecture (ERA) by enabling Web page content to fit the width of the screen in both vertical and landscape modes. The speed of 3G and WLAN networks combined with the larger screen size mean the user can browse the Internet with a look and feel that is remarkably close to a desktop experience on a broadband connection. "The full Internet browser is really the only application that makes full use of 3G capacity by letting people browse the full Web at high speeds on their handsets," says Jon S. von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. "With Opera's ERA rendering technology, the M1000 lets you surf in landscape mode, allowing for a really nice Web experience." The phone is compatible with overseas W-CDMA,GSM and GPRS networks and public wireless LANs. Opera's browser technology is cross-platform and modular, and currently available on the following operating systems: Windows, Linux, Mac OS, Symbian OS, Windows Mobile, BREW, QNX, TRON, FreeBSD, Solaris and Mediahighway.

August 31, 2005. European GSM/GPRS/EDGE terminal designer and protocol stack software developer NeonSeven is to integrate Matrix high accuracy location technology from CPS (Cambridge Positioning Systems Ltd) into a new range of devices for mass-market handsets and devices. The two companies will collaborate on a joint development program that will see Matrix-enabled software available to NeonSeven's customers in the GSM market in Q4 this year. NeonSeven, based in Italy, is an ISO 9001:2000 certified manufacturer integrating state of the art GSM/GPRS components and software packages to deliver GSM and next generation platforms and products. The company offers component evaluation, platform development and data module and phone reference design for a number of leading brands. Key partners of NeonSeven include Infineon Technologies AG. The integration of CPS's Matrix location technology enables any handset or device to be rapidly located to an accuracy of sub-100m in GSM - and less than 50m in W-CDMA networks. The modules use the existing GSM/W-CDMA network infrastructure to transfer location information to the network using standard GPRS or SMS. This greatly reduces the roll out costs traditionally associated with high accuracy mobile location technology.

August 31, 2005. Blue Tree Wireless Data Inc., a leading provider of commercial and industrial wireless modems for the rapidly growing worldwide M2M (Machine-to-Machine) market, announced carrier certification of its recently launched CDMA (1xRTT) GPS Series and IP Series products on the Verizon Wireless network. "The Verizon Wireless approval process is extremely rigorous and we are very pleased that our BlueTree Wireless modems have met their standards for certification. This is an important development in our growing relationship with Verizon Wireless and our mutual Value Added Resellers (VARs)," said Karl Hantho, Chief Executive Officer of BlueTree Wireless Data. "The greater access to market afforded by these approvals is an important building block in our US expansion initiative and gives our customers greater opportunity to have BlueTree modems integrated into their wireless data solutions." The certified products include the BlueTree IP Series 4200 and the BlueTree GPS Series 5200, rugged wireless data modems that are designed with Smart Connection Management. These intelligent devices can initiate their own wireless data connection to the cellular network, including the standalone GPS capability of the BlueTree 5200 to collect, store and forward GPS position data, without the need to attach a computing device. Both of these products have embedded applications intelligence that supports remote management over a wireless connection using BlueTree's BlueVue Management Software.

August 31, 2005. Sarantel, a leading innovator in the design and manufacture of miniature antennas for portable and mobile devices, announced that Globalsat Technology Corporation of Taiwan has chosen Sarantel's GeoHelix global positioning satellite (GPS) antenna for its exciting multi-purpose SD-502 SDIO GPS receiver. When inserted into the SD (secure data) slot of a PDA or a smartphone, Globalsat's new receiver provides the device with instant navigational capabilities and high performance GPS on the move. By allowing the SD-502 receiver to pick up GPS signals, the Sarantel GPS antenna allows users to turn their PDAs and smartphones into GPS navigators. The SD-502's 512MB built-in memory gives applications plenty of internal storage for large maps so users can locate places of interest, i.e., restaurants, pubs, clubs, museums, etc., and find their way about town. Extremely lightweight and ideal for users who require high performance GPS on the move, the SD-502 can be used in a range of navigational and recreational applications. Globalsat's manufacturing technology combined with Sarantel's GPS antenna and SiRFStarIII chipset, gives the SD-502 higher sensitivity, lower power usage and more rapid time-to-fix. The Sarantel antenna's small size and form factor contribute to the SD-502's attractive design without compromising its performance. While conventional antennas require the device to be held at a particular angle or use awkward hinging mechanisms, Sarantel's GPS antennas work well regardless of how they are oriented.

August 30, 2005. Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd., a leading provider of navigation, communication and information devices, and SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of GPS-enabled location technology, announced they have entered into an agreement to incorporate SiRF architecture into a range of Garmin devices. Under the terms of the agreement, Garmin will integrate SiRF's SiRFstarIII architecture on selected Garmin units. "As the market for new GPS-enabled devices grows, we continue to introduce feature-rich products designed to improve people's everyday lives," said Gary Kelley, Garmin's vice president of marketing. "SiRF's high sensitivity architecture is well-suited for some of our soon-to-be-announced products, and will help us achieve our mission of enhancing the GPS experience. We look forward to working with SiRF on these devices." The SiRFstarIII is SiRF's flagship architecture. With its 200,000 correlators, the SiRFstarIII GPS technology will continue to provide Garmin users with the industry-leading GPS performance they have come to rely upon when purchasing a Garmin device.

August 30, 2005. NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, has been named by TeleCommunication Systems (TCS), a global leader in mission critical wireless communications, as a supplier of map data for wireless applications. Historically, TCS has used NAVTEQ map data for the United States and Canada, and the extended license includes NAVTEQ maps of Brazil and Mexico. NAVTEQ data has powered TCS' wireless location-enabling software for several years. The relationship enables wireless carriers to bring innovative location-based consumer applications to market with high-quality map data. The agreement provides TCS with NAVTEQ's geographic map data for use in its wireless location-based applications.

August 30, 2005. Homeland Integrated Security Systems, Inc., in conjunction with Arcom, is pleased to announce that they have successfully completed the development of the Cyber Tracker V.1 and are ready to begin manufacturing. The Cyber Tracker is on schedule to be delivered for fourth quarter of this year. Homeland Integrated Security System's patent-pending Cyber Tracker is a portable detection device designed to provide real-time GPS tracking of vehicles, people or other mobile or movable objects. Its convenient rugged design (5" x 5" x 1") makes it applicable in a variety of situations where it is necessary to know an exact location of a person or object. It features "Push to Talk" ability and an extended battery life. The Cyber Tracker's unique design and features make the product ideal for consumer retail, School Systems, Ports, Fleet Management, the Military, and Public Safety.

August 30, 2005. Gizmondo Europe Ltd subsidiary of Jacksonville, Florida-based Tiger Telematics Inc confirmed a deal with leading developer of navigation and mapping solutions, ALK Technologies Ltd., for its satellite navigation application, Gizmondo Navigator 2006 powered by CoPilot, to be released on the Gizmondo multi-entertainment handheld. The Gizmondo with its inbuilt soft-signal GPS hardware developed by SiRF is already known for its comprehensive and unique range of functionality, including next-generation handheld gaming, MP3 and MPEG4 playback, messaging, and digital camera, has extended its repertoire to incorporate this eagerly anticipated turn-by-turn navigation application for use in car and on foot. Gizmondo Navigator 2006, supplied by region on SD (Secure Digital) card, provides the user with powerful trip calculation and extremely detailed street maps, allowing satellite navigation to a specific house number, full UK post code, street or one of thousands of points of interest in fantastic 3D or 2D, complete with turn-by-turn voice instructions. The award-winning CoPilot software, customized specifically for Gizmondo, will also plan routes in advance, calculate the best new route if a turn is missed, and divert around hold ups at the touch of a button. Customers can use the product in-car or to find their way on-foot. Throughout its 25-year history, ALK has been a leader in advancing the state of the art in transportation technology. In Europe, the system incorporates the highest-quality, premium street-level map data and extensive points of interest database from NAVTEQ, as used by the majority of automotive OEMs in their in-dash systems.

August 29, 2005. MicroTRAK, Inc. announced introduction of Anti-Terrorism Program (ATP), in which the premiere MIOK "FleetGUARD", will offer fleet companies not only proper, safe, and protected transporting from possible terrorist attacks, but employs discount rates to fleet companies who transport hazardous materials. Each year, almost 5 billion tons of hazardous materials and wastes are transported throughout the United States. These shipments include everything from explosives, flammables, corrosive or toxic chemicals to spent reactor fuel, low-level radioactive wastes and disease-causing biological agents. The FleetGUARD's real-time tracking gives dispatchers a view of one, some, or all of their fleet at the same time on one screen. Unlike other competitors who utilize RF communication for tracking, MIOK combines true global positioning satellite communication and cellular communication, to ensure reliable, accurate, and responsive nation-wide tracking. With this in mind, one of the FleetGUARD's most imperative capabilities is Geo-Fencing. The Geo-Fencing feature gives dispatchers the ability to be given an urgent notification of fleet movement outside a prescribed area.

August 29, 2005. Siemens Communications, Inc., and @Road, Inc., a global provider of Mobile Resource Management (MRM) and intelligent field service automation solutions, announced that @Road has selected Siemens MC75 wireless module for use in the @Road iWM 3150, a mobile Wi-Fi hub that can connect field service professionals to critical data in real time - even as they work on-site. The next-generation @Road Internet Wireless Manager (iWM) 3150 combines integrated global positioning satellite (GPS) and Wi-Fi mobile hotspot capabilities with the Siemens wireless module MC75 solution, the first quadband GSM/GPRS (global system for mobile communications and general packet radio services) module with integrated EDGE technology. EDGE technology has a wireless data transfer rate that is up to three times higher than GPRS, making it one of the fastest data transfer options within the scope of GSM technology available today. With greater data transfer speeds, the EDGE-based @Road iWM 3150 can help provide field service technicians and other mobile workers with on-demand wireless connectivity between a Wi-Fi enabled device, such as a PDA or laptop, and back-office enterprise applications. For instance, remote tasks such as opening and updating work orders, accessing e-mail, viewing customer records, updating inventory, placing orders or reviewing upcoming assignments can be accomplished quickly with connections that include security features in the field and at the point of customer contact.

August 29, 2005. Two leading providers of supply chain security solutions and systems -- Savi Technology and E.J. Brooks -- announced in collaboration with Mitsui that they have successfully completed rigorous transpacific field trials of active RFID devices that automatically detect cargo door intrusions and security breaches while communicating their location and condition. Mitsui, a global leader of import and export activities, determined that all 65 tags proved effective and there were zero "false tamper" incidents while they automatically communicated with an RFID reader network throughout their end-to-end supply chain journey between Los Angeles and Hong Kong. The over-the-ocean container field trials, which followed extensive performance testing, evaluated 50 of the Savi Tag ST-676 ISO Container Security Tags and 15 of the E.J. Brooks E-Seals, clearing the way for their commercial availability in November. Both the Savi and E.J. Brooks tags are based on ISO 18000-7 standards that operate on the 433.92 MHz radio frequency. Conformity with this international standard enables both products to interoperate within an ISO-based information network with support from countries worldwide for inter-modal supply chain usage. ST-676 is a new generation of Savi's security tags based on ISO standards that leverage a door sensor and light sensor to detect security breaches as well as other sensors for temperature, humidity and shock that capture information on the environmental conditions inside the container. The E.J. Brooks E-Seal, tested along side the ST-676, is a single-use, RFID-enabled electronic bolt seal for inter-modal containers.

August 29, 2005. Avis Rent A Car System, Inc., one of the world's leading car rental brands and Motorola, Inc., a global leader in wireless communications announced the addition of real-time traffic updates to Avis Assist, Avis' portable Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation solution. Powered by Motorola's award-winning VIAMOTO technology, the newly enhanced Avis Assist service will help keep drivers on track and on time by avoiding traffic congestion and construction along planned routes. The new Avis Assist feature uses real-time traffic information from Traffic.com Inc., which is collected from Traffic.com's proprietary network of digital roadside sensors, government sources, operations centers, aircraft, mobile units, and probe data. Drivers simply need to push one button on their Avis Assist device to stay informed about the road ahead through personalized, accurate and timely traffic updates. Avis Assist's real-time traffic updates enhance the driving experience with new on-the-road convenience and travel efficiencies. With the touch of a button, customers are provided with all the details they need to get from point A to point B, including turn-by-turn route guidance, reports of traffic construction, congestion, accidents and other incidents, and detour options that can be used to find an alternate way to their destination.

August 25, 2005. NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, and SIRIUS Satellite Radio announced that beginning in November 2005 SIRIUS will broadcast traffic data nationwide for 22 major U.S. metropolitan areas. SIRIUS will utilize its nationwide broadcast capabilities to provide drivers with updated traffic information from data provider NAVTEQ. NAVTEQ's NAVTEQ Traffic is a unique data gathering, aggregation and quality-tested solution that links up-to-the minute traffic information to map data and enables wireless transmission directly to a navigation system. NAVTEQ Traffic combines data from multiple sources, including the leading commercial traffic data providers, government departments of transportation, police and emergency services, road sensors, cameras and airborne reports. NAVTEQ Traffic aggregates available data including planned incidents (such as construction), unplanned incidents (such as accidents and disabled vehicles) and flow (speed and movement of traffic). Once received, traffic data is quality tested and linked to the map for wireless delivery to a navigation system. The first unit to provide the new traffic data service will be the SiriusConnect SIR-ALP10T tuner, which interfaces with Alpine Electronics' new NVE-N872A Satellite Traffic Ready navigation system. This service will keep subscribers informed about potential delays or incidents along the route, including road speed and flow information, unscheduled traffic incidents, and scheduled road closures and road work.

August 25, 2005. Laser-Scan is currently completing a successful generalization project with the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) and Ordnance Survey Great Britain. Laser-Scan produced a prototype generalized OS MasterMap dataset, creating a new spatial framework for CEH's forthcoming Land Cover Map 2007. CEH is the UK's Centre of Excellence for research in the land and freshwater environmental sciences. CEH specialist skills include a wide range of environmental disciplines, ranging from the smallest scale (the gene) to the largest scale (whole Earth systems). Their research is aimed at improving understanding both of the environment and the natural processes that underlie the Earth's support systems - for example climate & water resources. The Land Cover Map is part of the Countryside Survey program which monitors the landscape of Great Britain every 8 to 10 years. OS MasterMap is an extremely data rich product containing land parcel information at a level of detail that is not necessary in the final Land Cover Map. By using Laser-Scan's generalization technology, CEH were able to achieve customized land parcels specific to their needs. Use of OS MasterMap as a base dataset ensures data accuracy and speeds up processes such as information collation and digital checking. The next Land Cover Map will also be business-ready, as it should fit over any system that is already using OS MasterMap data.

August 24, 2005. Alereon, a leading fabless semiconductor company developing wireless solutions for the Ultrawideband (UWB) and Wireless USB (W-USB) markets, announced the release of the Alereon AL4000-SDK Software Developer's Kit. The kit includes all of the software tools required to begin applications development for Alereon's AL4000 Wireless USB chipset: a driver, 'soft' MAC emulator, sample applications and complete documentation. Using the kit, developers are able to begin generating W-USB enabled applications before hardware becomes available later this year. The AL4000-SDK was designed for ease of portability to the variety of PC peripheral and portable consumer products which will benefit from W-USB. Typical applications include wireless docking stations, MP3 players, cell phones, digital still cameras and photo printers. The AL4000 SDK includes both a standard Wireless USB device and Alereon's innovative Wireless-on-the-Go, which enables an Alereon-based solution to establish a connection with any other W-USB compliant device.

Alereon conducted extensive analysis of USB applications in developing the SDK's API. The result is an SDK which makes it easy for anyone familiar with USB, or wishing to port current USB applications to W-USB, to do so with a minimum of effort. The SDK also includes an innovative soft MAC emulator, allowing developers to write and test a true W-USB application in a controlled and repeatable environment that ostensibly will behave the way a W-USB MAC will behave in real usage scenarios.

August 23, 2005. Blue Tree Wireless Data Inc., a leading provider of commercial and industrial wireless modems for the rapidly growing worldwide M2M (Machine-to-Machine) market, announced carrier certification of its newly launched GSM (GPRS) GPS Series and IP Series products on the Rogers Wireless network, Canada's only carrier operating on this world-standard technology platform. The certified products include the BlueTree IP Series 4400 and the BlueTree GPS Series 5400, rugged wireless data modems that are designed with Smart Connection Management. These intelligent devices can initiate their own wireless data connection to the cellular network, including the standalone GPS capability of the BlueTree 5400 to collect, store and forward GPS position data, without the need to attach a computing device. Both of these products have embedded applications intelligence that supports remote management over a wireless connection using BlueTree's BlueVue Management Software.

August 22, 2005. Smugmug Inc., the ultimate photo sharing site, announced the launch of smugMaps -- a feature that allows users to combine photos and maps with a click. "If you've been there and done that, smugMaps let you prove it," said Don McAskill, co-founder and Chief Geek, Smugmug Inc. "Bragging rights aside, it's a great way to store your photos by location or let your friends and family experience your travels as though they were actually there." How? Customers can enter an address for any photo or just click a spot on a map to link their pictures to any latitude and longitude on Earth. When friends visit their online albums, they click a map button to see stunning photos seamlessly integrated with scrollable, zoomable Google maps. Photo-geeks who use handheld GPS (Global Positioning System) devices or GPS integrated cameras and camera phones to digitally tag their photos with precise location data will rejoice when they discover that Smugmug automatically reads it and instantly makes their photo galleries mappable.

August 22, 2005. Palm, Inc. and Audi of America, Inc. announced their collaboration in a new generation of communications solutions designed to improve safety and convenience for drivers: easy and totally integrated hands-free calling inside the car. Using built-in Bluetooth short-range wireless technology and the Palm Treo 650 smartphone, drivers of 2006 Audi A6 and A8 vehicles can make and receive calls totally hands-free using the car's MMI (Multi Media Interface) console, voice-recognition interface or steering-wheel controls. The Bluetooth integration is a major innovation the two companies are delivering as part of an alliance that includes technology co-development and integrated marketing campaigns that reach the two brands' combined audiences. With the Treo 650 smartphone, Audi drivers can take advantage of the Treo 650's advanced calling features without ever touching the smartphone. After initiating Bluetooth communications between the Treo 650 and the car, drivers can use the steering-wheel controls, MMI controls on the dashboard, or the optional voice recognition to do the following: * Pick up or ignore incoming calls; * Dial outgoing calls; * View active call status, including caller ID; * View the Treo 650's call history; * Dial from Treo 650 favorites, speed dials, or call logs; * Access Treo 650 voicemail; * Manage multiple incoming calls; and * View carrier information, including signal strength and roaming status.

Bluetooth technology comes built-in to the Treo 650 smartphone and is standard in every 2006 Audi A8 and A6, so no extra purchase is required for Treo 650 owners who also own one of these new Audi models. Bluetooth technology also is available on the 2006 Audi A3 and 2006 Audi A4 and S4 sedans and Avants when the vehicles are equipped with the optional phone preparation.

August 22, 2005. PacketHop, Inc., the leader in mobile mesh networking software and multimedia applications for instant wireless group communication, announced the industry's first solution designed to instantly interconnect police, fire and other public safety departments' communications at the scene of an emergency. The PacketHop Communication System consists of the TrueMesh mobile mesh networking software and the Aware for Public Safety suite of multimedia applications. The system enables instant and secure mobile broadband networks anywhere, with or without any infrastructure present. In addition, the Aware for Public Safety multimedia application suite delivers mission-critical information to first responders in the field. Using PacketHop's breakthrough technology, police officers, firefighters and other public safety personnel can view and share real-time multicast video by attaching cameras to their mobile devices and streaming live video to all users on the network. Other important functionality includes multimedia instant messaging, whiteboarding and resource location tracking on localized electronic maps.

The PacketHop Communication System works with readily available off-the-shelf devices with Wi-Fi capabilities, giving users the freedom to select best-of-breed mobile devices rather than commit to a single, proprietary line of products. Additionally, the PacketHop Communication System is proven in the field, having been successfully demonstrated by law enforcement departments along with thirteen federal, state and local public safety agencies comprising the Golden Gate Safety Network at San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. The PacketHop Communication System will be available for general distribution in September 2005.

After 9/11, police, fire, and other state and government public safety organizations began re-thinking the capabilities of their communications infrastructure. As demonstrated in the recent London bombings, voice traffic can easily flood conventional wireless networks during a major emergency, which may slow the network to a crawl or bring it down completely. Reliance on fixed infrastructure and the absence of inter-agency connections can leave wireless networks vulnerable to miscommunication or even total system failure.

The PacketHop Communication System fundamentally changes the wireless communications environment by offering high performance, reliability and the freedom to work with or without fixed infrastructure. Its innovative mobile mesh networking software easily loads onto any standards-based laptop, tablet and PDA, enabling every device to send, receive and route data and to instantly form an extended Wi-Fi hot-zone on the fly which can operate with or without wireless access points -- known as an autonomous mobile mesh network. The network grows and becomes more resilient as additional users arrive, with no practical limit on the geography, number of users or variety of agencies; the network adjusts itself as users enter, move about and depart the area.

PacketHop's solution is applicable to numerous scenarios common in all jurisdictions across the country, including tactical assault and containment, investigative surveillance and large scale, multi-agency incidents. Law enforcement personnel will be able to instantly set up mobile broadband incident area networks wherever they are required, creating a secure, mission-critical network at single and multi-agency incidents both large and small. This new capability bolsters efficiencies in response time and increases first responder personnel safety. PacketHop's Aware for Public Safety situational awareness application suite operates without a network-based server and seamlessly integrates multimedia capabilities -- including real-time multicast video, resource location tracking, multimedia instant messaging and whiteboarding. These applications expand the ways public safety agencies and first responders communicate by enabling them to instantly share media-rich, mission-critical video and data whenever and wherever they need it.

August 22, 2005. Destinator Technologies (formerly Homeland Security Technology Corporation), a world-leading provider of GPS navigation, location-based solutions and value-added services, held a press conference on August 18, 2005 to celebrate its official entry into the China market. Several prominent business partners, including Microsoft, Lenovo, Dopod, OrientPower, Nav2 and Hisys, attended the event. Destinator Technologies enters China at a time when GPS technology is maturing rapidly. While there remains a lack of a sustainable growth model and a value chain, comprised of hardware manufacturer, map provider, software provider, OEM, telecom operation and sales channel, that has not taken shape, demand for PNS has increased exponentially. Destinator Technologies expects to ship more than 1 million sets of its products to markets around the world, up 233% from the 300,000 units delivered in 2004.

Leveraging the company's successes in the global market, Destinator Technologies has gained overwhelming support from local partners in various capacities early on. Destinator Technologies established a strategic partnership with Shanghai's Nav Information Technology Co., Ltd (Nav2), the first Chinese company licensed by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (SBSM) to provide map data for commercial use. A joint venture company invested by Navteq, a global leader in mapping, and Navinfo, established under the auspices of SBSM, Nav2 is currently the leading map supplier in China with its high-precision maps. Maps of more than 180 Chinese cities are available in each Destinator product.

Destinator Technologies' global partnership with Microsoft in developing applications for Microsoft's Windows Mobile platform was extended into China, where all products feature seamless compatibility on the Windows OS. This cooperation has facilitated partnerships with OEMs and channel partners, priority areas for development in China. Currently, Destinator has already partnered with Dopod to embed Destinator SP on its Smartphones. Destinator PN (Personal Navigation) is available for pocket PCs made by Lenovo. Destinator Technologies has already reached agreements with several leading local OEMs and on-board system integrators to develop the PNS industry in China, such as Shanghai-based Hisys; Taiwan-based Acer, Asus, OrientPower and Mitac; Eten; Korean Thinkware; and, GPS receiver manufacturer Royaltek. Destinator Technologies is also in talks with Sanjiang to extend distribution to the military sector.

August 22, 2005. Mobile Satellite Ventures is introducing the versatile new MSAT-G2 Mobile Satellite Radio during APCO International 2005, being held this week in the Denver Convention Complex. This new two-way radio was developed to address the increasing needs and demands of public safety and emergency response personnel, which include: interoperability with Land Mobile Radio systems; access to multiple agencies and talk groups; as well as GPS, which enables emergency management coordinators to know the exact location of their people. Designed for use on the MSAT Network, the MSAT-G2 supports continent-wide satellite Push-to-Talk (PTT) Dispatch Radio and Circuit Switched Voice communications. In addition to providing users with the full suite of Dispatch Radio Service functions and features, the lightweight, dual-service handset offers a GPS display feature, a backlight control for the keypad and display and a headset jack. The compact radio transceiver features Ethernet and DB9 serial ports to enable GPS output and interconnectivity to 3rd party interfaces which extends the reach of traditional Land Mobile Radio technology.

August 22, 2005. MindTree Consulting, a leading provider of Bluetooth technology Intellectual Property (IP) and solutions, has launched its UWB Program aimed to create licensable cores of the MAC and digital PHY layers of the UWB wireless technology. UWB wireless technology will enable multimedia equipment such as a DVD player to wirelessly 'talk' to a user's television set and audio system to beam high-definition video and audio, liberating the home entertainment system completely from wires. With the ability to support data rates at 480 mega bits per second in the 1 to 10 meter range, low transmitter power and low cost of implementation, UWB is the latest addition to the exciting world of wireless personal area network technology (WPAN).

August 22, 2005. MicroTRAK, Inc. announced introduction of Anti-Terrorism Program (ATP), in which the premiere MIOK "FleetGUARD," will offer fleet companies not only proper, safe, and protected transporting from possible terrorist attacks, but employs discount rates to fleet companies who transport hazardous materials. Each year, almost 5 billion tons of hazardous materials and wastes are transported throughout the U.S. These shipments include everything from explosives, flammables, corrosive or toxic chemicals to spent reactor fuel, low-level radioactive wastes and disease-causing biological agents.

"A weapon of mass destruction smuggled into our country in a cargo-container could be the next 9/11. The bad guys watched and learned how we reacted after the last attack by grounding all aviation. They could generate massive economic and societal disruption if they succeed at spooking us into closing our borders and ports to all incoming containers," said Stephen Flynn, author of the national bestseller, "America the Vulnerable," and inaugural occupant of the Jeanne Kirkpatrick Chair in National Security Studies at the Council of Foreign Relations. The FleetGUARD's real-time tracking gives dispatchers a view of one, some, or all of their fleet at the same time on one screen. Unlike other competitors who utilize RF communication for tracking, MIOK combines true global positioning satellite communication and cellular communication, to ensure reliable, accurate, and responsive nation-wide tracking. With this in mind, one of the FleetGUARD's most imperative capabilities is Geo-Fencing. The Geo-Fencing feature gives dispatchers the ability to be given an urgent notification of fleet movement outside a prescribed area.

August 22, 2005. Pulse~LINK, Inc., developer of CWave Ultra Wideband (UWB) communications, and Analog Devices, Inc., a global leader in high-performance semiconductors for signal processing applications, have joined forces to demonstrate the industry's first wireless transmission of real-time High Definition video. The joint demonstration, featuring a side-by-side comparison of MPEG and JPEG2000 across Pulse-LINK's UWB wireless link, will take place at the DisplaySearch HDTV Conference, August 23-24, 2005, in Beverly Hills, CA.

Pulse~LINK will combine its CWave UWB wireless technology with ADI's ADV202, the only single-chip implementation of the JPEG2000 standard, to showcase opportunities for real-time wireless HD gaming applications and the highest quality viewing experience for wireless connectivity between devices such as High Definition Television Displays, Projectors, DVD players, Set-top-boxes, Game Consoles, Digital Recorders, Home Theaters and PC work stations.

The ADV202 significantly reduces the visual perception of errors that occur in wireless transmission channels and is capable of wirelessly delivering cinema quality images in the home when combined with the bandwidth of Pulse~LINK's CWave UWB technology. Unlike MPEG, that degrades the original source HDTV content during compression, ADI's JPEG2000 is scalable for both mathematically and visually lossless video encoding. Pulse~LINK's CWave UWB, which offers up to 1Gbps wireless data rates, provides more than sufficient bandwidth to support the higher data rates required to wirelessly transmit this superior video encoding.

August 19, 2005. U.S. technology firm National Scientific Corporation announced it has recorded a series of new orders and executed deliveries for its Travado technology from both existing customers, as well as new customers. Travado technology combines advanced GPS and WiFi embedded systems to provide real-time tracking and optional wireless secure video solutions for schools and other public and private users. The company has received second phase orders for its Mini-Travado from the City of Corpus Christi, Texas for use with its police force and other first responders, as well as other municipal government applications. This product provides asset location in addition to monitoring and reporting of other salient information. This order has been shipped and customer deployment is underway. The good sales news also extends to its full-featured Travado IBUS line, which includes powerful video functionality and child tracking features in addition to its core GPS tracking and WiFi communication capabilities. These IBUS wins include a new school district in the greater Tucson, AZ area for an order of 25 IBUS units, as well as a new order from Scottsdale Unified School District for an additional 37 IBUS units. The units will be installed and delivered to the end customers through Auto Safety House.

August 19, 2005. Ultra Wideband (UWB) and Wireless USB solutions leader Wisair announced that it has received certification approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for its Development System based on its Ultra Wideband chipset solution. The certification paves the way for shipment of consumer electronics devices based on Wisair's UWB and Wireless-USB chipset. Wisair is the first WiMedia/MBOA company to receive FCC certification for its Ultra wideband technology, following the waiver granted for the Multiband OFDM standard earlier this year. Wisair has released its 2nd generation UWB chipset solution earlier this year, and has showcased reference designs in small product form fit, such as the UWB dongle, in Japan and the US.

August 18, 2005. Alvarion Ltd. a leading provider of wireless broadband solutions and specialized mobile networks, announced that Kenya Data Networks Ltd. (KDN), a subsidiary of Sameer ICT Group, has ordered an initial deployment of Alvarion's WiMAX-ready equipment, BreezeMAX 3500, to bring WiMAX broadband services to businesses and internet service providers (ISPs) in five Kenyan cities. Following successful commercial trials, KDN, an emerging carrier that counts among its customers all the ISPs in Kenya, has now purchased the BreezeMAX to cover the cities of Kisumu, Eldoret, Ukunda, Diani, and Malindi. KDN plans to extend services to another ten towns in the upcoming weeks and eventually to the capital city of Nairobi. Upon completion of the BreezeMAX installation, KDN plans to offer triple play services of voice, data and video to its customers. Last year, KDN installed Alvarion BreezeACCESS OFDM and WALKair products in the 3.5 GHz frequency bands to supply highly reliable last-mile access services to Kenya's major ISP's, banks, universities, multinational corporations, and small-to-medium-sized businesses. BreezeMAX is Alvarion's WiMAX-ready platform that uses OFDM technology for advanced non-line-of-sight (NLOS) functionality to enable operators to offer broadband IP-based data and voice services over a large service area. Its carrier-class design supports broadband speeds and quality of service (QoS) to enable carriers to offer multiple services to thousands of subscribers from a single base station. BreezeMAX networks are already installed with over 100 operators in more than 30 countries.

August 18, 2005. Bell Canada, Canada's national leader in communications, is announcing that it is the first company in the country to trial the next generation of 9-1-1 service for wireless phones. The new technology will allow Emergency Service providers to pinpoint the location of mobile callers more precisely, to as close as 50 meters. Current 9-1-1 service for wireless phones identifies the number and the general area from where the call is being made. The trial will be conducted in partnership with the Toronto-area Emergency Service providers and last six months. It will allow Bell Mobility to demonstrate the capabilities of its location technology for emergency purposes and help understand how best to integrate it into existing Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) operations. The new technology uses Assisted Global Positioning System (AGPS) to provide Emergency Services providers with information that locates mobile callers within a target of 150 meters, 95 per cent of the time and 50 meters two-thirds of the time. The recently launched Seek & Find, Bell's location- based service for families - and Canada's first - leverages similar technology. According to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), mobile phone users made about 50 per cent of the six million calls received by 9-1-1 operators last year. More than half of all Bell Mobility customers currently have AGPS-enabled handsets, and almost all phones currently sold have GPS capabilities.

August 17, 2005. Fastrax Ltd., a leading provider of programmable OEM GPS receivers and open, portable OEM GPS Software Development Kit environments, announced the company's first receiver utilizing the Sony CXD2951 GPS chipset. The new iTrax100 is a versatile receiver for all devices that utilize basic GPS location data over the industry-standard NMEA protocol. With a footprint of only 16 x 19 mm, the single-chip iTrax100 is packaged as an ultra-small surface-mounted module. The receiver is designed for demanding navigation tasks in which high performance and low cost are key issues. A state-of-the-art signal-processing architecture enables quick acquisition and reliable performance in difficult environments. Typical Cold Start Time to First Fix (TTFF) for the receiver is 45 seconds. The navigation capabilities of the iTrax100 are augmented by support for WAAS and EGNOS services. The iTrax100 is very easy to use. The interface pins carry all necessary signals for enabling typical "NMEA machine" applications. The user needs only to connect the main power supply and battery backup supply to make the receiver functional. Low power mode is achieved simply by removing the main power supply at any time. The receiver will resume normal operation once the main power supply is reconnected.

August 17, 2005. Blue Sky Network, the global logistics solution for two-way linking and managing remote transportation assets via satellite, announced the release of SkyRouter, an interactive Web portal with detailed mapping for tracking transportation assets anywhere on earth. Blue Sky Network is the first satellite tracking company to provide global tracking and event management (take-off, landing and inactive/active asset updates) on the Internet, allowing dispatchers and logistics managers to view their transportation assets anywhere, anytime. The SkyRouter system is reliable and completely secure, giving customers peace-of-mind when running their systems. Blue Sky Network customers can login to their online account and quickly locate all of their transportation assets (aircraft, vessels, land-based) across the globe in near real-time. After a recent SkyRouter demonstration, Tom Bondurant, logistics coordinator for Unocal said, "This is really great, exactly what I have been asking for. We finally have a service that can monitor aircraft, boats and land transportation, with a single application. Blue Sky Network provides the information customers need when and where they need it, and because they can be integrated with logistics as well as financial management applications, customers will be able to use their data in a real-time format to execute their business processes."

"SkyRouter sets us apart, it takes satellite tracking to a new level. Never before have global organizations been able to monitor all their transportation assets via the Internet," said Jon Gilbert, president and CEO of Blue Sky Network. "Using SkyRouter, our customers now have an integrated solution with a new level of safety and efficiency they can customize for their specific needs." Supporting Blue Sky Network's D-Series flight tracking and satellite communications terminals, SkyRouter gives users on the ground immediate access to data from transportation assets in flight, in a simple, user-friendly format. Tracking can be customized for each user -- reports can be accessed by individual assets, all assets in flight, or specific groups of transportation assets. This allows corporate clients to view only the aircraft contracted to them, management team members to monitor aircraft assigned to them, and a variety of other options that can be modified to suit the user's specific needs.

August 16, 2005. Two Technologies, Inc., an ISO9001 registered company and leading manufacturer of customizable rugged hand held computer and terminal products announced the addition of the JETT•RFID+ to their line of customizable hand held computers. Along with its powerful Microsoft Windows CE .NET 4.2 operating system and Intel XScale Technology processor, the JETT•RFID+ features an HF 13.56MHz reader/writer that fully supports MiFare ( ISO 14443A ), MiFare ( ISO 14443B ), MiFare UltraLite tags as well as ISO 15693 tags from all major manufacturers. The new mobile computer can read tag IDs, read and write data blocks, as well as authenticate and encrypt data to and from compatible tags. These new capabilities allow solutions to support secure storage of information on tags for privacy, security which is required in a number of markets including healthcare, access control and mobile commerce. An innovative first for the JETT•RFID+ is the future-proof, field upgradeable Software Defined Radio ( SDR ) architecture. SDR allows for new protocols and tags to be supported by existing hardware as they become available through simple field upgrades. With SDR, your investment in the hardware platform is maximized and your risk of obsolescence is greatly minimized as RFID technologies advance.

August 16, 2005. Accelitec, Inc., a leader in Transaction Management Systems (TMS), announced the availability of PayPilot, a comprehensive suite of RFID-based payment solutions to automate and enable faster, more secure and convenient payment methods, including Automated Clearing House (ACH), credit and prepay. PayPilot is the first contactless payment system that includes credit, ACH and prepay features that reduces transaction costs and gives retailers greater control. Two forces are spurring widespread adoption of new payment technologies: Consumer preference for electronic payments and merchant resistance to rising transaction fees. Nearly half of US consumers carry less than $20 cash, relying instead on credit, debit and other electronic payments, which they find more convenient. The other force is rising interchange rates charged by major credit card associations, over $17 billion in 2004, according to a recent lawsuit from the nation's leading retailers. These rising charges are particularly detrimental in low-margin retail operations, such as grocery stores. The company's flagship product, PayPilot, quickly integrates into the merchants' POS systems, enabling retailers to quickly and cost-effectively take control of transaction fees, roll out loyalty programs and manage the transaction process. The PayPilot TMS system consists of three hardware components and supporting backend and transaction software. Consumers can sign up for PayPilot at their merchant's store location using a PayPilot kiosk, called an Automated Transponder Dispenser. Upon registering, consumers receive a transponder in the form of a key fob or card, not unlike loyalty cards dispensed by grocery stores today. The RFID-enabled fob is presented at check-out to a PayPilot POS transponder. Authentication, security and consumer pre-set variables help provide spending controls. Backend transaction software allows merchants to control interchange fees by allowing consumers to use ACH for payments rather than the more expensive credit card accounts. The PayPilot network of "smart" devices, multi-functional RFID readers and ATDs, operates on a Microsoft .Net platform, enabling system changes and upgrades to be made in real time without system interruption. PayPilot is ideally suited for high-volume retail environments since these operations are most adversely affected by increasing transaction fees and limited customer transaction times. Examples include supermarket chains, retail petroleum facilities, and quick-serve restaurants.

August 16, 2005. MapInfo Corporation, the leading global provider of Location Intelligence solutions, announced that its MapXtreme family of products has been certified as fully compliant with the Open Geospatial Consortium’s (OGC) OpenGIS WMS Specifications. Being fully OpenGIS compliant allows users to share and reuse data, improve the quality of information, and reduce the need to rely on one vendor. The MapXtreme location-based technology, which is available for both the Java and Microsoft .NET platforms, enables users to develop or enhance custom mapping applications and business intelligence solutions that can be deployed both on the desktop and the Web using the same core engine. Now that MapXtreme is fully OpenGIS WMS compliant, organizations are able to easily share and distribute location-based data regardless of software used.

August 16, 2005. Universal Guardian Holdings, Inc., an emerging global leader in non-lethal protection products, systems and security services to protect against terrorist, criminal and security threats to governments and businesses worldwide, is pleased to announce that it has launched its ISR Systems' integrated and interoperable, Transportation Security platform designed to protect inter-modal transportation worldwide. ISR Systems Trusted Shipper platform, developed over the past four years, provides visibility and security throughout the entire global supply chain. The Trusted Shipper system takes homeland security compliance expense and converts it into potential profits that can have a real impact for any company that moves goods through international commerce. These companies include many of the largest corporations in the world. Trusted Shipper uses its SupplyChain Guardian turn-key source-based RFID tagging and Container Guardian GPS/GPRS enabled container tracking system to create an entirely new paradigm for homeland security transportation security compliance programs. The platform combines configurable container modules, international data centers and a sophisticated supply chain and border security program that:
* Provides a cost-effective RFID cargo tagging system, which creates electronic manifests and transmits encrypted cargo manifests to shippers, customers, and Customs.
* Tracks cargo container throughout the entire transportation system -- from point of origin to final destination.
* Monitors cargo container position and contents throughout the transportation system in real-time.
* Trusted Shippers will comply with the new Department of Homeland Security "Green Lane" program. Cargo that uses the Company's Trusted Shipper system will zip through the entry port. Cargo that doesn't will have to wait in line at the port for detailed examination and delays.

August 16, 2005. CSI Wireless Inc., a designer and manufacturer of advanced wireless and GPS products used in more than 50 countries, announced that its newest Telematics products - the Asset-Link 410 and Asset-Link 150 - have received approval from four major cellular carriers for use on their networks, while also generating in excess of $1 million of initial sales. Rogers Wireless in Canada, Telefonica in Latin America, and reseller KORE Wireless have tested and approved the Asset-Link 410, while Aeris.net and its Microburst network have tested and approved the Asset-Link 150. Approval processes involving other major North American carriers are also under way. The Asset-Link 410 is the first digital member of CSI's industry-proven Asset-Link product line. It utilizes GSM-GPRS/SMS technology to meet North America's escalating demand for higher bandwidth applications, including frequent updates of fleet-vehicle operational information. The analog-based Asset-Link 150 utilizes Aeris.net's popular low-cost MicroBurst cellular network, and is designed for a wide range of applications - including trucking fleets, rental fleets, transit and other municipal vehicles, heavy equipment management and stolen vehicle recovery.

August 15, 2005. Qiao Xing Universal Telephone, Inc. announced that its subsidiary, CEC Telecom Co., Ltd (CECT), joined with the telecommunications operator China Communication Co., Ltd (CCC) and technology supplier Shenzhen Rongine Technology Ltd (Rongine), to manufacture and market the first batch of satellite navigation terminal products including GPS/GSM mobile phone that accord with the national standard in the near future. Under the agreement among the three parties, with the technological support from Rongine, CECT will manufacture at least 500,000 units of GPS/GSM mobile phones for China Communication to launch to the China market on an annual basis. The satellite navigation terminal products to be produced by CECT include the GPS/GSM mobile phone. It is a type of special GSM mobile phone that is integrated with GPS function. One special feature of this new phone is that the user can, at their own option, access GSM network being operated by China Mobile and China Unicom and China Communication's GPS service network. Multiple functions make it more useful than the GPS receivers that previously existed. In addition, the new GPS/GSM mobile phones are affordable by the general public as their price level is no more than middle-end GSM mobile phones.

August 15, 2005. The WiMedia Alliance announced that it is now working with Ecma International to establish the WiMedia multiband orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (MB-OFDM) ultra-wideband (UWB) radio platform as the global UWB standard. As the UWB industry organization representing many of the world's leading high-tech brands, WiMedia is responsible for rapidly achieving international standardization. The group is also working diligently to ensure that the industry does not become fragmented by independent regional standards or proprietary implementations that prevent global interoperability. Such an environment could delay the worldwide market adoption of UWB products. Accordingly, WiMedia is pursuing standardization of its UWB specification through Ecma International, the organization known for its development of DVD interchange standards, scripting languages and other information, communications technology, and consumer electronics standards. Establishing a single, global, interoperable standard for UWB is absolutely necessary to deliver to consumers the desired experience -- the ability to choose wireless personal area network (WPAN) devices regardless of brand or manufacturer that quickly store, transfer and play multimedia files and data. WiMedia's low-cost, low-power solution supports a data rate of 480 Mb/s and beyond, delivering on the consumer's expectations and the industry's demands.

August 15, 2005. Fulfilling a niche that has been conspicuously absent in the motorcycle industry, a California-based company has created a revolutionary new system that instantly notifies, tracks and recovers consumers’ motorcycles anywhere nationwide. More significantly, it is the first time a company has made crash detection available to the motorcycle industry. Crash detection has long been a staple in the car world, offering vehicle owners increased safety in the event of an accident. Motorcyclists, however, have little barrier between the bike and the road, and manufacturers have been slow to market additional technology. The engineers at Phantom have moved one step forward by creating an innovative new safeguard: a chip that detects a collision. In the event of an accident, Phantom’s in-built detection system will send emergency help to a precise location. The feature is an added safety tool for novice and seasoned riders alike, compatible in a remote location and fit for any bike type. Auto experts are already predicting the system will bring the motorcycle security industry into the 21st century. Over the last three years of development Phantom Tracking has incorporated the input of motorcycle dealerships, riders, and law enforcement agencies across the United States. The Phantom Tracking system has been in field-testing over the last two years. Adds Tomljenovic: "We’ve spent a good time exhausting any potential problems and we’re proud of the fact that this powerful solution consistently rises to the challenge. The Phantom can effectively track stolen motorcycles inside vans, trucks, garages, tunnels, parking structures and large urban environments with an unprecedented accuracy of 5 feet." Phantom Tracking is a powerful solution that has been embraced by Police departments where manpower is at a premium. The days are gone when patrol officers had the time to drive around looking for a stolen vehicle, today’s officers would much rather be told where the asset is for quick recovery and apprehension. Once you activate the Phantom system, its proprietary technology monitors the motorcycle and, when triggered, transmits real time data in seconds to Phantoms live call center. Bikers will enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing that Phantom Tracking is there to help protect both the rider and their motorcycle. If there is an attempt to steal the motorcycle or the onboard crash detection has been activated, a Phantom Advisor is always ready to help 24 Hours a day, Nationwide.

August 12, 2005. Axscend, a Folkestone-based telecommunications technology company, announced an expansion of satellite service coverage for its leading trailer and asset tracking system. New developments to the simplex satellite network used by Axscend will give almost complete coverage across the entire globe. These improvements are scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2006. Launched in mid 2004, the Axscend system has been adopted by freight and transport companies of all sizes and is fast becoming Europe's most widely used trailer tracking service. Customers include market-leaders such as TDG, Gregory Distribution and Confern Containerpool. The versatile system can be used to manage and locate many types of non-powered asset, including HGV trailers, sea containers, rail cargo and plant equipment. As well as Europe, the United States and the Middle East, the new developments should enable assets to be located across much of Africa and Asia. Tim Steer adds: "The increased coverage makes the Axscend system ideal for companies whose assets frequently travel into areas where GSM coverage is poor or even non-existent. In the past, keeping track of assets in these regions has been very difficult. With Axscend, they can be accurately located within a matter of minutes, at the click of a mouse." The tracking unit itself has a battery life of up to seven years and requires no professional installation or maintenance. It has undergone rigorous testing for durability by both the US military and the Society of Automotive Engineers, and has CE and FCC approval. The system uses ViaMichelin web-mapping technology, so assets can be located at street-level.

August 11, 2005. QUALCOMM Incorporated, a leading developer and innovator of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and other advanced wireless technologies, announced that it will acquire Flarion Technologies, a pioneer and leading developer of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex Access (OFDMA) technology and the inventor of FLASH-OFDM technology for mobile broadband Internet protocol (IP) services. Flarion, with a world-class team and an expansive portfolio of OFDMA intellectual property, has worked closely with several operators worldwide in developing and demonstrating OFDMA technology and products. QUALCOMM will pay approximately $600 million, net of Flarion's projected cash at closing, in QUALCOMM stock and cash, including the assumption of options and warrants at fair value. Upon the satisfaction of certain milestones over the next few years, QUALCOMM may also pay an additional $205 million in the form of cash and QUALCOMM stock. Completion of the acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions, is expected later this year. QUALCOMM will continue to focus on raising throughput and lowering cost of 3G CDMA networks with advances in receive diversity, interference cancellation, multi-carrier and speech compression. The introduction of VoIP on data-optimized RF carriers and the integration of wireless LAN and multicast technologies, such as OFDM-based FLO (Forward Link Only) technology, provide increased opportunities for operators to deliver voice, data and wireless multimedia applications to their subscribers using various frequency bands and the air interface technologies best suited to the service offering. The addition of Flarion's resources will further strengthen QUALCOMM's position as a leader in designing and licensing OFDMA systems, components and products for operators interested in OFDMA.

August 11, 2005. Ultra Wideband (UWB) and Wireless USB solutions leader Wisair announced that it has received certification approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for its Development System based on its Ultra Wideband chipset solution. The certification paves the way for shipment of consumer electronics devices based on Wisair's UWB and Wireless-USB chipset. Wisair is the first WiMedia/MBOA company to receive FCC certification for its Ultra Wideband technology, following the waiver granted for the Multiband OFDM standard earlier this year. The FCC certification has been achieved through a close collaboration between Wisair and TDK Test Services, a division of TDK Corp. located in Austin, Texas. "The Wisair development system is a very robust design which allowed us to move it through the test and certification process quickly," said Pat Carson, Vice President of TDK Test Services. Wisair has released its 2nd generation UWB chipset solution earlier this year, and has showcased reference designs in small product form factor, such as the UWB dongle, in Japan and the US.

August 11, 2005. Multispectral Solutions, Inc. (MSSI) will be presented with the 2005 Product Innovation of the Year Award at Frost & Sullivan's Mobile Communications Awards Banquet to be held on September 21 for its new "Sapphire" product line. Multispectral Solutions' Sapphire digital active real time tracking (DART) is considered the world's first "commercially viable" product line in the field of ultra wideband (UWB) technology. Each year, this Award is given to a company that has demonstrated a superior ability to develop and advance innovative products. It recognizes the company's successful adoption of existing technologies or the invention of newer ones that have become a part of a well-designed product family. This Award also acknowledges the company's successful product development strategies and the degree to which the products have met customer requirements. MSSI has made exemplary efforts toward advancing UWB product technology for radio frequency identification (RFID), wireless communications, radar, and geo-positioning applications. UWB is a high-speed, short-range wireless technology, which is ideal for the seamless transfer of digital content between multimedia devices. Apart from applications in the communications arena, UWB technology possesses unique advantages for use in precision localization applications, such as its unrivaled performance in providing 2D/3D precision localization even in severe multipath environments. Moreover, in complying with the new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations for UWB emissions, precision asset-tracking systems based on UWB technology reduce data rates. This enables UWB to use significantly higher peak powers than those admissible for high data rate communications systems. MSSI has wisely chosen to concentrate on applications that include high-speed communications networks, collision and obstacle avoidance radars, real-time tracking, and precision geo-location systems for personnel location, asset tracking, and intelligent transportation systems. To expand technology usage, it has completed more than 30 successful RFID pilots, covering various asset managements including real-time tracking of material-handling equipment and personnel.

August 11, 2005. Digital Angel Corporation, an advanced technology company in the field of rapid and accurate identification, location tracking, and condition monitoring of high-value assets, announced that its OuterLink subsidiary has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its new satellite radio transceiver, called the CommPoint 3 (CP3) Satcom Data Terminal, that can track a wide variety of international commercial, military aircraft and ground vehicles in any weather condition, even when other traditional communication modes are disrupted. The CP3 is smaller, lighter and easier to install than its predecessor, the CP2, and, with models to be introduced in the fall, will allow OuterLink for the first time to address the international tracking marketplace. The CP3, although similar and compatible with the CP2, incorporates features that enable it to operate with communication satellites on a global basis. This capability will facilitate expansion of communication coverage from the existing North American service area to transoceanic and other continents, eventually providing global capability which is essential for providing real-time mobile asset management capabilities for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and military markets. The CP3, which will be commercially available in the fourth quarter of 2005, received FAA approval for a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for use on Bell 206 and 206L series aircraft. The Bell 206 series is the world's largest civil helicopter fleet.

August 10, 2005. Clarity Communication Systems, Inc., a provider of Location-Based Services (LBS), Push-to-Talk (PTT) solutions, and custom product solutions for the mobile marketplace, announced their critically acclaimed personal safety application, Whereabouts, is now available for evaluation by wireless carriers and application service providers. Whereabouts, a positioning determination system that enables parents to use their cell phones or the Internet to instantly locate family members, won top honors at the 2005 NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge in the Personal Security Category. The Whereabouts product is unique in that all of its LBS capabilities -- such as real time navigation, routing, emergency notification, and instant communication -- are seamlessly integrated into a single application. Whereabouts is 'network agnostic' and can be used across disparate wireless networks. The evaluation version is available now directly from Clarity; the commercial version is expected to be available in Q4/2005 from leading carriers and application providers.

August 9, 2005. Motorola and Phiar Corporation announced a Joint Development Agreement for a project focusing on the creation of next generation electronic circuits which can be incorporated with tiny antennas to deliver high-speed millimeter wave receive arrays. These next generation receive arrays are expected to be low cost with the ability to be incorporated into multiple high-speed applications including Device-to-Device wireless communications and Personal Consumer Near Field Communications (NFC) as well as Medical Imaging, Automotive Radar, Homeland Security Scanning, and Defense applications. Whereas today's mass market semiconductor technology enables devices which run in the megahertz (MHz) frequency range and are pushing to enter the low end gigahertz (GHz) frequency range of operation, Motorola and Phiar plan to demonstrate circuits based on this new low cost technology that are capable of running in the hundreds of GHz and potentially into the THz range. The joint development effort will utilize Phiar's new Metal-Insulator technology and Motorola's millimeter wave circuits and systems technology, modeling and simulation, device and circuit characterization and advanced prototyping capabilities. This enabling Metal-Insulator technology can be broadly incorporated with circuits which use standard CMOS manufacturing as well as other semiconductor and printed circuit technologies. Because the technology is compatible with multiple standards and substrates, it has the potential to greatly improve the speed and simplify interconnects, both lowering cost and improving performance. The technology has the potential to provide the marketplace with consumer devices which can run at significantly higher data rates (tens of Gbps) as compared to other wireless solutions such as Bluetooth and Ultra- Wideband which operate in the low to hundreds of Mbps.

August 9, 2005. Flight Explorer, the world's most trusted and accepted provider of Internet-based real-time global flight tracking information, reporting and display products announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the use of its new Aircraft Data and Messaging (ADAM) product on Boeing 757 Series aircraft. This STC (Supplemental Type Certification) is the second in a series of STC's for Flight Explorer's ADAM system. Previously, the FAA approved ADAM's use on MD-11s. ADAM allows aircraft operators to extend their operations centers to the cockpit by providing satellite coverage for worldwide aircraft tracking combined with voice and data communications. It provides the ability to send/receive text messages between the aircraft cockpit and ground operations (air/ground-ground/air). ADAM provides excellent worldwide coverage at a low initial investment cost and high rate of return. As part of its ADAM initiative, Flight Explorer will also enable airlines to offer email and Internet services to passengers.

August 9, 2005. Alvarion Ltd., the world's leading provider of wireless broadband solutions and specialized mobile networks, announced the purchase of its premier platform, BreezeMAX 3500, by Americatel Peru for an initial deployment of a WiMAX-ready broadband network. When the wireless system is deployed, business and SOHO users in Lima will receive high capacity broadband data and voice services. Americatel Peru, a successful long distance carrier, has been increasing its services to business providing voice, data and broadband services. The new wireless network deployment will operate in the 3.5 GHz frequency, thanks to a license conceded to Americatel Peru in the year 2001. Alvarion's WiMAX-ready, BreezeMAX is an OFDM platform with advanced non-line-of-sight (NLOS) functionality designed for operators to offer broadband IP-based data and voice services. Its carrier-class design supports broadband speeds and quality of service (QoS) to enable carriers to offer multi-services to thousands of subscribers in a single cell. BreezeMAX networks are already installed in more than 30 countries worldwide.

August 8, 2005. NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, has released its first map of Brazil. Brazil is the first South American country to be mapped by NAVTEQ, launching an initiative to increase NAVTEQ's map coverage in the South American region. Currently, NAVTEQ maps span across five continents. The map of Brazil is now available to customers for use in mapping applications. The NAVTEQ map of Brazil provides detailed road network coverage of Brazil's three largest cities: Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Paulo, including address routing capability. In addition, the map provides coverage of connector highways, allowing for routing to, from and through these three major urban areas. With over 40,000 kilometers of coverage, NAVTEQ's map of Brazil covers approximately 12.5% (or 25.3 million) of the population. Additionally, the map offers numerous points of interest, including restaurants, hotels, museums, petrol stations, and other tourist attractions.

August 8, 2005. Defense Technology Systems Inc.'s suite of RFID products, software and services will be distributed in Israel by Ambital Solutions, an Israeli-based wireless technology systems integrator. DCI, a Defense Technology majority-owned subsidiary, entered into a distribution agreement with Ambital Solutions to include its RFID products, software and services along with its own location-based applications on RFID, short range wireless, cellular and GPS infrastructures. Defense Technology is releasing its RFID system, RFID Foundry, by the end of the third quarter. The RFID Foundry is a sensor- and RFID-based automatic sensing, identification and tracking system designed for commercial and military customers that require the rapid deployment of mission-critical positive identification and tracking capabilities. The RFID Foundry system uses off-the-shelf RFID readers and sensors with Sun Microsystems' RFID software embedded in DCI's RFID application software.

August 8, 2005. Zeewaves Systems Inc., a startup working with Nvidia Corp. on planar-antenna Wi-Fi designs, has developed a mobile Wi-Fi architecture that can combine vehicular hotspots with such functions as global-positioning system, automatic vehicle location and ZigBee sensor gateways. Zeewaves is offering ConnectStar, a commercial version of the system, and has defined an extended architecture for government security applications called On-board Communication, Automated Tracking and Surveillance Systems (OCATSS). Khurshid Qureshi, Zeewaves' president and chief executive officer, said that the original architecture was based on a customer premises system intended to link WiMax fixed-wireless broadband backbones to local Wi-Fi services. Because WiMax seemed to be years away from ubiquity, the Zeewaves design team elected to use the same integrated antenna and gateway architecture to design a vehicle-based system that would establish Wi-Fi hotspots over 3G or CDMA cellular backbones. In tests driving around Colorado Springs, broadband connectivity was maintained while the host car was at freeway speeds, though occasional delay was experienced as network requests were handed off. Qureshi said that he wouldn't predict such a system could eliminate emerging mobile wireless standards like 802.20, though ConnectStar's ability to provide practical Wi-Fi service in a mobile environment makes 802.11 derivatives appear feasible for mobile environments. Qureshi hired Jim Hinsey, founder of a small security startup called General Surveillance Inc., as Zeewaves' director of global services, to look at ways to bring bomb-sensor and video-surveillance networks into the ConnectStar topology. In early July, the first generation of an OCATSS architecture demonstrated integration of Wi-Fi, AVL and GPS with 911 services, remote video surveillance, and fire- and bomb-sniffing sensors.

August 8, 2005. The Global IP Alliance ("Alliance") has released its initial report and established an ongoing process to allow government, industry and consumers to obtain current information on the state of global IP-based communications technology and regulation. Hosting government regulators from more than 25 countries in Washington, DC, the Alliance officially launched public access to the Global IP Policy Matrix (available at http://www.ipall.org/matrix) and announced a new process whereby those following IP technology and regulation may share information on VoIP treatment around the world via the establishment of the Global IP Alliance's wiki (available at http://www.globalipalliance.net). "The Matrix is the first in a series of evolving, updateable resources that will establish the Alliance as the 'go-to' resource for IP-based communications-related information around the world," noted Julie Hedlund, Strategic Advisor to the Global IP Alliance. "The Matrix is designed to allow industry, regulators and consumers to determine the state of regulatory oversight of emerging IP-based technologies, services and applications. By supplying information and support regarding regulatory activities, the Alliance will also serve to demonstrate that the emerging IP-based communications industry is capable of self-governance without the need for stringent regulatory interference or prescriptive oversight." "The Global IP Alliance Wiki is designed to allow interested parties around the globe to share information and insights about the evolving state of IP-based communications around the world," said Jonathan Askin, Acting Executive Director of the Global IP Alliance and General Counsel to pulver.com. "No individual is in a position to describe the state of IP-based communications around the world, but, working together, we all may develop a clearer, more complete picture of the state of IP technology and the legal, regulatory and economic structures affecting it around the world."

August 8, 2005. Wavesat, a leading developer of WiMAX silicon, announced the final interoperability testing phase before the WiMAX certification takes place in October in Malaga Spain, at the Cetecom Labs. Wavesat is helping the WiMAX Forum with interoperability testing at Cetecom where a handful of companies, including Wavesat, have shown extremely positive results in testing their WiMAX equipment. Wavesat's team has taken part in writing the Certification Program Reference Manual, the certification bible, for the WiMAX Forum and Dr. Jonathan Labs, Chief Scientist at Wavesat chaired the WiMAX Forum's Radio Conformance Testing Group, a group dedicated to the development of the Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement (PICS) and the Test Suite Structure & Test Procedures (TSS&TP). Wavesat already participated in one demonstration at Cetecom in April, and the WiMAX Forum demonstration in Vancouver in July, 2005. Wavesat's WiMAX Evolutive DM256 Family of Products is a complete solution supporting all the features required to design 802.16-2004 base stations and subscriber units for both licensed and license-exempt radio frequencies. The DM256 shipping in production volume today features the lowest power consumption, the smallest size and modularity of design, making it the best choice for next generation cost-effective WiMAX applications.

August 8, 2005. SkyWave Mobile Communications, the world's leading distributor of Inmarsat D+ burst messaging services, announced that the global demand for asset management and security services is accelerating the growth for Inmarsat D+ burst message services as SkyWave surpasses the 50,000 terminal shipment milestone. Asset management and security services enable the remote control, monitor, position, and physical security of valuable asset whether on land or at sea, stationary or mobile. It facilitates the optimized utilization of assets. With asset management and security services, enterprises realize enormous cost savings through more efficient use of high value property such as heavy equipment, marine vessels, trailers and trucks. Fleet operators recognize significant insurance premium reductions and significant fuel savings. Around the world's oceans, shipboard security has become of paramount concern as fishery operators realize a more accurate and greater number of fleet deployments and increasing catch values. Inmarsat D+ provides global coverage (except for the polar regions) from SkyWave's small, lightweight, low-power terminals, and can be used in conjunction with web-based tracking applications, often provided as part of an overall package. It can be pre-programmed or remotely triggered to send automatic messages, including GPS co-ordinates and other data.

August 5, 2005. Cranite Systems, Inc., a leading provider of security software for wireless networks, has announced that it has entered into a partnership with Redline Communications, a provider of standards-based broadband wireless equipment. The partnership will result in end-to-end solutions for organizations that require high-speed networking paired with unparalleled security. Cranite Systems recently deployed its WirelessWall software to secure a wireless link setup using Redline 802.16-compliant systems between Monterey and San Luis Obispo, California, over 100 miles apart. The successful deployment proved that WirelessWall secures network communications over the extended distances enabled by Redline's IEEE 802.16 and IEEE 802.16d-based WiMAX equipment while maintaining the superior performance of a wireless broadband wide area network. Unlike virtual private network (VPN)-based systems, WirelessWall encrypts full Ethernet frames, rather than just IP payloads, hiding vital information such as IP addresses, applications, and ports from unauthorized listeners. Frame-level encryption also protects non-data network traffic, including Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) requests or ARP messages, from being compromised and used to attack the network. This approach helps protects both the user's data and the organization's network, while enabling users to securely roam across sub-nets without needing to re-authenticate or reboot their computers, saving time and minimizing frustration. Both the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps mandate the use of products providing such protection, specifically requiring the use of FIPS 140-2 validated products encrypting at Layer 2.

August 4, 2005. Strategy Analytics, the global research and consulting company, today released, "ZigBee Squares Off Against Z-Wave," a report outlining the initial progress of chip makers in the emerging ZigBee market. Zensys has established a strong position in the residential control market with its proprietary Z-Wave solution, while Chipcon, Ember, and Freescale have started to build volume with ZigBee chips in industrial and commercial sensor and control applications. Strategy Analytics predicts that the market for wireless mesh networking chips, including ZigBee and proprietary chips such as Z-Wave, will reach tens of millions of units per year by 2008. A broad range of applications will appear in the market, including residential control, industrial monitoring and asset management. Applications could also include cellphones equipped with ZigBee for activation of location based services in support of wireless operator ARPU. According to Chris Taylor, Director of the Strategy Analytics RF & Wireless Component service, "The simplicity of Z-Wave has allowed Zensys to get chips to market and partner with the leading makers of residential control systems, such as Danfoss and Honeywell, well ahead of ZigBee. Zensys, a privately held firm, counts Intel Capital among its investors, which raises the prospect of Z-Wave becoming a de facto home control standard in PCs and notebook computers as well as a range of consumer electronics devices.

August 4, 2005. Shanghai Simcom (Simcom), China's fastest growing mobile enterprise, announced plans to integrate Cambridge Positioning Systems's Matrix high accuracy location technology into a range of devices for GSM, 3G/W-CDMA and TD-SCDMA markets. Cambridge Positioning Systems Ltd (CPS) will work with Simcom, a subsidiary of SIM Technology Group Limited, to enable a range of terminals for use with vehicle, asset and personnel tracking for both Asia Pacific and European markets. This will be the first time that Matrix has been utilized for a product based on TD-SCDMA - China's own standard for 3G/W-CDMA technology. The two companies will also collaborate on joint marketing of the Matrix-enabled devices to operators worldwide - a move welcomed by Chris Wade, CEO of CPS. "Simcom is typical of a new generation of fast-moving ODMs who want fresh innovation and quality technology to build and drive market share. They recognize the growing demand for high accuracy location as an enabler for profitable services in the enterprise market - as a precursor for wider usage by consumers. The fact that this deal extends into W-CDMA highlights the long term nature of our relationship and our ability to deliver Matrix to meet current and future needs." The integration of CPS's Matrix location technology enables any handset or device to be rapidly located to an accuracy of sub-100m in GSM - and less than 50m in W-CDMA networks. The modules use the existing GSM/W-CDMA network infrastructure to transfer location information to the network using standard GPRS or SMS. This greatly reduces the rollout costs traditionally associated with high accuracy mobile location technology.

August 4, 2005. SiRF Technology, a leading provider of GPS enabled location technology, scored another victory in the highly competitive Japanese automotive GPS market today, announcing its industry leading global positioning system (GPS) technology is providing the integrated location capabilities for the new high-end Kenwood model HDM-555 HDD car navigation system. The SiRF SiRFStarIIe/LP GPS chip set is at the heart of the TCM-9016A2 GPS receiver module from Toyo Communication Equipment Co., Ltd. (Toyocom) of Japan that Kenwood is using to build high-performance navigation capabilities into their products more easily and bring them to market more quickly and cost effectively. The SiRFstarIIe/LP GPS chip set's ability to provide rapid, accurate and reliable location, speed and heading information ensures that users of the Kenwood HDM-555 car navigation system get benefits of robust navigation, even in urban canyons, under dense foliage and in other challenging conditions. Being called the "Rolls Royce" of all-in-one car entertainment/information systems by early reviewers, the Kenwood HDM-555 is the world's first car navigation system with an integrated Apple iPod interface, enabling all iPod functions to be viewed and controlled from the large LCD display. The Kenwood HDM-555 is based on Microsoft Windows Automotive 4.2, features a 20-GB hard disk drive that can store the latest highly detailed map and point of interest data and thousands of MP3 and WMA music files, and can play DVD movies with DTS sound, music CDs and television programs. SiRF's high-performance navigation engine gives the Kenwood HDM-555 the highly accurate location information it needs to clearly depict intersections, exit ramps and individual buildings with realistic 3D images even under the harshest conditions and support real-time traffic information and re-routing capabilities using Japan's Vehicle Information and Communication System (VICS).

August 3, 2005. Trimble announced that its subsidiary, Trimble Mobile Solutions, Inc. (TMS), has signed a distribution agreement with Nextel Communications Inc. to offer the TMS TrimWeb mobile resource management (MRM) solution through the Nextel sales channel, which will run over Nextel's nationwide digital network. The TrimWeb in-vehicle solution utilizes Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and cellular communications to efficiently route fleets and decrease driver down time. Trimble's TrimWeb MRM solution is a valuable asset for companies that maintain a mobile fleet, regardless of the type of vehicles used. It enables drivers, dispatchers and management to increase the number of daily deliveries or stops. TrimWeb automatically logs arrival and departure times and also monitors the location of vehicles. The solution integrates real-time vehicle and driver information with location and time data to provide fleet owners with reliable control to optimize fleet performance to service their customers more efficiently.

August 3, 2005. Due to numerous inquiries Advanced ID Corporation has received regarding the possibility of a new mad cow outbreak and unknown swine disease in China, Advanced ID would like to announce the finalization of its DataTRAC integrated system. With the recent successful test results at Kansas State University, Thailand, and Argentina's testing facilities, Advanced ID can now deliver its DataTRAC 915 MHz integrated system for animal and livestock identification. The tests confirmed reading distances of up to three meters with multi-read capability. The tracking of animals is not restricted to simply tags and readers but must also incorporate data software as part of the system integration. Advanced ID's database tracking system includes date of birth, movement from farm to farm, seamless integration of all animals in each herd, and single and multi computer interface as well as many other features crucial to livestock tracking systems. In North America alone, there are over 110 million cattle and 75 million pigs that require identification tags. AIDO's integrated system enables federal governments, states and farms to install the DataTRAC system on an as needed basis. With existing tracking systems there is a lack of efficiency which inhibits positive and immediate notification of mad cow, hoof and mouth disease, and the Avian flu, etc. Given the state of affairs in most countries, livestock tracking has become one of the major requirements in ensuring a safe supply of food not only for its citizens but worldwide. Advanced ID intends to present its DataTRAC integrated system immediately to governments and livestock industry leaders around the globe.

August 3, 2005. Newbury Networks Inc., the industry's first and only provider of location-based wireless management and security solutions, announced the company has completed a project conducted on site at Defcon 13. Newbury's WiFi Watchdog was used to monitor and map wireless activity at the site, allowing all show attendees to see the precise location of all wireless devices and all connections between wireless devices at the conference. A team from Newbury Networks worked with the Digital Wolves, an independent group of security professionals who run the venerated "Wall of Sheep" project which finds and publicly identifies users who expose their identity via unsecured connections. Newbury was tasked with supplementing the "Wall of Sheep" by locating WiFi devices, identifying unsecured activity, and detecting wireless attacks. Newbury created a floor plan of the conference space and mapped the hall's "RF fingerprint" to allow for pinpoint identification of wireless devices' location. Newbury projected a large wall display, providing attendees a real-time "air-traffic control" view of wireless activity using Newbury Network's award-winning WiFi Watchdog. During the course of the project, WiFi Watchdog collected a rich set of data and located volumes of malicious wireless activity, including:
* 5637 fake MAC Addresses
* 764 spoofed Access Point addresses
* 63 rogue APs
* 235 client connections to rogue APs
* 57 different denial of service attacks.
More importantly, WiFi Watchdog also helped Defcon 13 attendees physically locate both the sources of wireless attacks and find unsecured "sheep" who were unaware that their identity was exposed so that those attacks and vulnerabilities could be eliminated.

August 3, 2005. Delphi Corp. announced it will begin production shortly on a new satellite transceiver unit that GE will use with its VeriWise asset intelligence system. GE's VeriWise system allows fleet owners to track and monitor mobile assets such as over-the-road trailers. Delphi's satellite transceiver unit, known as the DS300, enables GE to offer its customers two-way data sharing using the ORBCOMM low-earth orbit satellite network. It is one of two such transceivers that Delphi agreed last year to co-develop and manufacture for Stellar Satellite Communications, a global supplier of data communications products for two-way messaging, tracking and monitoring applications. The GE technology team demonstrated VeriWise to the public during a visit to Delphi Electronics & Safety's Kokomo headquarters on Aug. 3. VeriWise was shown as part of GE's Mobile Solutions Center, an interactive custom-built, 53-foot technology demonstration trailer. GE's technology team showed how the VeriWise system works, and how it addresses critical issues affecting the trucking industry and consumer prices, including homeland security. The DS300 is a robust satellite modem offering enhanced functionality through sophisticated built-in applications, a built-in GPS receiver, and a rugged exterior for longer wear. GE's VeriWise Asset Intelligence system is a virtual "brain," developed initially by GE for the trailer portion of an 18-wheeler big rig. Since 2003, it has helped shippers maintain reliable delivery of consumer goods, such as produce, clothing and electronics. VeriWise helps trucking companies better allocate their trailers in the face of a critical national driver shortage. VeriWise can support better homeland security by offering another layer of protection as trailers and containers move from ports and rail hubs to destinations across North America.

August 2, 2005. AirTight Networks, the leading provider of Wi-Fi IPS (WIPS) Firewalls, announced that it is shipping version 3.1 of its SpectraGuard Enterprise Wi-Fi IPS Firewall, the industry's first Wi-Fi IPS Firewall to integrate automatic device classification and intrusion prevention, pinpoint location tracking and real-time RF mapping. The latest version adds a host of new features, including the first built-in troubleshooting knowledgebase that assists administrators in finding the root of Wi-Fi connectivity problems, extensive troubleshooting enhancements and interactive, fully-customizable reporting capabilities. Knowledge-Based Troubleshooting (KBT) is the first intelligent Wi-Fi troubleshooting tool that provides administrators with precise answers to simple yes and no questions about client and AP connectivity or performance issues. Using either packet or event level troubleshooting, administrators are walked step-by-step through a flowchart which leads the administrator to the root cause of the problem and suggests possible remedies. This allows support and operational personnel, even those without wireless savvy, to readily identify the true issue and the solution. Packet level troubleshooting leverages live packet capture using the popular Ethereal or Airopeek tools. KBT is a powerful tool for today's IT helpdesk, which can use the tool to troubleshoot problems in remote and branch offices. SpectraGuard Enterprise 3.1 also delivers predefined compliance reports for Sarbanes-Oxley, DoD Directive 8100.2, Gramm-Leach-Bliley, and the Healthcare Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Version 3.1 offers fully-customizable and interactive compliance reports to help users collect data easily for various compliance audits, by allowing the IT manager to choose the type of data to be included in the report, as well as the frequency and automation level of reports. Users also have the flexibility to build customized queries to gather data on network security and performance.

August 2, 2005. Gulf States Toyota, a premiere regional Toyota distributor for 145 dealers, has selected IBM and WhereNet Corp., both leaders in wireless solutions for tracking and managing enterprise assets, to provide an active RFID tracking system for processing more than 190,000 cars annually. Gulf States Toyota made the investment in the system to better serve its dealers, which in turn, offers better service to customers. Gulf States Toyota has deployed the industry-first, active RFID-powered WhereNet vehicle tracking and management system (VTMS) to locate new Toyotas at its 84-acre processing center in Houston. Where staff would "walk the lot" to identify cars for particular dealers in the past, this advanced system uses WhereNet's real-time locating system (RTLS) technology in tandem with IBM's business process and integration services to further automate business processes and expedite delivery of vehicles to dealerships across a five-state region -- reducing processing and labor costs, while achieving better quality and customer service. The IBM and WhereNet solution enables Gulf States Toyota to track and manage the processing of every new vehicle, as well as to conduct flow analysis for continuous improvement and optimized throughput and quality. When new vehicles arrive via rail car at the Gulf States Toyota vehicle processing center, each vehicle is assigned an active RFID WhereTag transmitter that is "married" to the vehicle identification number. The WhereTag remains on the vehicle until it has been customized according to the buyer's specifications and is ready to ship to one of the 145 dealerships serviced by Gulf States Toyota. IBM led the overall solution development and project management. This included meshing business process consulting and back-end integration with WhereNet's RTLS architecture, including 40 WhereLAN locating access points and 74 WherePort devices. These devices trigger the car's WhereTag to emit a signal that automatically records such information as arrival, dwell, and departure time of the vehicle without any human intervention.

August 1, 2005. Telogis, a leading provider of Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL), GIS and telematics services, announced the release of its GeoBase OEM Mapping engine, Version 1.4. GeoBase is an OEM component that allows software companies to quickly add mapping, geocoding, routing and spatial analysis to applications. GeoBase features include client- and server-based mapping, fast reverse-geocoding, natural language address look-up, real-time geofence violations and route optimization with driving directions. Telogis releases a new version of GeoBase each quarter, coinciding with street data updates from NAVTEQ. Telogis is a NAVTEQ sales channel partner in the telemetry and telematics spaces. In addition to the data update, GeoBase v1.4 adds support for speeding violations based on posted speed limits, support for Points of Interest (POIs), and numerous other features. Also included are extended geometries for routing - expanding GeoBase's support for navigation on handhelds, cell phones and other GPS-enabled devices.

August 1, 2005. AirLink Communications, Inc., a pioneer and leading provider of fixed and mobile wireless data solutions, and Mobile Electron, LLC, a wireless systems integrator specializing in the machine-to-machine (M2M) space, announced the commercial deployment of a wireless remote monitoring solution to Norse Pipeline. The gas gathering system selected AirLink's Raven intelligent rugged wireless modems as part of a complete solution providing real-time data connectivity to its extensive pipeline spanning 320 miles across New York and Pennsylvania. AirLink Authorized Dealer, Mobile Electron, provided turnkey integration and consulting services, helping Norse Pipeline from product selection to solution implementation and testing. Norse Pipeline needed a wireless solution to provide real-time information to remotely monitor and manage its pipeline meters. The company had previously employed field technicians to manually check pressure, load, temperature and consumption data by visiting remote terminals and reporting their findings using written charts. Often it would take more than a month to retrieve and analyze data obtained by a field technician. With the switch to an AirLink wireless solution, Norse Pipeline has realized an immediate and significant improvement in operational efficiency and time-savings. Working closely with Norse Pipeline to understand its business objectives, Mobile Electron recommended a wireless solution comprising AirLink's Raven rugged wireless modems, featuring AirLink Embedded Operating System (ALEOS) intelligent software, deployed on Verizon Wireless' CDMA networks. The integrator also provided the technical and logistical expertise to select, source, deploy and test upgraded utility meter hardware and communications software to round out the solution.

August 1, 2005. Kyocera Wireless Corp., a leading global manufacturer of CDMA wireless handsets and machine to machine modules, and Complete Innovations, a leading global provider of mission critical operational solutions for mobile workforce and transportation-related companies, announced Complete Innovations' new "Fleet Complete" resource management and tracking solution using the award-winning Kyocera 200 Module. The turnkey solution combines Kyocera's leading CDMA technology with easy-to-use software for real-time, wireless, two-way data transmission and communication to manage all aspects of fleet and mobile workforce operations. The Complete Innovations Fleet Complete solution has been approved for use with one of the largest CDMA wireless carriers in Canada. Fleet Complete uses the Kyocera 200 Module in the MGS AVL solution to enable seamless communication that easily integrates fleet and mobile workforces with their corporate networks. The Fleet Complete solution collects vital information such as vehicle location and refrigerated truck temperatures in the field and delivers it, on-demand, to project managers and staff for immediate feedback. This allows for real-time query, in-field task assignment and adjustment, mapping and routing, event tracking and scheduling as well as historical playback and analytical reporting to improve fleet and workforce efficiency and streamline asset distribution and deployment.

August 1, 2005. AeroComm Inc., global supplier of complete wireless solutions for industrial and commercial OEMs, announces its 868MHz spread spectrum transceiver for products delivered to Europe. AeroComm is one of a few select companies to gain approval for an RF solution that operates in this highly restricted European band. On the date of its release, more than 20 expectant manufacturers have already designed the AC4868 transceiver into their products. Built to provide OEMs with license-free RF communications over long distances -- up to 15 kilometers -- AC4868 becomes the essential, affordable alternative to products operating in the saturated 433MHz band. Priced at hundreds of dollars less than competing solutions, it is the only 868MHz transceiver to deliver up to 250 milliwatts of output power (EIRP) -- the maximum allowed in Europe. Hence AC4868 is ideally suited for highly industrial applications where reliable long-range deployment is crucial. AeroComm's robust transparent protocol (RF232) -- which enables seamless cable-to-transceiver replacement -- has been embedded into AC4868s to support a host of communication architectures: point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, or peer-to-peer. AC4868's dynamic serial firmware manages difficult over-the-air issues, such as error detection, multi-path concerns, link verification, and interference. The transceiver modules are aimed at designers/manufacturers of industrial or commercial products that currently use alternative methods of communication, such as infrared, serial/wired, memory card download, or other less sophisticated wireless means. AC4486s are suitable for a wide range of applications including vending, meter reading, gaming, signage, automotive, recreation, point of sale, fleet management, lighting control and security. Pricing starts at under $85, with volume pricing as low as $60.

August 1, 2005. One of the top ten largest MLS services in the nation, the MLS Property Information Network, will offer the Pathfinder wireless handheld MLS Data/GPS to 28,000 real estate professionals throughout New England. Pathfinder (www.realtorpathfinder.com) is a Pocket PC-powered all-in-one PDA solution that allows real estate professionals wireless access to real estate MLS data, GPS technology, prospect information, and MS-Outlook-synchronized contact and task lists - anywhere, anytime. The MLS Property Information Network (MLS PIN) is making Pathfinder available as part of its ongoing commitment to providing its customers with quality, leading-edge, user-focused tools for real estate professionals. With Pathfinder, real estate professionals dramatically strengthen their relationships with their clients through their ability to access information to instantly resolve a concern or confirm a fact - while they are face to face with a client. Developed by Advanced Marketing Services, the Pathfinder system rescues real estate professionals from being trapped “offline” while on the road, left without an answer during an open house, lacking the details of a newly offered property, empty handed without comps, or facing the time-consuming task of constantly re-routing directions. Now, with Pathfinder, it’s all as easy as “Point. Click. Sell.”

July 29, 2005. Satelinx International Inc., a global provider of satellite vehicle tracking services, announced it signed a letter of intent to acquire 100% of Ottawa based Virtual Wave Inc. Under the terms of the letter of intent, Satelinx will acquire 100% of Virtual Wave in a share exchange agreement. The combined company will operate under the Satelinx name. Robert Ireland, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Virtual Wave Inc., will continue as Chairman and CEO of the combined company. The board directors of the combined company will be the current board of Virtual Wave Inc. for a total of 7 members. "Virtual Wave is a jewel, the company has some of the best GPS technology in the world," said Sam Grinfeld, Chairman, President and CEO of Satelinx International Inc. "The company has contracts with leading international defense companies and agencies as well as police namely, the RCMP, U.S. Marshals, U.S. Army, Ontario Provincial Police and it is also used by OBN, one of Canada's leading personal safety and security companies," further added Mr. Grinfeld. Virtual Wave's liquid assets of over US$4 million, its multitude of licensing agreements, its residual revenues as well as its contract with the U.S. military for tracking devices will enable us to apply for an immediate small cap listing.

July 28, 2005. Aeroflex, a global provider of high technology solutions to the aerospace, defense, cellular and broadband communications markets, announced a comprehensive capability designed to address the rapidly emerging development and conformance test requirements of Assisted-GPS (A-GPS) location-based services for mobile phones. Aimed at reducing time to market and the need for costly field trials by testing A-GPS implementation in the laboratory, the new test capability includes systems for all the major cellular technologies-GSM (2G), GPRS/EDGE (2.5G), UMTS (3G) and CDMA (CDMA2000 to 1x-EVDO). The Aeroflex A-GPS location-based test systems provide a single solution for both the verification of signaling protocols and RF performance testing of A-GPS mobile devices. The Aeroflex A-GPS location-based test systems provide a fully integrated environment for repeatable R&D and conformance verification testing. The systems combine a 12 channel GPS simulator with Aeroflex's proven conformance test platforms that are already extensively used in the cellular industry. The systems include test case packages for 3GPP and 3GPP2 wireless standards, Network Assistance Data elements for flexible control over assistance data messaging and support for Location Services (LCS) message exchange, along with support for MS-Based and MS-Assisted positioning methods. The new test systems also support control and user plane techniques using LCS protocols, real-time logging / decoding of protocol signaling messages between mobile and network, and automatic report generation and analysis of results for the device under test.

July 28, 2005. Astrata Group Incorporated, an international provider of innovative location- based IT services and solutions that incorporate the use of GPS and wireless communications technologies, announced that it has been awarded a contract by Italy's Motivegeeks for 3,600 Geolocation Platform (GLP) units. The first 12 months of the agreement is designed to generate US$1.55 million from product sales and recurring revenue, and, in subsequent years, to yield recurring revenues to the Astrata Group of US$1.5 million per annum. Shipments are set to begin in September 2005. As part of the contract, Motivegeeks, a specialist security and vehicle tracking organization run by former Formula 1 Ferrari and Leyton House racing driver, Ivan Capelli, will distribute the Astrata-GLP for asset tracking and fleet management applications throughout Italy, and will also bring to this market a new range of services, including personal and medical information, using the iButton devised by Dalsemi-Maxim (Dallas Semiconductor Corp. and Maxim Integrated Products). It will not only hold driver ID, but also medical and other personal data invaluable in the event of an accident or emergency. It is integrated by using Astrata's optional secondary processor unit, which has a 'Dallas Semiconductor' interface (a built-in means of communication).

July 28, 2005. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will install radio frequency technology at five border posts with Canada and Mexico to track foreigners driving in and out of North America. In its ongoing efforts to tighten border security and monitor possible terrorist and criminal activity, Bob Mocny of the Department of Homeland Security said the wireless chips for vehicles would become mandatory at designated border crossings in Canada and Mexico as of next Thursday. After a foreigner entering the U.S. has passed a thorough security check once, they will be given a document containing the chip. This document will need to be renewed every six months. The document is meant to be placed on the dashboard of a car so that a person's personal information can be read as they approach a border crossing. Even with the radio frequency technology, however, the vehicle will still have to stop. If a person's identifying data produce no red flags, they will get just a cursory check at the border rather than lengthy questioning. Canadians and Mexicans, who fall under special immigration rules, are exempt from needing the chip. The mandatory program will apply, however, to all foreigners with U.S. visas--including those from the 27 countries whose citizens don't need visas for short U.S. visits--who cross into the United States at those points.

July 27, 2005. NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, has released NAVTEQ Map Voice Data for Austria. NAVTEQ customers that license the NAVTEQ map of Austria can now integrate phonetic representations of street names and administrative areas for Austria into its products. NAVTEQ Map Voice Data is already available for France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. NAVTEQ Map Voice Data brings a higher degree of precision and usability to navigation systems. It enhances the user experience by reducing recognition complexities, improving output accuracy and expanding the navigation system's dynamic routing commands to include street names and administrative areas. Many current navigation systems use generic audiovisual directions to guide drivers -- verbal cues stating "turn left" or "turn right" in conjunction with a directional signal on the screen of the device. Navigation systems integrating NAVTEQ Map Voice Data can provide customers with explicit and clear audio instructions linked to specific road names. A customer using a navigation system powered by NAVTEQ Map Voice Data will hear 'Exit to the left on Opernring in 50 meters.'

July 27, 2005. Esmertec, a leading global, independent developer of software solutions for mobile handsets and embedded devices, has announced the commercial availability of u@PoC, its Push-To-Talk over Cellular Client for 2.5G and 3G mobile devices, enabling real-time communication to individuals or groups. u@PoC brings walkie-talkie style communication to mobile device users, enabling them to initiate an individual or group talk (phone conference) session with their circle of friends, colleagues and other contacts on a one-to-one or one-to-many basis. The contacts list is enhanced with information about the availability of each contact and calls can be started with just a push of a key. In addition, PoC can be easily combined with text or instant messaging services to allow text communication during a PoC session. Esmertec's u@PoC is compliant with the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) PoC specification, offering interoperability regardless of the network air interface standard, the network that the user is on or where the user is physically located. The key features of u@PoC include the easy creation of groups, the organization of group talks, fast retrieval of contacts from the phonebook and access to participants' availability.

July 26, 2005. Grape Networks, Inc., a pioneer in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), a breakthrough new technology that consists of quarter-sized sensors that serve as wireless routers on a network, announced that Napa Valley's Beringer Vineyards' is implementing what is believed to be the first commercial wireless sensor network in a production vineyard. At Beringer, in their vineyards are small battery powered nodes, often referred to as motes, to improve the yield and quality of crops by communicating temperature and light information between each mote, with built-in radios, for monitoring anywhere in the world via the Internet. These mote/routers form a wireless mesh network with up to thousands of individual motes that are 10-150m apart. Each mote can sense a few simple things, such as temperature, moisture, light, or other physical qualities but as aggregate gathers enormous sums of data. With Grape Networks' WSN technology, crops can be monitored on a much finer level than even today's precision agriculture techniques. Grape Networks' data from the sensor motes are summarized within the network and sent via microwave to the Internet to servers for viewing anywhere in the world. Future implementations may be able to act on local data, such as adjusting watering or fertilization at each sensor mote area and in other applications such as the military in a theater of operation, signaling a Predator Drone to fly over for closer analysis of the landscape below. The Grape Networks' Wireless Sensor Network Infrastructure is comprised of sensors, routers, radios, servers, microwave antennas and in future satellites and as a system is referred to as the Sensor Super Highway. These networks are ad-hoc, autonomous, self healing and self configuring. Individually, they can send minute bits of data over short distances, but as an aggregate they can cover unlimited distances.

July 26, 2005. Businesses using the BlackBerry 7520 Wireless Handheld from Nextel Communications Inc. have new ways to maximize productivity and increase their efficiency with a series of global positioning system (GPS) applications now available. These applications, which are an extension of services previously available on Nextel Assisted-GPS (A-GPS) handsets, enable users to locate and dispatch workers; manage work orders; process electronic time sheets; and monitor assets directly from their BlackBerry 7520 handheld devices. Moreover, these location-based services (LBS) can complement existing sales force management applications, such as Salesforce.com, making BlackBerry an even more powerful business tool. Industry solutions partners debuting GPS applications for the BlackBerry 7520 include ActSoft Inc., Corrigo, Gearworks Inc., IT2ME LLC, and Xora Inc. These applications are designed to assist with business operations in a number of key industries including construction, field service, financial and professional services, government, health care, manufacturing, public safety, real estate, retail and distribution, transportation, and utilities. BlackBerry users already are reporting cost savings, increases in productivity, improved customer service and more efficient dispatching with these GPS-enabled applications offered by Nextel partners.

July 25, 2005. Motorola, Inc., a global leader in wireless communications and mobility, has expanded its strategic focus to bring comprehensive WiMAX (802.16e) solutions quickly to market to fulfill the rapidly growing demand for fixed and mobile wireless broadband solutions. The initiative includes a combination of increased R&D, resources, and technology relationships; and the introduction of the Moto Wi4 product portfolio that will take operators to the 4th generation of mobile wireless networks. According to Maravedis, a research and analysis firm focusing on broadband wireless access technologies, the global market for fixed and mobile broadband (including WiMAX) is expected to reach up to $1 billion in 2007, and to potentially hit $4 billion by 2010. Under Coombes' leadership, Motorola will build on its highly successful Canopy wireless broadband business and utilize its expertise in the underlying technologies - Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM); IP internetworking; its all-IP based, flat Carrier Access Point (CAP) architecture; and IP-enabled handsets - to develop fixed, nomadic, and mobile solutions that will be suited to meet the various needs of Motorola's customers in its consumer, enterprise, and government markets.

July 25, 2005. Sandbridge Technologies, Inc. announced that it has successfully demonstrated a complete 3G multimedia terminal design using its SB3010 flexible baseband processor to perform all baseband and multimedia functions in software. Widely regarded as a wireless “holy grail,” flexible baseband processing promises to free handset manufacturers from a wide range of hardware-based design constraints and enable network operators to upgrade services via simple OTA (over-the-air) updates. The SB3010 paves the way for a powerful new class of multi-mode, multimedia convergent devices that merge the flexibility and performance of PC’s with the form and convenience of mobile handsets. The SB3010 platform departs radically from traditional hardware by allowing manufacturers to create, test, modify and execute their designs entirely in software. Coupled with intuitive programming tools and a supercomputer class “C” compiler, the SB3010 not only reduces risk, cost, complexity and time-to-market, it uniquely facilitates swift and easy adaptation to multiplying and evolving standards; emerging network requirements like MIMO; and diverse audio and video formats. Additionally, the platform enables manufacturers to differentiate and extend the usability of their designs by streamlining the development and integration of new features and applications.

July 25, 2005. Geospatial Experts announced its first update to its GPS-Photo Link software since fall of 2004. Version 3.5 is available for free download to those who already own a license to GPS-Photo Link and is available for purchase ($229 for the Standard Edition, $299 for the Ricoh Edition) at www.GeoSpatialExperts.com. GeoSpatial Experts’ GPS-Photo Link software automatically maps photos and locates them on aerial and satellite images and street or topographic maps. It works with any GPS and any digital camera and links your photos to their location without having to connect the two devices. Users can add their own background maps with GPS-Photo Link’s ArcView extension. The Ricoh Edition of the software works is integrated with the Ricoh Pro G3 digital camera that uses a compact flash GPS card or Bluetooth card to geolocate photos. GeoSpatial Experts’ current customer base is varied. GPS-Photo Link is used by National Parks personnel in the U.S. to track hiking trail conditions; the U.S. military is in Iraq to map transport routes; the Florida Department of Transportation and FEMA to track hurricane damage. Universities, local utilities, insurance agents, realtors, government agencies, engineers, farmers, and even museums are finding that their GIS workflows have been optimized since adopting GPS-Photo Link.

July 25, 2005. Avenza Systems Inc., producers of MAPublisher cartographic software for Adobe Illustrator and Macromedia FreeHand as well as MAPdataUSA and MAPdataWorld royalty-free data sets, announces Geographic Imager, a new plug-in suite for Adobe Photoshop