Archived news extracts about GPS and Wireless Technologies 2006Here is our GPS/Wireless News archive for 2006. Search Tip: using "Ctrl" + "F"This page is too big to simply scroll down in the hope to find a particular word. Press and hold the "Ctrl" button and press the “F” button. In the small pop-up window type the word or phrase you are looking for. Press “Enter” and you will find the first occurrence of the word you are looking for. Every time you hit “Enter” you will find the next occurrence of the word. Here you will find the Actual and Archived GPS-Wireless News pages: December 23, 2006.-- SkyWave Mobile Communications, the worldwide leader in D+ satellite communications products and services, announced the availability of the SureLinx 8100, a compact D+ and GPRS integrated wireless controller. The SureLinx 8100 combines SkyWave D+ satellite terminal technology with quad-band GPRS to enable effortless and immediate application development while maintaining the same high quality and proven dependability the industry has come to expect with SkyWave D+. By cost-effectively leveraging the power of these two networks, the SureLinx 8100 makes it easy for solution providers to grow their top and bottom lines with new and complimentary business. SureLinx 8100 provides increased global coverage of mobile or remote assets and simplified hardware and network integration at a minimal cost. SkyWave D+ solution providers can effortlessly extend their existing applications to include GPRS capabilities. GPRS solution providers gain access to the SkyWave D+ network as a dependable low-cost backup, maintaining visibility of valued assets traveling in and out of cellular coverage areas. The multiple interfaces, cabling and the costly complexities of integrating separate D+ and GPRS equipment are eliminated, allowing solution providers to focus on delivering new applications to the end customer faster and with fewer resources. "We trust SkyWave D+ for our asset monitoring and control applications," says Ricardo Imperatriz, Marketing Director for OnixSat Rastreamento de Veiculos Ltda. "And we are excited about extending our existing applications to include the new SkyWave SureLinx 8100 D+/GPRS product. We know it will work, because SkyWave D+ works." OnixSat is one of several SkyWave customers who have successfully completed product trials with the SureLinx 8100. The SureLinx 8100's low power, rugged exterior, discrete size and flexible configuration is suitable for a wide range of applications requiring urban, rural and remote wireless coverage. It is ideal for land and marine mobile applications for asset monitoring, tracking and messaging. December 21, 2006.-- The U.S. Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract valued at approximately $50 million to execute a System Design Review for the next generation Global Positioning System Space Segment program, known as GPS Block III.GPS III will address the challenging military transformational and civil needs across the globe, including advanced anti-jam capabilities and improved system security, accuracy and reliability. The program will enhance space- based navigation and performance and set a new world standard for positioning and timing services. "With a successful requirements review accomplished, we have quickly turned our focus to meeting the design requirements under this important contract," said Don DeGryse, vice president, Lockheed Martin Navigation Systems. "Our team continues to work diligently to provide a low-risk, high- confidence GPS III block approach and we are well prepared to help our customer achieve mission success on this essential program." Lockheed Martin recently conducted a successful GPS III System Requirements Review under a $10 million follow-on to a 2004 Phase A Concept Development Contract. In November, the team was awarded a $49.9 million contract to conduct a GPS III System Design Review (SDR) in March 2007. This effort will further help the government define its approach to the space segment specification. A multi-billion dollar development contract is scheduled to be awarded by the Global Positioning Systems Wing, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. in 2007. For GPS III, Lockheed Martin and its navigation payload provider ITT are building on their successful experience on the government's Block IIR and IIR- M programs. The third GPS Block IIR-M satellite was launched on Nov. 17 from Cape Canaveral and declared operational for navigation users worldwide on Dec. 12 by Air Force Space Command at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo. The fourth GPS Block IIR-M satellite was delivered to Cape Canaveral last week to support a 2007 launch, if requested by the Air Force for constellation sustainment. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, a major operating unit of Lockheed Martin Corporation, designs, develops, tests, manufactures and operates a full spectrum of advanced-technology systems for national security, civil and commercial customers. Chief products include human space flight systems; a full range of remote sensing, navigation, meteorological and communications satellites and instruments; space observatories and interplanetary spacecraft; laser radar; fleet ballistic missiles; and missile defense systems. Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2005 sales of $37.2 billion. December 20, 2006.-- Trimble announced it has supplied its VRS (Virtual Reference Station) software to establish a national Global Positioning System (GPS) infrastructure network in the south of Poland. The VRS network provides a geospatial infrastructure for surveying, engineering and Geographic Information System (GIS) professionals. The VRS network enables high accuracy Real Time Kinematic (RTK) GPS positioning without the need of separate base stations or software, significantly increasing efficiency and productivity. The network is the first of its kind in Poland and supplies centimeter- level RTK GPS data for a variety of positioning applications including geodetic and cadastral surveying, road and bridge construction, and archeological excavation site location and documentation. There are also plans to use the network for managing and dispatching emergency medical and rescue teams in Krakow to improve efficiency and response times. The VRS network, known as Malopolski System Pozycjonowania Precyzyjnego, is operated by the BGUM, the survey office of the local government. Built with Trimble GPSNet and RTKNet software, the network covers the southern part of Poland, called Malopolska. In addition to improving the accuracy of results, the network is expected to enable fast measurements within 2-5 seconds. The use of the network will be free of charge for surveyors in the next three years. "The VRS network provides a highly reliable, cost-effective means for surveyors and other professionals to work faster and achieve more accurate GPS positioning results," said Maciej Antosiewicz, Chief of the Survey Office at the Malopolska Regional Office of the Polish Government. "The Malopolska network is expected to provide vast opportunities for the positioning industry that could bring significant business benefits. The VRS network is the first part of the planned nation-wide GPS network, known as ASG (Aktywna Siec Geodezyjna or Network for Online Positioning User Service), which will be a GPS CORS (Continuously Operating Reference Station) network covering the entire country of Poland." The network also makes it easier to combine GPS technology with traditional optical surveying methods because the results are available in real-time. In addition, simultaneous use of GPS and optical equipment does not require complex preparations and data exchange. The Malopolska VRS network follows more than 80 Trimble infrastructure installations networks throughout the world including: China, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, U.S., Singapore, Portugal, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, New Caledonia, Australia, Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. For a partial reference list of Trimble VRS installations visit: http://www.trimble.com/vrsinstallations.shtml . December 20, 2006.-- Remote activationof specific in-vehicle functions, such as turning on interiortemperature-control and defrosting systems, shows a high likelihood ofdramatically raising consumer interest in telematics services in futurevehicles, according to a recent study conducted for ATX Group. ATX is theworld's second largest telematics provider to the automotive industry,serving both the North American and European markets. J.D. Power and Associates was commissioned by ATX to conduct a conjointanalysis of various telematics services across premium, luxury, near-luxuryand mass-market vehicle model segments. Among the five telematics servicepackage offerings included in the analysis (automatic crash notification,the remote access services, GPS location-based services, vehicleinformation, and satellite radio)*, vehicle owners in the U.S. were morelikely to purchase a bundle of telematics services if it included theremote access capability. ATX has bundled these services into a package forautomobile manufacturers called DIVA (driver interactive vehicle applications). In all but the premium vehicle model segment, remote activationservices were ranked by all model segments in the study as the mostpreferred application in a bundle of telematics services that included suchtraditional, location-based services as automatic collision notification,in-vehicle emergency "MayDay" buttons, stolen vehicle recovery, and vehiclegeo-fencing (alerting the owner any time a vehicle transects anowner-defined, geographic boundary). Remote diagnostics of vehicle performance and automatic owner (parent)notification anytime the vehicle exceeded the owner's pre-determined speedlimit emerged as additional applications consumers preferred in atelematics service package. With the addition of remote-access capabilityto a low-cost, multi-feature bundle of telematics services, a majority ofvehicle owners in the survey preferred the telematics services over amonthly satellite radio subscription. An even larger majority would likethe opportunity to access both telematics and satellite radio in onepackage. The study also revealed that with a broad menu of telematics services,a majority (approximately three-fifths) of those surveyed would pay anadditional $400 above the Manufacturers' Suggested Retail Price fortelematics hardware. "This research tells us that most vehicle owners see a lot of value ina service that bundles into a single package a broad range of applicationsthat deliver safety, convenience and, most importantly, owner control ...even remotely ... over the operation of their vehicle," said Gary Wallace,ATX Vice President of Corporate Relations. December 19, 2006.-- The wireless communication scenario is witnessing a surge in new generation technologies such as ultra- wideband (UWB). Stemming from a need for a space effective, secure, high capacity and easy-to-use wireless solution, UWB allows for superior performances without compromising on quality. With inadequate existing technology such as Bluetooth 2.0 and WiFi, in terms of power consumption efficiency, data rates, quality and security, UWB allows end users instantaneous access to a broad spectrum of information. If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants with an overview of the advances in Ultra-Wideband Communications, then send an e-mail to Mireya Castilla, Corporate Communications, at mireya.castilla@frost.com with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, city, state, country and e-mail address. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by e-mail. The increased use of handheld and portable devices such as MP3 players, digital cameras, camcorders, mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) has created a need for a wireless technology providing speedy connectivity, while consuming minimal power making UWB the ideal solution. UWB's ability to transmit vast amounts of data over short distances consuming minimal power allows a longer battery life, especially for portable and handheld devices running on battery power or having limited access to power supply. As memory storage capacities increase to several gigabytes, UWB facilitates these high-speed data transfers. "For instance, UWB has the ability to transfer data in the region of 480 Mbps and is soon likely to surge up to beyond 1 Gbps or more," says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Venkat Malleypula. "Furthermore, this high speed interconnectivity is not restricted to wireless environment but is possible over power lines and coaxial media as well." In addition to affinity for minimal power consumption, UWB also meets the need for high-speed connectivity. As most portable devices employ PCs to move data on and off their memory, high-speed connectivity for rapid synchronization is a necessity. As a result, UWB gains a competitive edge over traditional technologies such as Bluetooth 2.0 and IEEE 802.11 a/b/g. The aptitude for high security transmissions is another UWB stronghold. "As UWB operates below noise level, given the digital nature of its transmissions, these signals are virtually impossible to detect thus making UWB pulses extremely difficult to detect or intercept," points out Malleypula. "This feature prevents unauthorized access to secure information, making it a boon for organizations such as the military and the government." Apart from government agencies, UWB is also affecting other areas on a large scale, ranging from healthcare, automotive, to home networking, and multimedia communications. "For instance, several companies are developing UWB technologies to specifically address the need of various applications such as precision geo- positioning systems, collision and obstacle avoidance radars, intelligent transportation systems, asset tracking, medical imaging and wireless communications," explains Malleypula. "This technology is also breaking new ground in the short-range wireless communications and multiple streams segment, which includes applications based on PCs, HDTV and consumer electronics." These numerous advantages, along with the low cost and complexity of a UWB system, are driving phenomenal growth in this sector projecting a positive outlook for the near future. The Advances in Ultra Wideband Communications is part of the Technical Insights Growth Partnership Service, which includes vital information on the following technologies: WiFi, Zigbee and Bluetooth, focusing primarily on ultra-wideband technology. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews are available to the press. December 17, 2006.-- NASA Ames Research Center and Google have signed a Space Act Agreement that formally establishes a relationship to work together on a variety of challenging technical problems ranging from large-scale data management and massively distributed computing, to human-computer interfaces. As the first in a series of joint collaborations, Google and Ames will focus on making the most useful of NASA's information available on the Internet. Real-time weather visualization and forecasting, high-resolution 3-D maps of the moon and Mars, real-time tracking of the International Space Station and the space shuttle will be explored in the future. "This agreement between NASA and Google will soon allow every American to experience a virtual flight over the surface of the moon or through the canyons of Mars," said NASA Administrator Michael Griffin at Headquarters in Washington. "This innovative combination of information technology and space science will make NASA's space exploration work accessible to everyone," added Griffin. "Partnering with NASA made perfect sense for Google, as it has a wealth of technical expertise and data that will be of great use to Google as we look to tackle many computing issues on behalf of our users," said Eric Schmidt, chief executive officer of Google. "We're pleased to move forward to collaborate on a variety of technical challenges through the signing of the Space Act Agreement." Recently, teams from NASA and Google met to discuss the many challenging computer science problems facing both organizations and possible joint collaborations that could help address them. NASA and Google intend to collaborate in a variety of areas, including incorporating agency data sets in Google Earth, focusing on user studies and cognitive modeling for human computer interaction, and science data search utilizing a variety of Google features and products. "Our collaboration with Google will demonstrate that the private and public sectors can accomplish great things together," said S. Pete Worden, Ames center director. "I want NASA Ames to establish partnerships with the private sector that will encourage innovation, while advancing the Vision for Space Exploration and commercial interests," Worden added. "NASA has collected and processed more information about our planet and universe than any other entity in the history of humanity," said Chris C. Kemp, director of strategic business development at Ames. "Even though this information was collected for the benefit of everyone, and much is in the public domain, the vast majority of this information is scattered and difficult for non-experts to access and to understand. "We've worked hard over the past year to implement an agreement that enables NASA and Google to work closely together on a wide range of innovative collaborations," said Kemp. "We are bringing together some of the best research scientists and engineers to form teams to make more of NASA's vast information accessible." NASA and Google also are finalizing details for additional collaborations that include joint research, products, facilities, education and missions. Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Google is headquartered close to Ames in Silicon Valley with offices through the Americas, Europe and Asia. December 14, 2006.-- Citigroup, MasterCard Worldwide, Cingular Wireless and Nokia announced a consumer technology trial of Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled mobile phones with MasterCard PayPass contactless payment capability in New York City. The goal of this trial is to evaluate the speed and convenience that "tap and go" payments made through mobile phones can provide to Citi credit cards and Cingular customers in the New York City area. The trial is expected to run three to six months. Pre-selected Citi MasterCard cardholders with Cingular Wireless accounts are participating in the trial and will receive Nokia NFC-enabled mobile phones with MasterCard PayPass payment functionality. MasterCard PayPass is a "contactless" payment program that provides consumers with a fast and convenient way to pay. With their NFC-enabled phone, trial participants can pay for purchases at any merchant that accepts MasterCard PayPass by simply holding their phone near a secure PayPass payment terminal. If they choose, participants will be permitted to enable the PayPass functionality only at the point of sale and to disable it at all other times. The contactless payment transaction is automatically charged to the user through the same secure MasterCard payment network that processes traditional credit card transactions. "As a leader in innovative products and services, Citigroup continually looks for ways to make the lives of our customers easier," said Amy Radin, Chief Innovation Officer, Global Consumer Group, Citigroup. "We are confident that mobile phone technology with contactless payment will appeal to our customers' increasing demands for speed, convenience and security." "This trial offers Citi customers a new payment experience and, in fact, the first step in the convergence of the wallet with the mobile phone," said Ed Garofalo, Executive Vice President, Citi Cards. "Carrying a mobile phone has become almost as common as carrying a wallet," said Scott McElroy, vice president technology realization for Cingular Wireless. "This trial will continue to help us learn more about how NFC technologies work and how customers will want to use their phones as part of their real-world transaction process." "Most people have their mobile phone with them wherever they go to stay in touch. The simplicity of conducting everyday transactions, such as low cost purchases with their phone, adds high value and convenience for consumers," said Dieter May, Vice President and Head of Nokia Emerging Business Unit. "Nokia NFC-enabled phones used in this trial support over-the-air downloading of cardholder information, which is necessary for commercial rollout of NFC based mobile services. We believe NFC creates new and exciting opportunities for mobile operators, credit card associations, banks and other stakeholders, and we will be closely involved in the creation of the emerging NFC ecosystem bringing benefits to all parties." "MasterCard has long believed that the mobile phone represents a ubiquitous payment device, in large part because consumers continue to grow more comfortable using them for a range of activites beyond making and receiving calls," said Art Kranzley, Executive Vice President and Group Executive, Advanced Payments, MasterCard Worldwide. "We also believe New York City makes an ideal backdrop for a technology built on speed and convenience. We are excited to team up with industry leaders such as Citi, Cingular and Nokia to test the promise of NFC in one of the world's fastest-paced environments." Trial participants can also take part in the New York City Subway contactless transit fare payment trial sponsored by Citigroup, MasterCard Worldwide, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and MTA New York City Transit. All the customer has to do is activate the phone in order to tap for entry at participating 4, 5 and 6 subway locations along the Lexington Avenue Line. NXP Semiconductors (formerly Philips Semiconductors) developed the NFC technology and chips for the NFC-enabled mobile phones in the New York City trial to facilitate secure, contactless communication between two devices. Giesecke & Devrient developed the Over the Air (OTA) personalization software that allows for the process of initializing your mobile phone with the information it needs to conduct secure transactions. ViVOtech provided NFC software and services to enable the trial working in concert with the partners. To request to participate in the New York City area mobile phone trial, please visit www.nyctrial.com by December 20, 2006. Trial participation is limited and certain criteria must be met in order to participate. December 13, 2006.-- TruePosition, a leading provider of wireless location solutions and a subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation (attributed to its Liberty Capital Group), announced that it is expanding implementation of its Finder wireless location system within Cingular Wireless' network. Cingular is the largest wireless carrier in the United States. The agreement extends TruePosition's current contract with Cingular Wireless to cover the AT&T Wireless networks Cingular acquired, replacing AT&T Wireless's location system. The agreement will provide Cingular Wireless with TruePosition's network-based Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (U-TDOA) location technology throughout its nationwide network.TruePosition's wireless location system will assist Cingular in continuing to meet the FCC's E911 location mandate. The deployment within Cingular's network, one of the largest GSM networks in the world, represents the most extensive wireless E911 location infrastructure deployment worldwide. "TruePosition has had a strong partnership with Cingular and we are pleased to be building on it," noted Stephen Stuut, CEO of TruePosition. "We are excited to increase our involvement with Cingular as they expand one of the most robust and dynamic wireless networks in the world." December 12, 2006.-- Worldscout Corporation has announced it has acquired Toronto-based Alltigo Inc., a leading developer of micro- electronic GPS/GSM devices and embedded software applications. The acquisition results in Alltigo's engineering team (GPS technology specialists, software developers and programmers) joining Worldscout's R&D team. In addition, Alltigo's patent pending, real time Personal Location Tracking Device which combines AA-GPS and GSM/GPRS technologies to locate, track and protect, people, vehicles and other mobile assets remotely, via the Internet, will be used to broaden the omniscout product line. "This acquisition will help move us into brand new markets," said Robert Metz, President of Worldscout Corporation. "The potential is incredible because we now have a mainstream product which extends the capabilities of vehicle tracking and monitoring. We now have a small hand held unit which gives us the ability to track, in real time, any person, vehicle or asset remotely, via the Internet. From a consumer technology perspective this is unprecedented." The technology can locate GPS satellites and lock onto their signal more efficiently than other systems. It uses a wireless cellular modem to communicate its location and receive commands over a GSM/GPRS mobile phone network, via TCP/IP (Internet Protocol), or SMS text message (Short Message Service). The device has reported position accuracy within a few meters. Weighing just one ounce and measuring 90 x 48 x 20mm (3.5 x 1.9 x 0.8"), the device uses a built-in Lithium-ion battery has an average use life of 7 days and its on-board memory can store up to 60,000 locations. The device is also service agnostic and can be used with existing Location Based Services (LBS) or without. December 10, 2006.-- Elektrobit navigation software and SVOX text-to-speech solutions have been successfully deployed in MEDION's award winning navigation device that is shipped in high volumes through stores in Europe. "The small footprint, user-friendly interface and fast and accurate speech output have been ranked No. 1 by the Auto Motor Sport magazine in Germany", pointed out Mr. Daniel Gast, Product Manager at Elektrobit. The joint offering from Elektrobit and SVOX allows for a high degree of customization as well as adaptation to a customer's voice branding strategy. "This lets our customers integrate this world-class text-to-speech enabled navigation software into their branding strategy as well as their overall human-machine interface concept," said Mr. Gast. "Valued for its speed, multi instance capability and multi lingual features, SVOX text-to-speech is giving our customers designed voice output at its best." "We look forward to further joint product roll-outs", states Mr. Eric Lehmann, CSO SVOX. "No other system integrator has a more modular structure than Elektrobit does. Their navigation solution interacts perfectly with MEDION's operating system." Language support is built-in for 16 languages. A large number of platforms are supported, including, but not limited to Windows CE, Windows XP, Symbian, QNX and Linux. Speech instructions designed by SVOX are precise and clear, and preferred voice recognition engines can be integrated easily. The joint software solution is capable of excellent performance on a large number of platforms including cellular phones, personal navigation devices and in-vehicle infotainment systems. Experienced engineering teams are available to provide integration and test services and to support the customer in best implementing the requirements for their specific navigation solution and voice branding objectives. December 6, 2006.-- Quake Global, a leading manufacturer ofsatellite modems for the trucking and heavy equipment industries, announcedthat Volvo Trucks North America, Greensboro, NC, will install QuakeGlobal's Q2000+ satellite communicator as standard equipment in all Volvotrucks manufactured with US'07 engines. The Q2000+ is an integral component in"Volvo Link Sentry," Volvo's proprietary two-way satellite communicationssystem. "We are delighted that Volvo Trucks North America has chosen to integrateQuake's Q2000+ satellite modem into its state of the art 'Volvo Link Sentry'communications system," said Polina Braunstein, President and CEO of QuakeGlobal. "Volvo Trucks is widely known for its insistence on maintaining thehighest standards of quality and demanding that its suppliers do the same.Providing the Q2000+ modem for the Volvo Link Sentry is a major step for ourgrowing company, and by meeting Volvo's high quality standards, we havepositioned Quake Global for many more growth opportunities in satellitecommunications." Quake Global's Q2000+ and the Volvo Link Sentry have been standardequipment since late-2005 on the Volvo VT 880 and VT 830 tractors, withwidespread customer acceptance. Volvo Link Sentry is a remote vehicle anddriver performance monitoring system that gives Volvo customers 24/7 access totechnical support, while providing fleet managers with a wealth of informationabout truck operations. Quake Global is proud of its world-wide reputation for providinghigh-quality subscriber communicators for the IRIDIUM, ORBCOMM(R), andINMARSAT D+ LEO and GEO satellite systems. Quake Global provides a widevariety of satellite modems to KOMATSU, CATERPILLAR, HITACHI, VOLVOCONSTRUCTION, XATA, AVIDYNE, AIR IQ, FLEET MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS, DRIVER-TECH,ANDRONICS, and FARIA, among others. December 6, 2006.-- Vettro, the market leader in on-demand mobile business applications, introduced expanded GPS capabilities in its Vettro 360 product suite. Vettro's enhanced product offering builds upon traditional GPS tracking and mapping functionality to enable more intelligent utilization of location-based services. Specifically, the new functionality enables users to set up customized map views based on any number of variables or characteristics associated with the mobile workforce. The new application enables Vettro customers to extend the on-demand mapping service well beyond conventional workforce tracking and integrate data specific to their business to the map display and reports. Vettro's GPS service is architected to easily accommodate custom data--such as proprietary landmarks, onboard inventory, or worker status-that can be pulled from an existing Vettro mobile application or the enterprise back-end system. "Our improved GPS application enables us to easily deploy a Web-based solution to our clients that gives them the tools they need to more intelligently leverage real-time location and proximity information," said Matt Finkelstein, Vice President of Product Management for Vettro. "Prior to this enhancement, our customers had no simple way to integrate their specific business information or requirements into a mapping solution. This solution creates an 'on-demand tunnel' from enterprise data to our GIS infrastructure so that clients can use multiple types of information in a much more meaningful way than they ever have before." The new version of Vettro's GPS service was developed with direct feedback from customers in the livery, transportation, distribution, and services industry, and is now generally available both as a stand-alone packaged product as well as an add-on service to the Vettro 360 application suite. December 5, 2006.-- NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital map data for location-based solutions and vehicle navigation, has been named as the map data provider for Canada-based Datacom Wireless Corporation. Specifically, NAVTEQ map data will be utilized in Mobilus, a stolen vehicle tracking system and Mobicom, a GPS real-time fleet management system. Datacom's Mobilus solution is a protection, security and vehicle tracking system that prevents and detects car theft in real time, increasing the security of vehicles. Mobicom is a state-of-the-art fleet tracking system that allows users to manage vehicles in real time over the Internet, increasing efficiency and revenue while saving money on fuel, maintenance and manpower. Datacom utilizes NAVTEQ's comprehensive Canadian and US map data to pinpoint vehicles for applications like stolen vehicle tracking and real-time fleet management. These applications provide valuable features such as geofencing, site management, address finding, GPS tracking and historical trip rendering. Highly accurate and detailed map data from NAVTEQ allows Datacom's Mobilus Tracking System to notify authorities of the exact location of a stolen vehicle. The same data is used by Datacom's Mobicom Tracking System to track fleet vehicles in a variety of industries. NAVTEQ employs one of the industry's most comprehensive development and quality control programs for the highest levels of excellence and precision. Built by a team of approximately 600 geographic analysts, the NAVTEQ database includes in-depth coverage of urban and rural areas and field-verified routing attributes such as one-way streets. These attributes along with Points-of-Interest make it easier to locate vehicles via the Mobilus and Mobicom Tracking Systems. December 5, 2006.-- 3DLABS Inc., Ltd., a fabless semiconductor company, demonstrated at Navigation USA, 2006 what next-generation portable navigation and location aware devices could look like running on the recently announced DMS-02 media processor. Working closely with Tele Atlas, a leading global provider of digital maps and dynamic content for navigation and location based solutions, 3DLABS demonstrated how the navigation experience can be enhanced by providing high fidelity 3D detail and texture to create life-like renderings of the locations people wish to find, navigate and experience. At the same event 3DLABS announced its collaboration with NORDNAV to bring low-cost, high-quality software based GPS solutions to market that utilise the architecture and low-power floating-point performance of the DMS-02 media processor to accelerate acquisition times, enhance tracking accuracy and reduce costs. "With a DMS-02 based PNAV product, users of location aware devices will be able to experience a rich 3D environment that reflects the reality they can see, including landmarks, landscapes, points-of-interest and individual buildings." said Tim Lewis, director sales and marketing at 3DLABS. "Combine 3D and software GPS with the DMS-02's media processing capabilities and you have a complete platform for enabling feature rich navigation products with extended battery life. "The market is evolving to more realistically represent the world as we know it," said Jack Reinelt, Managing Director Europe, Tele Atlas. "Enriched maps that offer more visual information to make navigation easier and enhance location based services will replace flat maps and Tele Atlas are at the forefront of reflecting this reality, complete with 3D landmarks and other data. Enhanced 3D visualization will make maps even more attractive, informative and interesting with a range of consumer applications." "By leveraging the floating-point processing capabilities of the 3DLABS DMS-02 media processor, our E5000 software GPS provides fast time to first fix and gives users continuous tracking and advanced navigation filtering even in the most challenging environments." Said Mattias Astrom, CEO of Nordnav. "Software based GPS provides significant advantages with lower cost, smaller foot-print and the ability for users to continuously upgrade the GPS performance and the 3DLABS architecture provides an ideal platform for our software." The DMS-02 Media Processor Based on a fully programmable array of floating-point processors the DMS-02 is the first handheld media processor capable of HD 720p H.264 video playback and fully exploits the parallel nature of traditional video, image, audio, 2D/3D graphics and signal processing while having the flexibility to adapt to emerging standards and applications such as software GPS, software defined radio, digital media broadcast and physics processing for game engines. The DMS-02 incorporates 24 floating-point processing elements, dual ARM 926EJ cores, multi-level caches, three bi-directional video stream ports, 32 or 64-bit mobile memory for up to 1.6 GBytes of bandwidth and peripheral interfaces to LCDs, CMOS sensors, IDE Disks, USB OTG, Flash memory and Audio DACs. The device is OS independent with first Software Development Kits supporting embedded Linux 2.6. December 5, 2006.-- Privately held Global Locate Inc., a leader in Assisted-GPS products and services and Comneon, a leading supplier of protocol stack software for mobile communications, announced the availability of protocol software stacks incorporating software support for Infineon Technologies' Hammerhead chip, the world's first single die CMOS GPS receiver. The Comneon software solution enables handset manufacturers to introduce handsets compatible with RRLP (Radio Resource Location Protocol), RRC (Radio Resource Control), and SUPL (Secure User Plane Location) standards for Assisted GPS (A-GPS) without any additional software development. The solution set provides comprehensive coverage of all modes of GPS operation for both E911 and LBS (location based services) applications. A-GPS overcomes the limitations of traditional GPS services. Standard GPS receivers must download data from GPS satellites. This often takes several minutes for a conventional GPS receiver to download the required data from the satellites before computing its own location. With A-GPS, the same data can be relayed via an A-GPS server within a matter of seconds. This dramatically improves the performance of the GPS receiver in the mobile phone. "GPS applications and services are becoming more attractive to handset manufacturers and mobile operators. One important enabler of this trend is the availability of devices that not only meet the handset designers' size and power requirements - but are also able to pass strict regulatory stipulations such as the US E911 mandate and the Japanese mandate which specify the range of the positioning of mobile phones sending emergency calls. In this respect the combined Hardware/Software offering from Comneon and Global Locate is a step in the right direction," said Patrick Connolly, GPS Analyst at IMS Research. Dr. Christian Mucke, Managing Director of Comneon noted, "Incorporating our leading edge A-GPS software into our 2G/3G protocol stack and pre-integrating it with the Infineon Hammerhead GPS IC significantly lowers design efforts and therefore offers a cost advantage for our customers. The solution is applicable to both control plane and user plane protocols in our GPRS/EDGE and UMTS protocol offerings." "The Comneon stack has completed intensive Inter Operability Testing against A-GPS core network elements such as SMLC (Serving Mobile Location Centre) and SLP (SUPL Location Platform) with major manufacturers" noted Javier De Salas, Global Locate VP of Marketing and Business Development. "This is a significant time-to-market advantage. Handset manufacturers now save the effort and expense of designing and qualifying protocol software from the ground up." About the Hammerhead Chip Hammerhead is the world's first single die CMOS GPS receiver. A product of the continuing partnership between Global Locate and Infineon Technologies, Hammerhead supports mobile station-assisted (MS-A), mobile station-based (MS-B), autonomous and enhanced tracking modes. Hammerhead provides the industry's highest sensitivity for deep indoor signal tracking, full support for assisted and autonomous modes, and highly accurate navigation in the toughest signal environments. Hammerhead's unique host-based software architecture minimizes device size and cost and allows protocol messaging to be incorporated directly into the GPS navigation software. Additional information is available on the following URL http://www.infineon.com/gps December 4, 2006.-- deCarta (formerly Telcontar),the leading supplier of software platforms and services for theLocation-Based Services (LBS) industry, has announced the launch ofthe deCarta Navigation Software Developer Kit (SDK). The new developer kitenables personal navigation device and smart phone manufacturers to quicklybuild and bring to market highly customized and differentiated navigationapplications. The SDK also provides the manufacturer the freedom andability to reinforce their brand with a customizable look and feel. deCarta's Navigation SDK builds on the strength of the company's RichMap Engine -- the same underlying gold-standard technology broadlydeployed by today's leading Internet, wireless and navigation solutionproviders such as Google, Ask.com, Verizon and Sprint. Combiningunparalleled routing speed and an extensive array of navigationcapabilities, deCarta's Navigation SDK allows for quick introduction ofproducts with attractive and best-in-class functionality targeted for highreturn on investment. Navigation functionality supported by the SDK includes:
"In the industry's rapidly growing and competitive environment,manufacturers must be agile in bringing differentiated applications tomarket," said J. Kim Fennell, President and CEO of deCarta. "The NavigationSDK allows personal navigation device producers to focus their resources oncustomizing and enhancing the user interface, rather than spending valuabletime constructing the increasingly complex navigation platform." Providing the Bridge to Connected Navigation As the industry moves toward connected navigation to improve userexperience and brand loyalty, deCarta's Navigation SDK provides futuremigration to dynamic on-board navigation applications giving usersup-to-the- minute traffic, road, weather and local search by linking themobile unit to deCarta's flagship Drill Down Server(R) -- already poweringsome of the most successful location-based service applications on themarket. The Navigation SDK also ensures application compatibility with newreleases of the underlying route engine, while providing a uniform datamodel to enable the use of best- in-class map data from multiple vendorswithout impacting application performance. Ease of Integration deCarta's Navigation SDK is a comprehensive development suite withsoftware, sample code, sample data and complete documentation. The SDKprovides an Application Programming Interface (API) for accessing all ofthe functions required to create customized navigation applications,allowing customers to bypass the "trial and error" phase, reducedevelopment time, and bring products to market faster. To help acceleratedevelopment, sample applications in source code that illustrate the use ofall the navigation functionality supported will be provided to developers. December 3, 2006.-- RFID is one of the fastest growing technologies because it has so many advantages over older technologies such as bar codes and magnetic strips. So, Kanda.com has introduced a new starter kit for RFID that simplifies the process of creating applications using RFID systems. RFID tags come in many forms from flexible labels and key fobs to contact less cards to suit the particular application. Apart from some specialist tags that need backup power, most RFID tags obtain all their power through RF induction, so they do not need batteries. The read range of the tag is mainly dependent on the power of the reader and its antenna size, but in most cases it is three to four inches. Tags all conform to ISO standards that cover a range of frequencies from 125KHz to 2.4GHz. The Kanda kit uses 13.56MHz tags that conform to ISO15693, as this is a reliable mid-range standard with both read and write capabilities. Apart from a programmer and reader unit, the Kanda RFID kit includes an RF detector that gives an indication of the RF field strength near a reader, which helps both in development and in the siting of units. However, the most important part of the starter kit is the software package. The protocol used is very flexible to allow engineers to design their own systems to suit their needs, rather than being constrained by the limitations of the software. As well as the standard read, write and lock functions, the protocol allows for continuous read, and includes anti-collision algorithms that deals with multiple tags in the reader field. Obviously, a RFID tag system that is to replace bar codes or magnetic swipe cards must be linked to new or existing software such as data bases to be effective. Therefore, this Kanda kit includes Windows API software and documentation to integrate the kit into a variety of software and database platforms. This Kanda.com RFID starter kit is a cost-effective way of designing an RFID system for a wide range of applications from entry control and membership records to stock tracking and movement recording. December 1, 2006.-- Ordnance Survey is adding more reference stations in north-west Scotland to complete its revolutionary national infrastructure for receiving satellite-based positioning signals. Eleven new receivers to the north of the Great Glen will underpin a range of publicly available GPS correction services aimed at surveyors, highway engineers, utility companies and others in need of pinpoint positioning information. The infrastructure, called OS Net, improves the real-time accuracy of raw satellite-based positioning from around 10 meters down to around 1 centimeter. Initially developed to support Ordnance Survey's own field staff, it has now been made available to commercial technology partners so they can build distinct applications for their own customers. "By extending coverage into north-west Scotland we can strengthen what is already a vital enabling infrastructure for users across Great Britain," says Neil Ackroyd, Ordnance Survey's Director of Data Collection and Management. "We are the first organization in Britain to develop a complete national network enabling seamless real-time GPS positioning at the centimeter level. Our investment in the latest satellite-based GPS technology has enabled our own staff to work more efficiently as they collect definitive geographic information. We have now taken this a stage further by opening up OS Net for others." The north-west Scotland stations, plus a planned new addition on the Scilly Isles, off the coast of Cornwall, will complete a roll-out of more than 100 receivers linked to mounted antennae across Great Britain with permanent power and communication links. Each receiver is connected in real time to a server hub at Ordnance Survey's Southampton head office. Data collected by the stations is sent in real time to the hub, where it is transmitted for partner applications within milliseconds. Partners then generate various correction models to improve the typical 10-metre accuracy of raw GPS readings to the meter or centimeter level, depending on their customers' choice of GPS equipment and other technical factors. The commercialization of the network reflects growing demand for a wider choice of positioning applications among high-accuracy GPS users such as utility companies locating and recording underground assets. Precision agriculture, emergency response, vehicle tracking, and near-shore marine and port operations can also be assisted through precision GPS. Since December 2005, commercial services based on OS Net have begun to appear from Leica Geosystems and Trimble. Both specialize in providing correction models for the surveying, construction and civil engineering sectors. "This is fantastic news that will enable the whole of Scotland with the full potential for a Network GPS solution," says Mark Burbidge, Network and Technical Support Manager of Leica's Surveying & Engineering division. "In particular, at Leica we see many new and existing users now being able to take full advantage of Network RTK [Real Time Kinematic] throughout Scotland, as well as the rest of Great Britain." "We are extremely pleased that Ordnance Survey continues to recognize the strategic value of universal connectivity for precise positioning applications in north-west Scotland," said Jürgen Kliem, general manager of Trimble's survey division. "Ordnance Survey's GPS network and commercial Trimble VRS Now service, which operates exclusively on Trimble VRS software, are enabling surveyors, engineers and mapping professionals to improve their workflow and increase productivity with centimeter-level accuracy." As well as partner services coming on stream, Ordnance Survey's own free web-based GPS service for non-commercial, post-processing and coordinate transformation continues to be improved for GPS users at www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/gps November 29, 2006.-- The USB Implementers Forum announced that it will add support for ultra-wideband frequencies above 6 GHz to the Wireless USB specification by the middle of 2007 as an addition to its existing support for frequencies below 5 GHz. "Adding support for the upper UWB bands is a natural progression for Certified Wireless USB. We plan to have the specification extensions completed before the radios are ready, so that new products that require these frequencies can get to market as quickly as possible," said Jeff Ravencraft, chairman and president of the USB Implementers Forum. "Wireless USB support for frequencies above 6 GHz enables and accelerates market growth," said Dave Fisher, CTO, Wireless, with Texas Instruments Residential Gateway and Embedded Systems Business Unit. "Upper band operation is a welcome development for the handset and consumer electronics industries as it provides flexibility for product implementations, and lets those products leverage existing USB infrastructure for added high-speed wireless connectivity." "Worldwide adoption for Ultra-wideband across diverse applications continues to be a top priority for both USB-IF and WiMedia Alliance. This advancement illustrates our successful efforts," said Stephen Wood, president of the WiMedia Alliance. "The entire UWB ecosystem takes another step forward with the addition of these higher frequencies in the Wireless USB specification." The Wireless USB Promoter Group developed the Wireless USB 1.0 specification to provide the speed and ease-of-use of Hi-Speed USB without the wires. To help ensure interoperability between products, the USB-IF has developed a comprehensive compliance and logo program for Wireless USB products. The first Wireless USB products are expected to ship by the end of this year. The USB-IF will extend its compliance and logo program to cover the upper UWB bands as those products come to market, which is projected to be in 1H'08. November 28, 2006.-- A shoe that has the potential to save lives through its patented Quantum Satellite Technology with GPS tracking abilities, Isaac Daniel's Compass Global 1000-Inventor's Limited Edition pushes the limits of how technology can function in footwear. Providing peace- of-mind technology through its advanced people-finding capabilities, the Compass Global 1000 will make its debut in the U.S. in early 2007. Initially only 1,000 people around the world will own these unique and distinctive brand of sneakers that provide Advanced Technology & Style. The GPS technology, embedded into seven different men's and women's sneaker models with 19 color combinations, are outfitted with a microcomputer with satellite tracking communication that, in the event of a perceived crisis by the wearer, can activate a Covert Alarm Locator. The alarm generates an emergency signal to the company's ID Conex monitoring station, pinpointing the shoes' location anywhere on the earth's surface. The whereabouts of the wearer are then communicated to law enforcement authorities. The need for Daniel's line of Quantum Satellite Technology across a broad range of demographic groups has been proven. The company is currently in negotiations to market the Compass Global sneaker -- and in the future, boots and shoes -- to various military outfits, caretakers of those suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and parents who want the ability to keep track of their young children. The need for this type of sneaker has already been recognized by the public and the press with feature stories in The New York Post, Women's Wear Daily, and Fitness and Footwear Plus magazines. Created by inventor and designer, Isaac Daniel, the Compass Global 1000 is, says Daniel, "a ground-breaking product that is set to change people's minds about how sneakers can be worn and their purpose in our lives. The Compass Global 1000 is a sneaker for new realities in the new millennium." Many reservations for the first 1000 GPS-enabled sneakers have already been taken online at www.isaacdaniel.com with more orders coming in everyday. Daniel is sure the sneakers will create added value in everyday life, "Celebrities and the press have already recognized the radical difference this product will make in people's lives. The time is right for the Compass Global 1000 sneaker, now, tomorrow and in the future." November 28, 2006.-- 3D Laser Mapping has launched StreetMapper 2, a new modular vehicle-mounted system for the rapid 3D mapping on and off road. Using lasers to 3D map assets and the terrain to millimeter accuracy at speeds of up to 70 km an hour, StreetMapper 2 and has been designed as a portable system for equipping different types of vehicle. When fitted to a standard 4 wheel drive vehicle StreetMapper 2 allows surveying off road, extending the scope of use beyond the highway. With easy-fit rack mounting and a roof rack suitable for any 4x4, 3D Laser Mapping is able to ship the system to any location allowing StreetMapper technology to be used worldwide for the first time. The data collected by StreetMapper 2 is used to create a highly detailed 3D model of the street corridor and overhead features; information that can be used for road surface and safety inspections, terrain and industrial asset mapping, bridge height surveys and road width mapping for entire routes. A further development of the original custom-built StreetMapper system, the latest version has also been developed in partnership with German firm IGI who special in navigation and precise positioning for aerial survey. StreetMapper technology involves a series of lasers that measure the position of features relative to the vehicle with an onboard computer that can process over 40,000 points per second. The system is calibrated so that each laser transmits its optical pulse at a known angle and uses satellite technology to calculate the exact real world position. StreetMapper 2 is the latest addition to 3D Laser Mapping's product portfolio that includes both terrestrial and airborne laser scanning solutions. 3D Laser Mapping integrate laser scanner hardware systems with their own software and peripherals to create robust solutions for mapping, mining and manufacturing and civil engineering. November 27, 2006.-- u-blox AG, the leading Swiss provider of GPS chips, modules and services, released the TIM-4R GPS module with dead reckoning technology that ensures 100% road coverage in even the most challenging GPS signal environments.Powered by u-blox' 16-channel ANTARIS 4 positioning engine, this GPS module provides uninterrupted positioning in environments where GPS operation was previously not possible and offers better navigation performance using less power than its predecessor, the TIM-LR. u-blox' dead reckoning technology uses additional sensors that detect travelled distance with an odometer and turn rate using a gyroscope, supplementing GPS data and thus providing an accurate position in tunnels, indoor parking facilities, roofed logistics centers, urban canyons and any other environment where obstructed GPS signals hinder positioning. Continuous coverage allows for GPS-enabled applications such as emergency vehicle services, asset and vehicle tracking products and road pricing systems, which require uninterrupted navigation. "The TIM-4R is a gateway technology that simplifies the creation of a wide range of GPS-enabled applications that require a highly accurate positioning solution with non-stop road coverage, even in the harshest signal environments," said Thomas Nigg, Head of Product Marketing and Application Engineering. Other systems use either GPS or dead reckoning, both of which have shortcomings. In contrast to switching between GPS and dead reckoning, which can lead to errors, the module's speciality lies in its weighted mix of both approaches that counters their respective disadvantages. Its built-in extended Kalman filter algorithm uses a combination of GPS and sensor data where the weighting depends on the quality of the GPS signals. Depending on the quality of the GPS signal and on how well the dead-reckoning sensors are calibrated, a weighted mix of both GPS and dead reckoning generates optimal results. Narrow streets between high-rise buildings also cause multi-path effects, resulting in degraded navigation accuracy and reliability. The TIM-4R's algorithmic approach eliminates these multi-path effects, position inaccuracies, and distortions from jamming sources. November 27, 2006.-- NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, has announced a new service called NAVTEQ Direct Access that allows retailers to accurately and comprehensively include all their locations in the NAVTEQ digital map used by millions of location-enabled consumers around the world every day. Navigation system users choose and route to high use retail Points of Interest such as restaurants, hotels, banks/ATM's, gas stations and stores in their system. By working directly with NAVTEQ, participating merchants now enjoy a global, cost effective way of exposing all of their retail locations -- even recently opened and newly acquired ones -- in the most widely used digital map. NAVTEQ Direct Access offers new customer reach possibilities by leveraging the digital map to reach today's mobile consumer. Unlike other media types, NAVTEQ Direct Access gives visibility to location information on demand when the consumer is at the decision-making point. Because the map is always in its user's navigation system regardless of where they go, mobile consumers will always have the participating merchants' locations with them. The new service enhances the consumer experience, regardless of their relationship with the participating merchants. Loyal customers interested in finding a particular company's locations will have a comprehensive listing wherever they go. Prospective consumers using proximity search capabilities en route will be better served by the most accurate geographic placement within the map. The updatable service enables changes to be made to a retail network such as entering new locations as soon as they are open, repositioning store locations to be more precise and removing locations on closing. NAVTEQ Direct Access is an important enhancement to NAVTEQ's customer commitment to providing high quality POI information that is accessible, accurate, up to date and correctly placed. "Leading retailers understand that larger numbers of location-enabled consumers using navigation systems are finding and buying from their locations," commented Mike Finn, Vice President, NAVTEQ Direct Access, "and that providing the latest location information via a leading digital map is an exciting new access channel." "Because NAVTEQ maps are the most broadly used across a range of location and navigation applications, keeping our locations up to date in one place allows us to reach the largest number of users. Today's consumer is more comfortable using technology to find our retail locations, so accurate listings in a leading digital map is a natural," said Bob Rosenbarger, Director Advertising Services, Walgreens. Leading companies already leveraging the growing mobile consumer target through NAVTEQ Direct Access include Walgreens, Starbucks Coffee Company, Sofitel, Motel 6, Red Roof Inn, Studio 6, Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, Roy's, Cheeseburger in Paradise, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and Americas Best Value Inn by Vantage. November 27, 2006.-- Furthering its penetration of the consumer GPS market, SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of GPS-enabled silicon and premium software location platforms, announced its SiRFstar GPS receiver technology has been selected by Bushnell Outdoor Products for its GPS market debut. The adoption of SiRF's GPS technology by the industry leader in sports optics and outdoor accessories is the latest in a string of successes that further strengthen SiRF's leading position in the mainstream consumer GPS market, reinforcing its reputation as the technology of choice for leading consumer brands. The Onix 200 hand-held GPS receiver and the NAV 500 portable in-car navigation are the first in a family of GPS products from Bushnell, establishing a new product category for the company and marking its entry into this rapidly growing market. With SiRF's GPS technology, optimized for portable, battery-powered GPS receivers, the ruggedized, waterproof Onix 200 handheld GPS receiver provides outstanding navigation performance even in tough environments such as mountainous terrain and under foliage canopies, and can operate for up to 26 hours on two AA batteries. The ability to download satellite and aerial photos is a feature offered only by Bushnell. "Bushnell is one of the most recognized consumer brands for sports and outdoor enthusiasts, with products that enjoy a reputation for innovation and quality," said Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of marketing for SiRF. "We are pleased that Bushnell selected SiRF GPS architectures to meet the consumer demand for reliable location and we believe that their entry will expand the market for GPS enabled devices." Perhaps best known for its binoculars, telescopes, laser rangefinders and other optical products, Bushnell has been the industry leader in high- performance sports optics for over 50 years. The company constantly explores emerging technologies to market sports optics that combines leading edge design with performance innovation. "This is just the beginning in offering an exciting new line of GPS products to our customers that are innovative, feature-rich and live up to our reputation for quality, reliability and affordability," said Phil Gyori, vice president of marketing at Bushnell. "With aerial photographs, topographic maps, screen layering and simplified user interface, the Onix 200 is setting new standards for recreational handheld GPS receivers. With SiRF inside, hikers, hunters and campers can confidently go afield and easily find their way back." The SiRFstarII in the Onix 200 offers high sensitivity and robust navigation algorithms, making real-time navigation practical even through the maze of complex urban canyons and under dense foliage. SiRFstarIII in the NAV 500 offers industry-leading performance at a competitive price point for the high-volume consumer electronics marketplace, along with SiRF's ability to support the quick time to market and large manufacturing volume needs of this market. November 20, 2006.-- ARGO Tracker Corporation, a provider of real-time, GPS-based asset tracking solutions, announced a new, competitively priced and compact product, the 'Eagle'. The Eagle is equipped with GPS-Plus, a next generation technology promoting greater accuracy in the location of an asset. To commemorate the launch of the Eagle, ARGO Tracker is offering a 30% discount and free activation to the first 500 customers. In addition to low cost of entry and an unobtrusive, space-saving design, the Eagle utilizes advanced power consumption technologies providing extreme efficiency in power management, so battery life is prolonged. Its GPS-Plus features offer exceptional signal reliability and accuracy. GPS tracking accuracy is enhanced by signal triangulation from identified cellular communication sites. GPS-Plus is an outgrowth of ARGO Tracker's ongoing research in inertial navigation unit technology and uses triangulation and cellular tracking to transparently provide highly accurate location information. "Basing ARGO Tracker's asset tracking solutions on GPS and high-speed cellular technology, allows our customers to monitor assets and gain highly specific information on them from virtually anywhere," said Gary Kochis, ARGO Tracker chief technology officer. "Not only can specific positions can be reported via any Web browser worldwide, the system can be configured to provide real-time sensor-captured data such as temperature, pressure, tilt, voltage, and shock or vibration. Individual and multiple units can also be monitored at one time through ARGO Tracker's Web-based portals." November 16, 2006.-- NovAtel Inc., a precise positioning technology company, announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) successfully used NovAtel receivers in testing of the global positioning system IIF (GPS Block IIF) satellite, tracking both L5 and L2C signals. The GPS Block IIF is an upgrade of the original GPS. The receivers used were NovAtel's EuroPak-15a configurable, 16 channel GPS L1/L5 receiver, and the ProPak-V3 dual frequency L1/L2 receiver. "This achievement confirms the ability of our receivers to track and process signals from the latest generation GPS Block IIF satellite. Ground testing of the satellite was performed by the FAA in conjunction with the US Air Force, which is developing the GPS Block IIF satellites and control segment," said Tony Murfin, Vice President Business Development. The US Air Force is directing and procuring improvements to the existing GPS constellation, introducing new technologies and capabilities to create a modernized satellite system. The EuroPak-15a receiver may be user configured to track not only the basic GPS L1 signal, but also GPS L5 and L5 SBAS (Space Based Augmentation System - such as the US WAAS) signals. It can also be configured to track both GPS and Galileo L1 and E5a signals. NovAtel's ProPak-V3 is a durable, high-performance receiver with advanced capabilities, including GLONASS measurements, USB communication and IMU support. The ProPak-V3 also features integrated L-band corrections from geosynchronous satellites such as OmniSTAR and CDGPS. With firmware upgrades, this receiver will also be capable of tracking future L5 signals as soon as they are available. November 14, 2006.-- Trimble announced it has added TrimPix technology to its Mapping & Geographic Information System (GIS) handheld product line. TrimPix technology makes it easy to link high-resolution digital photographs to GIS features using selected Nikon cameras. Based on Connected Photography by FotoNation, TrimPix technology enables Trimble GeoExplorer 2005 series of GPS handhelds and Trimble Recon and Ranger field computers running Microsoft Windows Mobile version 5.0 software to seamlessly and wirelessly connect to a digital camera. FotoNation is a leader of digital imaging connectivity software solutions. Using the handheld devices built-in wireless LAN (WiFi), TrimPix technology makes it possible for Trimble users to connect to and receive images from selected WiFi-capable Nikon digital cameras. Those include the affordable COOLPIX range of cameras-COOLPIX P1, P2, P3, S6, and S7c. As each photo is taken, the Nikon camera quickly and automatically transfers the digital image to the Trimble handheld GPS receiver or handheld field computer wirelessly. Once the photo has been transferred, it can then be linked to GIS feature and location data in the handheld device. "The new TrimPix technology provides Trimble's GIS data collection customers with a more productive and flexible workflow," said Doug Merrill, general manager for Trimble's Mapping & GIS Division. "Not only can customers select the Nikon camera model that best meets their requirements and budget, but they can be sure of collecting high-quality digital images to complement their GIS quickly and easily." "Through the development of our Connected Photography technology, FotoNation has been on the forefront of wireless connectivity bridging digital cameras to computers, printers and other devices," said Eran Steinberg, CEO of FotoNation. "Trimble's integration of digital images with GIS data is a powerful convergence for field data collection." Trimble customers with the GeoExplorer 2005 series GPS handhelds and Trimble Recon and Ranger field computers running Windows Mobile version 5.0 software can download the TrimPix software free of charge from the Trimble Website at www.trimble.com/trimpix.asp. In addition, Trimble is offering an introductory promotion. Until December 15, 2006, customers who purchase a Trimble GeoExplorer 2005 series handheld can receive a cash rebate from Trimble when they also purchase a selected Nikon digital camera. Customers must present the camera proof-of-purchase to their local Trimble Reseller to receive the rebate. To find a local Trimble Reseller and obtain more information on this special promotion visit: www.trimble.com/locator/locator.aspx. November 14, 2006.-- S3C and Nagano Keiki announced the industry's first ZigBee Certified Product (ZCP) wireless network pressure sensor. The GC63-Wireless, based on Texas Instruments' CC2420 ZigBee platform, integrates a silicon capacitive sensor with leading-edge wireless technology to deliver a fully operational, complete turnkey solution. A ZCP device is based on a ZigBee-compliant platform and the certification guarantees that it will co-exist within any network that complies with the ZigBee Alliance Specification. "We are excited to be collaborating with Texas Instruments on this cutting edge technology development", said Manher Naik, Chief Executive Officer of S3C, Inc. "The emergence of wireless sensor networks in the industrial market will enable better performance and control of existing systems, provide a dramatic reduction in installation costs and propel the growth of new sensor applications. The integration of S3C's wireless modules with Nagano Keiki's world-renowned sensors provides a reliable and scaleable solution for wireless applications requiring robust transmission and low power for building automation, process control and energy management." "We strongly believe that ZigBee certification of our new pressure sensor will be regarded as added value by our customers. We see increasing demand for reliable standards as interoperability becomes a requirement for future wireless industrial devices," said Mr. S. Miyashita, President of Nagano Keiki Company. "TI's leadership in the ZigBee market, combined with a superior technical solution and a commitment to support, made selecting TI's ZigBee platform an easy choice for our GC63-Wireless." Delivering superior range in excess of 150m at 0dBm output power, the GC63-Wireless can operate for 2 - 5 years on two AA cell batteries depending on sampling rate and transmission interval. The sensor can easily be configured as a line-powered router device or a battery-operated end device, which makes the system easy to set up and extend. The network comes complete with a gateway interface to a standard ODBC database to allow scalability to hundreds of nodes and centralized monitoring using enterprise applications. The GC63-Wireless contains a wireless module (XM2400) designed by S3C, which integrates TI's CC2420 IEEE802.15.4/ZigBee RF transceiver and Z-Stack protocol stack. "The GC63-Wireless pressure sensor is one of the first ZigBee Certified Products available on the market. This development illustrates the strong technological capabilities of S3C and Nagano Keiki, and demonstrates the need for standardization within the industrial market," said Geir Førre, manager of the Low Power RF product line at TI. November 13, 2006.-- Navman, a leading designer and manufacturer of world-class global positioning system (GPS) technology, announced the smallest, autonomous GPS receiver available, the Jupiter 32. A breakthrough in GPS miniaturization and performance, the device packs the high GPS signal sensitivity and industry-leading fast access times of Navman's highly acclaimed Jupiter 30 into an advanced, extremely small package for integration into a variety of configurations. Designed for devices where size matters such as covert asset tracking, discrete personal location and safety products, and any application where ultra-small form factors are required, the Jupiter 32 delivers the ultimate in performance with an industry leading tracking capability of better than -159 dBm. The Jupiter 32 delivers location specific information with unparalleled accuracy, and extremely fast position fixes to even the smallest devices in the most challenging conditions including inside buildings, parking garages, shopping malls and other indoor environments; inner city urban canyons; areas with dense foliage and in vehicles with UV-coated or athermic windshields. With a form factor that is about the size of a thumbnail, the Jupiter 32 combines the most advanced components available with the SiRF GSC3 chipset in a package that is optimized for unmatched RF tracking capabilities and the fastest times to fix under all conditions. The Jupiter 32's 20-channel receiver supports user selectable SBAS (WAAS, EGNOS and MSAS). Low-power operation and full use of the SiRF GSC3 power level modes, ensures wider integration capability and use in power sensitive applications such as battery-operated devices. Ideal gain characteristics, and optimized LNA and RF signal path design, enable easy integration into products with active or passive GPS antennas. The receiver's small size and flexible design allows manufacturers to develop products for devices previously unavailable for standard GPS designs. "Our new Jupiter 32 offers an unrivaled miniature form factor and industry leading performance," said George Arnott, vice president of Navman's OEM Division. "Whether it is size, performance or an upgrade path from previous platforms that matter, Navman has it covered with the best product line-up available." The smallest GPS receiver available, the Jupiter 32 sports a tiny 15.0mm x 17.0mm x 2.7mm form factor and weighs a scant 2.0 grams. Key features of the Jupiter 32 include: fully sealed EMI edge shielding, an ultra-high sensitivity GPS receiver with an optimized RF front-end, proprietary shaped filtering to reduce noise, multi-path mitigation for track re-centering and jammer elimination, and dynamic search control to adapt to severe environments. The Jupiter 32 can be further optimized with user selectable navigation modes via a simple ASCII command that can be stored in Flash memory. These Navigation modes allow the selection of General Use, Automotive, Pedestrian and optimized Low Power modes to suit any application. For more specific requirements, these settings are further configurable. With indoor position fix and tracking capability better than -159 dBm, the Jupiter 32 has over 200,000 effective correlators for superior acquisition performance in the weakest signal conditions. Additional features of the Jupiter 32 include: a high-quality 0.5PPM TCXO for optimal performance, integral LNA, an ARM7 CPU with additional capacity for custom applications, 1 PPS, 50mA average power draw, optimized low power management mode with an average power consumption of 25mA at 1Hz, hibernate mode with 6.8uA power draw, down to 3v power operation and a brown-out detection circuit. Further specifications include 20-channel mode GPS support; fast acquisition fix performance of 0.5 seconds (hot start), 32 seconds (warm start) and 34 seconds (cold start); ephemeris tail and bit sync for quicker time to fix in poor conditions and SiRFLoc multi-mode GPS support for improved fix availability. November 13, 2006.-- Ember announced that it has teamed with Analog Devices Inc. to offer customers an easy way to build wireless ZigBee-enabled products that demand feature-rich performance and capabilities, while operating on very little power. Ember's EM260 ZigBee networking co-processor will be combined with Analog Devices' Blackfin 16/32-bit embedded processors to enable customers to tap into the fast-growing ZigBee market for wireless sensor and control applications, without having to worry about mastering the complexities of ZigBee networking. The dual-chip solution will allow electronic devices to support low-cost, low-power wireless applications, particularly in building automation, telematics and digital home entertainment products where Blackfin has been widely adopted. At the Electronica 2006 show in Munich, Germany, Nov. 14-17, Stand #361, Hall A4, Ember will demonstrate a ZigBee-enabled wireless doorbell application powered by Blackfin processors. The demonstration will show a remote security camera capturing images when the doorbell is pushed. The images are then encoded and transmitted wirelessly through a ZigBee network, where they are decoded and displayed on a viewing screen. "While ZigBee was designed for low-data-rate communications, the Blackfin processor's ability to do heavy-duty computing and compression and decompression of all kinds of data allows you to squeeze much more performance out of the network's frugal bandwidth," said Robert LeFort, CEO of Ember. "The Blackfin/EM260 solution provides a platform for new kinds of more robust ZigBee wireless applications than was earlier thought possible." The Ember EM260 integrates an IEEE 802.15.4 radio, network processor and onboard memory to run a complete ZigBee network protocol stack. It offers Analog Devices' customers building ZigBee-enabled products dramatic reductions in component size, cost and power consumption, while delivering twice the wireless range of competitive ZigBee radios. In addition to full support for the ZigBee standard, EmberZNet 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 communication between nodes and enables distributed bindings. "For ZigBee-enabled embedded applications, the performance and architectural attributes of Blackfin processors allow for much greater possibilities of data transmission types versus traditionally used ZigBee microcontrollers," said Jerry McGuire, general manager, Convergent Platforms and Service Group, Analog Devices. "Working with Ember has enabled Blackfin designers to quickly and easily tap into the ZigBee network. Ember's ZigBee solutions offer tremendous flexibility, ease-of-use, performance, and unmatched network reliability and scalability." The demonstration includes the Blackfin processor, ADI's Multimedia Starter Kit, the EM260 ZigBee co-processor, and the EmberZNet networking stack. The documentation is being made available from both companies on developer community Web sites, for immediate download, such as dev.ember.com. November 10, 2006.-- NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, is supplying map data to Norwich Union for its innovative "Pay As You Drive" insurance scheme which could save drivers in the United Kingdom up to one third on their premiums. Drivers are provided with in-car GPS devices coupled with NAVTEQ street level maps, enabling Norwich Union to calculate insurance premiums for each journey, depending on time of day, type of road and mileage. "The quality and reliability of the map data is key," explained Iain Napier, Director, Pay As You Drive insurance. "NAVTEQ has full coverage of the UK down to street level and has a team of 28 geographic analysts permanently based in the UK whose job it is to continually update the map data. The fact that they are releasing the new map data every three months helps maintain its accuracy. This is important to the operation of our initiative." Norwich Union is the only insurer in the UK to offer a usage-based motor insurance policy and has launched "Pay As You Drive" nationally following a very successful pilot scheme involving 5,000 motorists. The objective is to help drivers control insurance costs by making informed choices about when to use the car. Pricing begins from as little as a penny per mile. Bills will look similar to mobile phone bills, with the premiums for each journey calculated and totaled. This transparent approach to motor insurance will help customers control motor insurance costs in a way that has not been possible before now. "We're confident that 'Pay As You Drive' insurance is simply a fairer way of calculating premiums and gives customers greater control, flexibility and choice. That is why we expect this unique UK proposition to be a huge success with motorists." November 10, 2006.-- Globalstar unveiled its next generation satellite telephone handset. The new GSP-1700 mobile satellite telephone operates on the Globalstar satellite network in more than 120 countries and six continents around the world. Globalstar plans to launch an updated handset data package, a maritime and in car installation kit, and a remote antenna for convenient and low cost in-vehicle use. The new handset sets a benchmark for satellite telephones capable of global satellite use, incorporating Globalstar hardware features into a product offering significantly reduced size and weight when compared to other global satellite handsets. The GSP-1700 is being manufactured by QUALCOMM and incorporates its Mobile Station Modem (MSM) MSM6500 chipset solution for EV-DO networks. Weighing approximately 7.1 ounces (203 grams), the newly designed GSP-1700 telephone is nearly half the weight of the company's current satellite handset and close to 45 percent smaller (by volume). The new lithium-ion battery is designed to provide users with four hours of talk time and 36 hours of standby time. The GSP-1700's lightweight ergonomic design embodies the ruggedness of the current Globalstar phone while integrating convenience-oriented features such as a new five-mode color display and portable headset capability. The phone supports six operating languages and is available in three vibrant faceplate colors, using durable high-luster or metallic finishes. For additional product details and images please visit the new product web site at http://www.globalstar.com/en/gsp1700 "We are extremely excited about our next generation Globalstar handset and very pleased it once again integrates innovative QUALCOMM 3G technology," said Jay Monroe, Chairman and CEO of Globalstar, Inc. "As the smallest and lightest Globalstar handset ever produced, the GSP-1700 sets a new standard by incorporating our manufacturer's multi-frequency technology. Additionally our proposed second-generation satellite constellation is intended to provide our customers with long term continuity of service by being fully backwards compatible with both the GSP-1700 and our current products." Globalstar has begun a progressive rollout of the new handset. Over the upcoming months, various Globalstar operators around the world will be making launch announcements introducing the GSP-1700. Globalstar also plans to introduce an array of satellite phone accessories enabling usage for both land-based and marine applications. November 10, 2006.-- Prosurv LLC announced a truly revolutionary product for the Mobile Topographic Mapping industry. First came USGS topographic maps on paper. Next came digital topographic maps available for use on the PC. Now, with Pocket Quads US Regional and State Editions, users have digital topographic maps with GPS positioning literally available at their fingertips. What makes Pocket Quads US Regional and State Editions so revolutionary is that, for the first time ever, all of the topographic maps for an entire Region or State are pre-loaded on 4GB SD Cards, ready for immediate use in the field. No PC is required. No downloading of maps from a PC or web site is needed... ever. Just insert the SD Card, install the Pocket Quads software (when prompted), and GO. The correct map for a location is loaded automatically, based on the current GPS position. Pocket Quads US Regional Editions are available as Western, Central, or Eastern United States Editions. Each Regional Edition contains all of the 1:100,000 and 1:250,000 scale topographic maps for an entire Region, all on ONE 4GB SD Card. The Western US Regional Edition contains over 800 topographic maps covering 10 Western States all on a single 4GB SD Card. The Central Regional Edition covers 11 Central States, and the Eastern Regional Edition covers over 25 Eastern States. With Pocket Quads Western US Regional Edition, users can drive from Southern Arizona to Northern Montana, viewing their GPS position on the automatically changing topographic maps on the screen of their Windows Mobile device, without ever downloading a single map or even touching the screen. With Pocket Quads US State Editions, in addition to the 100 and 250 thousand scale maps, users also get all of the 1:24,000 Scale USGS Topographic Maps for an entire State, on one or more 4GB SD Cards (depending on the size of the State). For example, the Pocket Quads Michigan Edition comes with two 4GB SD Cards, containing over 1300 topographic maps. Each Regional and State Edition comes with the powerful, easy-to-use Pocket Quads software. Just hit 'Start GPS' and Pocket Quads automatically connects to your GPS Receiver. Pocket Quads' list of features is extraordinary, and includes: Auto-map loading, based on your GPS position; Auto tracking of your location as you walk or drive; Auto GPS signal acquisition (com port & baud rate); Never worry about going "beyond the map," since all of the maps for the entire State or Region are already on your SD Card; Switch between different scale maps (24,000 / 100,000 / 250,000) on the fly (without changing cards); Zoom in/out in real time; Record and Playback GPS routes (by time or distance); Enter & create waypoints by tapping the screen; Import/Export data; Navigate to points; Search the included USGS State databases by Feature Name and much more. Not since the USGS introduced paper topographic maps to the public has there been a product this revolutionary in the industry. No PCs. No CDs. No downloads. Finally, one product does it all by giving you real-time GPS positioning on topographic maps on your mobile device in one complete, convenient package. Pocket Quads Regional and State Editions are designed for use with the latest Windows Mobile Devices, including Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PCs and the ultra-rugged Archer by Juniper Systems. Pocket Quads US Regional and State Editions also support Windows Mobile 2003 and Windows Mobile 2003SE (Second Edition) Devices. The SD Card automatically detects the operating system and installs the correct version of Pocket Quads. November 9, 2006.-- Ekahau Inc., a leading provider of Wi-Fi-based Real Time Location Systems (RTLS), introduced the Ekahau Positioning Engine (EPE) 4.0, a major upgrade of Ekahau's server software that features faster and more accurate location tracking capabilities than its predecessor. As the key component of Ekahau's turn-key RTLS solution, the EPE 4.0 significantly eases the deployment and management of a real-time location solution, while providing the ability to track more than 10,000 objects. "Since our first positioning engine was introduced in 2002, we have been working with our customers on ways to improve the functionality of RTLS and simplify its use," said Lare Lekman, chief technology officer at Ekahau. "Ekahau's extensive research and development efforts, coupled with customer feedback, have resulted in a product set that is unrivaled in its capabilities. The launch of this next-generation server software seals Ekahau's position as an innovator with the best-in-class solutions for the RTLS industry." The EPE 4.0 includes a number of new features that improve the performance of Ekahau's turn-key RTLS solution. These features include:
The EPE 4.0 has undergone extensive beta testing with a number of Fortune 1000 companies. It also is being integrated with the middleware applications available from Ekahau partners, including Sybase iAnywhere. "Our strong partner relationship has resulted in tight integration with the EPE 4.0 right from the start," said Martyn Mallick, director of RFID and Mobile Solutions at Sybase iAnywhere. "By combining the EPE 4.0 with Sybase's RFID Anywhere solution, our customers are able to easily extend Ekahau's RTLS capabilities, along with other sensory data, into their applications." The EPE 4.0 powers the Ekahau RTLS solution. Ekahau has deployed its RTLS system worldwide in hospitals, manufacturing facilities, mines, museums and on military bases. The applications of Ekahau RTLS allow these industries to track people and assets in real time, as well as improve efficiency, safety and security. November 8, 2006.-- eRide Inc., a leader in Global Positioning System (GPS and A-GPS) and Satellite Navigation Technology, and Wavecom S.A., a leader in wireless communications solutions for automotive, industrial (machine-to-machine) and mobile professional applications, announced their collaboration that brings a new generation of location and navigation capabilities to mobile applications. Open AT Plug-In technology from Wavecom is a unique approach to combining specific features and functionalities with wireless technology. It allows each part of the system to perform its specific tasks at the optimum level of performance at optimum cost efficiency which is made possible only through the use of Wavecom's Open AT Software Suite. This latest Open AT Plug-In, C-GPS, based on Wavecom and eRide's market-leading A-GPS technology, is designed especially to be used in conjunction with the Wavecom Q2686 and Q2687 Wireless CPUs (Central Processing Unit) and targets all devices in the vehicle, people and asset tracking and management markets. A key benefit of this ground-breaking solution is that customers are not constrained to using only these initial Wireless CPUs since the Open AT Plug-In is compatible with future offerings such as Wavecom's Wireless Microprocessor and eRide's A-GPS. This is a major difference from alternative architectures that confine development, where the wireless and location elements are physically joined together limiting design flexibility. By separating the two technologies, they can each be updated independently of one another, thereby staying abreast of different rates of technology evolution, while offering full design flexibility for customers' products in terms of shape, placement and connection at an optimum cost. Commenting on this innovative combined offer, Philippe Guillemette, Wavecom Vice President of Marketing and CTO said, "We see the demand for combining GPS with cellular wireless technology increasing exponentially for a wide variety of applications. By combing the expertise of Wavecom and eRide through Plug-In technology, we have succeeded in giving systems designers what they need in terms of ease of integration into existing devices and shortening the design-time for new products." He added "It's now possible for our customers to create highly interactive and intuitive products and services that allow them to use corporate and web-based tracking of their assets such as taxis and trucks;" This wide variety of potential applications is of increasing interest to insurance companies since it offers the ability to monitor and track all kinds of mobile assets. For example, transport containers can be monitored as they make their way across the globe and shippers can detect, in real-time, if the container has been illegally opened mid-journey and pinpoint where the illegal entry occurred. This is possible thanks to the monitoring functionality of the Wavecom Wireless CPU which sends activity and location reports back to the shipping company via the Internet using wireless communication. With eRide's superior capabilities for accuracy in pinpointing geographic locations -- down to -161dBm, the Opus technology is a high-sensitivity GPS chipset that has built-in support for aided technology. And, when combined with Wavecom's Wireless CPUs supporting global GSM/GPRS/EDGE cellular networks and the Open AT Internet Plug-In, it has worldwide wireless Internet tracking accessibility. Furthermore, future maintenance and product evolution can be performed remotely using the built-in support for aided technology in the Opus chipsets and the DOTA (Download-Over-the-Air) technology, both of which are unique to the eRide and Wavecom joint offer. The eRide offer comes either fully packaged in a very small module form factor or as separate chipsets, adding to customer expediency. This new approach gives systems designers ultimate flexibility by allowing them to easily add wireless connectivity and GPS positioning to new and existing systems since the Open AT IDE (Integrated Development Environment) and the associated Plug-In Development Kit lets the design engineers place the wireless and GPS components anywhere on their product circuit board. In addition, it eliminates the need for an external GPS-specific microprocessor and associated memory. November 7, 2006.-- Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd., announced the availability of the Garmin LBS Toolkit, a flexible location-based service platform that can serve as the engine behind third party LBS applications. The Garmin LBS Toolkit incorporates Garmin's proven navigation API, local search, real-time content delivery services, and mobile advertising delivery services, into one powerful platform. "This announcement marks the launch of our broader LBS strategy by opening up our LBS technology to third party application developers around the world," said Charles Morse, Garmin's director of mobile and PND marketing. "Adding Garmin's LBS Toolkit to mobile applications can enhance the value and utility of virtually any location aware mobile application, from enterprise and fleet management, real estate, medical, family tracking, pedestrian, automotive, local search, and many others." The launch customers for Garmin LBS Toolkits are Xora and Agilis leading GPS tracking and mobile resource management software providers. These companies will leverage Garmin's navigation API to deliver turn-by-turn navigation experience to mobile works, thus further improving their productivity. Thanks to the Garmin LBS Toolkit, mobile workers can enter a specific street address into their mobile phone and receive turn-by-turn, text-to-speech, voice prompted directions to their destination. If a driver misses a turn, Garmin's navigation technology will automatically recalculate a new route to the destination. In addition, the mobile worker's office can dispatch the worker to the next service location by sending a destination to the phone, which the worker can accept and route to with the push of a button. The Garmin LBS Toolkit is a proven technology platform currently in use in Garmin Mobile, a feature-rich consumer application delivering maps, turn- by-turn navigation, and dynamic content such as Weather, Traffic, and Gas Prices on select handsets. November 6, 2006.-- Trimble announced it has added TrimPix technology to its Mapping & Geographic Information System (GIS) handheld product line. TrimPix technology makes it easy to link high-resolution digital photographs to GIS features using selected Nikon cameras. TrimPix technology is being showcased at Trimble Dimensions Users Conference in Las Vegas and the European Conference for ESRI Users in Athens, Greece. Based on Connected Photography by FotoNation, TrimPix technology enables Trimble GeoExplorer 2005 series of GPS handhelds and Trimble Recon and Ranger field computers running Microsoft Windows Mobile version 5.0 software to seamlessly and wirelessly connect to a digital camera. FotoNation is a leader of digital imaging connectivity software solutions. Using the handheld device's built-in wireless LAN (WiFi), TrimPix technology makes it possible for Trimble users to connect to and receive images from selected WiFi-capable Nikon digital cameras. Those include the affordable COOLPIX range of cameras-COOLPIX P1, P2, P3, S6, and S7c. As each photo is taken, the Nikon camera quickly and automatically transfers the digital image to the Trimble handheld GPS receiver or handheld field computer wirelessly. Once the photo has been transferred, it can then be linked to GIS feature and location data in the handheld device. "The new TrimPix technology provides Trimble's GIS data collection customers with a more productive and flexible workflow," said Doug Merrill, general manager for Trimble's Mapping & GIS Division. "Not only can customers select the Nikon camera model that best meets their requirements and budget, but they can be sure of collecting high-quality digital images to complement their GIS quickly and easily." "Through the development of our Connected Photography technology, FotoNation has been on the forefront of wireless connectivity bridging digital cameras to computers, printers and other devices," said Eran Steinberg, CEO of FotoNation. "Trimble's integration of digital images with GIS data is a powerful convergence for field data collection." Trimble customers with the GeoExplorer 2005 series GPS handhelds and Trimble Recon and Ranger field computers running Windows Mobile version 5.0 software can download the TrimPix software free of charge from the Trimble Website at www.trimble.com/trimpix.asp. November 6, 2006.-- Intermap Technologies Corp. announced the addition of a fourth aircraft to their fleet of planes equipped with Intermap's proprietary industry-leading IFSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) airborne data collection system. The new aircraft will begin operating in Europe and is capable of collecting approximately 1,500,000 sq. km. (580,000 sq. mi.) of highly accurate digital elevation data per year. The added capacity provided by this aircraft aids in the completion of Intermap's aggressive plan for the proactive collection of country-wide data throughout Europe by the end of 2007. Starting in November 2006, this aircraft will begin updating elevation data previously collected in the United Kingdom. The aircraft will then spend the bulk of 2007 supporting the remainder of the NEXTMap Europe program, which covers 13 European countries. According to Michael Bullock, Intermap's vice president of engineering, "The IFSAR development on this aircraft was initiated in April 2006 with the announcement of our NEXTMap Europe program. The aircraft will be fully operational in less than seven months from the time we initiated development. This is a substantial achievement that clearly demonstrates our ability to quickly respond to our accelerated NEXTMap schedule and the needs of our customers." Intermap enables customers to facilitate better decision-making and create applications for numerous commercial, governmental, military, and consumer products through the purchase of high-quality and affordable elevation datasets. The Company is proactively remapping entire countries and building unprecedented national databases, called NEXTMap, consisting of highly accurate digital topographic maps that include elevation data. Demand for NEXTMap data is growing as new commercial applications are emerging, including geographical information systems (GIS), engineering planning, transportation, automotive, navigation, flood, irrigation, environmental management and planning, telecommunications/wireless network planning, aviation, simulation, and 3D visualization. Internet applications include virtual tours, topographic maps and computer games. Datasets are also used to add interactive intelligence to airborne and satellite imagery. November 6, 2006.-- Raytheon Company has achieved a key milestone on the Modernized User Equipment program by successfully acquiring and tracking for the first time a new M-code military signal transmitted by the latest-generation global positioning system satellite. Although the first modernized satellite, GPS Block IIR-14(M), has been operating with legacy signals since December 2005, it only recently began test broadcast of the new M-code. The code provides enhanced accuracy, encryption and anti-jamming capability for authorized users. "This initial success demonstrating the ability of our next-generation receivers to track the new modernized GPS signal is a key step forward for our modern user equipment program," said Dr. Ralph Garcia, director of GPS and navigation systems for the company's Space and Airborne Systems business. "It also marks a significant milestone for the government-industry GPS team by demonstrating synchronized user equipment, satellite, and control system interoperablility, which is critical for our customer's operations in the future." A Raytheon prototype receiver, produced under the research and development agreement of the program, was used to track the new signal from the GPS Block IIR-14(M) satellite. "The successful receiver operation with a live M-code satellite inspires confidence that our design is sound and validates our simulation environment," said Phil Kelton, who manages the modern user equipment program. "These will be critical tools as we progress toward a production-ready product. The next phase of the program will benefit from breakthroughs in microelectronics technology, coupled with advanced security solutions to permit higher performance and greater integrity at less cost than today's systems." Raytheon's teammates on the program are General Dynamics and Trimble Navigation Limited. The Global Positioning Systems Wing of the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center awarded Raytheon a $38 million contract in June to develop a receiver card for the program. The team is developing next-generation circuit card technology, which will enable military users to connect with new navigation signals from enhanced global positioning satellites while retaining compatibility with the current constellation and legacy signals. Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems is the leading provider of sensor systems giving military forces the most accurate and timely information available for the network-centric battlefield. With 2005 revenues of $4.2 billion and 13,000 employees, SAS is headquartered in El Segundo, Calif. Additional facilities are in Goleta, Calif.; Forest, Miss.; Dallas, McKinney and Plano, Texas; and several international locations. November 3, 2006.-- u-blox AG, the leading Swiss provider of innovative GPS receiver technology, announced the introduction of a cost-effective GPS module, ideally suited for mass-market GPS-enabled end products. Measuring a mere 17 x 22 mm, the LEA-4M has been designed for applications with stringent cost and space requirements. The module achieves maximum price-efficiency, while retaining the high performance and low power consumption of the u-blox 16-channel ANTARIS 4 engine that powers it. "Our LEA-4M is the ideal solution for handset makers and other mass market equipment manufacturers that need a small, low cost GPS solution without compromising on performance," said Karsten Tietz, VP Sales for u-blox. The LEA-4M is suitable for applications requiring active and passive antennas with an operating temperature range of -30degrees to +70degreesC and which do not require antenna supervision. Its small form factor and SMT pads allow for fully automatic high volume assembly processes. This makes the LEA-4M ideal for price-sensitive mass-market end products. The module supports instant positioning A-GPS services such as AssistNow while its 4 Hz position update rate ensures high accuracy. Other features include various built-in power saving modes, a 5 microA backup current and configurable voltage levels. November 2, 2006.-- Trimble Acquires XYZ Solutions to Enhance its Connected Construction Site Strategy. XYZ Solutions' unique 3D software package allows users to model spatial information combined with positioning technologies to virtually "see" a construction site or asset, from anywhere, at any time, in a collaborative Internet-based environment. Within its interactive environment, decision support guidelines or business rules can be integrated into the solution set to virtually model "what-if" scenarios on a project in real-time increasing customer awareness and profitability. The acquisition of XYZ Solutions adds a 3D visualization component to Trimble's Connected Construction Site strategy, which is designed to provide significant efficiency improvements through a tighter integration of construction process information. "The acquisition of XYZ Solutions is a natural extension of our positioning and machine control technologies," said Bryn Fosburgh, vice president of Trimble's Engineering and Construction segment. "The XYZ Solutions acquisition provides Trimble a real-time 3D visualization and decision making tool to take our Connected Construction Site initiatives to the next level." "We are pleased to join Trimble," said Derrick Darby, founder and CEO of XYZ Solutions. "The acquisition validates our best-in-class software technology and provides Trimble with a 3D visualization capability that allows engineering and construction professionals to manage spatial aspects of a project in real-time to improve productivity." A goal of Trimble's Connected Construction Site strategy is to improve construction project management by providing easy integration of project data and customized status information to the construction professional. Trimble has a range of solutions for the construction market including: pre-design construction planning software, design and data preparation, earthmoving grade control, site positioning, general and interior building and asset management. Through all phases of the construction process, Trimble provides productivity solutions to streamline work processes, minimize downtime and reduce re-work. XYZ Solutions software adds an interactive 3D visualization and decision making tool to manage the spatial aspects of a construction project in real-time. November 1, 2006.-- Webraska, a leading provider of mobile GPS navigation solutions and high-end geospatial software platforms for wireless carriers and major service providers worldwide, announced that Orange Business Services has selected Webraska Navigation to offer a GPS navigation solution to corporate customers and SME's in the UK. Launching today, the service will be packaged as a Webraska "All-in-one" bundle, comprising the navigation software, a Bluetooth GPS receiver, a car cradle, in-car charger and a lifetime license of the navigation software. Webraska Navigation is compatible with a wide range of BlackBerry, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and HTC/SPV Smartphones and PDA phones, already in wide use by businesses, saving companies the expense and time involved in acquiring additional devices or memory cards. The use of a single unit also means that the device is less likely to be stolen than other navigation tools, which may be left behind in cars or offices. The system relies on Webraska's powerful servers to store the detailed street-level maps powered by Navteq covering 100% of UK, together with a wide range of hotels, restaurants, parking and other useful points of interests, which allows detailed and personalised routes to be calculated instantaneously. These servers are accessed by the Sat Nav from Orange client application stored in the user's handset via Orange's mobile network. This enables Orange business customers to benefit from:
The partnership with Webraska offers Orange Business Services an opportunity to create real value for their business end users as well as adding value to Orange handsets. Webraska is already working with leading operators in other European countries, including Vodafone in Italy and Orange in France. October 31, 2006.-- MyDealerLot introduced their new vehicle inventory and tracking solution for retail automotive dealers: the MyDealerLot Tracking & Analytics Software Suite. The real-time location system (RTLS) is the first subscription, web-based Wi-Fi vehicle tracking solution which uses radio wave technology (RFID), in conjunction with a dealership's existing wireless network infrastructure, to provide an 'always-on' view of a dealership's inventory. The results are higher inventory visibility, better marketing and customer service, lower floor plan costs and more accurate inventory forecasting and demand tracking. MyDealerLot works by using motion sensor 802.11 compatible Wi-Fi tags affixed to a vehicle's rear-view mirror which beacon to a web-enabled 'dashboard' capable of displaying the virtual location of the vehicle to within several feet. Using the system, dealership owners, general managers, and salespeople can track their vehicle locations with detailed vehicle options and 360 degree spin movies over the web. Using MyDealerLot, salespeople can create a better customer experience by knowing exactly where a specific vehicle is on the lot with incredible accuracy. General Managers can manage sales staff by tracking test drives and other metrics. In addition, MyDealerLot helps owners reduce floor plan costs by having more timely relief of inventory and by also properly segmenting incoming vehicles vs. vehicles on the ground. In addition, the MyDealerLot RTLS complete graphical reporting engine lets dealers report and 'drill-down' on key performance measurements for inventory, sales, and salespeople. "We're very excited to be first to market with this inventory management system," said George Cresto, Founder & President of MyDealerLot. "We specifically decided to focus on RTLS technology and Cisco location-based technologies because it allows us to accurately plot in real time the vehicle location with a simple and low cost solution." Launched in late 2005 as a small IT consulting organization, the complete focus of MyDealerLot quickly became providing real-time location inventory tracking solutions for retail automotive dealers. The MyDealerLot RTLS (Real Time Location System) is a web-based Wi-Fi vehicle tracking solution which uses radio wave technology (RFID) to provide a dealership with an 'always-on' inventory and vehicle locations on a graphical map of the dealership. Visit www.mydealerlot.com or call 888-MDL-RFID (888-635-7343) for more information. October 31, 2006.-- NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital map data for location-based solutions and vehicle navigation, has been selected to provide map data for Delphi's new NAV200, a portable navigation device targeted to value-oriented consumers. The Delphi NAV200, which is not much bigger than your hand, is ideal for first time navigation users. It comes with a preloaded SD card containing NAVTEQ map data, including a comprehensive database of the U.S. (including Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico) and Canada. Also included are 1.6 million of the most popular Points of Interest (POI's) including, restaurants, gas stations and ATMs making it easy to locate and route to many different destinations. NAVTEQ data delivers the highest levels of quality and precision. From turn restrictions to relative road crossing heights, NAVTEQ field teams capture more than 200 attributes, such as access restrictions, one-way streets, and speed categories. "Delphi and NAVTEQ's longstanding automotive relationship provides a solid foundation for the evolution of new product developments," said Dean VonBank, Vice President and General Manager, North American Vehicle Applications. "Together, we are committed to meeting driver expectations for accurate, value-oriented or budget-conscious portable navigation." The Delphi Nav200 is easy to use. The new NAV200 has plug and play capability, so the end user has no complicated map loading. The device comes with full NAVTEQ maps covering the USA and Canada all on a 1.5GB SD card. Voice guided directions via built-in speakers also make navigating simpler by eliminating the need to look at the screen once a preferred route is set. And with real time traffic readiness, city commuters have the option of adding Traffic Message Channel (TMC) programming, a subscription-based service that provides navigation systems with traffic information that is broadcast via radio station. By using TMC, which requires an optional adaptor, NAV200 will receive updated traffic information and adjust the route accordingly - helping drivers get to where they want to go on time. In addition to the sophisticated navigation features, NAV200 has popular entertainment functionality including a movie player, music player and picture viewer for use when not navigating. "Industry trends show the personal navigation market is expected to more than double over last year," stated Adiel Avelar, global navigation business line director, Delphi Consumer Electronics. "Part of this growth is driven by a convergence of different technologies such as navigation and entertainment. And the Nav200 uses the industry-leading NAVTEQ mapping database, which is trusted by popular online mapping services and automakers. This combination of advanced navigation features results in fast and accurate routing calculations-packaged together at a very competitive price." The Delphi NAV200 priced at $399.99 will be on display and demonstrated at the NAVTEQ booth (# 10209) during the 2006 S.E.M.A, Specialty Equipment Market Association, convention opening today in Las Vegas, Nevada which attracts over 100,000 attendees. For more information about Delphi NAV200, visit http://nav200.delphi.com . October 30, 2006--NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital map data for location-based solutions and vehicle navigation, has been selected as the map data provider for inclusion with RouteSmart Technologies' Carrier Optimal Routing (COR) solution, which was developed in partnership with the United States Postal Service (USPS). RouteSmart's solution is designed to create more efficient USPS delivery routes and lines of travel, improve customer service and reduce daily operations costs. USPS is responsible for the delivery of mail throughout the United States and plans to deploy and utilize this software nationwide to create more efficient and safe delivery routes. The NAVTEQ map includes in-depth coverage for urban and rural areas together with comprehensive, field verified routing attributes. The RouteSmart optimization algorithms take advantage of the NAVTEQ attributes to accurately optimize delivery route data and to calculate and provide optimized travel directions. The RouteSmart algorithms embedded in COR and the highly accurate and detailed map data from NAVTEQ will allow the USPS to optimize its delivery resources and to make route adjustments when necessary. NAVTEQ employs one of the industry's most comprehensive map development and quality control programs for the highest levels of excellence and precision. "The NAVTEQ map is critical to our ability to deliver quality solutions that meet the complex precision routing needs of our customers," states Larry Levy, Vice President, RouteSmart. "The success of this project for the United States Postal Service points to the continued success of our collaboration." "RouteSmart's solution takes full advantage of NAVTEQ data to deliver high quality results," says Roy Kolstad, Vice President and General Manager - Business and Government Solutions, NAVTEQ. "We have a strategic relationship with RouteSmart and are excited about our collaboration on this important project for the United States Postal Service." October 30, 2006.-- MeshNetics, a leading ZigBee technology provider, announced that it will begin shipping its new 2.4GHz 802.15.4/ZigBee Evaluation Kit. The kit provides all the hardware and software tools you need to quickly evaluate the performance of the ZigBit mesh-networking module, including tools to test its communication range, power consumption, and the embedded software capabilities. Thanks to a recent partnership between Atmel and Meshnetics, the new 2.4GHz 802.15.4/ZigBee Evaluation Kit will be the first to feature the latest Atmel RF transceiver, the AT86RF230, which has the highest link budget of any 802.15.4 radio. The Evaluation Kit includes 3 sensor interface boards, a module sample, software and accessories. At the heart of the board is the ultra-compact (13.5 x 18.8 mm), low-power, high-sensitivity ZigBit module, based on the Atmel's ATmega 1281v MCU and AT86RF230 radio. Thanks to the Atmel radio's outperforming link budget, the ZigBit provides superior line-of-sight range. Each board features 3 sensors, PCB antenna, as well as the interface to connect external sensors. The eZeeNet mesh networking stack contains 802.15.4 MAC and ZigBee Network layers with a simplified programming interface, while supporting the AT commands. Included with the kit, the easy-to-use WSN Monitor PC application enables users to monitor wireless networks and features real-time capture and display of temperature and light levels read from remote sensors. "Since the introduction of the ZigBit module few months ago, we have seen the increasing interest from developers," said Mr. Vasiliy Suvorov, CEO of Meshnetics. "The Evaluation Kit is a first step to start evaluating the module and develop applications. The ZigBee Development Kit that is coming soon should take them further, helping with the full product development cycle. In addition, we are running an extended support program for qualified customers to assist them through all stages of product development." The Evaluation Kits are available now at $399. This includes technical support over e-mail. The Development Kit general availability is scheduled for the end of 2006. The upcoming kit will enable developers to design a brand new product with wireless capability, and create a custom application based on complete eZeeNet API. The package will include an extended technical support by phone and e-mail during all stages of development, such as module integration, sensor interfacing, component selection, antenna design and more. For more information on the Evaluation Kit please contact MeshNetics at info@meshnetics.com, or visit www.meshnetics.com. October 30, 2006.--Intelligent Spatial Technologies Inc. (iST), the leading developer of Location-based Services (LBS) for mobile users, announced that it has deployed an iPointer Campus tour at the University of Maine in Orono. The iPointer is an innovative platform for developing next generation LBS applications such as mobile search, GPS tracking, Geotagging & geoblogging, pedestrian navigation, and targeted advertising - and getting them into market quickly. The university selected iST to develop and deploy a customized self-guided tour application targeting prospective student groups visiting the university's campus. iST's innovative iPointer technology enables people to explore a defined area by using a PDA/cell phone with global positioning system and a digital Compass combined with a database of geographic data and multi-media content and a powerful geospatial search engine. When students point the iPointer-enabled cell phone at campus buildings and landmarks, they receive on-demand information, including text, audio, and pictures, about selected classroom buildings, residence halls, libraries, and other points of interest. "We are proud to be able to deliver something that shows the kind of innovation that happens on the University of Maine campus", said iST founder Chris Frank. "I think it adds an interesting dimension to the experience when prospective students learn that the initial research for the iPointer was done right here." Student reaction to the iPointer Campus Tour has been positive. "I liked being able to tour the campus on my own, instead of being part of a big group. I was able to check out more information about the buildings and places that I was interested in", reported University of Maine student, Will Gove. "The information provided by the iPointer was valuable and made my visit of the campus fun!" The benefits of iPointer are many for the university - it provides prospective students with a custom, on-demand tour of their own design, it provides valuable feedback and actionable data for follow-up, and it highlights the university's embrace of technology. "We know that campus visits are among the most important factors in a student's college-selection decision," says Liz Downing, Senior Associate Director of New Student Programs, University of Maine. "iST's iPointer™ technology provides prospective students with a memorable, interactive experience that enables them to follow their curiosity and explore the campus on their own rather than being confined to the structure of guide-led group experience." October 27, 2006.-- ALK Technologies announced the launch of CoPilot FleetCenter, a low-cost fleet management solution that delivers tracking, 2-way messaging, and access to ALK's growing Location Based Services (LBS) offerings including real-time traffic and premium Points of Interest (POIs). CoPilot FleetCenter is designed to work seamlessly with CoPilot Truck and CoPilot Live GPS navigation solutions from ALK. Demonstrations are available at ALK's booth 1104, during the American Trucking Associations' Management Conference and Exhibition in Dallas, Texas, October 29th-31st. CoPilot FleetCenter is the ideal fleet management and driver retention tool for truckload, less-than-truckload, private, and distribution fleets of all sizes. ALK Technologies is the developer of CoPilot Truck, premium voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation software for professional truck drivers. ALK's flagship transportation product, PC*MILER, provides the industry's most accurate routing, mileage and mapping solutions for carriers, shippers and logistics companies. CoPilot FleetCenter is a web-based fleet management solution connected to wireless- enabled mobile devices (Pocket PCs, smartphones, laptops or onboard computers) running the Microsoft's Windows Mobile 5.0 or Windows XP operating systems. These devices provide spoken directions using ALK's CoPilot Truck or CoPilot Live Professional and communicate their exact position in real-time to CoPilot FleetCenter. CoPilot FleetCenter enables drivers running CoPilot on their mobile devices to leverage the devices' wireless capabilities to send and receive text messages, receive itinerary updates, and communicate vehicle status automatically. CoPilot FleetCenter enables managers to: view their fleet in real-time; focus on automated exception alert reporting; and to achieve improved fleet productivity and asset utilization. Managers can work from any Internet-connected computer to access CoPilot FleetCenter's secure web site. Specific customer tracking and delivery status information can be provided via a password controlled environment. ALK's fusion of GPS, navigation, and wireless technologies provides high-end fleet management capabilities to fleets of all sizes at a reasonable cost. Fleets will realize a significant reduction in avoidable out-of-route, empty and dead-head mileage.CoPilot FleetCenter features include: Geofencing - automatic, real-time notification when a truck enters or leaves a user-defined location. Exception Reporting - automatic, real-time notification of defined events such as speeding, trip delays or late starts. Historical Reporting - reports for management review of individual drivers and overall fleet performance. Companies can choose to use the ALK hosted version of CoPilot FleetCenter or host CoPilot FleetCenter on their own server. Additionally, with the CoPilot Live Professional Software Development Kit (SDK), CoPilot Truck or CoPilot Live can be seamlessly integrated within other third party applications. CoPilot FleetCenter Web Services allows further enterprise integration with back-office systems. CoPilot FleetCenter reduces non-revenue mileage and fuel costs, and improves on-time performance and customer service. Spoken and/or text directions from CoPilot Truck or CoPilot Live ease driver stress and contribute to driver retention. CoPilot Truck and CoPilot Live system requirements include Windows Mobile 5.0 compatible mobile devices, and a GPRS or CDMA wireless data plan from Alltel, Cingular Wireless, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile or Verizon Wireless. For a CoPilot FleetCenter demonstration, go to fleetcenter.alk.com. October 27, 2006.-- Maptuit Corporation, the leading provider of truck routing, vehicle tracking and traffic services, and Cadec Global, the leader in advanced transportation-technology solutions, announced a partnership to offer Maptuit NaviGo on Cadec's next-generation OBC (Onboard Computer), featuring a Windows-based touch screen with a color display and high-resolution graphical interface. The combined Maptuit and Cadec solution offers state-of-the-art technological functionality to the trucking industry. The new solution will provide a touch-screen operated navigation system, audible truck-specific, real-time, and turn-by-turn directions. If drivers miss a turn, they will immediately hear a recalculated route, providing directions from the new location to the selected destination. These new functions will significantly improve operational efficiencies, driver productivity and customer satisfaction. "This announcement takes our strategy for improved driver experience and retention a huge step in the right direction for our industry. We are excited to be providing the market place with Maptuit NaviGo's dynamic content through a hybrid (onboard and real-time) and multi-mode (Satellite, Cellular or Wi-Fi) in-cab device that improves both driver safety and the driver experience," said Jeff Papows, president and chief executive officer of Maptuit. Maptuit's years of experience and its unique community of 80,000 drivers, who provide constant updates to the road network, are a key element of Maptuit's dynamic routing and Maptuit's differentiating strength. This along with Cadec's market-leading technology will offer trucking companies a powerful optimization tool to manage their businesses. "Trucking companies have waited far too long for exciting new technologies that help drivers when they need it the most, on the road," continued Papows. "But for these new technologies to be in the customer's best economic interest, they have to include a hybrid and multi-modal solution that can take advantage of dynamic, real-time, truck-specific routing at the best possible communication cost. Working with Cadec we can bring these combined solutions to market and close the gap in technology in support of fleets and the drivers. We are confident and excited to provide the type of fully integrated in-cab navigation solution that until now only existed in luxury automobiles." "Cadec's goal is to bring the most advanced and cost effective products to our customers," said Heirmir Sverrisson, vice president of engineering at Cadec. "We explored a range of products and concluded that Maptuit NaviGo offers the most comprehensive road and location information service available. By aligning with Maptuit NaviGo we have the opportunity to add value to our already feature-rich solutions. The addition of in-cab navigation offers our customers another innovative application to help them run their businesses more efficiently, saving time and money." October 26, 2006.-- QUALCOMM Incorporated, a leading developer and innovator of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and other advanced wireless technologies, announced that a total of more than 200 million mobile handsets worldwide have shipped featuring the Company's gpsOne Assisted-GPS technology. gpsOne technology supports a wide range of compelling location services that include a variety of consumer, business and personal safety applications. These location services are made possible by the ubiquitous and accurate positioning of the gpsOne solution, the most widely deployed GPS-based location technology in the world. "More than 200 million GPS-enabled handsets have shipped over the past few years, demonstrating that consumers are increasingly demanding location services on the wireless device that most carry with them all the time," said Rob Rovetta, senior director of product management for QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies. "QUALCOMM's gpsOne technology puts high-performance GPS into handsets, making possible a wide variety of services that make day-to-day activities simpler, safer or more fun for the wireless user." "We are seeing that the ecosystem for location services is now largely established, which -- combined with the ever-growing number of GPS-enabled handsets -- will drive location services to being a mainstream cellular services component and revenue source," said Allyn Hall, director of wireless research for In-Stat. "The number of GPS-enabled chipsets shipping in handsets is orders of magnitude larger than the number of chipsets being shipped in personal navigation devices, and the difference will only grow over the next few years." The gpsOne solution provides the position-location technology behind the vast majority of the location services at more than 50 major network operators worldwide. Services include:
Eliminating the need for expensive, standalone GPS devices that require regular updates, mobile handsets powered by gpsOne technology have the ability to bring valuable tools to wireless users at substantially lower cost and, in many cases, with greater functionality. The gpsOne A-GPS solution is integrated into most of QUALCOMM's Mobile Station Modem (MSM) chipsets to enable manufacturers to more cost-effectively offer positioning capabilities on wireless devices. The gpsOne solution is part of the Launchpad suite, which also includes integrated multimedia engines to offer application developers the ability to leverage advanced graphics, video and audio capabilities that further enhance a location application. Numerous leading developers have taken advantage of the gpsOne solution on MSM chipsets to offer a wide range of compelling applications currently available on global wireless networks. As part of its complete package of position-based products and services, QUALCOMM offers QPoint location-based services server software and set of accompanying tools and services to enable mobile network operators to deploy high-performance, compelling location services. QUALCOMM works with system integrators to permit them to offer the QPoint solution to operators and hosted providers. QUALCOMM's QPoint and gpsOne solutions provide one of the most complete, integrated mass-market location services solutions available today. October 23, 2006.-- Rosum Corporation, the leader in reliable indoor location technology for homeland security and public safety applications, together with Global Locate, a leading producer of Assisted-GPS chips and software, announced the general availability of the Rosum TV+GPS Hybrid Positioning Module (HPM). The HPM combines the indoor and urban reliability of Rosum's TV-positioning technology with the sensitivity and accuracy of Global Locate's Hammerhead A-GPS chip to deliver highly reliable and accurate location in all environments: indoor, outdoor, dense urban, and rural. "The Hybrid Positioning Module is the product of intense, dedicated work to develop and refine TV-positioning technology and then to tightly integrate it with a world-class Assisted GPS solution from Global Locate," commented Rosum CEO Skip Speaks. "We have heard the voice of public safety officials and are addressing their needs with Rosum's HPM. Hybrid TV+GPS 3D positioning is a vital platform technology for homeland security and public safety markets, such as first response, asset awareness for law enforcement, and offender monitoring." The HPM integrates TV and A-GPS ranging information so that any combination of three or more TV towers and GPS satellites can be used for positioning. Rosum's hybrid TV+GPS solution also enhances the performance of the A-GPS engine itself by providing it with accurate time and frequency assist information which substantially improves GPS acquisition time and sensitivity. The result is unparalleled availability and accuracy for tracking and navigation applications. Further, the HPM provides altitude information to enable reliable indoor and outdoor 3D positioning. "We are delighted that Rosum has selected Global Locate's Hammerhead platform for the HPM. Our single-chip Hammerhead A-GPS solution with its long-term orbital (LTO) assistance data provides unparalleled sensitivity and reliability, and the combined performance of the hybrid TV+GPS solution is extraordinary," said Scott Pomerantz, President and CEO of Global Locate. The HPM product and HPM Developer's Evaluation Kits are available through resellers and directly from Rosum Corporation. Contact Todd Young, Director of Product and Business Development (tyoung@rosum.com) for details. October 23, 2006.-- WiQuest Communications, Inc., the leading, fabless semiconductor company developing complete Ultrawideband (UWB) silicon, software and reference design solutions, announced that its wireless USB external adapter has been approved by the FCC. This makes it the first commercial product, based on the Certified Wireless USB specification from the USB Implementers Forum, to earn FCC certification for both outdoor and indoor use, reinforcing WiQuest's time-to-market leadership. "Being the first company to gain FCC approval for both outdoor and indoor use for a wireless USB reference design shows WiQuest is the clear leader in this technology. WiQuest products are now shipping and are fully-compliant with FCC regulations," said Dr. Matthew B. Shoemake, WiQuest founder, CEO and president. "WiQuest's leadership in FCC certification and completeness of product offering makes us the right partner for early adopter customers." Having obtained FCC certification streamlines the process for current and future WiQuest customers to gain FCC approval for products based on this reference design and WiQuest's UWB chipset. WiQuest customers directly benefit in knowing that their products based on this chipset can be FCC certified, thereby shortening time-to-market. The wireless USB adapter conforms to FCC Part 15 Section 15.519 for hand held UWB systems. Compliance with this section means that customers can build products for both indoor and outdoor use based on the WiQuest chipset. The FCC certification assures consumers that WiQuest devices may be approved for operation in the unlicensed 3.1 GHz to 4.8 GHz frequency band. "With contributions from member companies like WiQuest, the USB-IF continues to see major steps toward market proliferation for products based on the Certified Wireless USB specification," said Jeff Ravencraft, president and chairman of the USB-IF. WiQuest's wireless USB external adapter is a cost-effective, highly-integrated design that provides wireless USB high-speed capabilities, up to 480 Mbps, for traditional wired USB devices. The WiQuest Wireless USB Adapter is designed around WiQuest's WQST110 and WQST101 chipset which is in production now. The WQST110 includes a WiMedia-based UWB media access controller (MAC), physical layer (PHY) baseband processor and integrated USB 2.0 high-speed transceiver. This compact solution is ideal for small applications such as the wireless USB adapter. WiQuest's wireless USB adapter reference design and WQST110/101 chipset are shipping now to manufacturers for consumer products. In addition to the WQST110 and 101 chipset and the wireless USB Adapter, WiQuest's Evaluation Kit, 4-port Hub and PCI Express mini card reference designs, all based on the Certified Wireless USB technology from the USB Implementers Forum, are available. October 23, 2006.-- M/A-COM, a business unit of Tyco Electronics, introduced a new generation of 24 GHz ultra wideband (UWB) radar sensors for driver-assistance systems. M/A-COM's 24 GHz short-range radar sensor is a highly-integrated "smart sensor" designed to improve safety and comfort functions in automotive applications by providing object detection and tracking to further support drivers. M/A-COM's 24 GHz UWB radar sensors are designed to resist inclement weather and harsh environmental conditions more than other sensing technologies, such as infrared devices. M/A-COM's radar sensors are specifically intended for:
Additionally, M/A-COM's radar sensors can be deployed in security, military and unmanned vehicle operations, as well as mining and industrial sensing applications. M/A-COM's advanced 24 GHz short-range radar sensors were developed using the latest UWB technology, enabling the system to measure objects that are located within centimeters of the sensor. In comparison with narrow-band sensors, short-range sensors can detect and distinguish between objects as close as 15 centimeters from each other. October 23, 2006.-- Continuing itssuccessful push into the consumer marketplace, SiRF Technology Holdings,Inc., a leading provider of GPS-enabled silicon and premiumsoftware location platforms, confirmed its award-winning SiRFstarIIIarchitecture is featured in an array of ever more compact DigiWalkernavigation products from Mio Technology Limited, one of the leading globalplayers in mobile communications and navigation. SiRF's GSC3f single-chipGPS receiver delivers highly accurate location information for the new MioDigiWalker H610, a stylish, handheld digital media player and personalnavigation device about the size of a business card, and is also at theheart of Mio's pocket-sized C710 and C310 portable car navigation systems. Nearly half the size of the already compact DigiWalker C710, the tinyMio H610 marks a milestone in the trend towards embedding GPS features intomainstream consumer products. Small enough, light enough and fashionableenough to be worn around the neck and taken everywhere, the Mio H610combines high fashion, highly accurate GPS functionality, comprehensivepoint-of- interest location and a feature-rich digital media player all ina single device for people on the go while walking, biking or driving. "With the H610, Mio has taken the classic personal media player andembedded impressive GPS navigation functionality into it, creating a newcategory of device that integrates navigation with people's lifestyles,"said Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of marketing for SiRF. "Thecombination of navigation and entertainment in compact and stylish devices,such as the Mio H610, has the potential to significantly expand thenavigation market from just in-car to usage everywhere as personalcompanion devices." The recently announced Mio DigiWalker C710 provides all thefunctionality of the H610 in a slightly larger form factor (about the sizeof an index card) designed for in-car use with a larger 3.5-inch anti-glaredisplay, and adds Bluetooth connectivity for hands-free calling with acompatible mobile phone, as well as TMC traffic reports for smarterrouting. Both products contain the SiRFstarIII GPS receiver for fast,accurate navigation in challenging environments such as dense forests, deepcanyons and cities with tall buildings, and both provide rich multimediafunctionality -- viewing pictures as well as playing videos and music --with their built-in personal media players. "Mio and SiRF have forged a longstanding partnership, and these newproducts signal the evolution of our product line to the SiRFstarIIIarchitecture," said Kioshi Hami, sales director of N. A., Mio TechnologyLtd. "In addition to these newly released portable navigation a device, Miois also working with SiRF on a variety of other new and exciting productsin the DigiWalker family to ensure industry leading GPS performancewherever our customers go." Winner of the PC Magazine's 2005 award for Technical Excellence, theSiRFstarIII architecture can track more than 20 GPS satellites, employs theequivalent of more than 200,000 correlators and sophisticated navigationalgorithms, and is able to track signals down to -159 dBm, making real-timenavigation practical in almost any environment. The GCS3 combines a complete A-GPS digital baseband processor and RFfront end in a single, compact, 7-mm x 10-mm package. It delivers unmatchedtime to first fix (TTFF) at the low signal levels of the original two-chipSiRFstarIII product, while occupying 20 percent less board real estate andconsuming no more power than the earlier generation SiRFstarII product. October 17, 2006.-- National Instruments announced LabVIEW drivers for wireless sensor networks, giving engineers and scientists working with these devices the ability to fully integrate their ZigBee, IEEE 802.15.4 or proprietary wireless sensors into the National Instruments LabVIEW graphical development environment. The free driver software works with sensors from three wireless-sensing leaders -- Accsense, Accutech and Crossbow Technology -- and includes communication functions and example programs compatible with sensors from each vendor. Wireless sensor vendors typically offer fixed-functionality application software for wireless sensor network configuration, communication and monitoring. Now with NI LabVIEW, developers using wireless sensors have an open and flexible development environment to easily customize an application or integrate data from the wireless network with other data acquisition, analysis or reporting functionality. LabVIEW also includes more than 600 graphical and text-based math and analysis functions that developers can use to process data acquired from wireless sensor networks. With the drivers, developers can start reading from their sensors within a matter of minutes, saving them time and resources because they do not have to write custom interfaces themselves. Additionally, the software includes a fully documented template to quickly build a LabVIEW interface for wireless sensors not natively supported by the driver software. "These new LabVIEW drivers for wireless sensor networks extend the LabVIEW platform to the growing number of wireless interfaces such as ZigBee and IEEE 802.15.4," said John Hanks, NI director of measurement and control hardware. "Connectivity to these wireless sensors opens up a whole new level of functionality for environmental monitoring, research, industrial monitoring and test applications for engineers and scientists." With these LabVIEW drivers, which can be downloaded at www.ni.com/wsn, engineers and scientists now have an open and flexible alternative to software solutions for new wireless-enabled applications. October 16, 2006.-- MobiApps, Inc. announced the introduction of the m100, the next generation, high-performance ORBCOMM satellite smart modem designed for global management and monitoring of remote and mobile assets. The m100 extends MobiApps product offerings to new markets, complementing its existing m-Trak cellular-based vehicle tracking and logistics system.The m100 provides worldwide satellite two-way data communications and geo-location in a very small and power efficient package. The m100 operates over the ORBCOMM low-earth orbit satellite network, providing unlimited global coverage. With the m100's built-in GPS receiver, asset utilization is significantly increased by allowing systems to track, monitor, and manage fixed and mobile assets around the world. Sanjay Chakrabarty, CEO and President of MobiApps, stated: "Managing and monitoring remote and mobile assets is the next frontier in today's information technology revolution. The introduction of the m100 makes this possible on a global scale as never before." Jerome Eisenberg, CEO and President of ORBCOMM, stated, "The introduction of the m100 subscriber communicator continues the trend of product innovations taking place in the M2M industry that leverage the many advantages of the ORBCOMM network. The m100 offers a compelling combination of performance and value in a very small form factor." Production samples and developers kits are now available with volume production scheduled for November. The m100 is quite mature, given its predecessor m100D heritage, which uses the same technology for application I/O, serial, and software hosting environment. A wide range of global applications, including security, tracking, messaging and monitoring, will benefit from the m100. The type of mobile equipment well-suited for the new technology includes trucks, trailers, rail cars, fishing vessels, freight barges, construction equipment, automobiles and shipping containers. Examples of remote equipment include generators, utility meters, pipelines, LPG tanks and oil wells. October 13, 2006.-- GeoSentry, Inc., provider of covert wireless tracking solutions for security and surveillance, has introduced Global Packet Radio Service (GPRS) wireless communications capability for its family of advanced location tracking solutions, along with an affordable, unlimited usage pricing plan. "The addition of GPRS, an efficient and affordable wireless messaging service, brings much-needed price stability to the remote monitoring/mobile tracking market," notes GeoSentry President Gary Russell. "With a GeoSentry GPRS-enabled mobile tracker, customers can pay a single, flat monthly rate for their monitoring and tracking service, regardless of how many messages they send and receive. Their tracking costs are fixed so there are no billing surprises." The GeoSentry line of products are all equipped with GSM/GPRS wireless communications. With the worldwide roll-out of the GSM/GPRS wireless voice and data network, the company's devices are ideal for unobserved monitoring of high-value, remote assets, and key individuals, anywhere there is GSM/GPRS coverage, Russell states. "With the ever-growing need for executive protection, loss prevention and asset tracking, our new GPRS capability will assure that customers around the globe can afford to undertake critical situational awareness of all their important personnel and assets." Portable devices now equipped with GPRS include:
All GeoSentry products are shipped ready-to-go, out of the box, and will continue to offer GSM wireless communications, in addition to GPRS. The company offers several rate plans, including unlimited usage, Russell adds. The portable tracking units rely upon SureTrak location technology from GeoTrax to pinpoint the location of the device (and its associated asset). This suite of location capabilities, which includes enhanced GPS sensitivity, cell tower estimation, and an RF beacon to provide location information in the absence of GPS satellite coverage, locates the device even inside a building or other hidden location, Russell states. Automatic reports via the Internet display the last known position of the GeoSentry monitoring and tracking units. Additionally, related information, including continuous location monitoring, operation status and mobile history of the device is provided. Secure SSL technology ensures that only authorized personnel have access to this location and alert information. Optional quick-connect external battery packs help extend the field life of the devices for days or weeks, enabling longer term location reporting and monitoring. October 12, 2006.-- Stellar Satellite Communications Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of ORBCOMM Inc., announced the introduction of the DS300-D and DS400 dual-mode ORBCOMM satellite and GSM communicators. The first to be commercialized is the DS300-D, which features expansion ports that allow the addition of external GSM and Zigbee wireless modules. The DS300-D will be followed shortly by the DS400, which incorporates GSM and Zigbee wireless communication devices and a DS100 satellite subscriber communicator in a single enclosure. Where the DS300-D is designed mostly for high value asset tracking, the DS400 is specifically designed for heavy equipment and fleet management applications. The DS series of satellite subscriber communicators are the result of a joint engineering and manufacturing effort between Stellar and Delphi Electronics and Safety, which continues to produce reliable and cost effective products for the ORBCOMM market. These new subscriber communicators bring together the global coverage of ORBCOMM's low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite network with the higher-bandwidth capabilities of GSM cellular data networks. The dual-mode product line is an ideal choice for high-value M2M data communications applications that require ubiquitous coverage and high-throughput. Common to the line is the high reliability and low cost now associated with all Stellar products. Zvi Huber, general manager of Stellar, said, "The DS300-D and DS400 will be of particular benefit to current GSM data network users. These customers will be able to continue to utilize the higher-bandwidth capabilities of the GSM networks that they use today, with the added benefit of allowing them to send mission-critical data communications via ORBCOMM's low-cost, ubiquitous network when and where cellular networks are unavailable." Where the DS300-D offers modular design and snap-on GSM and Zigbee modules, the DS400 combines the DS100 satellite subscriber communicator and a microprocessor board for third party applications with optional internal GSM and Zigbee modules. The DS400 is built to meet to demanding requirements of the heavy equipment industry and aims to satisfy the needs of customers ranging from OEMs and rental companies to construction companies. Other manufacturers are also incorporating Stellar's satellite subscriber communicators into their dual-mode solutions. The first of these products is the Vector 300 dual-mode communicator from Prolificx of New Zealand, which combines the Stellar DS100 with a GSM modem, GPS receiver and powerful Windows CE application processor in a rugged, compact enclosure. Additional dual-mode and multi-mode products that use the DS-series satellite subscriber communicators from Stellar are expected from other manufacturers in the coming year. October 10, 2006.-- Trimble announced it will launch its Trimble VRS Now service for Germany in December. The commercial subscription service will provide surveyors, civil engineers and geospatial professionals with instant access to real-time kinematic (RTK) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) corrections without the need for a base station. Using GNSS reference station data from SAPOS, the SAtellite POSitioning Service of the German State Survey, the Trimble service will deliver centimetre-level RTK positioning customized for each GNSS receivers exact location anywhere in the network. The Trimble VRS Now service will supply fast, easy to use and accurate GNSS positioning for a variety of applications including surveying, urban planning, construction, transportation, environmental monitoring, hydrography, agriculture, resource and territory management, disaster prevention and relief, weather services and scientific research. Volker Wegener, head of the Central Bureau SAPOS said, The Trimble VRS Now service is a prime example of SAPOS being an enabler to support commercial GNSS applications across the country. While SAPOS will maintain the accuracy and quality of the reference station network, we are delighted that Trimble will use their extensive expertise and resources to derive added value for new customers through the new Trimble VRS Now service. "Trimble VRS Now in Germany is the second commercial GNSS infrastructure service offering from Trimble and represents another milestone for our Connected Survey Site model," said Jürgen Kliem, general manager for Trimbles Survey Division. "Our goal is to streamline the work of surveying businesses and increase productivity by enhancing the synergies among tools, techniques, services and relationships, which build a Connected Survey Site." SAPOS uses Trimble VRS software to operate the majority of its GPS and GPS plus GLONASS networks, which cover approximately 357,045 square kilometers (136,415 square miles). Users will connect into the system using a wireless connection; the software acknowledges the users field positions and allows them to operate as though there is a reference station-a virtual reference station-right next to their rover. Utilizing Trimble VRS Now, surveyors and civil engineers can tap into centimeter-level RTK or differential GPS (DGPS) corrections anytime, anywhere within the VRS Now computed network. Trimble VRS Now represents a major advance in precision surveying productivity. No longer dependant on a field base station, precision GNSS surveys are easy to perform and users can be up and running in minutes. And without the need for base station hardware, the users GNSS receivers can now work independently as rovers-saving time and money. Simply connect, correct and measure. A subscription to Trimble VRS Now service and a GPS or GPS plus GLONASS rover is all a user needs to begin surveying or collecting data with precision. Surveyors and other users can switch on their receiver and real-time corrections will be available in seconds. Trimble VRS Now works with nearly all GPS and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) survey instruments from a variety of manufacturers. For more information visit: www.trimble.com/VRSNow.shtml. October 10, 2006.-- Numerex Corp., a leader in M2M (machine-to-machine) wireless communications, announced expansion of its network capabilities and location-based services (LBS) throughout North America using Sprint's Nationwide Sprint PCS Network and GPS (Global Positioning System) technology. Numerex will offer a new portfolio of network and mobile tracking technologies to M2M distribution partners, application service providers, and customers utilizing Sprint's Nationwide Sprint PCS Network. The new capabilities provide precise, real-time tracking for mobile asset and fleet management, package and parcel tracking, inventory control, as well as improved visibility into remote operations. An emerging category of mobile wireless solutions, LBS provide improved granularity for pinpoint monitoring of remote devices based on their location. The addition of LBS capabilities expands Numerex Networks M2M capabilities as it brings Sprint additional market opportunities for delivering highly- relevant services to subscribers. Construction industry leader DeWALT is the first to introduce a unique M2M solution that leverages Numerex's state-of-the-art locating capabilities and GPS technology. DeWALT's MOBILELOCK GPS alarm system is designed specifically for the construction industry to help stem the losses of more than $1 billion in mobile assets each year on construction job sites. A stand- alone, portable, rugged wireless locating and alarm system that is easily and securely mounted to construction equipment, MOBILELOCK features a GPS locator that helps locate lost or stolen assets, and transmits an alarm any time a protected piece of equipment is disturbed. With LBS, a device's physical location is leveraged to provide location- relevant information -- for example, high-value construction equipment misplaced, lost or stolen can be located with precise coordinates. An alert can also be delivered if equipment is disturbed with the slightest movement. LBS represent new revenue opportunities for application service providers and integration partners -- and access to highly-relevant, timely information for end users. "We are pleased that our longstanding partner and industry leader DeWALT is the first to introduce a new solution for its customers that leverages location-based services to protect mobile assets," said Mike Marett, Chief Operating Officer for Numerex. "That is precisely what our relationship with Sprint is about -- continuing to leverage advanced network technology in order to provide our partners expanded M2M technology and service opportunities through our Airdesk Wireless Mobile Division." DeWALT's MOBILELOCK is supported by a growing portfolio of solutions from Airdesk Mobile for mobile asset tracking. In July, Numerex announced Airdesk Mobile, a complete, single-source solution that supports the entire vehicle tracking market. October 5, 2006.-- MuskokaTech, a leading provider of GPS Navigation and Mapping Software for handheld PCs, reported it's latest revision of PathAway GPS 4 on Windows Mobile and Palm OS platforms, exploits the virtues of the newest GPS-integrated handhelds entering the market today. "PathAway is a mature product with an already enthusiastic user-base.", says MuskokaTech CEO Scott Northmore, "Most new features for version 4 are the result of customer feedback, and to take advantage of the new capabilities in the latest handhelds such as high resolution screens, integrated digital camera, GPS, and high quality sound". Most notable of the new features are multimedia waypoints with photo capture from the integrated digital camera. Even sound clips can be attached. This is a great way to document a trip with pictures and audio attached to a specific location. Another feature very popular with trekkers is the new power saving PocketMode. With this feature the user starts recording their track with the GPS, then presses PocketMode and puts the unit in their pocket. PathAway shuts down the screen, disables the keypad to prevent accidental key presses, and does minimal processing to keep recording the track log. It's a very useful feature because it minimizes battery power in case the log is needed later for back-tracking, or required for a site survey. "PocketMode is one of those features resulting from real-world usage of the software", reports Northmore, "For safety purposes alone, users can have the security of continual tracking in case they get lost. Pulling out a device with a dead battery can be annoying at a critical time when you might need the software the most." PathAway customer Scott Morrow says, "I have spent considerable time trying and evaluating virtually every GPS mapping package available. I have not found any other system as feature-rich and specifically suited to my purposes as PathAway." Morrow adds, "The ability to use virtually any map of my choosing has allowed me to load extremely detailed topographical images of the areas in which I go hiking, canoeing and geocaching, and I have actually had the good fortune to visit places and see things I would have missed completely if not for my use of PathAway." PathAway GPS 4 is available at PathAway.com for $59.95 US. Existing users can upgrade for $29.95 US. Users can download a free 15-day trial version at PathAway.com. Free support is provided via online contact form or the PathAway Support Forum. October 5, 2006.-- Ordnance Survey is launching the first ever digital map dataset showing the weight, width and height restriction applying to road bridges in Great Britain. More than 110,000 bridges have been surveyed for what promises to be an invaluable single information source for satellite navigation, route planning and fleet management. The data will help freight and other heavy goods vehicles to avoid unsuitable routes, potentially reducing traffic volumes on quiet rural roads. It will also help reduce fuel costs, increase efficiency and enable businesses to give customers more precise delivery times. "If you are driving an HGV or managing a fleet, it's crucial to be able to pinpoint bridge restrictions that will affect navigation en route," says Ordnance Survey's Gavin Jackman. "A single bridge strike can lead to lost business and higher insurance premiums as well as the costs of repair. Other drivers can also be affected if surrounding roads have to be closed." The bridge data is available to users of the Road Routing Information (RRI) theme of Ordnance Survey's overall digital road data product, OS MasterMap Integrated Transport Network (ITN) Layer. The RRI theme already includes a range of network and routing information. Before the development of the ITN Layer, information on weight, width and height was only available on an ad hoc basis from different sources. Now, the new dataset offers the first comprehensive unified source aimed at meeting the demands of the transport industry. As well as helping delivery and freight companies and the providers of satellite navigation and other routing solutions, the new data will support local authority freight plans. West Sussex County Council is one authority keen to ensure that freight movements are properly routed. "This data will support our aim of getting today's freight onto the appropriate roads, which should lead to more efficient and effective operations," says Tex Pemberton OBE, cabinet member for highways and transport at West Sussex. "It will help to address the issue of HGVs travelling on unsuitable roads in our rural and urban areas, something that causes distress to members of the public and local authorities alike. We, of course, support the success of business opportunity, but we must also consider the impact on the environment and quality of life." The new data will be available to ITN Layer RRI theme customers from the end of October 2006. Ordnance Survey is previewing it to licensed technology partners and visitors to the ITS World Congress and Exhibition in London on 9-12 October 2006. October 4, 2006.-- MHF Logistical Solutions (MHF-LS), a leading provider of packaging, transportation and technical services for generators and shippers of radioactive, hazardous and non-hazardous waste, materials and byproducts, has introduced new software that dramatically enhances its "smart railcars" cargo protection initiative. The new software, called "GPS Fleet Watch," integrates data generated by satellite-linked location tracking and cargo monitoring equipment with such external data as weather conditions, nationwide rail traffic mapping and databases containing detailed information about communities crossed by railroad lines. "The new software is a significant leap for rail shippers seeking to maximize their ability to track and protect their cargo and also deal quickly with an accident or unusual event," said Richard W. Zink, MHF-LS executive vice president. "We're giving our clients a whole new capability to not only pinpoint the location and condition of their sensitive cargo, but also to best manage problems that might occur." MHF-LS clients opting to use smart railcars can receive continually updated reports on the whereabouts and status of their cargo. To quickly deal with an accident that, for example, releases noxious materials, the GPS Fleet Watch software can immediately call up detailed information about prevailing and projected weather patterns, the proximity of other rail traffic and information about nearby population centers (including schools, hospitals and other facilities) that might have to be notified as part of an emergency response. The software also provides tools to communicate with local police departments, hazmat clean-up experts and other emergency responders. Details on nearby communities can be narrowed down to a square mile, virtually anywhere in North America, Zink said. The smart railcar initiative, introduced last year by MHF-LS, is a comprehensive series of optional services featuring remote monitoring and diagnostic systems. Individual railcars are equipped with long-life, battery- operated wireless devices and sensor equipment linked via satellite to MHF-LS' back office reporting and operations systems. In addition to the cargo protection and emergency response functions, MHF- LS' smart railcars program is also designed to help shippers more efficiently manage their cargo flow on both ends of their shipping cycles, Zink noted. Zink added that MHF-LS' smart railcar program is in line with the movement toward intelligent transportation systems being promoted by governments, railroads and others. October 4, 2006.-- Furuno, the world renowned leader in GPS marine technology, and eRide, a leader in Global Positioning System (GPS) and Satellite Navigation Technology, announced at the ION GPS 2006 show that they have entered a multilateral partnership agreement. This strategic partnership covers existing and future products, as well as, research and development and financial investment. The distribution agreement targets both Furuno's existing markets and entry in new segments such as Mobile Phones. "This collaboration with eRide reflects our commitment to providing customers with the most efficient path possible to integrate highly sensitive GPS functionality within their products," said Hidetoshi Tanigaki, Managing Director with Furuno. "eRide's solutions enable the advanced performance consumers are looking for in many Location-based services products, including cellular handsets, making them a strong complement to our existing GPS products." "eRide is pleased to be working closely with Furuno to deliver best-in-class GPS performance" said Arthur Woo, Co-Founder and CEO of eRide. "This important and close partnership with a GPS industry leader is a clear endorsement of our Satellite Navigation Technology and allows us to deliver a new level of customer experience for Location-based services." The first evidence to success of this strategic partnership is the introduction of the "GM-83" module, an ultra-slim compact GPS receiver achieving a sensitivity of -161 dBm. With its 63 mm2 footprint, low power consumption and low cost, the GM-83 module is ideal for mobile handsets and significantly exceeds the US-Based E911 specifications. In Japan, GPS is now being deployed in all third generation cellular phones to be sold in 2007 and the GM-83 performance extends positioning coverage to in-door locations and deep urban canyons required of many Location-based services. In addition to the conventional autonomous performance of the receiver, the GM-83 is also an Assisted GPS receiver, which enhances the receiver's performance by using server based data received over communication networks. FEATURES
October 2, 2006.-- Telecom New Zealand, a New Zealand mobile networkprovider, Navman a world leader in electronic navigation systems andWavecom SA, a leader inwireless communications solutions for automotive, industrial(machine-to-machine) and mobile professional applications; announcedthe selection of Wavecom wireless technology for an innovativemonitored-vehicle security solution that is soon to be released intothe New Zealand market.
Silent-i, an innovative initiative between Telecom (New Zealand),Navman and ADT, is a monitored-vehicle security product and service.The full offer combines a five-star car alarm, GPS geo-locator, CDMAwireless connectivity and 24/7 security backup.
Subscribers to this service are alerted in the event the vehicleis being broken into or stolen. In this event, the vehicle can belocated, tracked, and an alert can be sent to a pre-selected handsetand if the customer chooses, the alert will also be sent to the ADTsecurity center directly.
Using either a web interface or a CDMA handset, the customer hasfull control over the system and can remotely change the vehicle'salarm status, update its location and lock or unlock the doors. Theycan also name up to five different drivers who will have uniquesettings and alerts tailored specifically for them.
Silent-i uses Wavecom's Wireless CPU, Quik Q2438 for sending andreceiving valuable real-time information regarding the location andcondition of the vehicle. The product's major advance is thecombination of GPS tracking and integrated text messaging capabilitythat automatically alerts vehicle owners to a number of pre-determinedand potentially criminal events, including a glass break, tilting andan unauthorized entry.
Commenting on this complete offer, Didier Dutronc, President,Wavecom Asia-Pacific said, "This is probably one of the best examplesof the benefits that both consumers and companies can derive when theentire wireless eco-system works together. We are delighted to play apart in this breakthrough project that promises to lead the way forexpansion into other geographic regions and markets."
Navman VP sales Asia pacific and Latin America, Ian Daniel added,"Combining geo-location and wireless connectivity with today'snetworking technology is on of the most powerful ways to truly stayconnected to the people and things we value - this new serviceprovides end customers with not only vehicle protection but also peaceof mind." October 2, 2006.-- Norwich Union, part of the Aviva group of companies and the largest insurer in the UK, has awarded Masternaut Approved Supplier status for its web based vehicle telematics service. As part of Norwich Union's 'Fleet Telematics' Insurance Product, fleet managers who share information from Masternaut's web-based satellite tracking system with Norwich Union may be able to earn an annual rebate on their policy premium and benefit from a range of additional services and support. Mark Keavney, Development Manager, Norwich Union said "Norwich Union is at the centre of many innovative initiatives, for example 'Pay as You Drive' insurance. Masternaut enables fleet owners and operators to benefit from our forward thinking and gain a return on their investment. By actively managing vehicle and driver activities with the Masternaut service we can work together to reduce both the risk of claims and also claim costs." The Norwich Union 'Fleet Telematics' Insurance Product rewards fleet owners and operators who have invested in an approved telematics device. As part of the agreement between the insurer and the insured a monthly activity report is presented by Masternaut directly to the insurance company. This report provides Norwich Union with a range of vehicle and driver data including number of journeys, mileage and duration as well as details of the type of road used and the speed of travel. Norwich Union analyse the Masternaut reports to calculate annual 'Risk Recognition Rebates' that are offered to the insured and can be up to 16% of their annual policy premium. Norwich Union also use the information to provide personalized risk management support, help to reduce claim costs, advice to improve efficiencies and assistance to the fleet manager in meeting their risk management responsibilities. "It is important that we support our clients in every way possible, from providing the best product to the best customer service," said Martin Port, Managing Director of Masternaut UK. "This relationship with Norwich Union is another way we can provide benefit to our clients increasing their return on the investment they have made." Masternaut is the UK and Europe's leading provider of vehicle telematics; their easy to use web based service provides minute-by-minute vehicle tracking using advanced satellite positioning, high-speed mobile communications and online street mapping. September 28, 2006.-- East View Cartographic (EVC) announced it has successfully completed a large scale mapping project of Afghanistan's Uruzgan province. Under contract to the Royal Netherlands Army Geographic Agency, EVC produced new 1:50,000 scale topographic maps. The completion of the project adds to EVC's reputation as a trusted source for and producer of worldwide topographic map products at all scales. Under the project, EVC delivered 39 TLM (topographic line map) sheets in total, including the production of completely new map sheets as well as the updating of pre-existing maps. The project area covered over 25,000 square kilometers. Extraction and attributing of map features was performed based on 2.5 meter resolution SPOT-5 satellite imagery supplemented by a variety of other data sources, including unique sources procured by EVC. ESRI's Production Line Tool Set (PLTS) software was used extensively in support of cartographic product generation. Map products were delivered in multiple geospatial industry standard digital formats and adhered to precision military standards. The finished maps represent the most complete and up-to-date large-scale maps available of the area. East View Cartographic maintains one of the world's largest commercially available collections of authoritative maps covering Afghanistan and many other countries around the world. Interested parties can browse and purchase maps and other geospatial data products online via the EVC Store at www.cartographic.com, or contact company representatives directly for assistance. September 28, 2006.-- NAC Geographic Products Inc. (http://www.nacgeo.com) announced the release of the NAC Enhanced Google Local Search (http://www.travelgis.com/local/) - an integration of the Natural Area Coding System with Google Local Search through the Google AJAX Search API. The NAC Enhanced Google Local Search allows users to use a Natural Area Code (NAC) in addition to using a street address to specify an area or location anywhere in the world. A NAC can represent any area or location in the world. A two-character NAC represents an area about 1000km X 700km (like a province), a four-character NAC represents an area about 33km X 23km (like a city), a six-character NAC roughly represents every square kilometer area, an eight-character NAC represents an area about 35m X 25m (like a building), and a ten-character NAC approximately represents every square meter on the earth surface. Since an eight-character or a ten-character NAC has reached the resolution of a traditional address, it is also called a Universal Address, for example, NAC: 8KDC PGFC (the Universal Address of Washington Monument). "The integration of NAC with Google Local Search produces a real worldwide local search engine that can work anywhere in the world," said Dr. Xinhang Shen, president of NAC Geographic Products Inc., "that has overcome the limitations of traditional address based specification of locations, such as inputting traditional addresses of foreign characters or specifying locations without traditional addresses." Using a Universal Address instead of a street address to specify a location on a local search can also reduce 80% of key input and eliminate the needs of address databases that frequently produce outdated matches, no matches, duplicated matches, wrong matches, etc. The NAC Enhanced Google Local Search also presents its searching results with the corresponding Universal Address attached to each found item. Therefore it can be used as a Universal Address lookup service for location sensitive businesses, with which business owners can find their Universal Addresses and then put them on their business cards and advertisements to promote their businesses. Here (http://www.travelgis.com/geocode/) is another web page for people to look up the Universal Address of any street address in 24 countries. Universal Addresses can be directly measured with GPS receivers and have been widely implemented in many wireless location based services (such as http://mlbs.net), GPS navigating systems (such as http://locamagic.biz), etc. If you use key words: "Universal Address" and "Resort" to search Google, you will see thousands of resorts that have included their Universal Addresses as part of their addresses. Universal Addresses can be used as universal identifiers for bus stops, gates, parking meters, street lights, trees, sewage exits, fire hydrants and any other fixed objects. Using Universal Addresses as global postal codes can make all sorting machines able to sort mail from world level to final mail boxes automatically. The wide use of Universal Address enhanced GPS watches or cellphones can greatly accelerate the globalization and make accurate locations as useful as accurate time for all human activities and events. September 27, 2006.-- TeleType Company has just released a successor to its innovative product line that blends cutting-edge vehicle GPS navigation with MP3 and Video player technology. The all-in-one device, called the WorldNav 3100, is a portable touch screen car navigation system that offers door-to-door GPS guidance with text to speech instructions including pronunciation of street names. The WorldNav 3100's exciting convergence of portable in-car navigation with the immense popularity of the MP3 player, video player, and picture viewer, makes it possible for travelers to not only reach their destination with greater efficiency, but to easily carry along their favorite music, videos, and pictures. "There is no other product on the market that offers the exceptional utility, simplicity and affordability of this new piece of mobile electronics," said Marleen Winer, a spokesperson for TeleType. Based on TeleType's award-winning GPS product line, the WorldNav 3100 is a compact system that weighs only 6 ounces. The device is user-friendly and simple to operate, making it easy for drivers to get from Point A to Point B. Drivers can navigate directly to a point of interest (POI) using the extensive POI database included, or a business, home address, or even a desired street intersection. Currently, the U.S. version of the WorldNav 3100 offers the following features and benefits:
The WorldNav 3100 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, and the first 16-channel Bluetooth GPS 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, and land navigation with live weather, topographic and aerial map support on Pocket PC and Windows CE devices. Established in 1981, TeleType has emerged to become a leader in the field of Global Positioning Systems. TeleType specializes in software system integration and produces innovative products for a variety of industries. GPS software solutions include support of Windows CE and Pocket PC for vehicle navigation, fleet tracking, and geographic information systems data collection. Current hardware solutions include low power, high-sensitivity GPS receivers. The company is also expanding to support additional emerging technologies for GPS solutions based on satellite communications, GPRS, and GSM with support for Pocket PC phones and other mobile devices. TeleType's WorldNav 3100 features a 3.5" diagonal screen and is available in two configurations, Deluxe ($399 MSRP) and Premium ($459 MSRP). WorldNav 3100 GPS can be purchased conveniently through on line resellers such as Target.com, NewEgg.com, and PCMall.com. September 27, 2006.-- Atmel Corporation, a global leader in the development and fabrication of advanced semiconductor solutions, and Magellan announced the availability of a new GPS chipset that integrates the world's latest GPS correlation technology with an ARM926EJ-S-based microprocessor. This new device includes an extended instruction set with DSP extensions and a rich set of peripherals, designed to simplify the design, and drive down system costs, for the rapidly expanding market for Personal Navigation Devices (PNDs), car navigation, and recreational applications. The ARM9-powered ATR0663 includes a state-of-the-art GPS baseband and an LCD controller with integrated 2D graphics accelerator for virtual screen support of 2048 x 2048 pixels, an AC97 audio controller, as well as an image sensor interface. Numerous I/O options including Ethernet, USB 2.0 Full Speed Host and Device, SD/MMC, TWI, and USARTs provide a highly-targeted System-on-Chip (SoC) solution for PND applications. In addition, a dual external bus interface and 9-layer bus matrix allow for fast memory access and high throughput without loading the microcontroller. The new GPS engine, based on Magellan's GPS technology, boasts capability for the fastest acquisition of satellite signals, with a hot start in less than 2 seconds, and the highest tracking sensitivity (-159 dBm) available. The advanced GPS technology employs the power of tens of thousands of correlators to achieve rapid satellite acquisition and reliable tracking under weak signal conditions. Rounding out the new chip set introduction, the companion ATR0603 RF receiver IC maximizes the performance of the new GPS engine while combining low cost and low power consumption of only 12 mA in operation. Also compatible for use with the new chipset is Atmel's existing ATR0610, a fully-integrated, low-noise amplifier manufactured using Atmel's innovative Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) process to cope with challenging reception environments and enabling cost-sensitive passive-antenna designs. The ATR0603 and ATR0663 continue Atmel's lead in providing the highest performance GPS solutions in this rapidly expanding market. The new GPS engine with its massively parallel correlator concept will also be an integral part of Atmel's ongoing extension of its consumer GPS portfolio, developing tailored solutions for key GPS market segments. "The release of this new RF receiver and ARM926EJ-based device sets a new standard for the combination of high-performance GPS with a complete system processor that has all the peripherals necessary to meet the needs of the growing PND market. It is an ideal complement to our automotive-grade ANTARIS GPS solution," commented Matthias Kaestner, Atmel's Marketing Director for Communications Products. "Atmel's new hardware is optimized to run Magellan's most powerful software platform to provide PND makers with a complete navigation and mapping solution powered by a single SoC. PND suppliers can use this hardware and software platform to provide solutions with a customized look and feel for diverse markets," said Mike Mouser, Senior Technical Director for the Magellan OEM Business. September 27, 2006.-- Sandbridge Technologies is sampling its SB3011 chip that implements a complete third-generation (3G) mobile handset capable of operating virtually any radio protocol required for a common (universal) multi-mode, multi-function mobile platform and significantly reducing the time to market and total cost of ownership for OEMs and carriers. The SB3011 not only reduces hardware requirements and integration complexity for devices, but enables profoundly enhanced software OTA and after sales feature upgradeability. Sandbridge's latest breakthrough in the quest for a universally accessible handheld platform is the delivery of power consumption levels on par with those of traditional application-specific integrated ICs (ASICs), thus eliminating the last hurdle for cost-effective deployment. "Specifically, the SB3011 has met all the target power consumption specifications required by our customers, allowing WCDMA implementation at 384 kilobits per second below 180 milli-watts," said Guenter Weinberger, President and CEO of Sandbridge. The SB3011 baseband processor's unique architectural innovations deliver completely scalable DSP performance for virtually any radio protocol used in various regions around the world, such as GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA, CDMA2000, EV-DO, Wi-Fi, DVB-H and GPS -- as well as multimedia formats such as MPEG-4 H.264, MP-3, WMA and more. Sandbridge is also developing High-speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and WiMax solutions as an upgrade to the platform and will evolve its platform to provide manufacturers timely solutions for the evolving standards of the global wireless marketplace. The SB3011 is currently being sampled to select top-tier manufacturing customers who are developing next generation handsets independent from fixed-function ASIC's. "A low-cost, low-power common platform based on standard hardware and software has been widely regarded the 'holy grail' of wireless communications technology, because it creates new economies of scale for OEMs and carriers," said Weinberger. Sandbridge's unique technology delivers the lowest cost platform for the rapidly growing 3/3.5G-WiFi-WiMax-Digital video broadcast (DVB) market by enabling 100% flexibility for die size re-use. This flexibility is critical for reconfigurability, enabling rapid implementation of new features and functions. Likewise, it enables extensive over-the-air upgrades and software application downloads, closing the time-to-market gap for applications developed for computers to migrate to wireless platforms. Furthermore, the SB3011 provides third-party applications developers a common platform based around the C programming language, long a standard within the development community. As part of a common platform, this will further expedite development and rapid distribution of new features and functions. The advent of the SB3011 signifies the beginning of a new wireless era marked by common, stable platforms for consumer use and application development. For OEMs and carriers, this can mean significant cost reductions. For consumers, it augurs truly convergent devices with powerful new functions and features without the need to carry multiple devices with services requiring unique protocols that previously could only be implemented with custom hardware. The software-based design of the SB3011 paves the way for ultra-mobile- computers with virtually unlimited communications protocols and multimedia applications. September 27, 2006.-- Runners, cyclists, triathletes and walkers now have another reason to take their Verizon Wireless phones with them when they work out, thanks to the availability of BiM Active from Bones in Motion on certain Get It Now-enabled phones and the Runner's World RunTracker. A wireless training resource, Runner's World RunTracker enables runners to track and store their workouts -- including mileage, split times, caloric burn, elevation changes and other information -- as well as to share running route information from cities around the country, all with the push of a button on their wireless phones. With BiM Active, Verizon Wireless customers can track their workout routines and push their stamina to the limits using its GPS tracking technology to continuously monitor their speed, distance, calories burned, pace and route. Plus, Verizon Wireless customers already carrying their Chocolate to listen to V CAST Music can use BiM Active simultaneously, allowing them to track their progress while exercising to their favorite workout songs without interruption - all on a single device. September 26, 2006.-- Building on the industry's first single-chip GPS LSI, Sony Electronics announced the availability of its next-generation dedicated 1-chip GPS CMOS IC, which offers improved performance and advanced firmware configurability in a single silicon package. Ideal for a wide range of location-based applications, such as automotive, handheld navigation, fleet and asset management and mobile devices, the new CXD2985GL GPS receiver's firmware and application software can be reprogrammed and customized to quickly and easily modify features and functionality. The new single-chip is based on the strengths of its predecessor, the CXD2951 chip, Sony's advanced digital baseband and RF CMOS down-conversion architecture, enabling high sensitivity, high-accuracy positioning and reliable dynamic performance with superior multi-path mitigation and tracking algorithm. The CXD2985GL chip adds further improvements in sensitivity (-158dBm), and power consumption (65mW) in a single 10mm x 10mm package, and is compatible with Fastrax's iSuite 3 Software Development Kit (SDK) for extensive firmware configurability. "Our new GPS chip, combined with Fastrax's SDK, can help reduce time-to-market of location-aware products, reduce the bill of materials, as well as achieve cost-effective firmware maintenance for consumer applications," said Aki Hasegawa, president of Sony Electronics' Component Solutions Business Division. "Our iSuite technology provides powerful tools for embedded GPS application development," said Matti Raty, President and CEO of Fastrax. "For example, it can help make the addition of wireless modems, Bluetooth devices, LCDs and keyboards possible with minimum effort and without additional components. We are pleased to add Sony's GPS chips to Fastrax's cost-effective integrated GPS OEM module product portfolio to support a broad range of customers." September 26, 2006.-- Nordnav announced the launch of a new ultra-sensitive indoor GPS Reference Receiver tracking 10 times weaker signals than any other commercially available GPS receiver. Mattias Astrom, CEO of Nordnav, commented, "We are proud to once again set the standard in the GNSS industry. Our new ultra-sensitive receiver is based on our award-winning R&D software receivers, and makes it possible to analyze GPS signals in very challenging environments. Indoor positioning is the next frontier in satellite navigation and is critical to improve the performance of portable navigators in mobile phones and PDAs." The reference receiver allows the user to measure the exact signal levels on every satellite, compare the fading between the indoor and outdoor signals, characterize the multipath effects on every satellite signal, and measure the effects of the multipath on the navigation performance. The ultra-sensitive signal detection included in the reference receiver allows users to analyze GPS signal levels in challenging indoor environments such as office buildings and shopping malls. The precise measurements allow the user to benchmark GPS receivers against an absolute reference point and thus evaluate whether such receivers are fulfilling their published specifications. "Our new indoor reference receiver can detect weaker signals than any other commercially available receiver, allowing the user to analyze GNSS performance in difficult indoor environments and other low-signal-level conditions. Our new product will speed up the deployment of indoor GPS technologies by allowing users to understand these challenges, thereby improving the performance of their GPS receivers," said Astrom. Nordnav's ultra-sensitive receiver will also provide significant advantages when deploying A-GPS. The software has been developed based on feedback from mobile carriers. The system is currently being used by Asian mobile operators to analyze GPS signals in indoor environments and to evaluate performance for E-911 requirements. Nordnav's ultra-sensitive receiver technology will also be instrumental for the embedded product line and, in combination with the emerging European Galileo standard, will enable indoor positioning for millions of mobile customers and provide true seamless location for everyone. The Nordnav Indoor GNSS Reference Receiver is already commercially available. September 26, 2006.-- NemeriX, a leading fabless semiconductor company specializing in ultra low power semiconductor solutions and software for GPS and wireless applications, announced the NX3 hosted GPS integrated circuit, which is specifically designed for the mobile handset market. The NX3 represents the next generation of NemeriX single-package GPS receivers that incorporate RF and base-band. It combines unmatched power, performance and accuracy, with the industry's smallest size and form factor, to deliver autonomous or assisted GPS capabilities to mobile devices across an array of wireless networks. NemeriX' new NX3 exceeds the 3GPP 25.171 and TIA-916 performance requirements. This allows mobile phone emergency applications (E911, E112) and provides the performance and flexibility required to develop emerging Location Based Services (LBS) with indoor requirements. The host-based NX3 requires only 5-10 MIPs on the host processor, and delivers a power savings of more than 50-percent of competing products, all in a small 36mm2 (6mm x 6mm) form factor. "The new NX3 illustrates NemeriX' continued commitment to providing the optimum solution that is best-suited to bring GPS capabilities to mobile handheld devices," said Ron Torten, CEO of NemeriX. "Our host-based architecture guarantees a higher level of performance, with added Secure User Plane Compliance, while still maintaining the industry's smallest form factor, and power requirements. As a result, we believe the NX3 will rapidly emerge as the industry's most popular GPS integrated circuit offering for mobile phones, and other handheld devices." The NX3 is currently in production and is available through the NemeriX global sales channel. September 26, 2006.-- Ember Corporation announced it will demonstrate this week at the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) in Boston and the ZigBee Open House in Seoul, Korea, how easy it is to ZigBee enable devices from a variety of manufacturers and have them operate as a low-power wireless mesh network. Ember will show a lighting control network of devices powered by microcontrollers from a variety of vendors, including STMicroelectronics, Atmel, ADI, Microchip and SiLabs. The devices are paired with Ember's EM260 ZigBee co-processor, running the EmberZNet ZigBee stack to form the network. The network also includes devices with Ember's own EM250 system-on-a-chip (SoC). The demo illustrates that OEMs don't have to re-engineer their products to add low-power wireless communications capabilities. They can continue to use their preferred microcontrollers and development tools, while letting Ember's EM260 handle the ZigBee networking through EZSP - a simple plug-and-play SPI interface to their chips. Existing products can be seamlessly migrated to become wireless ZigBee-enabled devices by simply adding the EM260 network co-processor and using a standard interface to the existing microcontroller. "More than eight billion microcontrollers are shipped each year. We wanted to demonstrate how virtually any of those products can be ZigBee networked easily and quickly," said Robert LeFort, CEO of Ember. "We want to make ZigBee ubiquitous by enabling customers to network any microcontroller of their choice and foster new breakthroughs in improved energy conservation, safety, and comfort in building and home automation applications, among others." September 26, 2006.-- Active Control TechnologyInc. announced that it has filed for patent protectionfor its new ActiveMine technology solution, a 100% wirelesscommunications and locating system for underground miners. The patentprotection was filed worldwide for both the ActiveMine technology systemand method. ActiveMine is patent pending and is the first fully integrated, 100%wireless solution recently made possible by the commercial availability ofnew technologies. ActiveMine is designed to improve underground miningsafety and enhance operating efficiencies through wireless, real-timeelectronic tracking of personnel and equipment, and robust two-way voicecommunications with each miner. The system was successfully demonstrated in an Illinois coal mine onAugust 22, 2006. September 25, 2006.-- u-blox AG, the leading Swiss provider of innovative GPS receiver technology, announced the u-blox 5 family of GPS and Galileo-ready single chips and chipsets featuring an acquisition performance of under 1 second. The new chips also feature SuperSense -160 dBm acquisition and tracking sensitivity, power needs of less than 50 mW and a footprint smaller than 100 mm2, making u-blox 5 receivers ideal for PDAs, personal navigation devices, cameras, cell phones, media players and other battery-operated portable devices. "This is the fastest, most sensitive GPS chip on the market today, and among the smallest and most power efficient, making it ideally suited for use in mass market consumer electronic devices," said u-blox Chief Executive, Thomas Seiler. "This breakthrough technology is yet another endorsement of the strength of u-blox' research and development team." u-blox 5's ultra-fast acquisition time is due to its 50-channel architecture with over 1 million correlators and separate acquisition and tracking engines, capable of massively parallel searches. A built-in power management unit features a DC/DC converter that optimizes power use across a single voltage source. The chip's ultra-low power needs ensure long battery times for PDAs, smart phones and other battery-operated handheld devices. u-blox 5 has a fractional N clock synthesizer that supports the common cell phone reference frequencies. Moreover, u-blox' new generation supports assisted GPS (A-GPS) services such as AssistNow(TM) and OMA/SUPL standards and exceeds performance requirements for international A-GPS standards including 3GPP TS 25.171, TIA 916 and E911 Phase II. u-blox 5 GPS receivers come in single chip and chipset packages. A highly integrated architecture keeps costs to a bare minimum by reducing the bill of materials to as few as 17 passive external components and keeping the footprint small. The cost-optimized UBX-G5010 single chip has a 56-pin QFN package that measures a mere 8 x 8 mm. Customers who prefer chipsets with an optional Flash memory can combine the 9 x 9 mm UBX-G5000 100-pin BGA baseband chip and the 4 x 4 mm UBX-G0010 24-pin QFN RF front-end. Both the single chip and the chipset support passive antennas with their integrated low-noise amplifier. The chips' software contains an innovative jamming suppression mechanism that automatically filters signals from interfering sources, thus maintaining high GPS performance no matter what the environment. A robust multipath detection and elimination mechanism endows u-blox 5 chips with best-in-class navigation in urban canyons. u-blox 5 products will be capable, via a simple software upgrade, of receiving and processing L1 Galileo signals once they become available. The combination of GPS and Galileo signals will bring even better coverage, reliability and navigation accuracy. September 20, 2006.-- The innovative vehicletracking system created for the Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF) byAstrata Group Incorporated has now been commissioned, handedover and accepted by Singapore's Government. After nearly a year of System integration, deployment, testing andtraining, the countrywide hazmat vehicle tracking system is set to play aprominent role in Singapore's expanded homeland security program. Under a contract awarded to Astrata Singapore, more than 700 vehicleshave now been fitted with the small, intelligent tracking device, which issmaller than a mobile phone. Vehicles entering the country from Malaysiathat are transporting hazardous materials must also be fitted with aportable tracking device, which is attached via magnets to the roof of thevehicle, but secured within seconds. Over 200 of these Rapid DeploymentUnits (RDU), which were specifically designed for SCDF, are now in use. Singapore's SCDF Commissioner, James Tan commented: "The deployment ofsuch an advanced, state-of-the-art system on commercial vehicles is thefirst such application in the world. Singapore's Civil Defense team andAstrata have been extremely professional and hard working in bringing thissystem to fruition. I have no doubt it will make Singapore an even saferplace to live and visit." Martin Euler, Chief Executive for Astrata commented, "We are delightedthat this groundbreaking system has now been accepted by the Singaporegovernment. Singapore is the leader in the monitoring and control ofvehicles carrying hazardous materials, which form a major risk to bothsecurity and safety. This benchmark homeland security system continues tocreate interest from countries throughout the world as the threat fromthese cargos, particularly in urban areas, is recognized." Created by Astrata Group Incorporated, SCDF's vehicle tracking andsecurity system uses the very latest technology and is capable of trackingmore than 10,000 vehicles at a time using the Global Positioning System(GPS) and the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). It can alsotrack vehicles in tunnels and underground facilities using a method thatcomputes the location of a vehicle in areas without a GPS signal. September 20, 2006.-- NEC Corporation and NEC Europe Ltd. announced the successful completion of assisted-GPS (A-GPS) interoperability testing (IOT) on a commercial GPRS/WCDMA network in Japan and London. IOT was conducted using QUALCOMM gpsOne-enabled mobile phones and NEC's proven location-information system built upon QUALCOMM's QPoint platform to confirm the accuracy, protocol and end-to-end interoperability of Secure User Plane for Location (SUPL) Version 1.0. SUPL Version 1.0, adopted by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), is a standards-based protocol that allows a mobile handset client to communicate with a location server and realizes a cost-effective way to provide higher-accuracy location-based services. NEC and QUALCOMM support the standard to meet the rapidly accelerating demand for higher-accuracy location-based services in Europe, North and South America and Asia. "NEC is committed to the global success of location-based information services. In 2001, our technology enabled the first commercial user-plane location information system built in Japan," said Ruth Brannvall, Head of Value Added Services, NEC Europe Ltd. "Today, the success of our IOT with QUALCOMM ensures the user-plane A-GPS location-information system is no longer dependent upon operators' control plane networks, providing continual improvements to mobile operators' location-based information services." September 19, 2006.-- NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, has been selected by the Whistler Group, a manufacturer of radar detectors, to provide NAVTEQ map data of the United States and Canada for its new series of portable navigation devices (PNDs), the WGPX-550, WGPX-635 and WGPX-650. Each of Whistler's PNDs features color touch screens that easily transition among three screen perspectives 2-D, 3-D and pan viewing, allowing for the optimal vantage point to be selected throughout the routing process. Turn-by-turn voice guided navigation accompanies visual cues to heighten the user experience. The Whistler WGPX-550 plays MP3 files and is capable of viewing jpegs; while the WGPX-635 and WGPX-650 feature anti-glare screens and speed alerts. All WGPX units come pre-loaded with comprehensive NAVTEQ map data for the U.S. which includes a points of interest database with over 1.5 million listings such as restaurants, hotels, gas stations, banks and other high interest destinations. Whistler's deluxe PND, the WGPX-650, includes a remote control and comes pre-loaded with NAVTEQ map and point of interest data for Canada as well as the U.S. A complimentary DVD of Canada is included for the WGPX-550 and WGPX-635 models. NAVTEQ employs one of the industry's most comprehensive development and quality control programs. A team of approximately 600 extensively trained geographic analysts drive the roadways to capture data and specific road attributes such as one-way streets and speed limits that help optimize WGPX routing capability. "Whistler needed to secure the highest quality map content available for the WGPX series to be considered a true competitor," commented Leslie Folsom, Vice President - Marketing & Operations, Whistler Group. "Whistler selected NAVTEQ due to its reputation as best-in-class map supplier. In addition to providing a superior map, NAVTEQ has a service organization in place that truly supported Whistler throughout our product build process." The WGPX line of products is available at retail outlets throughout the U.S., including CompUSA, Fry's Electronics, J&R Music, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Walmart.com and Amazon.com. September 19, 2006.-- A new real-time monitoring system from Hitachi WirelessInfo is helping companies create controlled environments where temperature, humidity and airborne particles can be managed to maintain ideal working conditions. The new Hitachi AirSense system, based on Ember's ZigBee wireless networking technology, will be a boon to food production plants, healthcare facilities, warehouses and other buildings where precise air and ambient control is critical to operations. AirSense enables companies to more easily improve the sanitary, safety and quality conditions of their work environments. Consider, for example, a cheese manufacturer or beer brewer who must maintain precise temperature and humidity controls during fermentation while also controlling airborne yeasts that might contaminate their product. Or a hospital burn ward where temperature control and protection against airborne infectious pathogens can save lives. In these applications, AirSense "ZigBee-enables" devices such as thermometers, hygrometers and particle sensors along with environmental controls to create a self-forming monitoring network. More than 50 companies have already deployed AirSense since its debut in December 2005. "Hitachi WirelessInfo's AirSense is another great example of how ZigBee wireless technology is being used in real commercial products to solve important problems today," said Robert LeFort, Ember's president and CEO. "Hitachi's adoption of Ember's ZigBee platform is strong validation of a standards-based approach to commercial wireless sensing and control applications." Companies can easily install AirSense networks wirelessly using a range of fixed and portable sensor nodes. The nodes automatically self-organize into low-power wireless mesh networks and can run for up to four years on inexpensive batteries. The system also includes AirSense-Ware, a network management application for configuring and controlling large scale AirSense networks. AirSense is based on Ember's EM2420 ZigBee semiconductor system and EmberZNet ZigBee-compliant networking stack. Hitachi WirelessInfo, a new division of Hitachi, Ltd. formed last year, plans to port its AirSense application to Ember's EM250 ZigBee system-on-a-chip for its next generation product. The company is also working on extending AirSense to other applications such as building automation, office security and asset tracking. "Hitachi's AirSense products utilize Ember's proven ZigBee technology so that our customers can experience the benefits of a low-power, wireless and maintenance-free network," said Taizo Kinoshita, president and CEO of Hitachi WirelessInfo. "The partnership with Ember is essential to our strategy to commercialize sensor network systems as well as promote an industry wide standard in wireless data communications." September 18, 2006.-- SiGe Semiconductor, Inc. announced the world's first Galileo-ready receiver for mass market consumerelectronics, which will enable the integration of high-accuracy navigationservices into portable devices including laptop computers, PDAs, mediaplayers, cell phones, and cameras. Galileo is a new satellite system that will greatly enhance navigationand positioning performance compared with the existing GPS system. Thecombination of GPS and Galileo will improve user experience of locationbased services by enabling products to determine position data much moreconsistently, more quickly, and with greater accuracy than with GPS alone.These benefits are expected to drive a significant opportunity, as theglobal satellite navigation market is expected to reach US $30 billion bythe time the Galileo system becomes operational in 2008. The SE4120 allows consumer device manufacturers to capitalize on thismarket by designing Galileo-ready systems even as the standards are beingfinalized. The software-based receiver architecture ensures that changes tothe standards can be supported with simple software upgrades. This allowsmanufacturers to design their systems now, ensuring they are among thefirst to market with Galileo-ready products. The software-definedarchitecture also minimizes board area, power consumption, and cost -benefits ideal for high-volume portable consumer electronics. "With the new SE4120L receiver, SiGe Semiconductor is the onlysemiconductor supplier able to meet the needs of OEMs wishing to enter theemerging Galileo market," said Stuart Strickland, product line director atSiGe Semiconductor. "Our unique software-defined signal processingarchitecture allows manufacturers to install and consumers to purchaseGalileo-ready systems with confidence." Software-defined radio minimizes bill of materials, optimizes boardarea, cost and power. The SE4120L is a highly integrated receiver with built-in support forsoftware-defined satellite signal processing for both GPS and Galileo. Thesoftware architecture greatly reduces the load on host processors comparedwith conventional software approaches, and reduces cost and powerconsumption compared with dedicated hardware. The device features high integration to reduce the system bill ofmaterials and overall cost. The integrated architecture includes an on-chiphigh-gain LNA capable of delivering 18dB of gain at a low noise figure of1.6 dB without the need for bulky active antennas and costly, power-hungryexternal amplification. Eliminating these components reduces BOM cost andpower consumption by over 50 percent while minimizing board area andmaintaining high overall performance. The SE4120L is optimized for thelower possible power consumption, operating at less than 10 mA from a2.7-3.3 V supply. Under controlled conditions, systems using the SE4120Lare capable of tracking satellite signals down to as low as -170 dBm. The receiver also includes a linear AGC and a multi-bit analog todigital converter (ADC) with low digital IF. The device sampling issoftware configurable and includes support for low bandwidth serializedmulti-bit I/Q output. A PLL synthesizer and image reject mixer furtherreduce external component count to simplify integration. The IF filters areprogrammable in software to support GPS and Galileo simultaneously or GPSoperation alone. Availability and Price: The SE4120L is supplied in a 4 x 4 x 0.9 mm QFN RoHS-compliant MSL1package. The receiver is sampling now, with mass production scheduled forQ1 2007. The device is priced below US $3 in 100k unit quantities. September 13, 2006.-- NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital map data for location-based solutions and vehicle navigation, has been selected to provide real-time traffic information to Alpine Electronics of America, Inc., an industry-leading manufacturer of high-performance mobile electronics, for its portable navigation device, Blackbird (PMD-B100). The Blackbird already uses NAVTEQ maps. Blackbird has a built-in Radio Data System (RDS) traffic tuner and is now capable of receiving continuously updated NAVTEQ Traffic RDS flow and incident information in 42 U.S. markets. Visual notification of congestion conditions and incident alerts allow drivers to see potential delays so they can choose to avoid traffic problems. The Blackbird also offers a detour option, which gives drivers the choice of avoiding a congested area and taking another route. "Alpine and NAVTEQ's longstanding working relationship provides a solid foundation for the evolution of new product developments," said John MacLeod, Executive Vice President - Connected Services, NAVTEQ. "Together, we are committed to meeting driver expectations for accurate, real-time traffic information integrated with our comprehensive map data." NAVTEQ Traffic RDS aggregates, verifies and quality checks data from a variety of industry traffic sources. Features include:
Launched in spring 2006, Blackbird offers features such as pre-loaded maps of the U.S. and Canada, full turn-by-turn voice-delivered driving instructions, six million unique points of interest, an SD card slot for MP3 music playback, and a 3.6-inch LCD touch-screen monitor. "With our mission to provide an informed, stress-free driving experience, NAVTEQ Traffic RDS service is a natural complement to the Blackbird's comprehensive, highly flexible navigation features," said Steve Witt, Vice President - Marketing, Alpine Electronics. "Whether in familiar or unfamiliar territory, the Blackbird with the traffic service is an essential tool for drivers." Every Blackbird comes with a free 90-day trial subscription to the NAVTEQ Traffic RDS service, which is available in 42 markets including Annapolis, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Denver/Boulder, Detroit, Hartford, Houston/Galveston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Middlesex/Somerset/Union, Milwaukee/Racine, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Nassau/Suffolk, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Riverside/San Bernardino, Sacramento, St. Louis, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle/Tacoma, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Washington, DC and West Palm Beach. Once the trial period ends, consumers can choose to continue the service for $60 per year. Consumers can subscribe to the NAVTEQ Traffic RDS service directly through NAVTEQ at http://www.BlackbirdTraffic.com . The Blackbird is available now at authorized Alpine dealers at the suggested retail index of $750. September 13, 2006.-- Atrium Wireless Partners,owner of MyGPSProtection.com, announced it has been named anationally authorized distributor of Millennium Plus, a leading GlobalPositioning System (GPS) technology for tracking and monitoring cars,trucks and recreational vehicles. Available for businesses and consumers at MyGPSProtection.com, theMillennium Plus system combines cellular mobile phone technology with GPSto track and pinpoint the location of vehicles. The marriage of the GPS andpatented microburst technology enables Millennium Plus customers to trackand contact vehicles any time via the Internet using any Internet-capablecomputer or cell phone. For example, in the event a vehicle is stolen, thecustomer can immediately issue an email or make a mobile phone call todisable the car's starter and lock the doors. The Millennium Plus system consists of a PDA-sized Mobile Location Unit(MLU) that is installed beneath the dashboard of a vehicle. The MLUtransmits the location and performance data over a wireless network to aWeb-based application that analyzes the data and posts the results on asecure website. Owners track and obtain information about their vehicles bylogging into the website. The system also sends owners direct e-mails whenit detects excessive speed or when vehicles travel outside of predeterminedareas. "Millennium Plus is the only device that offers satellite photos of avehicle's location in seconds," said Jon Horovitz, president of AtriumWireless Partners. "The applications for this technology are endless". "For the first time, virtually anyone can afford to track theirvaluable assets and loved ones. For parents worried about a teen-ageddriver out late at night, the Millennium Plus system can pinpoint thelocation of the teen's car within seconds. It also allows parents to setspeed and location limits and notifies them if a teen driver exceeds acertain speed or travels outside a predetermined area. Similarly, a stolencar can be tracked in real time allowing the owner to guide police to itsexact location. The peace of mind offered by this revolutionary securityand safety technology is remarkable." Horovitz said the Millennium Plus system also provides a perfectsolution for business owners with small to medium fleets of delivery orservice vehicles. "Business customers tell us Millennium Plus gives them valuable toolsand almost instant information so they can respond in emergencies andoptimize the operation of their fleets -- ranging from cutting fuelconsumption by reducing speeding and more efficient routing to automaticmaintenance alerts," Horovitz said. The Millennium Plus Mobile Location Unit installs on all vehicle types,integrates with existing alarm systems and, because it relies on theworldwide constellation of satellites, is available throughout the US andaround the globe. Priced at $599 with a monthly service fee of $19.95 for abasic unit, the service is a cost-effective alternative to other auto theftprotection devices. September 13, 2006.-- Norwich Union, Britain's second-biggest car insurer which earlier this month announced average premium increases of 16%, will launch a pay-as-you-drive motor policy before the end of this year, after a three-year pilot of the system in which 5,000 drivers took part. Rival insurer More Than launched a related type of scheme for young drivers last month, which reduced premiums for those agreeing to drive only in daylight hours. The NU scheme relies on a GPS-equipped 'smart' black box, piloted in conjunction with a US insurer, which relays data on how, where and when the insured driver's car is used. The Times (11 September) says NU has not yet decided whether to charge users for the smart box. Telematics has also been piloted in the US to allow a sub-prime finance supplier to immobilize a car whose driver fails to maintain repayments on schedule - it is considered cheaper than elaborate credit checks to assess the risk of non-payment. September 12, 2006.-- Blue Sky Network, the global logistics solution provider for two-way linking and managing transportation assets via satellite, announced its compact Iridium satellite terminals, the D2000M/MD, for land vehicles and marine vessels. This groundbreaking GPS tracking system offers customers two-way communications, and instant web-based tracking and position reporting for fleets of trucks and marine vessels that can be located anywhere in the world.Building on the strengths of its aircraft flight tracking solutions, the D2000M/MD utilizes a next-generation technology from Iridium, allowing a much smaller form factor and more competitive pricing than previously available. The satellite asset tracking unit is the size of a car stereo and can be easily installed on a land vehicle or marine vessel for instant, global two-way text messaging communications. Working seamlessly with Blue Sky Network's SkyRouter, an interactive fleet management Web portal, the D2000M/MD allows land vehicle or marine vessel fleet managers to enjoy the safety and convenience of global satellite tracking for all of their transportation assets -- even in the most remote locations. Additionally, dispatch or other parties may send free form two-way text messages via SkyRouter's fleet management interface directly to the land vehicle or vessel. The D2000M/MD integrates with third party resource allocation or dispatch software. It also features a "quick position" switch to allow for emergency notification. "The D2000M/MD offers land vehicle or marine vessel operators a great solution in terms of safety and efficiency at a competitive price," said Jon Gilbert, president of Blue Sky Network. "It is the fleet management workhorse that asset managers have been looking for." September 12, 2006.-- MapQuest announced the availability of MapQuest Navigator, a Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled application that provides turn-by-turn, voice-guided directions for wireless subscribers using a variety of Sprint and Nextel phones. The new service and downloadable application features an in-car navigation-like system with an exclusive moving map display and provides a seamless navigational experience while allowing users to receive phone calls. "Based on consumer feedback, there is strong interest in reasonably priced GPS navigation systems on mobile devices," said Jim Greiner, VP and GM of MapQuest. "Users have come to know and trust the MapQuest brand and partnering with Sprint for the Navigator launch means millions of Sprint subscribers will have access to MapQuest's unparalleled mapping technology and expertise in a rich mobile navigation environment." MapQuest Navigator leverages Sprint's leading edge location-based services platforms and GPS-enabled phones to acquire wireless device location information, letting subscribers take their navigation system with them at all times and get directions whether in a car, walking or cycling, or for other day-to-day needs. And since map directions are downloaded at the beginning of the route, Sprint customers can use the MapQuest Navigator service even if their journey takes them beyond network coverage, providing a continuous navigation experience. MapQuest Navigator helps people find places, view maps and provides directions while offering a whole new level of convenience when they need it most - on the go. Subscribers also have access to the extensive database available on MapQuest.com and can quickly navigate to more than 15 million restaurants, hotels, theaters and other points of interest. MapQuest Navigator also lets subscribers save frequently visited destinations in a "My Places" menu, enabling even faster and convenient navigation to their homes, points of interest or business locations. The service is available for a $9.99 monthly fee (additional carrier data access fees apply). MapQuest Navigator is based on the next generation technology Mobile Optimized Navigation Data, ("MOND") from Telmap, a world-leading provider of mobile mapping and navigation solutions. MapQuest Navigator is one of the latest MapQuest Wireless offerings by the leading mapping destination on the Web. MapQuest.com, which serves upwards of 53 million consumers every month, is making it easier for subscribers to find their location anytime, anywhere. A recent Telephia survey found that the company's MapQuest Mobile service, a MapQuest Wireless offering, is the top revenue-generating downloadable application. Additional MapQuest Navigator features include:
Sprint customers will be able to take advantage of MapQuest Navigator's clear, easy-to-follow directions either from a selected starting point or from the consumer's current location, using location based services technology on a variety of phone models. MapQuest Navigator is a part of the offerings provided and marketed through MapQuest Wireless (for more information, go to http://www.mapquest.com/mobile). September 11, 2006.-- NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, announced the availability of NAVTEQ Traffic Mobile. This service provides continuously updated, average traffic flow speed as well as incident and construction information for 67 major metropolitan U.S. markets. NAVTEQ Traffic Mobile is available for GPS navigation applications, distributed via cellular network providers seeking subscriber relevant products and services. Telmap, developer of the Telmap Navigator turn-by-turn navigation software, is a provider of the technology that delivers NAVTEQ's Traffic Mobile information to the user's navigation system. Telmap Navigator will be exhibited on various mobile devices and platforms at NAVTEQ's booth during the 2006 CTIA Wireless I.T. and Entertainment convention opening today in Los Angeles. Telmap is the first company demonstrating NAVTEQ Traffic Mobile. "Working with innovative and creative companies such as Telmap allows NAVTEQ to continue to offer relevant, compelling content to our wireless customers and their subscribers," said Howard Hayes, Vice President of Dynamic Content, NAVTEQ. "We have developed the technology to deliver real-time traffic data to a mobile navigation system because traffic is a critical part of the driver's experience," said Tali Zv, Vice President of Research and Development, Telmap. "NAVTEQ Traffic Mobile showcases our ability to provide traffic information seamlessly." September 11, 2006.-- Guardian Angel Technology has announced a new line of GPS-equipped cell phones for its Guardian Angel tracking system. The new phones come from BOOST Mobile, offering pre-paid services to consumers. The company's decision to use BOOST as its platform is driven by the cost and flexibility advantages that pre-paid services provides to the end user. With prepaid services, the consumer can better control and budget their expense, without the long-term service plan commitment traditional with postpaid contracts. A user simply "BOOSTS" their phone(s) with the dollar amount that they need for the service that they need, when they need it. This method is particularly ideal for families that intend the phone(s) to be used by small children, where there is often the anxiety that a "mistake" shows up as a totally unexpected charge on their phone bill. If a Guardian Angel phone is intended for use by teenagers, once again the prepaid method provided by BOOST mitigates the possibility of overage and overuse charges. BOOST Mobile cell phones and the Guardian Angel Technology product are both targeted toward the youth market, making the two an ideal combination. The Guardian Angel Technology GPS application is imbedded onto the cell phone, from where it continually transmits location information to the Guardian Angel servers. Parents or legal guardians can subsequently login to a secure website that displays the current location of the GPS phone(s). Historical location information is available for a period of 30 days. In addition, if the cell phone holder is traveling in a vehicle, speed and direction of travel is also displayed. All sales of the Guardian Angel tracking application and phones are handled through Guardian Angel Technology. September 11, 2006.-- Intermap Technologies Corp. announced that it has accelerated its plan for creating a high-resolution, three-dimensional map of Western Europe. Driven by demand within the European automotive, government, and insurance sectors, the Company's plans include the mapping of 13 Western European countries in their entirety by the end of 2007. Once completed, these datasets will be the most accurate elevation models of Western Europe in existence. The announcement comes on the eve of a major presence by Intermap at AGI2006 - the Association for Geographic Information's leading UK event, which is being staged at the Business Design Centre in London. The Company fully expects to finish mapping Germany in early 4Q 2006 and the remainder of Western Europe by the end of 2007. The European project was originally scheduled to coincide with plans to map the entire U.S.A. through 2008. Upon its completion, Intermap's NEXTMap Europe database will contain these countrywide maps:
"Adding these European countries to Intermap's NEXTMap database is an incredible accomplishment for the Company and is expected to create new opportunities within the European market over the next year and a half," stated Brian Bullock, president and CEO of Intermap Technologies. "This NEXTMap program will provide the most accurate countrywide maps ever created for five of the G7 nations and should prove to be a valuable asset for the Company, our customers and our shareholders." In addition to enabling traditional Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications for the newly created elevation models, Intermap will create 3D road vector data products to improve Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) applications to drive active safety devices, fuel performance improvements and in-car navigation. To serve this growing ITS market, the Company will continue to solidify joint development agreements to combine its highly accurate geospatial databases with the automotive engineering and development expertise of leading German automotive companies. August 31, 2006.-- Thales and an investor group led by Shah Capital Partners have today finalized the sale of most of Thales' navigation activities. Under the agreement, Shah Capital Partners acquires Thales Navigation for 170M$ and will rename the company Magellan Navigation, Inc. Thales Navigation is a leader in the consumer, survey, GIS, and OEM GPS navigation and positioning markets. The company is the creator of the Hertz NeverLost car navigation system, the award-winning Magellan® RoadMate series portable car navigation systems, and ProMark, the best-selling single frequency GPS survey family on the market. The company has approximately 600 employees located in San Dimas and Santa Clara (California, US), Moscow (Russia) and Nantes (France). The group of investors led by SCP in this transaction includes Tudor Group, Galleon Management, Consolidated Press Holdings, AIG SunAmerica, and Westwood Holdings. August 30, 2006.-- TeleNav Inc., the leading provider of wireless location-based services (LBS), introduced TeleNav GPS Navigator 5.0, the first GPS application on mobile phones that provides US consumers with full-color three dimensional (3D) moving maps, creating a more realistic and easy-to-follow visual navigation experience. The updated version of TeleNav GPS Navigator is also the first mobile navigation service to include a Wi-Fi Hotspot finder. Customers can now quickly find and get turn-by-turn directions to wireless hotspots across the US. With TeleNav GPS Navigator 5.0, customers can also search "along-the-route" (ATR), enabling them to look up a business, place of interest and even the lowest gas prices along their predetermined routes. TeleNav GPS Navigator 5.0 also offers an address input method with the least amount of keystrokes in the industry. The application detects and auto-fills addresses based on current or commonly used locations, as well as corrective entry, which automatically revises information the user may have misspelled. "Our mission with TeleNav GPS Navigator is to provide drivers with mobile navigation tools that are effective, convenient and effortless to use," said HP Jin, president and CEO at TeleNav. "The features we have launched today simplify, yet enhance, the experience, making it as easy as possible for drivers to experience safe and stress-free travel." Other features of TeleNav GPS Navigator include:
TeleNav GPS Navigator, originally launched in 2003, is available for a fraction of the price of in-car navigation systems and dedicated personal navigation devices (PNDs). The service starts at just $9.99 per month for unlimited use, and TeleNav GPS Navigator customers are not charged cellular airtime minutes for using the service. "TeleNav is an early leader in the mobile GPS navigation market, and the company continues its leadership by driving innovation in the LBS sector," said Marina Amoroso, wireless analyst at the Yankee Group. "With the launch of TeleNav GPS Navigator 5.0, TeleNav has expanded its list of compelling features to rival that of other GPS-navigation devices." Market research firm ABI has predicted that the global GPS market will grow to more than $22 billion by 2008. The firm estimates that handset navigation and people tracking markets will experience the largest growth rates, significantly outpacing the overall market growth of 12 percent through 2008. Similarly, research firm Strategy Analytics estimates that the number of GPS devices sold worldwide -- including personal navigation units and applications built into cell phones and handheld computers -- will grow from 18 million last year to 88 million in 2010. The latest version of TeleNav GPS Navigator is currently available on select mobile devices. For more information on TeleNav GPS Navigator and to find out which wireless carriers offer the service, visit www.telenav.com. August 29, 2006.-- TelMap Navigator is a complete server-based GPS navigation solution for Blackberry users. The TelMap Navigator software, combined with the accompanying bluetooth GPS receiver, will guide users from any origin to any destination whether they are driving a car or walking. This works by simply downloading a corridor of navigation data around the specified route from the server using a GPRS connection. Mr Owen Haigh, Product Manager of GlobalPositioningSystems.co.uk explains: "The significant advantage of a server-based GPS navigation solution is that users will receive transparent, up-to-date geographical data. There will be no need to install any map data, or worry about updating the software as roads change and new routes are built. The open architecture of the server platform also enables Points of Interest (POI) to be added and updated dynamically". The TelMap Navigator UK provides Blackberry users with all of the latest GPS features offered by the most up-to-date GPS systems. Moving, print quality maps, voice guidance, free traffic information and speed camera locations, and the ability to optimise routes for speed or distance are amongst its features. TelMap Navigator can also be combined with the functionalities of the Blackberry device to offer features that many standalone GPS units do not have. "The integration of TelMap Navigator with a Blackberry device means users can customize the application with their phone's address book, share their favourite locations with friends and family via text messages, or direct dial a Point of Interest from the millions within the database." Comments Mr Haigh. August 29, 2006.-- Telogis, a leading provider of on demand web-based GPS tracking systems, is proud to launch the most advanced version of OnTrack, its complete fleet tracking, productivity, and management solution, now integrated with GeoStream mapping technology. "GeoStream mapping technology is the most advanced server based mapping product in the GIS industry. It is faster and richer than any client side mapping product, map data is always fresh, and you never have to install map data updates. These three key features alone make OnTrack4 Telogis' most significant release yet," according to Steven Rabago, Telogis' Chief Executive Officer. Added key features of OnTrack4 include:
According to Jason Koch, Telogis' Senior Vice President, Systems Engineer and Product Manager, "Everybody uses search tools. Embedding SEARCH! functionality into OnTrack4 with GeoStream technology is a huge improvement over older outdated systems. Search tools give users the ability to manage large or small fleets with a single click. This advancement is a significant improvement above our competitor's offerings." The new OnTrack4 with GeoStream mapping technology is a field tested and proven GPS tracking and fleet management system that is easy to use and immediately improves business processes. Managers and Business Owners are able to use these tools to secure vehicle fleet and workforce information on demand, allowing them to manage their business, assets and team more effectively. Simply put, OnTrack4 with GeoStream technology is a complete fleet tracking, productivity, and management application built to provide fleet managers and operators the tools necessary to optimize fleet and workforce performance, and reduce the total cost of fleet ownership, improve customer service and increase revenue. August 29, 2006.-- Blue Marble Geographics announced that Microsoft Corporation recently licensed the GeoCalc.NET software developer toolkit to enhance and expand the data processing capabilities required to create Virtual Earth. Blue Marble's coordinate conversion technology is used worldwide by thousands of GIS analysts at software companies, universities, oil and gas companies, civil engineering, surveying, technology, enterprise GIS groups, government and military organizations. GeoCalc 6.2 is a fully object-oriented, cross platform software developer toolkit designed for complex coordinate system definition and conversion in an easy-to-use interface. The tool utilizes an XML data source and provides the latest support for well-known text (WKT) coordinate system definitions per the Open GIS Consortium specifications. The human readable capabilities of the XML data source in GeoCalc are important for ease of use in geodetic development projects. XML allows the GIS expert in your company to work with a developer who may know very little about coordinate systems. The GIS expert can easily read the coding to make certain that all the necessary parameters and tasks are included in the software developed with GeoCalc. GeoCalc's coordinate system datasource is the largest commercially available coordinate system library, with over 3,200 predefined coordinate systems, over 1,100 datum shifts, fifty plus mathematic projections, local and global vertical datums, and the full and current EPSG coordinate system datasource. GeoCalc has fully functioning dialogs that allow the user to define custom systems, ellipsoids, datums, datum shifts, and units without having to edit a text file. Finally, the tool supports coordinate system definition straight from TAB or PRJ files. "Blue Marble's GeoCalc technology is far superior to any other coordinate conversion tool we looked at," stated David Horne, Program Manager for Virtual Earth. "The total cost of developing, maintaining and supporting a library such as this far exceeded the purchase price. This tool definitely allowed us to free up developers and apply them to other top priority projects." "Obviously Blue Marble is very excited to have Microsoft expand their use of our technology to include our GeoCalc developer tool," added Blue Marble President Patrick Cunningham. "We are happy to relieve them of the difficulties of working with coordinate conversion definition and q/a while saving time and lowering the cost of product development." August 28, 2006.-- Tele Atlas, a leading global geographic content provider, announced it will expand its map update system with Map Insight, an online tool that allows users of Internet, personal navigation and wireless devices and applications powered by Tele Atlas data to quickly report changes to the company. Released in limited availability today, Map Insight will be made generally available during the fourth quarter of 2006. Changes to roads and points of interest occur every day, and the ability to quickly analyze and incorporate multiple sources of input is vital to generating maps that are fresh and highly accurate. Tele Atlas already uses a combination of professional drivers, innovative mobile mapping van technology and other authoritative information sources to ensure that planned and existing changes are accurately incorporated into its maps. Map Insight adds an interactive, community-based perspective that Tele Atlas President and COO George Fink says is vital to the future of map development. "Our goal is to produce the highest quality digital map data so that our partners can deliver the most useful information to local search and navigation system users. Advancements in technology make it possible for us to tap into the map community as a real source for detecting changes and enriching our maps," said Fink. "As a result, users will get more out of their maps than ever before, and the industry will benefit as standards for delivering the most accurate digital maps rise." Mio Technology, one of Tele Atlas' application partners and a leading supplier of a wide range of personal navigation devices, plans to offer the Map Insight tool on its own website. "This tool offers our end users a great opportunity to participate in building and improving the Tele Atlas map database. It also helps us to interact with our most dedicated customers," said Paul Notteboom, Mio Technology Europe President. "It is a giant step forward in the development of the navigation industry, and underscores Tele Atlas' continued commitment to the success of its partners." Tele Atlas' digital map data is the foundation for many of the world's leading local search and navigation systems. With Map Insight, users of these systems will be able to locate and describe situations where the mapping application does not reflect the real world and report them directly to Tele Atlas. The system will feature:
Map Insight is accessible in limited availability at http://www.teleatlas.com; under the support section, click on "Map Feedback." Tele Atlas' Map Insight also is expected to soon be available via additional partner websites. August 28, 2006.-- Gabriel Technologies Corporation, a leading provider of asset tracking, physical security, secure identity management, GPS-assisted tracking and biometric security products, announced that it has launched a cargo utility trailer lock product that provides unique barrier protection for trailer hasps. The company has launched a pilot program for the product at a national home improvement retailer with stores in the Jacksonville, Fla. and surrounding areas. The WAR-LOK CTL-10 is a die cast zinc barrier box with a keyed locking device that fits securely over the hasp of most cargo utility trailer doors. The locking mechanism and trailer hasp are completely protected from bolt cutters and a variety of potential theft tools. The CTL-10 internal locking core is designed with a flat-keyed locking system. Each component of this high security disc type cylinder has been designed to withstand the harsh environments of the transportation industry. All components are made of chrome plated hardened steel, brass or stainless steel. The WAR-LOK CTL-10 is pick resistant, drill resistant, and key duplication is virtually impossible. It is ideal for construction containers, motorcycles and small cargo trailers, such as Pace American, Haulmark and Interstate. Dan Chicoine, president of Gabriel, said, "Typical protection for cargo utility trailers is a padlock, which can be defeated with a bolt-cutter or other theft devices. This product was developed especially for this type of trailer, and it is the first of its kind anywhere. The engineering and design of the product was derived from our industry-leading WAR-LOK TL-10." During the pilot program, the home improvement retailer will sell the CTL-10 in each of its 10 stores in the Jacksonville vicinity through December 1. The CTL-10 product will be sold in double and single packs. Double packs have a distinctive feature of being keyed alike and have an MSRP of $74.95. Single packs have an MSRP of $39.95. Chicoine said, "Upon successful completion of the pilot program, the retailer plans to sell our product in more than 2,000 stores across North America. Meanwhile, we are also seeking similar programs with other home improvement retail chains and cargo utility trailer dealers." A marketing brochure and photo of the CTL-10 can be downloaded at http://www.hawkassociates.com/gwlkmore.aspx. August 28, 2006.-- Trimble introduced its new AllSport GPS application to extend its Trimble Outdoors family of products and services into the personal fitness management category. The fitness training application supports a range of outdoor activities including cycling, running, and mountain biking or walking. Trimble's AllSport GPS application enables a diverse group of consumers, including fitness enthusiasts and those looking to pursue a healthy and active lifestyle, to engage in a secure, convenient and inexpensive fitness program that tracks results and maps progress on a cell phone. Trimble acquired the AllSport fitness application through an asset acquisition of Intransix, a Mountain View, Calif.-based provider of mobile GPS applications, during the second quarter of 2006. "Consumers seek mobile technology that streamlines the demands of their active lifestyles," said Rich Rudow, managing director, Trimble Outdoors. "Together with technology developed by Intransix, Trimble Outdoors now offers the added convenience of managing personal navigation and fitness tracking in one ultra portable device -- your wireless phone." And with the launch today of the AllSport GPS on 17 Nextel phones and 10 Sprint (NYSE: S - News) phones, Sprint customers will be able to experience the benefits of this product. According to Gartner, Inc.'s June 2006 report, "Overview of Consumer Mobile Applications, 2006," it is estimated that, "by 2012, 80 percent of cellular devices will have highly accurate location capabilities." Trimble Outdoors' GPS-on-cellular location services, with navigation, fitness tracking and management applications, allow consumers to use one product to manage several needs. "Marrying the AllSport fitness application to Trimble's GPS-on-cellular platform provides a powerful option for active consumers to not only track their fitness performance, but to download that information to their wireless phones for later use, or for sharing with family, friends or medical care providers," said Dave Sutter, founder of Intransix. Using the latest version of the AllSport GPS application, consumers can measure distance, time speed and calories of their outdoor activity; pinpoint their current location on a street map, topographical map and aerial photos, and store the activity and fitness information on their handset. The data is then automatically uploaded to the AllSport GPS Website (www.allsportgps.com) for viewing, analysis and sharing with friends or family. Additionally, the application allows users to track the progress of their fitness routines, export workouts to Google Earth to view in an interactive 3-D presentation, and even allows consumers to engage in a virtual race against previously recorded workouts. AvailabilityThe platinum version of the AllSport GPS application is currently available on 10 Sprint phones for $6.99 per month. Several pricing plans, starting at $6.99 per month, are available on 17 Nextel phones. August 24, 2006.-- u-blox announced theintroduction of u-center mobile, a GPS evaluation and visualization toolfor Windows Mobile-based Pocket PC handheld devices such as PDAs. u-center mobile is the handheld version of u-center, u-blox' PC-basedGPS evaluation software. Launched in 2001, u-center has become renownedthroughout the industry for its powerful controls, visualization andanalysis features. u-center mobile has now been developed to bring thesame functionality to handheld devices such as PDAs, mobile phones andother consumer and professional GPS-enabled handheld devices. u-center mobile provides satellite status and positioning information,enables 2D representations of any GPS parameter in real-time and offersextensive configuration options. Viewing functions have beenspecifically adapted for the limited screen resolution of handhelds. Users can load digital maps calibrated with u-center to view staticpositions or itineraries. The system has a data recorder with playbackfunctionality that enables GPS data logging. Log files created withu-center-mobile are compatible with u-center, giving users the option toanalyze log files from their PC, handheld, or both. "u-center mobile enables GPS testing on-the-go", explains the creator ofthe tool, Michael Ammann, Research and Development GNSS Software. "Thispowerful tool will become an indispensable companion for developers ofGPS-enabled handheld devices, who will be able to test GPS performancedirectly on the device that they are designing. All other GPS productdevelopers will also benefit, as they will be able to connect their GPSapplications to any mobile device with u-center mobile installed and useits powerful GPS evaluation features from anywhere." The tool's built-in AssistNow Client software enables access to u-blox'AssistNow A-GPS service framework, which slashes Time To First Fix(TTFF) down to seconds and enables satellite acquisition even underdifficult signal conditions. u-center mobile supports various interfaces such as Bluetooth, USB,UART, Compact Flash and Secure Digital I/O interfaces and, mostimportant, tightly coupled GPS integration. You can download u-centermobile for free fromhttp://www.u-blox.com/products/u_center_mobile.html. August 23, 2006.-- Wi2Wi, a leading provider ofOEM communications products for Tier 1 PC OEMs and wireless systems forPAN, WAN and LAN, announced a partnership with SiRF to become a part oftheir Value Added Manufacturer (VAM) network. It also announced theavailability of the industry's smallest fully-integrated Global PositioningSystem (GPS) Receiver module. At just 15mm x 15mm, the Wi2Wi device is nearhalf the size of competing solutions, and incorporates SiRF TechnologyHoldings Inc.'s GPS- enabled location technology. "Wi2Wi team, with its established track record in the wirelessindustry, brings both innovative GPS and multifunction product concepts andlocalized customer support capabilities for the US market," said KanwarChadha, founder and vice president of marketing for SiRF. "We are pleasedto add Wi2Wi to our VAM program to help us accelerate the time to marketfor a broad range of GPS enabled consumer products." Wi2Wi's products address the market for mobile, power-sensitiveterminals such as cell phone/smart phones, PDAs, and MP3/personal audioplayers and other consumer devices. Wi2Wi's expertise in small-form factorRF circuit design results in a module (part number W2SG0001) which willenable device manufacturers to more quickly and more efficiently GPS-enabletheir products. The W2SG0001 from Wi2Wi integrates best-in-class systems. GPS isprovided by SiRF Technology's latest SiRFstarIII solution and can delivertime-to-fix faster than other silicon solutions. Wi2Wi's W2SG0001 hasexcellent sensitivity which is a necessity in urban canyons and with handheld devices which may not always be in open air. The W2SG0001 is easy tointegrate with a UART interface and a Solder Down connection with anexternal connector for use with either an active or passive antenna. TheW2SG0001 is a full system solution, including clock and voltage regulationfunctions. "We have combined best-in-class silicon from SiRF and the expertise ofWi2Wi in providing small form-factor communication products to enable GPSin a variety of mobile devices" commented Ramzi Al-Harayeri, President andCEO of Wi2Wi. "The small size and complete receiver solution from Wi2Wiwill allow OEMs and ODMs to enable GPS in products where space isconstrained." The W2SGW0001 is available now as development kit and sample packs.Volume production is scheduled for Fall 2006. August 21, 2006.-- NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, has announced the immediate availability of its full coverage navigable map of Australia. With the release of Australia, NAVTEQ maps now cover 6 continents and 58 countries. This offering is another notable achievement in NAVTEQ's initiative to grow its map portfolio and to support its customers in the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific navigation market. Today, the NAVTEQ map of Australia covers approximately 99% of Australia's population, is fully navigable and enables door-to-door route calculations and turn-by-turn route guidance. Detailed road network information, including a collection of up to 204 attributes such as one-way streets and turn restrictions, enables navigation systems to provide efficient routing. To build the NAVTEQ map of Australia, more than 45 field analysts from the United States, Europe and Australia spent more than six months driving more than 227,000 kilometers and collecting approximately 63,000 points of interest. By comparison, the Duyfken charted 300 kilometers of coastline in roughly the same time period. "Our Australian employees are especially proud to have worked on this project," said Kirk Mitchell, Australia Business Development Manager. All efforts were coordinated out of NAVTEQ's newest regional office in Melbourne, Australia. August 21, 2006.-- Top Global introduced the world's first 3G MobileBridge communications gateway for mobile intelligent transportation systems (ITS). The MobileBridge is a patented, mobile/portable wireless system. It is the world's first and the most integrated 3G mobile IP communications gateway. The MobileBridge currently supports all 3G standards including EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, CDMA 1x, EVDO, and EVDO Rev. A. It will also support mobile WiMax and HSUPA. With EVDO Rev.A, the MobileBridge delivers up to 3.1Mbps download and 1.8Mbps peak upload speed, thus many innovative mobile and wireless applications can now be delivered. The MobileBridge ITS supports the following features and applications:
By connecting a GPS Mouse to the serial port of the MobileBridge, real-time GPS location information can be sent from a vehicle to a central Geographic Information System (GIS) server. The GPS Mouse can get position information from satellites through the MobileBridge and can transmit that info to GIS server via cellular network. The MobileBridge now offers both GPS tracking features as well as Internet access at the same time. Top Global's MobileBridge communications gateway can be used by public transportation companies to offer "Mobile Hot Spot" service for passengers creating an entirely new revenue model. With embedded RADIUS module, the MobileBridge offers several AAA possibilities for the services including usage/traffic (Mbits), monthly, daily, and hourly fees, with credit card payment options. The MobileBridge is fully certified by Airpath Wireless, who provides the backend OSS for many commercial hot spot operators around the globe. If the transit authorities prefer to offer internet access for free, the dynamic content filtering capabilities reduce their direct liability for access to unwanted or inappropriate content. Local and remote portal offers user's information about the services, the ability to sign up accounts or even fill out a survey. When the MobileBridge is installed within a police vehicle, fire truck, or ambulance a standards-based Mobile IP communications network that supports roaming as well as a common platform for highly secure VPN/SSL encrypt information sharing can be utilized. This is critical for government agencies in an event of disaster or emergency. The local WiFi hot spot can provide internet connectivity for handheld devices as well as laptop and smart card readers to verify identity and access information from a central data base. The MobileBridge also enables mobile wireless telemedicine in real-time. This saves precious time and improves hospital/doctor efficiency in an effort to save people's lives. The MobileBridge can be installed on school buses, public transit, and trains to improve safety and efficiency. The GPS tracking capability can identify the location of the vehicle in real time. When installed with a Smart card or RFID reader the MobileBridge keeps track of the exact time passengers get on and off the vehicle at the exact locations. The wireless surveillance camera on the vehicle keeps monitoring what is happening in-side the vehicle and/or its surroundings while the vehicle is in motion. Logistics companies can manage their trucks and assets better using this solution. The administrators of transportation operators and logistics companies can monitor damage, location and speed info of all their vehicles in the field. The MobileBridge also allows easy real-time communication with drivers using VoIP at no additional cost. The video surveillance capability opens a new realm of opportunities and applications. When combined with RFID, all assets and packages with RFID tags can be tracked in real-time. This reduces the instances of lost, stolen, or mishanded packages. Historically, each of the above features requires one separate system and/or device. For the first time, the MobileBridge ITS communications gateway unifies all these features in one highly integrated solution. It reduces the complexity and cost to install multiple systems and devices. Additionally, it cuts on-going maintenance and operational cost of multiple communications devices. The ability to seamlessly migrate to next generation technologies protects business' Return on Investment. August 21, 2006.-- Tour Coupes, one of the hottest new tourism products on the market launched Saturday in San Diego, California. First in the Southern California market, Tour Coupes are GPS-powered, topless scooters that allow sightseers to be their own guides around San Diego while hearing an authentic audio history of the city. The audio narration is triggered via a proprietary GPS technology from Intellitours. The Tour Coupes invention is the brainchild of San Diego natives Anthony May and Melissa Mahan who wanted to put the fun back into travel and saw no better place to start than their own backyard. "Our families have never been a big fan of guided tours, because I think half the fun of seeing a city is exploring it on your own," said Mahan. "That said, tours do offer a real value of giving inside information that you often can't find in a book. One day we thought, wouldn't it be great to be able to tour in something on your own, while getting a guided tour. That's how Tour Coupes was born." At an exclusive test-drive event for media and tourism professionals last week, Sally Westaby, CMP, was one of the first in San Diego to take a Tour Coupes for a spin. "In a Tour Coupes, you can actually see the sites of San Diego at your own pace, while enjoying the scenery in the open air," said Westaby, who is an operations manager for The Event Team, a local destination management and team building company. "The audio tour was extremely accurate, well-written and conveyed in a good story-telling fashion." Combining the best features of a scooter and sport coupe, the Tour Coupes provides exceptional handling and superb performance. Its stable three-wheeled design permits two adult passengers to sit abreast with ample leg and shoulder room while cruising at a top speed of 30 m.p.h. Each Tour Coupes gets excellent gas mileage - almost 60 miles per gallon! Every Tour Coupes has a proprietary GPS navigation system from Montgomery, Alabama-based IntelliTours, that blends satellite signals, high-tech touring and old-fashioned storytelling. As it senses a "place," the system delivers narration, music, archival audio and sound effects that bring the place drivers are seeing alive. The audio track is available in English and Spanish. "The IntelliTours technology gives the Tour Coupes driver and passenger a richer experience with a far better understanding of the multi-faceted history of San Diego," says Jim Carrier, IntelliTours founder. "From the beginning, Anthony and Melissa were adamant about sharing the history that is inclusionary of the groups that shape our history and what the San Diego community is. Native Americans, Spanish Missionaries, the United States Military, and much more." More than 50 locations are Tour Coupes "enabled," from downtown San Diego to Coronado's Silver Strand, Old Town and the Presidio, the Embarcadero area and Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery and the Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma. Approved by the Department of Motor Vehicles for use on city streets, the Tour Coupes is perfect for jetting around town or exploring vacation destinations, and is approved by the Department of Motor Vehicles for use on city streets. It's also easy to operate, and its compact size makes parking a breeze. Currently, licensed drivers age 18 and over can rent Tour Coupes from the company's downtown San Diego headquarters. Rental fees begin at $45 per hour. All day rates available. Tour Coupes, now available exclusively in Southern California, are the alternative to crowded sightseeing buses and rigid itineraries. Available in a fun array of five sporty colors, Tour Coupe is a topless coupe equipped with a GPS-based system that narrates local destinations, allowing drivers to unleash their inner tour guide and navigate the sights they want to see, when they want to see them. August 18, 2006.-- Homeland Security Corporation has begun distributing a "Child Tracking" device to its current customer base. Homeland Security Corporation has completed testing on a Tri-Band modem worldwide real tracking system and "Emergency Communicator." Through a password protected user interface, the customer can locate their tracking device(s). Through proprietary mapping software, a user can quickly obtain current location, including map and full street address, set-up geofencing alarm and obtain historical data. The "Emergency" SOS button sends location and message to preset numbers (mom/dad) or emails, and allows actual emergency voice calls to 2 preset numbers. At half the size of a deck of cards, the unit can be easily concealed or attached to a loved one, a pet, or a valuable asset. The device can work in the United States and Europe. Homeland Security Corporation has now augmented its GPS tracking product line with this low cost tracking and locating device for children, grandchildren and teenagers as well as pets, cars, boats and certain Fleets applications. At a sales price of less then $400 and a monthly tracking package of $19.95 per month, the device will cover those markets that the company has been targeting. August 18, 2006.-- NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, is supplying map data for Destinator 6 - one of the first portable navigation software solutions which offers a TMC-Pay-Service on PDAs with no monthly or annual fees. The once only licence fee covering all countries is included in the initial purchase price of the product. For some time, NAVTEQ has been including TMC codes in its map database ready to be utilized by navigation systems offering traffic information. Facilitated by these NAVTEQ codes, PDAs running Destinator 6 software now have access to an extra service called TrafficSam. TrafficSam currently supports TMC pay services in three countries - the TMC-pro Service from T-Systems in Germany; the Trafficmaster service in the UK; and ViaMichelin Trafic's Premium TMC Service in France. In other countries free TMC services are supported. In due course, as additional real-time pay services become available around Europe and also in the USA, they will be integrated into the TrafficSam product. Whilst TrafficSam is RDS-based (Radio Data System) utilizing the more up-to-date and comprehensive encrypted data transmitted by TMC-Pay service providers, the Destinator software switches automatically to the freely available traffic information transmitted by radio signal in countries where no Premium TMC is available. The premium TMC messages include information gained from sensors, bridge cameras, floating vehicles and soon also GSM network information. This provides not only real-time availability of the traffic data but also greater accuracy. Destinator 6 can also work across international borders moving seamlessly from one country map to another. This cross border feature is supported by NAVTEQ's single global specification which means its map data flows equally well from country to country. All of which helps differentiate this system from other navigation solutions. Destinator 6 software with TrafficSam is available now in specialist shops at an RRP of €187.50 + tax and includes very recent (Q1 2006) pan-European map data. Additional maps (e.g.. North America) are available via any Destinator dealer and can be purchased either on CD or SD card. For more information, please refer to the Destinator Technologies website. August 17, 2006.-- Sarantel, the leading manufacturer of revolutionary filtering antennas for mobile and wireless devices and u-blox AG, the leading Swiss provider of innovative GPS receiver technology, announced the availability of a new "Smart Antenna" reference design that will shorten time-to-market and reduce the risk of GPS integration for products ranging from personal navigators to multimedia players with built-in navigation functions. The new design uses Sarantel's GeoHelix-P2 GPS antenna and the high sensitivity LEA-4S GPS module from u-blox. Based on the ANTARIS 4 chipset, the LEA-4S GPS module combines unrivaled sensitivity with low power consumption in a package that measures just 17 x 22 mm. u-blox's award-winning SuperSense software extends positioning coverage to weak signal areas such as indoor car parks or dense urban canyons, offering -158 dBm tracking sensitivity without raising power consumption at low signal levels. The LEA-4S module supports DGPS, WAAS/EGNOS, and is AssistNow-ready, enabling instant positioning on demand, even in weak signal environments. Leveraging the LEA-4S module's innovative features, the GeoHelix-P2 GPS antenna from Sarantel, offers a broad, omni-directional reception pattern combined with immunity to proximity detuning -- great for mobile terminals and portable navigation devices. The GeoHelix-P2 is designed to be an embedded antenna, with a slim profile well-suited to thin consumer portables. Sarantel and u-blox optimized the reference design to take advantage of the GeoHelix antenna's excellent filtering properties, maximizing the performance of the combination of antenna and receiver. "This new reference design brings out the best that u-blox and Sarantel have to offer," said Thomas Nigg, u-blox Technical Support Manager. "Consumers are becoming ever more sophisticated in their use of navigation devices, demanding better performance, more power efficiency, faster fix times, and greater accuracy. Engineers can treat this combination of the LEA-4S module and GeoHelix antenna as a single component. This system design will provide great customer satisfaction by significantly speeding up the design cycle." Ben Sandford, VP Sales of Sarantel, added, "We also see greater demands on the performance, battery life, ease-of-use, and form factor for new navigation devices. The GeoHelix-P2 antenna allows designers to slim down their products. The u-blox LEA-4S receiver module ensures great performance with ease of design -- it's a winning combination for our customers." August 17, 2006.-- RF Code, Inc., a leading provider of Real-Time Location and Sensor Solutions (RTLS), announced its new business model offering the industry's first complete solution for real-time tracking of high value assets and people."Capitalizing on our engineering expertise and technical leadership, we are now transforming RF Code into an industry solution-driven company," said Joe Dugan, RF Code CEO and former Oracle executive. Under the TAVIS RTLS platform name, RF Code is expanding its hardware, software, professional services and support capabilities, into industry-specific solution sets for specific markets, such as health, aerospace/defense, and IT asset management. "RF Code's professional services adds a critical element that enables us to provide the industry's highest level of customer care and application solutions," said Dugan. "We have moved from being a hardware and tag supplier, to offering complete ready-to-implement business solutions that solve many varied and complex customer requirements." RF Code's industry-leading products already includes the highest density scanning technology available, longest tag battery life and the lowest cost when compared with other passive and active installations on the market today.RF Code has also eliminated the perceived risk associated with RFID installations by offering a money-back guarantee to customers adopting the solutions-based approach. "Our combination of technology and professional services expertise will provide organizations the increased security that they seek by giving them complete visibility into the location and state of their high-value assets," said Dugan."The solutions' focused business model is the future of the RFID industry," said Russ Klein, director of emerging technology research for Aberdeen Research. "Intel Capital has invested in RF Code, reinforcing RF Code's strong technology capabilities and potential to be the leader in the RFID space." The company has successfully developed industry-specific RTLS solutions while teaming up with industry leaders such as Intel and IBM. RF Code's technology-enabled solutions are designed to improve business processes across multiple diverse application segments. For example, SYMX, a provider of health care solutions is among the first to realize the value of RF Code's new complete solution approach by entering into $30 million, three-year strategic initiative for the health care industry. August 17, 2006.-- Tele Atlas, a leading global geographic content provider, announced it has been selected by TomTom, the world's leading personal navigation solution provider, as the data provider for the new TomTom ONE product in North America. The agreement further solidifies Tele Atlas' position as the data provider of choice among personal navigation (PNAV) device manufacturers. TomTom ONE is an entry-level all-in-one portable navigation device combining ease of use and portability with TomTom's patented touch screen technology and award-winning software. Powered by Tele Atlas digital map data, the device features highly accurate, turn-by-turn maps that help users easily find addresses and points of interest and the best routes to them. "TomTom continues to lead innovation in PNAV technology, and Tele Atlas continues to lead the PNAV market with superior data and outstanding support for the retail channel," said Jocelyn Vigreux, president of TomTom. "Together, we're aiming to make navigation a reality for everyone." "The introduction of the TomTom ONE heralds the start of mass adoption of PNAV devices in North America and is a welcome addition to the market," said Mike Gerling, COO of Tele Atlas North America. "As we continue to strengthen our position as the preferred supplier in this space, we're excited to work with TomTom to deliver superior products to consumers, and to partner with key retail leaders to help our partners quickly succeed in this burgeoning space." August 17, 2006.-- Teletouch Communications, Inc. announced that on August 11, 2006, it became the owner of all of the issued and outstanding equity securities of Progressive Concepts, Inc. ("PCI"), based in Fort Worth, Texas. PCI is a leading Cingular Wireless Master Distributor, Reseller and Top-10 MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), known in Texas and Arkansas under the Hawk Electronics consumer brand name for over thirty years. One-hundred-percent of the issued and outstanding equity securities of PCI were contributed to Teletouch by TLL Partners, LLC ("TLLP"), a Delaware limited liability company and the holder of more than 82% of Teletouch's outstanding common stock. Teletouch did not issue any monetary or stock consideration in connection with the equity contribution. The operating results of PCI will be consolidated with those of Teletouch for financial reporting purposes. Teletouch's existing business and the newly-acquired PCI business will combine over 40 years of operating history in multiple forms of direct and wholesale wireless product and service sales, billing and customer service to consumer, business and government users, including a unique distribution and reseller co-branding relationship with Cingular Wireless, sold under the "Hawk Electronics" retail brand and "Hawk Corporate Communications" name for direct sales to enterprise and government customers. Related PCI operating units include PCI Marketing, a leading cellular and automotive electronics wholesale distributor, supporting a national commercial base of some 2,000 smaller consumer electronics retailers and auto dealers for such leading manufacturers as Motorola, Nokia, Sony, JVC, XM and Sirius Satellite Radio, Digital Antenna, Blaupunkt, and many others. PCI provides all of the cellular billing and customer service for its own customer base, and retains a recurring revenue stream on all monthly billed cellular airtime and data revenues, and one-time revenue on all other cellular and non-cellular products and services. After accounting for various discontinued operations, including the previously announced sale of its paging business, TLL consolidated fiscal year 2007 revenues are expected to increase to approximately $92 to $95 million, of which roughly 60% is expected to consist of recurring wireless services billing income. Teletouch CEO, T. A. "Kip" Hyde, Jr. stated, "The Company will now serve approximately 100,000 cellular, wireless messaging and two-way radio subscribers, agents and independent retailers throughout our region and the country. As we expand our cellular services footprint, within our own distribution channels and through our enterprise customers, we expect to see an exciting transition into the high-growth mobile SMS, content delivery, MVNO and MVNE (Mobile Virtual Network Enabler) businesses, as well as show solid internal growth in our core consumer and wholesale cellular subscriber bases. To realize our goal of becoming a leading mobile lifestyle services provider, this structure provides Teletouch with a solid platform for long-term growth." The current business of PCI is very similar to the paging and two-way wireless services businesses that Teletouch has provided for more than four decades. For over twenty-years, PCI's core business has been in acquiring, billing, and supporting now over 90,000 cellular subscribers under a unique, recurring revenue relationship with Cingular Wireless. The consumer services business is operated primarily under the Hawk Electronics brand name, with business and government sales provided by the Hawk Corporate Communications group. As a Master Distributor, MVNO and MVNE, PCI controls the entire customer experience, including initiating and maintaining the cellular service agreements, rating the cellular plans, providing complete customer care, underwriting new account acquisitions, and providing multi-service billing, collections, and account maintenance. The original agreements between PCI and Cingular (and its predecessors) span over twenty years and now comprise a number of multi-year agreements in specifically-contracted markets in Texas and Arkansas. Key to the success of PCI has been its proprietary, internally-developed cellular/multi-service billing and customer service platform providing PCI with a distinct competitive advantage over other entrants to this MVNO market. Not only does the platform provide core post-paid cellular billing, the complete system allows PCI to offer unique services to its subscribers, including: consolidation/bundling of different products and services into one monthly invoice; instant credit scoring; web-based bill payment; and many advanced, real-time customer relationship management ("CRM") functions. For corporate and government customers, the proprietary billing platform provides custom, highly-detailed billing support and services generally not available from the carriers themselves. This highly sophisticated billing system is one of PCI's most important assets, and has been fully incorporated into all aspects of the Company's cellular operations. Hyde concluded, "Teletouch can now begin leveraging its combined forty-plus years of telecommunications experience as it expands into the Mobile Virtual Network Operator ("MVNO") and Mobile Virtual Network Enabler ("MVNE") markets as a turnkey service provider to retailers and other enterprise customers. We look forward to the challenges and opportunities that we will face in the years going forward in this exciting and large industry space." August 17, 2006.-- RMT Rover, a new GPS tracking system from Rocky Mountain Tracking (RMT), allows vehicle owners to access information about the position and status of their vehicles in real time. The constant information flow will afford them a peace of mind that would not be possible otherwise. "Logistics is a finely calculated trade today, and shippers need to constantly be aware of where their cargo and vehicles are," says Brad Borst, President of RMT. "Our new solution provides a host of GPS tracking services, all in real time and all accessible online." The GPS tracking software can be accessed from virtually any computer with an Internet connection, and it has been designed to facilitate in multi-tasking applications. The features of the software include geofencing, optimal routing, close and rapid vehicle tracking, and customization. "Our team has special expertise in moving information wirelessly - across town or around the world - using WiFi, cellular and satellite packet data services over 802.11x, GSM, CDMA, GeoSync Satellite and Low Earth Orbit Satellite services," says Borst. "Our mapping is based on GIS systems, such as, ESRI ArcGIS MapInfo/MapX and to consumer oriented mapping products such as Microsoft MapPoint to develop web-based and desktop applications." The vehicle tracking hardware itself provides accuracy of between 3 to 16 feet, and it weighs only 4.5 ounces. Yet this device can transmit a host of data, including not only position but also excessive speeds, excessive idle times, lockdown violations, possible thefts and fleet activity. "RMT Rover is the ideal tool for vehicle owners and shippers, allowing them to stay on top of their property at all points of time," says Borst. "The constant information flow will afford them a peace of mind that would not be possible otherwise." August 16, 2006.-- 3D Laser Mapping has developed an innovative system to help authorities determine safe speed limits. Using the StreetMapper vehicle-based 3D laser mapping system, road safety conditions can be computed automatically for any stretch of highway. In rural areas, the system's electronic eye provides a very rapid and cost effective surveying method to provide a standard for road safety assessment. This will allow authorities to implement speed restrictions based on more accurate and more complete information; eliminating inconsistencies. The StreetMapper road safety system was developed to automatically record features such as road width, condition and visibility following The Department for Transport in England, and the Scottish and Welsh transport authorities, announcement they wanted "realistic and consistent" limits in place by 2011. Transport Minister Stephen Ladyman said "Our new guidance encourages lowering speed limits where the evidence warrants but equally traffic authorities should consider increasing limits if it can be done safely." StreetMapper, which has been developed in partnership with IGI, is a vehicle-mounted system that uses a series of lasers to measure the position of features relative to the moving vehicle. These highly accurate measurements are then processed, using proprietary software, to produce a detailed 3D model of the street corridor and associated features. Martin Redstall, Managing Director of Reality Mapping, who are already using the StreetMapper system for a variety of applications countered, "Highways authorities have been given a very mixed message. On one hand they are being asked to review the speed limit of every section of road but on the other hand they have been given no guidance against which this review should be undertaken. "StreetMapper can remove the subjective element of this review. Using StreetMapper we can capture a detailed and accurate record of the road and associated features at speeds of up to 70 km an hour. These measurements are then analysed to produce a safety rating for each section of road based on standard criteria such as width, condition, visibility and roadside features for example lighting, vegetation and development." Redstall continued. August 16, 2006.-- In December 2006, the Siemens Communications Group will bring to market two new modules for tracking and navigation applications: the XT75 and the XT65. Both modules contain a GPS receiver that allows global positioning, and EDGE or GPRS technology for transmitting data to a mobile device. The modules are based on JavaT and have quad band capability, which means they can be used in all GSM mobile networks worldwide. The radio modules XT75 and XT65 are especially suited for fleet management, vehicle positioning, navigation, emergency call or location-based services. The modules allow the user to determine the exact location of persons, vehicles, goods in transit or end devices. Location-related information can also be sent and called up via the mobile network. A car driver, for example, can thus load information on the nearest restaurant in a navigation system or send an emergency SMS with position data. Fast satellite positioning is carried out via 16 parallel channels, using A-GPS data. The integrated TCP/IP communication protocol ("TCP/IP stack") converts the A-GPS data into data packets and then transmits these via EDGE (XT75) or GPRS (XT75 and XT65) technology to the mobile network. Both modules send and receive on the frequencies 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz. The XT75 can send data packets at up to three times the speed of ISDN. The modules are 54 mm x 39 mm x 3.5 mm in size and use various GSM & GPS energy-saving modes to minimize power consumption. The integrated RIL driver ensures simple connection to end devices based on Microsoft Windows MobileT. Thanks to JavaT support for the XT75 and XT65, programming all the applications is fast and easy for developers. The integrated processor and memory reduce the total cost of ownership and guarantee a shorter time to market. All standard sensors and actors can be linked via digital and analog interfaces. All of Siemens Communications' radio modules are manufactured in compliance with the EU directives on restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS). August 14, 2006.-- PanGo Networks, Inc. and Versus Technology, Inc. announced a partnership to deliver the healthcare industry's most advanced location-enabled clinical automation and asset tracking solutions. The companies' combined offerings - that leverage proven locationing technologies like Wi-Fi, active and passive radio frequency identification (RFID) and infrared (IR) - will give hospitals new ability to make use of the precise location of personnel, patients and equipment for business process improvements. PanGo and Versus make it easy for hospitals to add a valuable layer of business logic and intelligence to optimize workflow, improve patient care, and maximize investments in IT infrastructure and lifesaving biomedical equipment. By linking Versus' dual IR/RFID-based sensory tracking system with PanGo's PanOS location management platform and PanGo Locator application, hospital staff can track both patients and equipment with a high degree of precision from a single interface. In turn, users of the Versus Information System (VIS) and Patient VISion Platform will be able to make the most of their Wi-Fi infrastructure for asset tracking, through integration with the PanOS Platform. "The combined strengths of the Versus and PanGo asset tracking solutions will give hospitals unmatched flexibility in deploying best-of-class, context-aware clinical automation systems," said Henry Tenarvitz, president of Michigan-based Versus. Versus is the most widely deployed locating system in healthcare, with tag shipments totaling over 250,000. "By delivering solutions that tap Wi-Fi infrastructure for locationing, we're expanding our ability to help hospitals manage patient flow and medical assets, streamlining their processes and reducing costs." PanGo's PanOS Platform will assimilate location information from Versus' active IR/RFID tags, readers and sensors for precise room-level accuracy. In addition, Versus' patient flow management software will be able to incorporate data from a range of location tracking technologies such as IR, Wi-Fi and passive RFID. As a result, hospitals gain maximum flexibility to expand or establish real-time location solutions (RTLS) to match every need. "PanGo is committed to integrating our solutions with best-of-breed technologies so that customers can immediately realize the benefits of robust asset tracking solutions - applying the optimal technology to varying use cases," said Mike McGuinness, president and CEO of Massachusetts-based PanGo. "We're pleased to be working closely with Versus to help healthcare organizations deliver world-class patient care, while making the most of staff and asset resources." August 14, 2006.-- Allflex USA, the global leader in livestock identification, announced the approval of ISO Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) livestock identification tags by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for use in the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). "The market place is clearly making a statement that it wants this technology as the specific identifier for cattle and bison in the National ID System," said Brian Bolton President & CEO Allflex USA Inc. "In our experience, validation of ISO RFID Tags as the only official identifier in the NAIS would be a key part of the process in bringing clarity to producers and encouraging infrastructure during this industry-led implementation of the national ID program in the U.S." Today, ISO RFID tags are validated as the technology of choice in the commercial market place with tens of millions of Allflex ISO RFID tags used in cattle, sheep and pigs around the world. In addition, ISO RFID tags are used as the only official identifier in National ID programs of important beef export countries like Canada and Australia. Key groups such as the NAIS Cattle Working Group, IDairy, NCBA and USAIO advocate ISO RFID tags as the technology of choice for the U.S. national ID system. Allflex has experience meeting the needs of some 40 official ID programs around the world, as well as the exclusive use of Allflex ISO RFID tags in official programs such as the National FAIR program and the Michigan Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) Eradication program (which will move to mandatory statewide ID in March 2007 using only ISO RFID tags). Both the Allflex Ultra High Performance Half Duplex and the Allflex Ultra Full Duplex tags have been validated for use in the NAIS, making Allflex the only company to offer livestock producers two RFID technologies that conform to the NAIS supplementary identifier standards. Allflex will work with its commercial distribution partners to make the tags available as part of the USDA animal identification number (AIN) management system. August 14, 2006.-- AeroScout, Inc., the leading provider of Wi-Fi-based Active RFID visibility solutions, announced several enhanced features and capabilities for its AeroScout T2 Tag which are unique and unparalleled in the market. The T2 tag is the industry's leading Wi-Fi-based Active RFID tag for asset tracking and management, with tens of thousands of units being shipped each month to customers around the globe. New features on the AeroScout T2 Tag include a built-in temperature monitor and motion sensor, for unmatched asset management capabilities. The motion sensor provides transmission control based on movement of the tag, improving real-time location accuracy and enabling a 4+ year battery life in most customer environments. The temperature sensor provides an additional stream of asset management data for environment-sensitive assets, enabling the tag to wirelessly trigger a remote alert if the temperature goes above or below a certain threshold. In addition, advanced call button and LED functions, intrinsically safe and electromagnetic certifications on the tag, and extendable battery life (up to 8 years) all enable customers to further enhance their asset management capabilities. "These new features not only demonstrate how AeroScout continues to deliver trusted location based services solutions to the healthcare market, but also extend the Wi-Fi-based Active RFID capabilities currently available in the Cisco Clinical Connection Suite," said Kent Gray, Healthcare Industry Solutions Manager, Cisco Systems, Inc.. "The new tag functionality is particularly attractive to our hospital customers because extended battery life and advanced security are critical for effective asset management and loss prevention." August 14, 2006.-- NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, announced that its Electronic Horizon provides the foundation of the Dynamic Pass Predictor from the BMW group; a technology innovation that can assist drivers in better understanding their opportunity to pass the vehicle in front of them. NAVTEQ's patented electronic horizon technology enables the attributes in the NAVTEQ digital map to be used to assist the vehicle in understanding the road ahead. Dynamic Pass Predictor automatically calculates when it is not appropriate to pass the lead vehicle. This functionality combines NAVTEQ road geometry data, knowledge about the speed the vehicle is traveling, and sensor generated speed information about the lead vehicle. Utilizing this information, the navigation system screen visually highlights the road sections which require the driver's increased attention, enabling the driver to assess whether or not it is advisable to pass the lead vehicle. For example a sharp curve, a junction, or an upcoming speed limit change is highlighted on the map display along with the positional display of the lead vehicle. This information supports the driver's understanding on whether or not there is a clear enough view of the road ahead to make a favorable passing decision. The navigation system does not make a pass recommendation as it is not able to include the oncoming traffic in its calculations. The software for this solution has been developed by NAVTEQ and the BMW group. "With this technology, map data moves beyond navigation to more sophisticated driver alerts that enhance user awareness of the road and the vehicles around them," stated Bruno Bourguet, NAVTEQ Vice President and GM In-Vehicle Sales Europe. "Working with a premier automotive organization who shares a similar innovation vision supports NAVTEQ's desire to further advanced driving assistance systems technologies in cars of the future." August 14, 2006.-- The NFC Forum, a non-profit industry association advancing the use of near field communication (NFC) technology, announced the publication of its first four specifications. The specifications are available to the public for download at no charge from the NFC Forum Web site, www.nfc-forum.org. NFC technology is a short-range, standards-based wireless connectivity technology. It allows consumers to perform safe contactless transactions, access digital content and connect electronic devices with a single touch. For example, consumers with NFC-enabled mobile phones can leave their wallets at home and use their phones to make contactless financial transactions, enjoy electronic access to transportation networks or touch a Smart Poster to receive digital content.The new specifications make it possible for any manufacturer to create NFC-Forum-compliant devices that will be interoperable with other manufacturers' devices and compatible with the NFC-Forum-compliant offerings of service providers, ensuring successful communication between devices and tags. The four specifications now available at are:
"The NFC Forum is committed to advancing the use of and delivering on the promise of the NFC technology, and the need for standard specifications is one of the critical factors in achieving this," said Christophe Duverne, Chairman, NFC Forum. "Issuing the first four specifications signifies a huge step forward in creating the framework that is necessary to make NFC applications a reality and put NFC capabilities in the hands of consumers around the world." In June of this year, the NFC Forum unveiled its modular NFC device architecture and protocols for interoperable data exchange, device-independent service delivery, device discovery, and device capability. Additional specifications are still in development. A schematic diagram showing the basic elements of the NFC Forum technology architecture, along with other materials, is available on the NFC Forum's Web site at http://www.nfc-forum.org/news/. The Forum also announced the initial set of tag formats that all NFC Forum-compliant devices must support. Tags are integrated circuits that store data that can be read by NFC-enabled devices. The Forum's selected tags are based on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14443 Type A and B standards and Sony's FeliCa. August 8, 2006.-- Pictometry International Corp., the worldwide leader in digital, aerial oblique imagery and measuring software systems, and Harris Corporation, a leading provider of imagery solutions for the visualization, mapping, and government markets, announced the availability of new 3D modeling products. This new offering combines the stunning, aerial imaging data from Pictometry with Harris' 3D modeling and geospatial product expertise, creating a more impressive and realistic 3D viewing solution for GIS professionals. The products are available in a variety of formats accessible via ESRI's ArcGIS Explorer. All three companies, Pictometry, Harris, and ESRI will be demonstrating this new technology at the ESRI International User Conference taking place from August 7-11, 2006 in San Diego, CA. Pictometry's technology is available for demonstration in their booth, number 214 and in the Harris booth, number 303. Other joint product offerings that Pictometry and Harris will be demonstrating at the ESRI International User Conference include 2D ortho mosaics, digital elevation models, and true ortho mosaics. Pictometry's industry leading software enables users to easily access up to 12 different oblique (at an angle) views of any property, building, highway, or other feature. The software also enables users to obtain measurements such as distance, height, elevation, and area directly from the oblique imagery. Additional ESRI solutions from Pictometry include an ArcGIS extension, ArcIMS integration, ArcSDE support, and coordinate pass-through capabilities. "The unique characteristics of Pictometry's Intelligent Images and collection system, combined with Harris' industry-leading image processing solutions are perfect for creating exciting high-resolution products for a range of visualization applications for civilian, commercial, and government customers," said Tom Kubancik, business development manager for the ImageLinks product line of Harris Corporation's Government Communications Systems Division (GCSD). "We are very pleased to be able to offer a suite of products, including Pictometry's world renowned oblique imagery that is incorporated into true color image Orthomosaics, highly-textured 3D urban models, and high-accuracy digital elevation models. These products will provide a new level of detail and accuracy that is needed in support of the highest quality urban mapping, public safety, simulation, and visualization databases." "We recognize that Pictometry offers ESRI users superior oblique data integration and compatibility for our products," said Earl Nordstrand, Data Products Manager, ESRI. "The engineering teams at ESRI, Harris, and Pictometry have worked together to create the proper environment whereby Pictometry's world-class oblique imaging data, and advanced technology from Harris are successfully integrated with the power of ESRI's products including ArcGIS Explorer, for the benefit of our mutual customers." August 7, 2006.-- NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital map data for location-based solutions and vehicle navigation, has collaborated with ESRI to begin shipping a new dataset for ESRI StreetMap Premium, the latest street database for use with ESRI's ArcGIS software products. ESRI's StreetMap Premium data includes NAVTEQ's comprehensive NAVSTREETS map database for the United States, Canada and Europe. NAVSTREETS is a comprehensive collection of navigable attributes, including turn-by-turn directions, the latest street geometry, address information, and water features. NAVSTREETS extensive database provides end- users a high level of accuracy and helps ESRI customers find locations and route efficiently to their destinations. NAVTEQ's NAVSTREETS data is designed to help ArcGIS users easily add one of the highest quality and most current street databases to ESRI applications such as ArcGIS Desktop (ArcView, ArcEditor, and ArcInfo), ArcIMS RouteServer, and ArcGIS Server. In addition, a data option is available for use with the ArcGIS Network Analyst extension. NAVTEQ's NAVSTREETS data is available in ESRI Smart Data Compression (SDC) format, and the entire North American dataset comes on one DVD. It can be used to geocode addresses and generate routes and driving directions, as a cartographic display, as a backdrop for plotting customer locations, or as a basemap. Over 550 NAVTEQ field analysts drive millions of miles each year to create a high quality and accurate map database. NAVTEQ maps include detailed attributes such as turn restrictions, relative road crossing heights, road segment access restrictions, one-way streets, and speed categories to help optimize routing. NAVTEQ's comprehensive maps also include Points of Interest (POIs) such as restaurants, hospitals, shopping centers, and leisure facilities, making it easier to locate and route to many different destinations. "NAVTEQ's consistent data quality and uniform specifications across all of North America and Europe help our customers reach their destinations more quickly and accurately," said Earl Nordstrand, Data and Commercial Solutions manager for ESRI. "ESRI provides high-quality GIS software which enables industry-leading location solutions to reach commercial and government customers. NAVTEQ's NAVSTREETS database will help to support the map data requirements of ESRI's ArcGIS desktop and server family of products," stated Roy Kolstad, Vice President - Business and Government Solutions, NAVTEQ. August 4, 2006.-- GlobeXplorer's high-speed, tiled aerial and satellite imagery Web service is now available inside ESRI's ArcWeb Services Explorer. It will also be available with the release of ESRI's new ArcGIS Explorer. Both products feature free access to select portions of GlobeXplorer's global content with an upgrade path to using ArcWeb Services with GlobeXplorer's Premium imagery, which includes the "latest and greatest" of its industry-leading online image library. GlobeXplorer's earth imagery is a key ingredient inside ArcWeb Services Explorer, a Flash-based Web application (and API-application program interface) allowing for easy, Web-based viewing of geographic data. Select portions of GlobeXplorer's archive will also be available for free inside the new ArcGIS Explorer, a geospatial information viewer powered by ArcGIS Server offering fast, creative ways to map the world in 2D and 3D using the same high-speed "pan and grab" technology. For users demanding a more robust, current imagery data set for these applications, ArcWeb Service using GlobeXplorer Premium Imagery can easily be accessed. The Premium collection includes the latest data from providers like AirPhotoUSA, DigitalGlobe, Sanborn, EarthSat, USGS, USDA, and many other private and public sources. ESRI and GlobeXplorer have already worked together to power National Geographic's MapMachine Web portal. GlobeXplorer also offers its services inside its own Web viewers and desktop mapping extensions. August 4, 2006.-- Blue Marble Geographics announced an update to their Geographic Calculator software application that is certain to improve GIS data management efficiency. Blue Marble's coordinate conversion technology is used worldwide by thousands of GIS analysts at software companies, universities, oil and gas companies, civil engineering, surveying, technology, enterprise GIS groups, government and military organizations. The Geographic Calculator is known for its easy-to-use interface that allows the user to perform simple coordinate transformations while at the same time allowing for very elaborate in-depth conversions. The Geographic Calculator is the defacto standard for coordinate conversion software in today's GIS industry. This new release adds a number of great features, including FlexLM-based network licensing, which is important for large enterprises that need an easy to use, yet secure licensing model. Calculator 6.3 also features support for the Earth Geopotential Model of 1996 (EGM96), which has been known to cause problems when implemented incorrectly in other software. Batch file processing now allows the user to convert points within multiple point data files for maximum efficiency. Other new definitions include OSTN02 and Molodensky-Badekas 10 parameter datum transformation methods. Calculator 6.3 now contains enhanced unit display settings, specifically for Packed DMS definitions (Packed DMS. and Packed DM.) with a new easy-to-use central implementation schema. There are also new pre-defined text schemes for CSV, TSV, and SEG formats. Users can also save point database files as ESRI shape files. Many other features and enhancements have been added to this release as well. "Adding a version of Geographic Calculator that contains FlexLM licensing is a key feature add for our larger customers. This allows IT administrators to better understand how the software is being used within their organization," stated Kris Berglund, Director of Sales and Marketing for Blue Marble. "Support for EGM96 and batch point file transformation are excellent value adds for a dot release. We think our users that have purchased maintenance will be pleased, since this upgrade is free to all those that have enrolled in our technical support program." August 4, 2006.-- Aimed at the surveying and GIS professional market, Topcon's new GMS-2 GIS hand-held mobile GPS receiver scores an historic quadruple "first." The rugged, compact unit is the industry's first GIS-GPS product with:
With all these features-and options to suit every job site situation and budget-in one small, durable unit. Topcon's GMS-2 provides an unparalleled solution for multi-function GIS-GPS tasks in the field. Using a Windows CE operating system, the GMS-2 is equipped with vivid, color touch-screen, a powerful Intel processor, internal wireless Bluetooth connectivity, accuracy levels from sub-meter to centimeter range, removable, rechargeable lithium ion battery, SD memory slot and USB port. Also available are numerous options including a beacon receiver, Topcon Tools GIS post-processing office software, and various TopSURV field software programs. Topcon's field technologies simplify and expedite GIS mapping tasks. Digital images, GPS coordinates, compass bearings, and attribute information can all be obtained with integrated imaging technology in a single trip to the field. Mike Weir, Topcon GIS sales manager, said, "This unit opens up diverse opportunities for surveyors and GIS professionals. The capability of having dual-constellation access guarantees increased productivity on the job site. Using the unit's integrated digital imaging technology eliminates the need for external devices in the field." Weir said, "The digital camera feature eliminates the headache of configuring devices to work together and/or linking photos to GPS locations manually back at the office. It's all boils down to saving time, and increasing productivity." GMS-2 provides two choices of field management and mapping software "to fit specific GIS requirements. For standard GIS location and navigation functions in addition to survey tasks," he said, Topcon's "field controller software, TopSURV-GIS, adds GIS mapping capabilities to survey functionality like stakeout, topographic and basic coordinate geometry (COGO) tasks." Combining GIS field operations with total stations and RTK GPS is "a complete solution," Weir said. The unit is also "ideal for the advanced GIS professional who demands the functionality of ESRI software in the field," Barbara McInerney, GIS product marketing manager, said. "TopPAD is a new field mapping and management software from Topcon. It combines the power of ESRI ArcPad field software with a special user interface designed specifically to take advantage of all GPS functionality available in a Topcon GIS mapping system." Arne Hultgren, planning manager, Roseburg Forest Products, California Division, said, "With the GMS-2, I'm able to get a fix in some of the worst conditions easily, in many cases, to within a foot due to the use of additional satellites." Hultgren said, "The GMS-2 allows us to accurately get positions, not only out in the open, but also under heavy tree canopy. In addition to that it allows us to code those points with actual text or numeric attributes. And we can record images to those points and record not only the position, but also the visual features of the job site. "The camera feature," Hultgren said, "is indispensable because what we are able to do is to record not only the location of that property line but also to get a photograph of the actual monumentation. And that way someone going back in 10-15 years is going to have a much better likelihood of being able to find that." Hultgren said, "It's just not a GPS data collector, it's so much more. Quite frankly, I keep thinking of new ways to use it every day; it's been something that we needed for a long time." McInerney said, "For high accuracy GIS projects, the GMS-2 is a great fit as a field controller running TopSURV-GIS for an RTK GPS system. "The revolutionary GMS-2 offers professionals a flexible, multi-function device with superior performance in both GIS and land surveying applications," she said. August 3, 2006.-- PanGo Networks, Inc. introduced the industry's most comprehensive solution for tracking critical mobile assets: The PanOS Platform 4.0 and the PanGo Locator 4.0. PanGo's open and standards-based location management platform, combined with its production-proven Web-based asset tracking application, gives companies unprecedented asset visibility - improving asset utilization, operational efficiencies, regulatory compliance and ROI. As real-time asset tracking becomes the must-have capability in industries like healthcare, manufacturing, transportation and logistics, the PanGo solution gives organizations new levels of accuracy, flexibility and scalability to locate and track assets, personnel and inventory, while capitalizing on the pervasive adoption of wireless local area networks (WLAN) and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. Available now and designed based on extensive input from customers and partners, key enhancements to version 4.0 include advanced location management capabilities, expanded event-based notifications, a redesigned user interface across all PanGo Locator applications and streamlined integration with third-party solutions. Building on the industry's most intuitive Web-based Real-Time Locating System (RTLS), the enhanced PanGo solution provides unmatched asset monitoring, reporting, notification and management capabilities and Wi-Fi tags - all in a single solution. "The emergence of sensory technologies such as RFID is spurring many companies to begin looking at asset management in new ways. Sensors, combined with the emerging locationing capabilities of today's networks, open up entirely new classes of assets to management where it was not feasible or practical to manage these assets before. As a result, companies are going to need new software applications and tools to help them manage their assets in the most efficient way," said Jeff Woods, research vice president at Gartner. August 3, 2006.-- ESRI, the leading provider of geographic information system (GIS) software, announced the release of the GeoCollector series, an end-to-end field data collection solution that merges ESRI's mobile GIS software with professional-grade global positioning system (GPS) technology from Trimble, a leading innovator of positioning solutions. The combination of GIS and GPS allows users to increase the accuracy of their data, resulting ultimately in a superior enterprise GIS. "Our long and successful relationship with Trimble and the high quality of its products will provide a great mobile solution for our GIS community with the new GeoCollector series," says Jack Dangermond, president of ESRI. The GeoCollector solution includes an ultrarugged handheld computer with integrated GPS receiver from the current Trimble GeoExplorer series and ESRI's ArcPad, delivering hassle-free field collection and seamless data integration with ArcGIS. To meet the full range of field data collection requirements, the device is available in three accuracy options: subfoot, submeter, and one- to three-meter. The GeoCollector series also includes Trimble's GPScorrect for ArcPad, which collects and manages the GPS data necessary for differential correction during data collection. In addition, Trimble's GPS Analyst for ArcGIS Desktop is available as an add-on to enable the direct transfer of data from GeoCollector and to perform differential correction inside ArcGIS Desktop. "Our relationship with ESRI has been very successful over the last five years," comments Doug Merrill, general manager of Trimble's Mapping and GIS Division. "And we are very excited about the GeoCollector series. This development means ESRI and Trimble are positioned to deliver the ultimate GIS field data collection solution." The GeoCollector solution will be offered exclusively from ESRI. For more information, visit www.esri.com/geocollector. August 3, 2006.-- TATE Inc. is using GPS-Photo Link software from GeoSpatial Experts to enhance the situational awareness of police and security personnel assigned to provide protection at public events. As a provider of training and support to organizations with personnel operating in high-risk environments, TATE has deployed the GPS-Photo Link solution in preparation for major gatherings in Washington, D.C., including President Reagan's funeral in 2004. "Law enforcement personnel can view the GPS-located photos in the mapping environment on a computer screen to gain situational awareness in an area they have not visited," said Ron Dinger of TATE Inc., based in Alexandria, Va. "By clicking on photos of an event venue or motorcade route, the officers are able to assess threats on the computer and determine which need to be examined in person." GPS-Photo Link is a digital image mapping software that automatically links digital photographic images to GPS location data in the GIS environment. GPS-Photo Link creates web pages in which the watermarked photographs are integrated with satellite imagery, street maps, or other GIS-based mapping layer. New functionality added in the most recent software version enables users to display their photo locations as icons in a Google Earth map layer and add an arrow indicating the direction in which the photo was taken. In preparation for the Reagan funeral, TATE personnel used GPS-linked digital cameras to photograph every intersection and building on the motorcade route. Intersections were photographed in 360 degrees, and line-of-sight photos were taken from the tops of nearby buildings. TATE integrated these location-stamped photos into a GIS-based map display of Washington, D.C., using the GPS-Photo Link software and created a PowerPoint presentation with hyperlinks to the photos. Prior to the Reagan funeral, the PowerPoint presentations were given to members of the U.S. Park Police, Capitol Police and other security forces. They used the map and digital photos to evaluate infrastructure vulnerability and determine the safest route for the motorcade. To view the photo of a specific intersection or site, they simply clicked on a map icon. "By photo-mapping the route in advance, we provided the officers with a valuable mission-rehearsal tool," said Dinger. "It helped them get a feel for what they would face." Dinger added that he is now recommending that his clients use photo-mapping technology to visually archive the vehicle and foot-traffic routes in the vicinity of their buildings and facilities around the world. Having this information readily available if a disaster should strike can prove invaluable in determining the safest route to enter or exit the site. "Following the Reagan funeral, other police agencies have purchased GPS-Photo Link for situational awareness exercises identical to those presented by TATE," said Rick Bobbitt, President of GeoSpatial Experts. "They are drawn to the GPS-Photo Link software because it is so easy to use and incorporate into their existing digital mapping applications." August 1, 2006.-- 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 electronic RFID (radio frequency identification) livestock tagging system has been approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for use in the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). Digital Angel is the first animal tag manufacturer to be designated as an Animal Identification (AIN) tag manufacturer by the USDA, which signifies that the Company's tagging system is capable of identifying livestock with the unique, lifetime animal identification number that is being established as a national standard through the NAIS. The NAIS, a cooperative program between the state and federal governments and the livestock industry to help trace, manage and eradicate animal diseases like Mad Cow Disease, Foot and Mouth Disease, Pseudo-Rabies Disease and Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome in pigs, is being run by the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). APHIS launched the voluntary NAIS in 2004 with the premises registration system and is now continuing its advancement by implementing the animal identification component. While USDA has established visual tags as the minimum standard for some species, cattle for example, producers may elect to use ear tags with RFID technology incased in the official identification tags. "This is a stamp of approval and an important acknowledgement of the integrity of our tagging system," said Digital Angel President and CEO Kevin N. McGrath. "The USDA underwent a thorough review of our identification tags and came away convinced that we can produce livestock tags that are up to its standards, but also ensure the uniqueness of the numbers attributed to individual animals that assist in tracking the animal's origin and movement throughout its life. The flexibility to use the AIN tags in other programs outside the scope of NAIS, like source and age verification programs as well as basic management practices, provides the opportunity for producers to fully utilize the capability of our electronic ear tags." Digital Angel, which has been in the livestock tagging business since 1945, has developed a proprietary and comprehensive RFID traceability system that includes electronic tags and scanners as well as a related IT system that can provide for the identification and tracking of all animals tagged as part of the NAIS. The target date for having all livestock identified that are covered in the NAIS guidelines is early 2009. Digital Angel sells its electronic tags under the brand names e.Tag and Destron Combo e.Tag. July 26, 2006.-- Satelinx announced the release of a new Online Tracking Portal specifically for the STS-TrakMate. The STS-TrakMate is the smallest, most powerful bracelet-type/multi-purpose personal tracking and communication system in the world. Using highly sensitive GPS module and a tri-band GSM module, the personal bracelet tracker can perform tracking and security for personnel globally. The new online tracking portal has expanded coverage areas and satellite imagery. With a very friendly user interface it is ideal for the consumer market. Now individuals can easily track loved ones domestically and internationally with the combination of the STS-TrakMate and the online tracking portal. "We are focusing our attention on our newest product, the STS-TrakMate, this is the smallest most portable GPS tracking unit available on the market today. A tracking device so small, it can be hidden anywhere. By focusing our attention on this device, we are assured of a leading role in the growing worldwide tracking market," said Sam Grinfeld, Chairman of Satelinx Intl. July 26, 2006.-- Europa Technologies has released a major new version of its extensive range of world map data products. Version 6.0 includes a number of updates and enhancements that extend across the product family including flagship products Global Discovery and Global Insight Plus. Enhancements include:
In response to growing business in Japan, the new release includes support for the Japanese language (in Kanji & Katakana, as applicable) for countries, capitals and major cities & towns. This release is the first to include names with characters outside the Latin/Roman alphabet. Further language support is planned for future releases. Company director Warren Vick commented, "We are very excited to announce this major release in our core product range. Many new features and updates are based on feedback from our GIS clients and consumer based customers - including users of Google Earth. Version 6.0 of our global data range asserts our position as both a technical and market leader. With this, one of our most significant releases ever, we continue our commitment to build a better digital world for all". About Europa Technologies Ltd. Europa Technologies is a leading digital map data manufacturer. Their flagship product, Global Insight Plus, is widely recognised as the premier world reference map. Specialising in global mapping and mobile telecommunications, the company's products are now used by over 130 of the worlds Fortune 500 companies plus several missions of the United Nations. Europa Technologies' global vector data can also be found in Google Earth (100+ million downloads). The company also offers professional services including software/data development and consultancy. Europa Technologies can be found on the World Wide Web at: www.europa-tech.com July 25, 2006.-- AirLink Communications, Inc., a pioneer and leading provider of fixed andmobile wireless data solutions, announced the availability of iDENintelligent modems. Operating on TELUS' Mike network, the Raven, Raven-E andPinPoint modems - powered by ALEOS, AirLink's proprietary intelligentembedded operating system - are designed for the Mike network leveraging therobust feature set of Motorola's iO200 iDEN Embedded Module. The AirLink iDENintelligent wireless modems enable real-time remote monitoring and pervasiveconnectivity to fixed and mobile assets for countless business and industrialapplications. With the completion of the iDEN certification, the entire range ofAirLink products are now available on both TELUS' Mike and PCS digitalwireless networks. This includes AirLink's CDMA 1x modems and the recentlyannounced certification of the Raven-E and PinPoint-E on 3G EVDO technology. "We are pleased to be the first-to-market with forward-compatible solutions toiDEN networks that deliver secure, reliable wireless data communications,"remarked Justin Schmid, senior vice-president of marketing and businessdevelopment for AirLink Communications. "With the addition of AirLink's iDENtechnology, AirLink now supports all key wireless applications in Canada,giving us a significant advantage over the competition. This provides ourcustomers with enormous choice and flexibility when selecting the wirelessdata solution that best meets their unique needs." "TELUS is pleased to extend its intelligent modem product offering to nowinclude AirLink's iDEN line," said Robert Blumenthal, TELUS seniorvice-president of product and services. "We are committed to providing ourclients across Canada with next-generation solutions that offer a higher levelof data-intensive wireless applications." The AirLink Raven is a powerful and versatile communications devicedesigned for complex mobile data and remote asset management applications,including telemetry, SCADA, intelligent transportation, utility management,remote monitoring, and homeland security. Certified as Class I Division II,the Raven is rated intrinsically safe and suitable for use in hazardousenvironments. The Raven-E provides advanced networking features for private or publicIP NAT, GRE/IP-SEC pass through, DHCP server and SNMP management. The Raven-Eis the perfect solution for any device with an Ethernet connection thatrequires pervasive connectivity including PCs, routers, network equipment andPOS/ATMs as well as commercial automation equipment. Combining the rich, location-based intelligence with an embedded, highprecision GPS receiver, the PinPoint provides a cost-effective and robustplatform for countless mobile workforce and asset tracking applications.Tightly integrated with the AirLink Tracking System and other third-partytracking applications, the PinPoint is a flexible and scalable communicationsplatform for many location-based and mobile data solutions. July 21, 2006.-- 3D Laser Mapping has launched StreetMapper, a revolutionary mobile system for the capture of very detailed three dimensional map data. The vehicle-mounted system uses a series of lasers to measure the position of features relative to the vehicle, which can survey at speeds of up to 70 km an hour. These highly accurate measurements are then processed to produce a detailed three dimensional model of the street corridor and overhead features. StreetMapper has been developed in partnership with IGI, a company specialising in navigation and precise positioning for aerial survey, based in Germany. In the UK, the system is already being used by Reality Mapping to enable high-speed data collection. It has already been used to create detailed road models for post road traffic accident investigation and cliff face mapping for the monitoring of coastal erosion. "We specialise in applying new technology for the rapid collection of accurate survey and mapping data. StreetMapper will revolutionise the way we map the streets of our cities, towns and villages as it provides more detailed and accurate measurements than traditional survey techniques. Operating at speeds of up to 70 km an hour we can safely conduct surveys to create highly detailed base mapping of the road network and associated assets such as road signage, street lighting and vegetation along the road corridor. StreetMapper can also provide evidence of street side construction and environmental hazards." Said Martin Redstall, Managing Director of Reality Mapping. StreetMapper uses laser scanning technology to measure the position of features relative to the vehicle on which the system is mounted. The lasers transmit a light pulse that is reflected off the road surface or roadside feature and bounced back to the vehicle mounted receiver. Using the time taken for each individual pulse to be returned and the known value of the speed of light the StreetMapper system can automatically calculate the distance of the feature from the vehicle. StreetMapper is also accurately calibrated so that each laser transmits its optical pulse at a known angle and uses satellite technology to calculate the exact real world position of each laser. Using basic trigonometric principles and these measurements and values the on board computer can process over 40,000 points per second to produce highly detailed and accurate three dimensional models. StreetMapper is the latest addition to 3D Laser Mappings product portfolio that includes both terrestrial and airborne laser scanning solutions. 3D Laser Mapping integrate laser scanner hardware systems with own software and peripherals to create robust solutions for mapping, mining and manufacturing to name just a few. IGI are a company specialising in navigation and precise positioning for aerial survey, located in Kreuztal, Germany. Founded over 20 years ago working with navigation systems such as Loran-C that pre-date GPS, the company develops systems for aerial surveying including guidance, precise positioning, attitude determination and sensor management. July 20, 2006.-- Numerex Corp., a leader in wireless M2M communications, announced the launch of Airdesk Mobile, a complete, single-source solution that supports the entire mobile asset and vehicle tracking market. The solution enables customers to track and locate vehicles and mobile assets across a range of applications -- from personal automotive and fleet security to credit management and asset recovery. Built on the new Airdesk Mobile Platform, and powered by Numerex Networks, Airdesk Mobile is comprised of technology, network, professional and support services. Featuring flexible, cost-effective pricing plans, the solution is marketed under private label brands through multiple service providers and distributors in North America. Advanced product features include enhanced satellite imagery for precise asset and vehicle location accuracy to the meter, as well as traditional two- dimensional road mapping to street coordinates. The solution also features an intuitive and powerful Web-based interface for distributors, dealers and consumers, as well as operator assisted theft-recovery support. Airdesk Mobile is powered by Numerex Networks utilizing GPRS and SMS transport. Numerex Networks' extensive digital network, covering North America and the Caribbean, provides the most cost-effective and reliable network solutions available. Airdesk Mobile utilizes the new Airdesk ADM-3500 In-Vehicle Tracking Modules. The modules are available in multiple configurations that allow dealers and service providers to meet the needs of a variety of mobile wireless applications. From ruggedized, battery powered, locate and track-only modules, to full-featured modules easily integrated with proprietary auto alarm systems, Airdesk Mobile provides the highest level of flexibility for mobile application providers. Numerex selected Trimble, a world leader in GPS technology, to assist in the design and development of the solution's custom modules. With next- generation Trimble technology and products, Airdesk Mobile sets new standards in advanced features and reliability. "We've worked very closely with the Numerex development team to deliver the best technology available for their solution," said Bill Dussell, Director of Integrated Products for Trimble's Advanced Devices Division. "The feature set and services they are delivering will be hard to match in the market." "With Airdesk Mobile, Numerex is pleased to bring to the market not only the best in network technology and hardware, but also the kind of proven, lasting business, marketing, technical and customer support that drive long- term success," said Chuck Horne, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Numerex. "Beyond the tracking technology, hardware and network services, Airdesk Mobile offers a variety of value-added services, including dealer co- marketing, 24x7 dealer and end-user support, integration expertise, redundant network operations centers, and flexible billing options." Available now through distributors, Airdesk Mobile is the latest M2M solution announced by Numerex this year as the company continues to rapidly expand its portfolio of both fixed and mobile solutions. July 20, 2006--Whether strolling past seaside homes on summer vacation or searching for a new home in time for the school year, from time to time we all find ourselves curbside wondering how much it would cost to live in a particular neighborhood. Now the curious can instantly satisfy their real estate cravings using select Sprint phones equipped with Global Positioning System technology. Sprint and Smarter Agent, the premier provider of "location aware" real estate applications, announced the launch of a new wireless phone application called Recently Sold Homes. Recently Sold Homes by Smarter Agent instantly returns information about the closest homes sold within the last three years. Information includes last sold price, last sold date, taxes and square footage. This is the first of a suite of real estate searches to be offered by Smarter Agent that will enable both consumers and real estate professionals to use select Sprint and Nextel phones to learn about real estate anytime, anywhere. "With reports of home prices stabilizing, and over 12 million households expected to move this year, it's more important than ever to know what's happening in the real estate market," said Brad Blumberg, CEO of Smarter Agent. "We are pleased to provide Recently Sold Homes by Smarter Agent to our customers," said David Owens, director of devices and productivity applications for Sprint. "Sprint customers can now use Smarter Agent to transform their wireless phone into a powerful real estate tool. This is one of the many exciting GPS-enabled location-based applications Sprint offers that gives customers personalized information when and where they want it on the device they always have with them." "Because of Smarter Agent's patented 'location-aware' real estate searching, once you download the application, every time you engage it, your wireless phone automatically locates where you are and instantly provides you with recent sales data for homes around you," added Blumberg. "The application has a lot of features that makes learning about real estate fun and easy to use." Smarter Agent includes a GPS mapping function. By selecting 'Map It,' the user can see his or her location and all of the recent home sales in the area on the same map. In addition, the user can search by city and state to research multiple areas of interest, save properties to their phone, or call an agent for live support. See a sample Sprint with phone screen shots at http://www.smarteragent.com/mobile/sample_screens.php Smarter Agent covers 180 of the 200 largest markets in the United States. The consumer can conduct unlimited searches for a single monthly fee of $4.99, plus data charges starting at $10 for unlimited access or $0.02 per kilobyte for casual usage. July 20, 2006.-- Despite the United States' increasing involvement in world affairs, American children remain woefully uninformed about the geography and cultures of other countries. Many young adults today lack basic geographic knowledge that would be almost unthinkable a generation ago. "Geographic illiteracy impacts our economic well-being, our relationships with other nations and the environment, and isolates us from the world," National Geographic president John Fahey . About 11 percent of young citizens of the U.S. couldn't even locate the U.S. on a map. The Pacific Ocean's location was a mystery to 29 percent; Japan, to 58 percent; France, to 65 percent; and the United Kingdom, to 69 percent. A survey found that many children considered geography their least favorite subject out of six school subjects. Geographic illiteracy is a problem that only can be tackled by making the subject more interesting to students. Such teaching methods include taking children on field trips and developing hands-on activities related to the world's cultures, regions, people and environment. "In a diverse and ever-changing world, it is imperative that our children learn about the world: its peoples, places, and cultures," says Karen Shariati, author of Meet Arzeen: Citizen of the World (Arzana, Inc., 2006). "Before hearing negative reports about any particular group of people, it's best for children to raise their cultural awareness, one kid at a time, without any of the political or religious slants." What can we do to teach our children more about the world around them? Shariati's mission is to inspire children with her book, to learn just how diverse our world truly is and to initiate a genuine curiosity in children. To learn a new appreciation for their own cultures as well as increasing tolerance for others. "The world is filled with so many people, all with unique cultures and traditions," says Shariati. "While we may speak different languages, wear different clothes, eat different foods, and even live in different types of homes, we are all from one world and we are all basically the same. It is important to cherish our unique backgrounds, but more important, to be understanding of our differences." Meet Arzeen is the perfect starting point for young readers to develop an interest in the world that will lead to discussions and further learning. Vivid illustrations enhance the learning experience and will allow children of all ages to enjoy the book. The main character Arzeen travels to countries in all the continents and shares information regarding the world map, continents, country names, capital cities, flags, indigenous peoples, animal and plant life, major attractions, cultural events, and terrain. July 19, 2006.-- Homeland Security Network, Inc. ("the Company") announced that the Company acquired all the right, title and interest to web interface technology from Rodwell Software Systems, Inc. ("RSSI"). The Company previously operated the web interface under an exclusive licensing agreement with RSSI. This acquisition provides the Company with the ability to act independently while continually striving to enhance and upgrade its technology to meet and maintain pace with the complex demand of growing security and asset management requirements in a rapid ever-changing marketplace. The Company's interface technology, combined with the Company's GPS transmitting devices, will offer a flexible platform of telemetry and control ideal for securing assets in arenas of commercial trucking, cargo management, commercial fleet management, equipment rental, and personal vehicle tracking. Ultimately, the Company's flexibility is expected to respond to the complex security concerns of government entities and corporate users by providing a network of security devices with a web interface that identify, locate and monitor the location of any mobile asset. July 17, 2006.-- HP announced that its researchers have developed a miniature wireless data chip that could provide broad access to digital content in the physical world. With no equal in terms of its combination of size, memory capacity and data access speed, the tiny chip could be stuck on or embedded in almost any object and make available information and content now found mostly on electronic devices or the Internet. Some of the potential applications include storing medical records on a hospital patient's wristband; providing audio-visual supplements to postcards and photos; helping fight counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical industry; adding security to identity cards and passports; and supplying additional information for printed documents. The experimental chip, developed by the "Memory Spot" research team at HP Labs, is a memory device based on CMOS (a widely used, low-power integrated circuit design) and about the size of a grain of rice or smaller (2 mm to 4 mm square), with a built-in antenna. The chips could be embedded in a sheet of paper or stuck to any surface, and could eventually be available in a booklet as self-adhesive dots. "The Memory Spot chip frees digital content from the electronic world of the PC and the Internet and arranges it all around us in our physical world," said Ed McDonnell, Memory Spot project manager, HP Labs. The chip has a 10 megabits-per-second data transfer rate - 10 times faster than Bluetooth wireless technology and comparable to Wi-Fi speeds - effectively giving users instant retrieval of information in audio, video, photo or document form. With a storage capacity ranging from 256 kilobits to 4 megabits in working prototypes, it could store a very short video clip, several images or dozens of pages of text. Future versions could have larger capacities. Information can be accessed by a read-write device that could be incorporated into a cell phone, PDA, camera, printer or other implement. To access information, the read-write device is positioned closely over the chip, which is then powered so that the stored data is transferred instantly to the display of the phone, camera or PDA or printed out by the printer. Users could also add information to the chip using the various devices. "We are actively exploring a range of exciting new applications for Memory Spot chips and believe the technology could have a significant impact on our consumer businesses, from printing to imaging, as well as providing solutions in a number of vertical markets," said Howard Taub, HP vice president and associate director, HP Labs. The chip incorporates a built-in antenna and is completely self-contained, with no need for a battery or external electronics. It receives power through inductive coupling from a special read-write device, which can then extract content from the memory on the chip. Inductive coupling is the transfer of energy from one circuit component to another through a shared electromagnetic field. A change in current flow through one device induces current flow in the other device. Memory Spot chips have numerous possible consumer and business-based applications. Some examples are:
July 17, 2006.-- A technology partnership between H.A.B.I.T. Research Limited, a Victoria based company that designs, develops and manufactures technology for wildlife research, and Swiss positioning technology provider u-blox, will soon make it possible for scientists to study the behavior of endangered species once thought too tiny to be tracked by GPS, raising the hope that many smaller species may be saved from extinction. H.A.B.I.T. Research Limited is launching a third generation of their revolutionary animal tracking product which is just 1/10th the size of its predecessor, weighing 35 grams or more. This breakthrough has been made possible by a new GPS module from u-blox. The LEA-4H GPS module manages to cram ultra-high sensitivity technology and low power needs into one of the smallest GPS devices on the market today. The LEA-4H is powered by u-blox' ANTARIS 4 positioning engine, which offers incredible tracking accuracy because it uses twice as many satellites as its predecessor to pinpoint locations while W.A.A.S. support improves tracking accuracy from 20 meters to just five. The module's SuperSense weak signal tracking technology allows researchers to track animals in the most difficult terrain such as canyons and dense brush. "This new technology, a partnership between Swiss precision engineering and Canadian innovation, should allow researchers to develop a better understanding of a range of small and endangered animals and the role they play in the wider eco-system," said Dr. Jeffrey Goodyear, President & Founder of H.A.B.I.T. Research Limited. "That could provide critical insights into the future conservation of natural habitats and species of all sizes." "H.A.B.I.T.'s new generation of wildlife tracking products makes the best out of our LEA-4H GPS module: Its small size means the scope of animals that can now be tracked has been significantly widened, while its combination of low power needs and high sensitivity means animals can be tracked for longer without interruption, even in difficult signal environments," said Nikolaos Papadopoulos, President of u-blox America. The new H.A.B.I.T. GPS technology is also available in combinations with real-time VHF data telemetry and satellite PTT technology. Power supply options include battery or solar cell with packaging in collar and backpack configurations. This product is designed to weigh a little as 35g and can be used on mammals, both terrestrial and marine, reptiles, birds and amphibians. July 13, 2006.-- u-blox America announced that Motorola Inc. will be using itstechnology in life-saving vehicle tracking systems deployed by the New Yorkand Chicago fire departments. Motorola will incorporate u-blox' ANTARIS GPS receiver in its MDR800model F5127 vehicle tracking system. The receiver has integrateddead-reckoning functionality that, with the help of additional sensors,provides accurate vehicle location information, even in tunnels andunderground parking garages. "One of the things the FDNY learned during the crisis of 9/11 is theimportance of coordinating emergency vehicles without delay", says AsaYanai, Motorola's Project Manager. "With the implementation of the MDR900with u-blox technology, response time to 911 calls has been shortened by 3minutes according to New York City officials." "u-blox is proud to partner with Motorola in helping make New York Citya safer place," adds Nikolaos Papadopoulos, President of u-blox America."With the help of u-blox positioning technology, Motorola has given theFDNY the necessary means to respond timely and accurately in futureemergencies." Other municipalities are planning to introduce the MDR800 too, as areseveral rental car agencies and major delivery companies. July 11, 2006.-- SEQUANS Communications, a leading developer and provider of fixed and mobile WiMAX silicon and software, announced that it is now sampling its WiMAX mobile station chips to select customers. Supporting the recently ratified 802.16e-2005 broadband wireless access standard, the chip provides equipment makers with a fully integrated physical layer and media access control (MAC) layer solution and the lowest power consumption for developing low cost and high performance WiMAX mobile stations. "The results of our tests so far exceed our expectations and we are now confident in releasing the mobile station chip to our key customers and ODM partners," said Bertrand Debray, Sequans VP of engineering. "The team executed brilliantly in developing a high performance chip in record time." Highlighted Links SEQUANS web siteSequans' SQN1110 system-on-chip (SoC) is a highly integrated, low power 802.16e-compliant, baseband solution. Its high level of integration and ultra-low power consumption make it suitable for use in mobile devices -- handsets, smartphones, PDAs, PC cards, USB dongles -- as well as fixed devices. Sequans new mobile station chip was designed to include all MAC and PHY features required to attain WiMAX certification, expected later this year. The SQN1110 mobile station chips are sampling now along with evaluation kits for the SQN2110 base station chipsets; general availability for both is scheduled for September 2006. July 10, 2006.-- NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital map data for location-based solutions and vehicle navigation, announced a new product licensing agreement with LandSonar. LandSonar is a leading supplier of network delivered predictive traffic products. This relationship provides NAVTEQ with rights to the LandSonar Predictive Speed (LPS) product, which offers predictions of speed with broad coverage of the US continental road network. In concert with NAVTEQ's quality map data, LPS offers the capability for more accurate route planning and improved trip time estimation. NAVTEQ continues to provide market leadership in the development of creative traffic content that brings an increasing level of functionality to navigation products. In aggregating multiple sources of data held to strict quality standards and appropriately geo-coded, NAVTEQ successfully brings to market best-in-breed integrated map solutions. July 10, 2006.-- Firmly cementing its leadership position in the portable navigation market, SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of GPS-enabled silicon and premium software location platforms, announced that its award winning SiRFstarIII architecture has been selected by Pioneer Corporation to power its entry into the portable navigation market. The SiRF GSC3 single-chip GPS receiver is at the heart of the recently introduced AVIC-S1, Pioneer's first portable navigation system, delivering the unmatched performance and cost effectiveness required to make this product's entry a success in the U.S. and European markets. The SiRFstarIII architecture, winner of the PC Magazine's 2005 award for Technical Excellence, enables Pioneer to meet the increasingly high performance requirements for portable navigation applications. SiRFstarIII's extremely high sensitivity provides the AVIC-S1 with greater position availability in far more environments, including highly obstructed situations, than traditional GPS receivers. SiRF's latest-generation GPS performance enables the Pioneer AVIC-S1 to achieve best-in-class GPS signal acquisition and makes real-time navigation practical even through urban canyons and under dense foliage. SiRFstarIII's industry-leading performance comes at a competitive price point for the high-volume consumer electronics marketplace, along with SiRF's ability to support the quick time to market and large manufacturing volume needs of this market. "Launch of a portable navigation device by Pioneer, a leader in traditional car navigation systems, is a key step in the evolution of this market," said Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of marketing for SiRF. "As well known consumer brands such as Pioneer adopt our SiRFstarIII architecture, it brings us closer to our vision of bringing the benefits of location information to mainstream consumers." Long recognized as a leading provider and innovator of in-dash navigation systems, Pioneer Corporation has brought its formidable experience and expertise to the portable navigation market with the introduction of the AVIC- S1. A compact and lightweight portable navigation device that combines the essentials -- and performance -- of an installed navigation system with the convenience of a true portable device, the AVIC-S1 can be easily transferred from car-to-car. Designed for ease of use, the AVIC-S1 features a TFT touch panel, 2D and 3D view modes, a screen arrow with voice instructions and a jog dial that simplifies searches for names, addresses and points of interest. Its built-in Bluetooth wireless capabilities allow it to provide hands-free communications with any Bluetooth-capable mobile phone. "Our experience has taught us that consumers are extremely demanding and we have a firm commitment to maintain our reputation for delivering navigation products that meet these expectations," said Masanori Kurosaki, Executive Officer at Pioneer Corporation. "SiRF's pioneering GPS architecture allowed us to bring a portable navigation system to market that does not sacrifice the uncompromising performance expected by consumers who buy Pioneer products." Able to track more than 20 GPS satellites, the SiRFstarIII architecture employs the equivalent of more than 200,000 correlators and sophisticated navigation algorithms, a significant improvement over today's architectures that contain a few hundred to a few thousand correlators, setting a new benchmark for fast and deep GPS signal search and track capabilities even in the most challenging environments. The GCS3 combines a complete A-GPS digital baseband processor and RF front end in a single, compact, 7-mm x 10-mm package. It delivers unmatched time to first fix (TTFF) at the low signal levels of the original two-chip SiRFstarIII product, while occupying 20 percent less board real estate and consuming no more power than the earlier generation SiRFstarII product. July 10, 2006. -- Telmap, a world-leading provider of mobile Mapping and Navigation solutions announced that it has added Europe-wide real-time traffic updates and information to the basic package of services included in its Telmap Navigator solution. Telmap is the first company to offer a comprehensive traffic package fully integrated in the core mobile navigation offering, without extra charges to operators. Currently Telmap offers traffic coverage for 11 European countries, with more to come. This first step in Telmap's initiative to include global traffic as a basic service is enabled by its recent agreement with ARC Transistance, the largest network of automobile clubs in Europe. Under the agreement, ARC Transistance provides Telmap with real-time traffic updates and information for the initial 11 countries. The initiative creates a new opportunity for mobile operators, enabling them to differentiate themselves by offering their subscribers seamless, full-featured mobile navigation that includes real-time mapping, navigation, points of interest, traffic and other rich content - without imposing per-country charges. "With road congestion an ever-growing problem throughout Europe and around the world, real-time traffic is now a basic requirement for true mobile navigation," said Oren Nissim, CEO of Telmap. "At Telmap, we are committed to making traffic a standard part of the mobile navigation experience, and to making the most comprehensive real-time traffic service available for all our customers and their subscribers." Real-time navigation and location-based information The Telmap Navigator system is ideal for real-time traffic services as it turns each phone into a handheld real-time mobile navigation and information guide, for both in-car and pedestrian navigation. It guides subscribers along the best route to their desired destination using voice instructions and high-quality onscreen maps, with turn by turn instructions for both in-car and pedestrian navigation. In addition to traffic and other real-time content, it provides information and direct dialing to millions of points of interest (POIs) such as restaurants, hotel, gas stations, theaters and more. July 7, 2006.-- u-blox AG, the leading Swiss provider of innovative GPS receiver technology, announced the release of its new LEA-4S GPS module, which combines unrivalled sensitivity, exceptionally low power consumption and a USB port for flexible connectivity in a module measuring just 17 x 22 mm. The award-winning SuperSense software runs from the Read-Only Memory (ROM) in the GPS baseband chip, replacing a more expensive Flash EPROM. The software extends positioning coverage to weak signal areas such as indoor car parks or dense urban canyons and also enables applications that use smaller or covert antennas. SuperSense offers -158 dBm tracking sensitivity without compromising on power consumption, which stays low even in the weakest signal environments. Its pioneering software and innovative hardware architecture makes the LEA-4S ideal for mobile terminals and portable navigation devices that require high sensitivity and low power consumption at competitive prices. Indoor positioning means devices can be used inside buildings, train stations, vehicles as well as other difficult signal environments that standard GPS cannot tackle. Car navigation devices will benefit from uninterrupted navigation when operating in urban canyons, dense foliage areas and other difficult signal environments. "The LEA-4S brings unrivalled sensitivity without the need for a costly external Flash EPROM, a dream combination for compact, battery-operated products," said Thomas Seiler, u-blox CEO. "ROM-based weak signal tracking marks a new era in GPS-enabled mass-market applications, enabling operation in any signal environment without having to compromise on space and cost," he added. The ANTARIS 4 GPS engine inside provides outstanding navigation performance in the most challenging conditions, a 4 Hz position update rate, DGPS and full SBAS (WAAS, EGNOS and MSAS) support, as well as supporting active and passive antennas and offering antenna supervision that detects short circuits. Its small form factor and SMT pads allow for fully automatic assembly processes with standard pick-and-place equipment and reflow soldering, enabling cost-efficient, high-volume production. Additionally, all ANTARIS 4 generation GPS receivers are AssistNow-ready, u-blox' A-GPS end-to-end solution, which provides instant positioning upon request by reducing Time To First Fix to as low as four seconds, even in difficult signal conditions. July 5, 2006.-- NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital map data for location-based solutions and vehicle navigation, announced that Trimble Mobile Solutions (TMS) is using NAVTEQ as its digital map provider for the TMS TrimFleet family of products within North America. TMS uses NAVTEQ maps for its TrimWeb and TrimView solutions to improve fleet management operations and vehicle tracking efficiency. Trimble's TrimFleet product line provides fleet owners with a range of productivity solutions ranging from simple tracking and messaging to highly-integrated, location-based statusing and reporting. The TrimWeb and TrimView solutions are used by fleets that require a permanently installed in-vehicle device which can grow with the customer as their needs change. This is achieved through the addition of sensors and a messaging terminal. Using NAVTEQ maps, fleet owners are able to find the exact location of each of their vehicles to make sure they are routing them in the most efficient and cost-conscious way. NAVTEQ employs one of the industry's most comprehensive development and quality control programs for the highest levels of quality and precision. Executed by an extensive team of over 550 field researchers, the NAVTEQ database includes detailed attributes from turn restrictions and relative road crossing heights to road segment access restrictions, one-way streets and speed categories that help optimize routing. Additionally, NAVTEQ maps include Points of Interest including restaurants, hospitals, shopping centers and leisure facilities, making it easier to locate and route to many different destinations. July 5, 2006.-- Telmap, a leading provider of mobile Mapping and Navigation solutions, announced the launch of a pre-installed Telmap Navigator mobile navigation system for new Nokia Eseries phones in the UK. This launch is part of Telmap's support for Nokia S60 3rd Edition devices. The Eseries initiative includes a free trial offer for full-featured Europe-wide mobile navigation and mapping, including in-car and pedestrian navigation, mapping, points of interest, and rich content. The free trial is unique in the market in that it also includes real-time traffic updates.Initially, Telmap Navigator will come pre-installed on Nokia E60, Nokia E61 and Nokia E70 smartphones sold in the UK. As part of the program, Telmap and Nokia have also launched an in-box co-marketing campaign that provides purchasers of the phones with information about the Telmap Navigator application and a special offer for either UK-only or Europe-wide service that can be activated after the trial period ends. Real-time navigation and location-based information Telmap Navigator turns each phone into a handheld real-time mobile navigation and information guide, ideal for both in-car and pedestrian navigation. It guides subscribers along the best route to their desired destination using voice instructions and high-quality onscreen maps, with turn by turn instructions for both in-car and pedestrian navigation. It provides real-time content, such as traffic, as well as information and direct dialing to millions of points of interest (POIs) such as restaurants, hotel, gas stations, theaters and more. Telmap Navigator also enables users to share POI addresses and other information with friends and colleagues via SMS. The Telmap Navigator solution is based on Telmap's new generation patented MOND (Mobile Optimized Navigation Data) technology, which optimizes the transfer of navigation and map data from a central server to users' wireless devices. MOND technology utilizes advanced compression to deliver more complete, useful, timely and reliable navigation data to mobile handsets. July 1, 2006.-- Martens Farms introduces a do-it-yourself Maze Design Kit for farmers, agri-tainment consultants and agricultural businesses. The Maze Design Kit enables anyone to design and precisely create mazes in cornfields, wildflowers, bamboo or other crops as well as hedges, garden plantings, straw bales, fences, walls and more. This Kit includes software, a professional-level GPS receiver, PDA with rugged mount, and basic training to start using the bundled products. The kit also enables field record-keeping, GPS mapping and data layering, and reports to better manage mazes with end-of-season crop harvests. Additional information is available at www.123farmworks.com/cornmazedesign.htm. Mazes are great outdoor fun for maze trekkers, and profitable for the operators. With the new Maze Design Kit from Martens Farms, anyone can produce amazing mazes. Centuries ago, mazes were only seen in the grand gardens of royalty. Now, field mazes are popping up all over the country as part of the booming agri-tourism and agri-tainment trend. Mazes are soaring in popularity by offering visitors affordable, nostalgic, family-friendly healthy activity. Mazes are attracting farmers' and agricultural businesses' attention because of higher profits compared to harvesting the crop by itself. Mazes may also help attract visitors to nearby businesses in rural areas. "The beauty of our Maze Design Kit is that it enables anyone to create basic to intricate mazes using precision farming technology, saving time and money," says Lorra Martens of Martens Farms. Once the maze is designed, the Kit can be used to manage field records, create reports on basic field input costs, create custom reports and maps, and develop GPS-enabled games. Professional Maze Design Kit:The Professional Corn Maze Design Kit includes tools for office and field use:- Farm Works Software for desktop PC (Farm Trac, Farm Site) and Pocket PC (Site Mate Basic) www.123farmworks.com/software.htm- iPAQ 2190 Pocket PCwww.123farmworks.com/ipaq.htm- Raven Invicta 115 GPS receiver with 6-12 inch accuracy, 10 hz update rate and simulated radar outputwww.123farmworks.com/raven.htm#115- Rugged water-proof, crush-proof, drop-proof Otterbox 1900 case with mountwww.123farmworks.com/protect.htm#1900- Quick-Start individual training to get up and running quickly with the software and equipment- www.123farmworks.com/remotehelp.htm Standard Maze Design Kit:The Standard Corn Maze Design Kit, or "starter" version, includes everything in the Professional Kit except Farm Trac and Farm Site, and adds geo-referencing services from Martens Farms. This version is for those who don't need to print maps or reports, nor have the time or interest in geo-referencing their own map designs. Martens Farms provides first map geo-referencing service for free. Maze Customer Rental Kit:The Customer Rental Kit includes an iPAQ Pocket PC with Site Mate Basic and a basic GPS receiver, which is rented to maze visitors who want to participate in GPS-enabled games and activities in the maze. Customer Rental Kits enhance learning and fun in the maze, encourage repeat visitors, and boosts profits. Prices for the Maze Design Kits start at $2225, and the Customer Rental Kits are $650 each or five for $2995. Options include rugged powered PDA mounts, 512MB SD cards for data and map storage on Pocket PCs, and discounted factory-refurbished iPAQ 2210 Pocket PCs. June 29, 2006.-- To help parents stay connected with their children and maintain some control of their children's wireless phone usage, Sprint and SANYO introduced the Sprint PCS Vision Phone SCP-2400 by SANYO. This phone offers a free parental control feature, allowing parents to easily manage whom the child calls and who can call the child. A parent simply enters the phone numbers of those individuals the child is permitted to call and/or receive calls from in the phone's address book, and then clicks on the Parental Control icon on the main menu to limit use to Phone Book Only for both incoming and/or outgoing direct calls. After the parent limits the phone's use in this way, other phone numbers would be restricted. Parents can also lock services like Sprint PCS Ready Link and Sprint PCS Vision, which can help the child to avoid data charges that may not be included as part of the families' wireless pricing plan. In addition to the parental usage control feature, this affordable phone will be offered in stylish colors (Silver Sky, Midnight Black, Dark Bronze, True Blue and Misty Rose) that appeal to "tweens" and teens. The SCP-2400 by SANYO supports Sprint PCS Vision, Sprint PCS Ready Link, SMS Voice and Text Messaging, and Wireless Backup. An optional accessory pack will be available to complement the phone, including a Quick Start Guide for setting restrictions on the phone, a gift card for a customizable "skin" (i.e. sticker) for the child to outfit the phone, and a backpack clip for the child to secure the phone while on the go. "Parents want the ability to stay connected with their children as they become more mobile. They also want peace of mind knowing they can maintain some control of their child's wireless usage and spending," said Danny Bowman, vice president of product marketing for Sprint. "The SCP-2400 by SANYO is a great option for parents, as it allows parents to quickly set restrictions on the phone, and its flexibility allows parents to customize their settings to meet the specific needs of each child or modify restrictions as their needs change over time." "IDC research indicates that the trend of parents providing cell phones to younger age groups, increasingly 10-14-year-olds, will continue based on the popularity and affordability of family share plans and the general 'always in touch' value proposition of wireless that resonates well with parents," said Scott A. Ellison, vice president of wireless and mobile communications for IDC. "The parental control feature on the SCP-2400 is designed to assist parents, and it can be used as a tool to help teach children wireless usage responsibility. The controls are simple for the parent to manage and select services can be turned on or off as the parent wishes," said Andy Kodera, senior vice president and general manager of SANYO Fisher Company's Wireless Communications Division. "Also, the colors and high quality speakerphone will appeal to tweens and teens," Kodera added. In addition to the SCP-2400 by SANYO, Sprint offers family-friendly services such as Sprint Family Locator, a location-based service that uses GPS technology to enable a parent to locate up to four of his or her children's devices, such as the SCP-2400 by SANYO, by using a compatible Sprint phone or a PC. Once a child is located using the service, the child receives a text message notification that the phone has been located, and the parent is provided a map along with the address, surrounding landmarks, and accuracy of the location within a specified radius. Sprint Family Locator is permission based and password protected and is a service that supports open communication between a parent and child. For more information on compatible phones or Sprint Family Locator, visit www.sprint.com/familylocator. The SCP-2400 by SANYO will be available in early July in Sprint Stores and online (www.sprint.com) for $179.99, or $29.99 after rebate with a two-year subscriber agreement. To complement the phone, an optional accessory pack will be available for $14.99. June 28, 2006.-- Trimble announced it has supplied Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) reference stations and VRS (Virtual Reference Station) software to establish a GNSS infrastructure network in Western Australia. Located in Perth, Western Australia's capital, the high-precision network is built solely with Trimble NetR5 reference stations and is the first VRS network with GNSS capabilities. The GNSS network supports both the next-generation GPS L2C and L5 signals and GLONASS signals adding greater flexibility, fast initialization times and more robust signal tracking for positioning applications. The VRS network provides a geo-spatial infrastructure for surveying, engineering and Geographic Information System (GIS) professionals. The Perth infrastructure will supply fast and accurate positioning information 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. The Perth VRS installation follows more than 80 Trimble infrastructure networks throughout the world including: China, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, U.S., Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Australia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. For a partial reference list of Trimble VRS installations visit: http://www.trimble.com/vrsinstallations.shtml. June 28, 2006.-- LeCroy Corporation, a leading supplier of oscilloscopes and serial data test solutions, announced the introduction of its new MB-OFDM Ultra-Wideband (UWB) compliance software solution for analyzing the WiMedia UWB radio platform. The new software will be incorporated into LeCroy's WaveMaster and Serial Data Analyzer (SDA) product lines to allow users to test the new wireless USB (WUSB) standard. The MB-OFDM UWB compliance software allows engineers to easily interpret physical layer signal details and identify problems quickly. Wireless USB connections are initially expected to replace traditional wired USB in select electronics products, such as printers, digital cameras, consumer electronics applications, and desktop and notebook PCs. Industry analysts expect there will be more than 11 million WUSB nodes in 2007 growing to over 300 million nodes by the year 2010, resulting in significant potential for WUSB. Longer term, a wide range of lower-priced consumer electronics and PCs are expected to adopt this new wireless standard. "The launch of the MB-OFDM UWB demonstrates our leadership in the market for serial data test solutions," said LeCroy President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Reslewic. "The MB-OFDM UWB is a natural extension of LeCroy's first-of-its-kind WiMedia protocol analyzer, which was introduced in May 2005. We now have the most complete WiMedia UWB testing solution available on the market." "The MB-OFDM UWB compliance software enables LeCroy's customers to enhance time-to-market for emerging products with WiMedia UWB wireless USB connections," continued Reslewic. "Through unique software features, we are able to provide engineers with the highest possible measurement throughput. This is critical for validation and volume production testing, and enables engineers to quickly integrate WUSB technology and functionality into products." June 28, 2006.-- The National Spill Control School in Corpus Christi, Texas, is using GPS-Photo Link software from GeoSpatial Experts of Thornton, Colo., to teach emergency personnel how to respond to spills of oil, chemicals and other hazardous materials. The school recommends using GPS photo mapping techniques in a GIS environment as part of response preparedness. "The National Spill Control School utilizes GIS to create spill simulations for the U.S. Navy, oil companies and pipeline utilities," said Devon Humphrey, a GIS Instructor with the School. "We have found that using GPS-based cameras and software to photo-map both man-made and natural features including creeks, ditches, wetlands and resources-at-risk on a large facility provides valuable visual intelligence in the event of a real disaster." GPS-Photo Link is a digital image mapping software that saves time and money by automatically linking digital photographic images to GPS location data in the GIS environment. GPS-Photo Link creates web pages in which the watermarked photographs are integrated with satellite imagery, street maps, or other GIS-based mapping layer. New functionality added in the most recent software version enables users to display their photo locations as icons in a Google Earth map layer and add an arrow indicating the direction in which the photo was taken. Affiliated with Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, The National Spill Control School opened in 1977 to focus on oil spill response tactics but has since expanded to include courses on emergency procedures related to hazardous material spills and other natural disasters. In preparation for GIS-simulated training exercises, school instructors photograph features and areas across the host facility taking part in the drill. GPS-Photo Link software is used to integrate these photos into the GIS map so that participants can click on a geocoded icon to view a feature that may be affected by a spreading oil spill or chemical plume. "On very large military bases, refineries and ports, managers seldom know every square inch or all critical features that may be damaged due to spills, severe weather or other types of disasters. We have had participants who didn't even know that there was a running creek containing fish and other wildlife on their base until they clicked on the GIS map to see the photo," said Humphrey. "We use the GPS-Photo Link system to show how simple it is to take a photo inventory of the facility and integrate those photos into their GIS in advance. This provides a baseline of location and time-stamped visual intelligence for use during a disaster. The same technique is used for rapid and detail-rich damage assessment purposes during and after an actual incident." Rick Bobbitt, president of GeoSpatial Experts, concurs with Humphrey's assessment of the value of GPS photo mapping for emergency preparedness, saying, "There is nothing complicated about the GPS photo mapping process; if you can point and shoot a digital camera and use a GPS receiver, you can create a time- and location-stamped photographic inventory of your facility in a single day." June 28, 2006.-- The NFC Forum, a non-profit industry association advancing the use of near field communication (NFC) technology, announced that 14 new organizations have joined the Forum as members since February. Launched early last year, the NFC Forum now includes 80 member organizations and earlier this month unveiled its technology architecture, which will serve as the foundation for interoperable NFC products and services. NFC is a short-range, standards-based wireless connectivity technology. It allows consumers to perform safe contactless transactions, access digital content and connect electronic devices -- with a single touch. For example, consumers with NFC-enabled mobile phones will be able to leave their wallets at home and use their phones for making contactless financial transactions or for electronic access to public transportation. "Our membership growth is indicative of the heightened interest we see in the activities of the Forum and in the potential of the NFC market," said NFC Forum Chairman, Christophe Duverne. "This year will be pivotal, as we lay a foundation for market growth that will put NFC capabilities in the hands of a billion consumers worldwide by the end of the decade - the reach predicted by ABI analysts." In addition to unveiling its technology architecture, the Forum recently announced the first five Forum specifications, as well as the initial tag formats for which support will be mandatory in NFC Forum-compliant devices. When complete, the NFC Forum's technology architecture will include specifications that define a modular NFC device architecture, and protocols for interoperable data exchange and device-independent service delivery, device discovery, and device capability. June 27, 2006.-- Thales' navigation business announced that it has formed another partnership in its Business Partner Program aimed at providing MobileMapper CE customers with a broad choice of software applications to suit their GPS and GIS needs. New Business Partner GeoSpatial Experts offers GPS-Photo Link software, which is now fully compatible with the Thales MobileMapper CE handheld GIS data collector. This powerful solution delivers easy and affordable digital photo geo-referencing capabilities for nearly any GIS application including asset management, utilities, forestry, national parks services and many more. GPS-Photo Link provides a simple and well-organized photo geo-referencing solution with output formats including html, Google Earth and ESRI shapefile. Users can capture their position with sub-meter accuracy using MobileMapper CE and automatically apply location data to digital photos taken at the same spot using the GPS-Photo Link PC software. The result is geo-intelligent data enriched with images that can make managing resources and projects easier and more efficient. Any digital camera may be used for this application, and the Ricoh Pro G3 digital camera may be connected to MobileMapper CE with its optional Bluetooth wireless technology for fast and convenient real-time data transfer in applications where geo-referenced digital imagery is required. June 27, 2006.-- Traffic.com, Inc., the source for the most accurate, comprehensive, and real-time traffic information in the United States, announced an agreement with Garmin International Inc. to serve as the exclusive real-time traffic provider in the continental United States for the Garmin Mobile 20 -- a GPS automotive navigation system that delivers Garmin's voice-prompted, turn-by-turn directions using Bluetooth wireless technology on Smartphones. Garmin is the market leader in the North American personal navigation device (PND) and is a recognized innovator in GPS technology and consumer electronics. Using a multitude of data sources and the most effective technology available, Traffic.com will provide Garmin Mobile 20 users in 50 major metropolitan areas across the U.S. with real-time, location-based traffic information. Traffic.com content will be integrated into the Garmin product line and used to improve the utility of the Garmin navigation service by enabling users to detect and avoid traffic problems. Garmin Mobile 20 supports Nokia, Windows Mobile, and Treo smartphones. It provides smartphone owners the same high-quality mapping features found on other Garmin portable GPS devices. Users can easily navigate to a specific street address or search millions of points of interest (POI's) - places like hotels, restaurants, shopping, and tourist attractions. Garmin Mobile 20 will be available for purchase at major electronics retailers. Through this partnership, Garmin and Traffic.com will be among the first to provide innovative, pinpoint mobile sponsorship opportunities to advertisers targeting Garmin Mobile 20 customers. Messages will be tied to the Company's compelling traffic content and accessed by on-the-go Garmin Mobile 20 users several times per day. Advertisers will be able to communicate their highly-targeted messages to Garmin Mobile 20 users every time they calculate a route or request traffic information via the mobile device in a friendly, non-intrusive style. June 27, 2006.-- MOTHERPLANET Inc., the professional solution provider of high-resolution interactive 3D digital world maps, has released its street-level resolution software product, Earth Explorer 4.5. The Earth Explorer 4.5 supports many operating systems, Windows 2000/ME/XP/NT and Mac OS X. For Mac OS users, Earth Explorer 4.5 is brilliant choice, for it is one of the few leading high-resolution GIS software designed for Mac OS in the market. In Earth Explorer 4.5, users can:
Earth Explorer 4.5 is commercially available at $59.95. For more information, please visit Motherplanet's website: www.motherplanet.com or contact e-mail protected from spam bots. Notice: Each Earth Explorer is a one-off package with follow-up free upgrades. NO annual fee, additional fee or other hidden fee will be charged after the purchase. For the past 3 and half years, Motherplanet, Inc. has been serving thousands of researchers, teachers and students. In a response to support and avocations of many schools and universities, Motherplanet continues its favorable pricing policy for educational purpose. For more information, you may contact e-mail protected from spam bots. June 27, 2006.-- GlobeXplorer's AirPhotoUSA announced the first comprehensive collection of 1-foot resolution aerial photography for the nation. The new offerings will be the highest resolution off-the-shelf seamless imagery commercially available on a nationwide basis. Guided by a '3C' mantra of industry-leading clarity, coverage, and compatibility, GlobeXplorer and AirPhotoUSA will make this data available through a combined suite of online and offline products. Clarity AirPhotoUSA, the first to move the industry from a one-meter resolution to a 2-foot resolution standard, is leading the way again with a nationwide update schedule to 1-foot resolution imagery," GlobeXplorer's President Rob Shanks said, "Customers simply won't settle for less resolution than 1 foot anymore." Coverage AirPhotoUSA has more than 100,000 square miles in acquisition so far for 2006 at 1-foot resolution, and a goal of several hundred thousand by year's end, more than anyone else in the marketplace. "We understand the importance of going beyond major urban core coverage to include secondary and tertiary markets that are seeing so much growth currently," said Paul Burrows, AirPhotoUSA's President. Compatibility AirPhotoUSA Premium imagery will be made available on DVD in AirPhotoUSA's Photomapper product, as well as online through GlobeXplorer's Web services for mappers (ImageConnect), consumers/real estate (ImageAtlas), and application developers (ImageBuilder). "Today's data vendors and providers of Web viewing tools struggle to offer current imagery views and in many cases aren't adequate to distinguish ground features," said Shanks. "GlobeXplorer's seamless compatibility with Web-based and desktop platforms like Google Maps, ESRI, MapInfo, and Autodesk, and Microsoft's Virtual Earth ensures that users of these applications will no longer have to settle for outdated, low resolution images," said Shanks. June 27, 2006.-- NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, has announced Camera Alert for NAVTEQ, a feature enabling NAVTEQ customers to develop applications that alert the driver to the location of cameras along their route. Camera Alert enables geo-referencing of a variety of camera location categories, and is updated and released on a monthly cycle to support its dynamic properties. The first release of Camera Alert for NAVTEQ contains the location of both permanent and pre-announced speed cameras. "Monthly updates provide our customers with increased confidence in the accuracy of the camera location," stated George Filley, Vice President of Product Management for NAVTEQ. "Geo-referencing the location to the NAVTEQ map further reduces the incidence of false positives for customers using the attribute." A false positive can occur when the camera location is no longer valid, when it has been geo-referenced incorrectly, or when the location has not been geo-referenced to the map, all which increase the risk that the map displays the location incorrectly. Camera Alert quality is further enhanced by NAVTEQ field analysts who, while driving the roads, can check for false positives, update the database, and minimize the potential for a false positive at that location. Camera Alert supports government efforts to influence driving behavior and the desire to alert customers to high casualty travel areas. NAVTEQ Camera Alert is currently available in France. The United Kingdom will be released in the third quarter of 2006. Updated data for all countries will be released every month to NAVTEQ customers. June 27, 2006.-- Wherify Wireless, Inc., a leading developer of patented wireless location solutions and services for family safety and communications, announced it has completed the integration of SiRF Technologies Holdings, Inc.'s next generation SiRFstarIII GPS chip set solution into the Wherifone GPS locator phone. This will provide improved GPS performance and features. The improved Wherifone is being evaluated by select customers for pre-launch field trials and acceptance testing, and is expected to be commercially available by Fall 2006. "We are very excited to have completed this important milestone and to demonstrate the improved Wherifone for our customers," said Timothy Neher, CEO and Founder of Wherify Wireless. "We believe that the combination of our proprietary Aided-GPS solution with the SiRFstarIII, arguably the best GPS chipset available today, will enable the Wherifone to significantly outperform other wireless GPS and cell tower triangulation-based products currently in the marketplace." The SiRFstarIII architecture, with the equivalent of more than 200,000 correlators, enables fast and deep GPS signal search capabilities, resulting in significant improvement over today's architectures that contain a few hundred to a few thousand correlators. The Wherifone is the world's first GSM/GPS locator cell phone designed for children and seniors. The two-way cell phone has built-in Aided-GPS location and "managed dial" features that give on-the-go parents the peace of mind of being able to quickly locate and communicate with their young children and elderly relatives, while also controlling who they can call and how much it will cost. Wherify's Aided-GPS performance will vary, but often provides location results in places where conventional GPS solutions may have performance issues, such as in many types of wood frame buildings and vehicles, and under dense foliage. The Wherifone's patented Aided-GPS location solution is supported by the Wherify Global Location Service Center, which maintains information on all the GPS satellites in space through a series of GPS Reference Receivers, and applies location information into Wherify's mapping and location management system to let users see a device's position displayed on a map or aerial photograph. June 26, 2006.-- Chipidea, the world leader in analog/mixed-signal merchant technology, announced the expansion of its radio frequency (RF) intellectual property (IP) line with the release of two new cores designed to speed the development of video-enabled handheld appliances and personal navigation devices. The company's two new full CMOS RF platforms - a Digital Video Broadcast - Handheld (DVB-H) tuner that enables the delivery of DVD-quality video and audio to handheld devices; and a highly integrated receiver for handheld Global Positioning Systems (GPS) - are fully optimized system solutions covering RF and mixed signal in a unique solution, offering SoC designs higher integration, smaller footprints, lower power consumption and massive time-to-market advantages compared to traditional in-house designs. The company's GPS IP is a highly integrated receiver for GPS L1 band. The low-IF architecture requires no external IF filters and an LNA is included. Its low current consumption and its small chip area give this IP core an attractive profile for chip design teams targeting the consumer portable device market. The first generation of this IP is in silicon. A new generation is also in the design phase incorporating a more flexible topology to support both Galileo and Glonass. In addition to the consumer applications, Chipidea also offers a professional multi-band version for full-featured Galileo that is now in fabrication. Additional information on Chipidea's GPS and Galileo Receiver solution can be found online at: www.chipidea.com/website/products/ip/downloaddocument. "With best-in-class power consumption and size, our new DVB-H and GPS platforms offer the first-time-right design success and the engineer-to-engineer contact that allow our customers to get to market quickly," said Carlos Azeredo Leme, CTO and co-founder for Chipidea. "These two new platforms mark the beginning of an extensive set of offerings in the RF space from Chipidea providing our customers a complete RF subsystem portfolio. By combining our RF IP to our broad Mixed-Signal portfolio and expertise, we support customers that require aggressive complete solutions and optimum partitioning between the RF chip and the digital processor chip, leveraging our customer's roadmaps for embedded RF IP within nanometer SoCs." Chipidea plans to expand its IP offerings to include complete packages of RF solutions for Ultra Wide Band RF front ends, wireless sensor networks, and embedded transceivers in nanometer SoCs. June 26, 2006.-- Time Domain Corporation, a world-wide leader in the development of Ultra Wideband (UWB) wireless technologies, has signed an exclusive license agreement with Parco Merged Media Corporation to provide UWB real-time locating systems (RTLS) to the healthcare industry. Parco develops software which enables rapid integration of RTLS data for use within hospitals, nursing homes, and other medical facilities to better enable processes such as work flow, inventory control, asset utilization and billing. Under the license agreement, Time Domain will provide various types of small tags suitable for wearing as a patient wristband or hospital personnel badge, or for attaching to medical equipment. The locations of the tags will be tracked by UWB readers installed at fixed locations within a medical facility providing the location of patients, caregivers, and equipment within 1.5 feet every second with over 98% reliability. "Time Domain is already in its 4th generation of UWB at the silicon level and this capability is to be incorporated into the Parco designs", says Bertrand Dugal, President of Parco. "In this regard, Time Domain is several years ahead of anyone else in the industry. For those hospitals waiting on the sidelines for tracking technologies to improve, their wait is over" states Dugal. According to Scott Cohen, CEO of Parco Merged Media Corp., "Time Domain has engineered a world class cooperative precision location tracking system for Parco and its customers. This new system is designed to pass FCC verifications and CE certifications for industrial, scientific and medical usage. From a commercialization standpoint, Time Domain's solution is compatible with industry standard network switch products enabling Parco and other Time Domain licensees to obtain faster and broader market penetration." Parco expects to ship beta products to its key customers in September 2006. Commercial shipment of the flagship tracking product will begin in 4th Quarter 2006. Time Domain products will be sold to healthcare customers under the Parco Wireless brand and will be privately branded by leading information technology providers. The products will also be branded with the PulsON Powered certification mark which will identify them as genuine, licensed Time Domain UWB products employing Time Domain's patented PulsON technology. The Parco Wireless products are available through technology wholesalers such as CDW and healthcare information system developers such as Patient Care Technology Systems. A full list of authorized resellers and developers is available on Parco's website www.parcowireless.com. "We are fortunate Parco not only recognizes the strengths and benefits of UWB in the health care environment but also Time Domain's leadership position in the UWB industry from both a technical and an Intellectual Property perspective", said Will Webb, President and CEO. "Because we have both the superior technology and the IP strength necessary to give licensees a significant competitive advantage in their respective markets, we expect to sign many more licenses for our technology for both tag and tagless tracking applications." June 19, 2006.-- Privately held Global Locate, Inc., a leader in Assisted-GPS (A-GPS) solutions and services, announced that its chipset and software are featured in Vodafone K.K.'s latest 3G handset; the Vodafone 904SH manufactured by Sharp Corporation, a leader in innovative mobile communication products. The Vodafone 904SH offers customers a variety of Location Based Services (LBS) enabled by integrated A-GPS technology. Domestic operator Vodafone K.K. started selling the Vodafone 904SH handset in Japan in April 2006. The Vodafone 904SH is Sharp's first A-GPS enabled 3G handset and features a full resolution VGA display. The Global Locate A-GPS solution inside the handset performs fast position fixes and provides high position accuracy for users. The result is superior map resolution and GPS performance during the many different LBS applications supported by the operator. The Vodafone 904SH handset supports a preliminary version of the Secure User Plane Location (Pre-SUPL) protocol using A-GPS software developed by Global Locate and Sharp. "With this novel 3G handset, Sharp sets new A-GPS performance benchmarks for time to fix and position accuracy in handset based GPS applications. The Vodafone 904SH delivers industry leading time and accuracy performance which are important for meeting the high expectations of the Japanese market," said Richard Najarian, Global Locate's Vice President of Sales and Business Development. "We are pleased to be partnered with Sharp as the A-GPS technology supplier in their newest generation of handsets." The Vodafone 904SH supports WCDMA and GSM/GPRS air interface standards, permitting customers to access LBS applications through international roaming outside of the domestic Japan network. June 17, 2006.-- The RigTrac system is based on the Inmarsat constellation of satellites. Inmarsat is known for it's reliably, robust satellite network. The RigTrac system is a low price solution and at the same time highly effective. The system was developed and beta tested during the 2005 Hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico and performed with zero errors! While GPS tracking is nothing new, RigTrac offers a unique feature in that constant monitoring is not required until an asset moves from its designated location. Once out of its designated location, alerts are sent via SMS to cellular phones, E-Mail, as well as Delta Wave's dTrac on-line monitoring facility, which includes the GOM block chart. The premise of the system is quite simple yet highly effective. The installation of the system does not require any special training and can easily be performed by rig personnel. A small shoebox sized device is installed onboard the rig with a clear line of sight to the horizon. Once the unit is powered up the GPS coordinates are captured by the RigTrac system. Those GPS coordinates are then used to geo-fence the rig. A geo-fence is a virtual boundary or fence set up around the rig. The RigTrac unit sends in a position report every morning to verify that it is within its geo-fence and working properly. If the rig moves outside of its assigned geo-fence, an alarm signal is sent. That signal is is immediately relayed to dTrac. The alarm notification is then displayed on the website map and notifications of the geo-fence breach are additionally sent to e-mail addresses and cellular telephones if so desired. The RigTrac unit will continue to send position reports until the rig returns to its original position or is re-geo-fenced at a new position. The position report intervals can be increased or decreased at the customer's choosing. The standard report interval is one report per hour until the rig is back on location or re-geo-fenced at a new location. Another advantage of the system is tracking during rig moves. The rig operator may access dTrac and have the geo-fence disabled for rig moves. Then the rig will send a standard position report every hour during the rig move. Once the rig reaches the new site, the geo-fence is them activated. Lastly, the RigTrac system can be manually polled for an updated position at any time. This feature is very useful during both hurricanes and rig moves. The RigTrac unit has four IO ports in order to accommodate different types of sensors for additional monitoring capabilities. Silent alarm switches may be added to upgrade the system to an SSAS system should such systems become required for MODU's (mobile offshore drilling units). June 13, 2006.-- deCarta (formerly Telcontar), the leading supplier of software platforms and services for the location-based services (LBS) industry, and Inrix, the leading supplier of real-time and predictive traffic information services, announced the integration and immediate availability of Inrix's traffic information into deCarta's Drill Down Server (DDS) and Traffic Manager. At the Where 2.0 Conference in San Jose, the two companies will demonstrate their ability to optimize driving directions based on current traffic conditions including detour rerouting. The companies also announced that Inrix is using deCarta's DDS to align location information from millions of commercial vehicle probes collected each day to the relevant road segments, as part of the Inrix Dust Network. "The integration of deCarta's DDS platform and the routing functionality of Traffic Manager with Inrix's real-time and predictive traffic information will allow our mutual customers to rapidly deploy next-generation traffic-oriented applications," said Inrix president and CEO Bryan Mistele. "This represents a significant value add for Web portals, wireless navigation companies and fleet application developers." "This partnership exemplifies how the combination of advanced data sources and new geospatial functionality can bring highly useful applications that provide genuine benefits to users," said Mr. J. Kim Fennell, president and CEO of deCarta. "Inrix is building the capacity to provide the highest level of traffic coverage available, solving one of the problems that has plagued traffic applications in the past. That, combined with traffic-aware routing enabled in DDS offers millions of American drivers not just data, but actionable information that will reduce drive times." The combination of Inrix's traffic information and deCarta's DDS allows location-based application providers to give users routes that are optimized for current traffic conditions. Rather than just showing where traffic or accidents are, drivers will now know how best to deal with that traffic, whether by receiving modified travel times or by being rerouted to a faster route. Most of today's current mapping and routing services only use default speed limits to calculate drive times and routes. deCarta's DDS uses the current traffic speed information from Inrix to change those default speeds to reflect actual speeds at that time, then calculates the best routes based on that real time information. Using this combination, wireless navigation services using deCarta's DDS can now offer traffic-aware routing to their customers. Similarly, Internet mapping sites can provide users with a better estimate of their driving time to a destination or advanced notification of when they might need to leave earlier to make it to an appointment on time. To achieve this capability, engineers from both companies have adapted deCarta's Traffic Manager to utilize Inrix traffic data and allow this information to be displayed on maps or integrated into routing calculations performed by deCarta. Both companies are also working together to integrate dynamic predictive traffic information with DDS when it becomes available later this year. With predictive traffic information, drivers will be able to more accurately plan their travel based on accurate predictions of traffic based on data collected though the Inrix Dust Network. The Inrix Dust Network collects and analyzes anonymous GPS probe data from more than half a million commercial fleet vehicles, delivery trucks, taxis and other vehicles., and combines that data with over 200 additional market-specific sources of information affecting traffic such as road construction and closures, weather, and sporting and entertainment event schedules to generate highly accurate nationwide traffic coverage. Inrix uses deCarta's DDS to reverse geocode data from its unique network of probe vehicles, snapping the longitude and latitude of real-time probe vehicles to specific road segments, allowing Inrix to then translate the data into accurate speed information. deCarta's DDS is the platform used by high-volume Internet mapping services such as Google, Yahoo and Ask. deCarta customers in aggregate are generating over 2-billion maps per month. June 13, 2006.-- SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of GPS-enabled silicon and premium software location platforms, announced an alliance with Helsinki-based Fastrax, Ltd., a leading provider of OEM GPS receivers and application development software, to strengthen SiRF's global value added manufacturer (VAM) program. SiRF's VAM program is designed to enable a broad range of customers to integrate GPS technology quickly into their products without investing significant resources in their own GPS development. With a range of customizable module and subsystem level products from its VAM partners and a global support infrastructure, the VAM program enables SiRF and its partners to deliver higher levels of service and support to customers worldwide and accelerate their time to market for innovative GPS-enabled products. The first result of this alliance is the SiRFstarIII-based Fastrax iTrax300 OEM GPS receiver, whose superior performance takes top position in Fastrax's new family Multiplatform OEM GPS receivers. The iTrax300 receiver is the first Fastrax product to employ SiRF Technology, and is based on the SiRFstarIII GSC3 chip set, which was chosen by Fastrax because of its industry-leading time-to-first-fix (TTFF) and ultra-high acquisition sensitivity. As a result, the iTrax300 delivers high-performance navigation in the most stringent applications and a solid fix even in demanding GPS environments. iTrax300 receiver is ideally suited for both industrial navigation systems and battery operated consumer products such as handheld computers, vehicle navigation devices, sports accessories and mobile phones. "This is an important alliance for SiRF, solidifying our VAM program with a strong partner who can deliver the products, service and support necessary to ensure the success of our customers," said Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of marketing for SiRF. "Fastrax's adoption of our SiRFstarIII architecture is a clear endorsement of our technology and market leadership, and we look forward to working with them to bring more exciting products to our customers." The SiRF-based iTrax300 is fully supported by Fastrax's well respected customer support organization that helps customize software and optimize the performance of GPS receivers to customer specific environments. "The SiRF brand is recognized worldwide and strong demand by our customers was a key factor to have a SiRFstarIII-based product in our iTrax family of receivers," said Matti Raty, president of Fastrax Oy. "SiRF's performance leadership combined with Fastrax's software optimization and customization capabilities creates a very powerful combination for our customers to rely on for getting their products to market in a timely manner." Able to track more than 20 satellites, the SiRFstarIII architecture achieves very fast position fixes and acquires signals down to -159 dBm, making real-time navigation practical in challenging environments such as urban canyons and dense foliage. Unlike the lengthy sequential search process of traditional GPS architectures, the SiRFstarIII architecture, with the equivalent of more than 200,000 correlators, enables fast and deep GPS signal search capabilities, resulting in significant improvement over other architectures that contain a few hundred to a few thousand correlators. The SiRF GSC3 combines a complete GPS digital baseband processor and RF front end in a single 7 mm x 10 mm package. June 13, 2006.-- Skyhook Wireless, provider of the industry's first Wi-Fi based positioning system, announced at the O'Reilly Media Where 2.0 conference the launch of the Skyhook Developer's Network. Providing location-based service and application developers with free access to the Skyhook Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS), APIs, documentation and a support infrastructure, the Developer's Network will allow solution providers to build accurate and reliable location-based products running on commonly available platforms and without the need of additional hardware such as a GPS. As part of the launch, Skyhook also announced 'Wi-Fi Cage Match,' a product development contest that will reward the developer of the most innovative and dynamic Wi-Fi based location application with a Segway(R) Human Transporter. Download, Integrate & Participate The cornerstone for the Skyhook Developer's Network is the Developer's Dashboard, a web-based support infrastructure that will give LBS developer's access to the Skyhook software-only positioning APIs and software code, documentation, release notes, community forums and technical support. Skyhook's unique capabilities as a software-only positioning technology make the Developer's Dashboard the ideal forum for delivering and supporting WPS-based development efforts. Developers can download and integrate the APIs under a no-charge evaluation and development license and then elect to make the integrated application commercially available by upgrading to a distribution license. The Developer's Dashboard can be accessed directly at http://developer.skyhookwireless.com. The Skyhook WPS SDK allows for rapid integration with LBS applications running on a number of platforms. It give developers the ability to add auto-location query functionality and incorporate a complete location profile -- latitude, longitude, full street address -- through a simple API that can generally be mastered in a single day. Additionally Skyhook's WPS can act as a virtual GPS and provide latitude and longitude in the standard NMEA format allowing them to leverage location interfaces that they have already developed. June 10, 2006.-- Webraska, a leading provider of mobile GPS navigation solutions and high-end geospatial software platforms for wireless carriers and major service providers worldwide, announced the development of a new global partnership programme offered to service integrators to jointly serve Enterprise Mobility Management needs and the nomination of Laurent Baillet as Head of Corporate Sales & Marketing, Europe. As a long term partner of mobile carriers worldwide, Webraska leverages its renowned technology and extensive experience deploying scalable and robust geospatial software platforms to offer service integrators a two level partnership programme: - A technological partnership by which Webraska supplies integrators with a full set of location-aware software components such as GPS navigation, tracking, routing and local search, for integration into global service platforms tailored by integrators to the Enterprise customer needs; - A marketing partnership aiming at developing vertical solutions and join sales and marketing forces. "On the one hand, Webraska has market-proven experience developing and deploying geospatial technology and related software applications. On the other hand, mobility management service integrators have a great understanding of specific industry requirements. Therefore, we decided to develop this global partnership programme that will help, beyond simple technology supply, optimize both partners' market efficiency", commented Jean-Michel Durocher, founder and Executive Vice President of Webraska. "We are pleased to welcome Laurent Baillet who will be the point of contact for service integrators and corporations and responsible for managing joint marketing and sales activities." Webraska currently focuses on two main software lines: SmartZone Geospatial Platform (SGP), the most powerful and reliable geospatial platform performing a comprehensive set of services including geocoding, reverse geocoding, mapping, routing and local search. SGP is marketed in ASP mode or licensed to service providers. Webraska Navigation a GPS assisted road navigation software for mobile phones providing traffic optimized routing and speed camera alerts, clear maps as well as precise voice instructions ahead of turns. Webraska Navigation is compatible with Symbian (S60, UIQ), Microsoft Windows Mobile (Smartphone, PocketPC) and BlackBerry operating systems. A fully featured web tool integrating NAVTEQ map data for Europe is available for trial. Webraska is one of the leading providers of mobile GPS navigation solutions and high-end geospatial software platforms for wireless carriers and major Internet service providers worldwide. Webraska's customers include Orange, Vodafone, Sensis/Telstra, Toyota, Nextel, Intelematics, Raywood, Punch Telematix and Groeneveld. June 8, 2006.-- u-blox AG, a leading GPS technology and solution provider, introduced AssistNow, a complete Assisted GPS ("A-GPS") service package that brings instant positioning to any u-blox GPS-enabled device with mobile phone connectivity. The new technology cuts a GPS receiver's Time To First Fix ("TTFF") to seconds by providing the receiver with assistance data that practically eliminates download times of data originating from the satellites. AssistNow enables applications that provide on the go, accurate and reliable location information with minimal installation and maintenance efforts. From enhanced personal navigation services, that can be consulted on the fly from a PDA or a mobile phone, to complex, multi-user/terminal management systems for vehicles, goods or staff, the range of potential applications is broad. "GPS users increasingly require accurate positioning data in real time, either to pinpoint a location in an emergency situation or to manage their business assets more effectively," said Karsten Tietz, VP Sales EMEA at u-blox. "Our new off the shelf AssistNow service addresses these needs by providing a GPS position immediately when you need it." Standard GPS operation requires a minimum of four satellites to transmit their precise orbital position data, called Ephemeris, to the GPS receiver. However, bad signal conditions can hinder, or even prevent, the data from downloading. A-GPS provides assistance data, such as Ephemeris, Almanac, as well as accurate time and satellite status, which boosts acquisition performance enabling instant positioning, even under difficult signal conditions. AssistNow accesses positioning data from a network of u-blox GPS receivers deployed globally, called the AssistNow Global Reference Network, which collects data from satellites and sends it to a dedicated AssistNow Root Server. This server calculates the assistance data and instantly transmits it to customer user terminals or a client's proxy server. Customers who opt for the AssistNow Direct Service package get direct access to the AssistNow Root Server. All a customer needs is a TCP/IP Internet connection, such as a GPRS wireless network connection, to enable the data flow between the terminals and the AssistNow Root Server providing the data. u-blox operates and maintains the server, and provides the GPS receivers for the user terminals. Alternatively, customers with a large number of mobile devices, may choose the AssistNow Proxy Server framework, where the customer is provided with the necessary software to operate a proxy server on his/her own premises, which receives periodic data updates from the AssistNow Root Server and handles all assistance data requests locally. To find out more about AssistNow, visit http://www.u-blox.com/technology/assistnow/ June 7, 2006.-- Continuing its quest to location-enable a broad range of portable devices, SiRF Technology Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of GPS-enabled location technology, announced that Fujitsu Siemens Computers, the leading European IT provider, has incorporated a single-chip version of SiRF's flagship SiRFstarIII GPS receiver into the new, Pocket LOOX T Series smartphones. This all-integrated handheld features Windows Mobile, Direct Push e-mail and GSM/UMTS mobile phone technology along with SiRF GPS-enabled location technology to keep mobile work force in touch with their business. The highly integrated SiRF GSC3f enables Fujitsu Siemens Computers to incorporate real-time, high-performance location awareness and navigation capabilities into a feature-rich handheld device while maintaining its compact size. The GSC3f delivers exceptional sensitivity and extremely fast time to first fix (TTFF) in a compact, 7-mm x 10-mm package that combines a complete A-GPS digital baseband processor, RF front end and 4 megabits of flash memory. The GSC3f product line is supported by SiRFLoc multimode technology and the SiRFInstantFix service. SiRF's patented SiRFLoc location solution allows networks to move beyond basic "find and locate" applications to support a wide range of location-based services (LBS) such as navigation and real-time routing with minimal network bandwidth requirements. The SiRFInstantFix service eliminates the long wait consumers complain about when first turning on their navigation systems, significantly reducing the start-up wait time for SiRFstarIII-based GPS systems. About the SiRFstarIII Architecture: Able to track more than 20 satellites, the SiRFstarIII architecture achieves a remarkable TTFF of one second for aided starts in outdoor GSM environments and acquires signals down to -159 dBm, making real-time navigation practical in challenging environments such as urban canyons and dense foliage. Unlike the lengthy sequential search process of traditional GPS architectures, the SiRFstarIII architecture, with the equivalent of more than 200,000 correlators, enables fast and deep GPS signal search capabilities, resulting in significant improvement over today's architectures that contain a few hundred to a few thousand correlators. June 7, 2006.-- Integrated Security Resources and Digital Defense Group announced a joint marketing agreement under which Integrated Security Resources will integrate and sell Digital Defense Group's Factor4 and IronGate on-card self-enrolling biocards. Digital Defense Group's series of biocards provide a biometric-enabled security system without the need for a centralized database, software or server. Factor4 and IronGate biocards perform a 1:1 authentication on the cards and wirelessly transmit an encrypted authentication certificate 10 centimeters and 10 meters respectively. Factor4 and IronGate biocards can hold numerous certificates of authentication for access and transaction requirements, as well as secure documents and digital images. "We were very impressed with Digital Defense Group's technology," said Clarence Wieting, director of business development for Integrated Security Resources. "They have a product that is going to take people - companies, private organizations, military - to the next level of security." Idaho-based Integrated Security Resources has over 60 years of collective security industry experience and specializes in access control, security and alarm systems. "We're pleased that Integrated Security Resources has joined the growing list of channel marketing partners who see the value of our biocard technology for physical and logical access control, among other uses," said Digital Defense Group president Steve Campisi. "And we're eager to have more partners join Digital Defense Group in eliminating one of the largest obstacles facing adoption of biometric-based security by bringing true bioprivacy to the identity management industry." June 7, 2006.-- Augmentra Ltd has released ViewRanger, its off-road GPS mapping, navigation and information application, for the latest Symbian V9 S60 3rd Edition mobile phone handsets such as the Nokia N80, Nokia 3250 and Nokia N91. ViewRanger is one of the first sat-nav applications to be released for the latest Nokia platform. The latest Nokia handsets feature higher resolution screens, greater memory capacity, and the ability to orientate the screen for landscape display. ViewRanger exploits these capabilities to provide an enhanced map display for the user. A free trial version of ViewRanger for Nokia S60 2nd and 3rd Edition platforms is available to download from the www.viewranger.com website. With a Bluetooth GPS receiver connected, ViewRanger transforms a Nokia smartphone into a fully featured trail and off-road navigation system. ViewRanger provides mapping, navigation and information on location for walkers, mountain bikers, geocachers, off-road drivers, tourists and other outdoor activity enthusiasts. ViewRanger makes Ordnance Survey Landranger (1:50,000 scale) maps available on Nokia phones for the first time. OS Landranger maps provide detailed topographic map information including hill contours, tourist information, camping and caravan sites, picnic areas and viewpoints, and Rights of Way information for England and Wales. In addition to the familiar Landranger maps, ViewRanger includes Augmentra's Panoramic Viewpoint technology. This unique immersive map places the user in the centre of a panoramic 3D display where all the main landscape features are labelled. Hills are named, woodland and lakes identified, and villages, towns and prominent landmarks are shown. With Panoramic Viewpoint a user can quickly and easily identify all kinds of features in the landscape. For users who want to share their outdoor experiences, ViewRanger's Information Exchange enables users to publish photos and notes by associating them with locations and features in the landscape. Accessed through an online server over a mobile network internet connection, the Information Exchange opens up many possibilities for storing, sharing and accessing fun information or facts and records. The recent boom in satellite navigation products has been concentrated on vehicle navigation leaving hill walkers and off-road navigators behind. Dedicated GPS receivers are typically expensive and offer only a basic map display and limited connectivity. ViewRanger is the first solution to combine high quality topographic maps, off-road GPS navigation, and panoramic viewpoint maps in an integrated, simple to use application running on smartphones. ViewRanger is available in two editions. The Great Britain edition of ViewRanger delivers detailed 1:50,000 scale mapping coverage for all of England, Scotland and Wales. The GB National Parks edition delivers detailed mapping coverage for sixteen of the most popular outdoor leisure regions including the Lake District, Snowdonia and all National Park areas. Pricing starts at £24.99 for ViewRanger GB National Parks edition. June 6, 2006.-- G2 Microsystems Inc., a developer of integrated circuits for the location and sensor network market, announced that it has developed a device provider for Microsoft BizTalk RFID. This enables ultra low-power devices to monitor environmental data and report through a Wi-Fi access point to Microsoft BizTalk RFID. By taking advantage of the pervasive Wi-Fi networks and Windows-based technology, G2 Microsystems is enabling a low-cost solution for identifying, sensing and monitoring various conditions such as temperature, humidity, light, security, motion, pressure and location. Many telemetry applications today rely on proprietary or wired solutions that require significant expenditures on new infrastructure and back-office integration. G2 Microsystems has developed an ultra low-power system-on-a-chip (SoC) that integrates Wi-Fi with RFID technology and sensors, allowing battery-backed devices to sense and report for up to five years with no incremental infrastructure cost. Microsoft BizTalk RFID provides device abstraction, data filtering and event handling while allowing G2-based tags to transmit sensor data through the widely-deployed Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) network infrastructure to the BizTalk RFID. Companies and individuals can now deploy low-cost wireless sensing solutions with just a G2-based tag and Microsoft's software. "Utilizing the large Wi-Fi installed base to monitor assets or conditions of assets in real time offers significant opportunities to streamline business processes," said Burley Kawasaki, group product manager in the BizTalk Server product management group at Microsoft Corp. "We are very pleased that G2 Microsystems has developed a Wi-Fi-based device for BizTalk RFID. Together, our solutions will allow people to monitor conditions both locally and remotely in a cost-effective and distributed manner." "We are collaborating with Microsoft to bring low-cost wireless sensing solutions to markets such as home healthcare, process monitoring, and building services," said John Gloekler, Chief Executive Officer and President of G2 Microsystems. "Microsoft BizTalk RFID will help simplify the development of applications for these markets and devices based on G2 Microsystems' technology will simplify the deployment." G2 Microsystems' SoC is a highly integrated, ultra low-power solution specifically designed for both sensor and/or location applications. A battery backed device incorporating the G2 Microsystems' SoC can monitor its environment including temperature, humidity, pressure, chemical, security seals, motion, shock, light, and radiation; determine its location; and communicate via the Wi-Fi infrastructure for up to five years without replacing the battery. This enables a business to install a sensing solution with no additional network or back office integration costs, and very low maintenance costs. June 6, 2006.-- CSR plc announced that the latest Motorola IntegratedDigital Enhanced Network (iDEN) handsets are endowed with CSR'sBlueCore3-ROM cellular Bluetooth IC. Following the successful trial of the first iDEN handset - the i605, the Motorola i870, i615, and i580are the latest Motorola iDEN handsets to feature Bluetooth connectivity by CSR and are currently available in the United States. Motorola's iDEN network is designed for mobile business applications offering advanced wireless technologies such as two-way digital radio, Bluetooth, Push-To-Talk (walkie-talkie), MotoTalk (offnetwork walkie-talkie), digital wireless telephony, alphanumerical messaging, and data/fax capabilities. The iDEN handsets feature speakerphone, voice command, mobile Internet and e-mail, wireless modems and voice activation, providing full connectivity on the move as well as a full autonomous + assisted GPS receiver. CSR's BlueCore3-ROM is a fully compliant, single-chip BluetoothV1.2 platform allowing wireless connection to other Bluetooth devices such as headsets, PDAs, and other mobile handsets. BlueCore3-ROM was the first IC in the industry featuring advanced Bluetooth V1.2 co-existence techniques such as adaptive frequency hopping (AFH), to ensure there is no interference with the other RF technologies in the end product. In addition, CSR's technology minimizes the external components required, ensuring production costs and real-estate on the circuit board are minimized. Matthew Phillips, SVP of CSR's handset connectivity SBU commented,"Bluetooth connectivity is critical for all new mobile handsets. However, designers constantly face size, coexistence, and time to market issues. BlueCore offers a complete silicon and software solution designed for the smallest of products with the most advanced functionality, thus enabling companies to concentrate on other areas of handset design and differentiation." June 6, 2006.-- Sure Trace Security Corporation announced that its subsidiary, Globe Staff Consulting Corp., a homeland R&D security company focused on serving the transportation and homeland security industries, will formally launch its new "Tag and Track" system and location services in late October 2006. The "Tag and Track" system will provide a flexible, rapidly deployable assisted-GPS / GSM location-based service including an innovative integrated RFID technology that enables a wide array of customizeble applications. The technology locates and/or tracks vehicles, objects, assets or people. Our customers will deploy a portable receiver or reader devices network whether inside or outside a building which will be used to pick up the signal transmitted by our "Tag and Track" Tracker with its integrated RFID Tag. The device is about the size of a cell phone. This system was originally conceived/developed on a Special Police Forces request from the French Ministry of the Interior. RFID chips don't have their own energy source, they are passive. They emit a signal when specific frequencies of radio energy are used to "paint" them. RFIDs contain tiny antennas that receive that RF energy and then re-radiate their encoded information. The Company's RFID chip will be miniaturized, implantable radio frequency identification device that has the potential to be used in a variety of security, financial, and other applications. It is smaller than a grain of rice; the encoded information is captured by briefly passing a proprietary scanner or passing through any receivers. CTO Jean-Gilles Subervie said, "This launch represents an important step forward in our advanced technologies research and development. We have spent considerable time and resources developing 'Tag and Track' in the last 15 months, and we are very excited to bring this product to market. 'Tag and Track' proprietary two-way interactive paging-over-wireless network software and secure web services interface are going to revolutionize how and where GPS and RFID can be applied together. The Company's staff in France are recognized experts in Electronics, Embedded Technologies, Telecommunications, 3G and GPRS network technologies, two-way paging, wireless networking, geolocalization, mapping systems, RFID tags, high security applications and government contracting. Some of the Potential uses include:
Globe Staff Consulting Corp. is a subsidiary of Sure Trace Security Corporation. Sure Trace produces integrators for anti-counterfeiting and security surveillance applications and is a provider of integrated tracking devices. True Product ID Inc., a former subsidiary of SSTY, via a license from Sure Trace Security Corporation, delivers turnkey solutions for governments, armed forces, and industry, through proprietary technology and through aggregating the technology, products, and services of third parties via licensing agreements and/or joint ventures. In addition to a license from SSTY, TPDI will also be providing the day-to-day operational duties and R&D for SSTY's majority owned subsidiary, Globe Staff Consulting Corp. For more information go to: http://www.suretrace.com and to http://www.gsc.fr/corp/. May 31, 2006.-- Skyhook Wireless, provider of the industry's first Wi-Fi based positioning system, announced it has rolled-out its Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS) in the top 100 largest metropolitan cities on the United States. Its location determination solution leveraging 802.11, or Wi-Fi, rather than satellite or cell-tower-based technologies, includes more than eight million commercially mapped private and public access points, representing 45% of the U.S. population. Today, the company is on track to expand its database to include 75% of the nation's population by the end of the year. "Skyhook's Wi-Fi positioning system is the world's largest Wi-Fi database of any kind," said Skyhook Wireless' Founder and CEO, Ted Morgan. "We have spent the past three years with the assistance of 150 dedicated data collection agents canvassing U.S. cities scanning for all the Wi-Fi access points in the neighborhoods of the largest metropolitan areas. With this information, software developers and device makers can tap into rapidly proliferating usage of Wi-Fi to bring to market a wide range of location-based services and applications." Leveraging its WPS to automatically define a user's exact physical location, Skyhook last month announced 'Loki,' a customizable toolbar that not only turns a Wi-Fi enabled laptop into a virtual GPS device, but also integrates that location into the user's Internet search, browsing and communications. With the Skyhook WPS platform automatically and accurately defining the user's physical location, Loki then delivers one-click navigation to location based content and services through its pre-configured 'Channels' and one button interfaces. Internet users in the largest 100 U.S. cities can now enjoy easy and accurate location-based search from their browser toolbar. Skyhook's WPS platform is also serving as the backbone of location-based services and applications offered by other leading application developers and device manufacturers. For instance, CyberAngel Security Solutions, Inc., a leading provider of laptop recovery solutions, is leveraging the Skyhook WPS platform for its Wi-Fi Tracker system that enables laptop owners, CIO's and government security managers to identify the exact location of stolen equipment. TeleCommunication Systems, a leading provider of precise location and wireless data technology, has integrated the WPS platform with the fully-featured E9-1-1 routing capabilities of its VoIP E9-1-1 Service to bring Wi-Fi positioning to the E9-1-1 market. With the expanded Skyhook roll-out, vendors of location-based services and applications can now appeal to a larger number of users across the U.S. 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. May 31, 2006.-- Tele Atlas, a leading global geographic content provider, announced an agreement with TeleNav, North America's number one location-based services (LBS) application provider, under which Tele Atlas will supply global digital maps for TeleNav's industry leading products. TeleNav's leading-edge LBS services include voice GPS navigation, Mobile Resource Management (MRM), asset GPS tracking (AVL), local search and other LBS services on multiple carriers worldwide over standard mobile phones, BlackBerry, Symbian, Palm Treo and Windows Mobile devices. Tele Atlas' geographic content already powers 150 LBS-based applications on wireless personal navigation devices, PDAs, and smartphones, including city guides, real time traffic, weather and social networking applications. TeleNav President and CEO HP Jin said TeleNav chose Tele Atlas as its digital map provider because of the company's global coverage and focus on partner support. "TeleNav is committed to providing our customers with the best content and services in the market. We are pleased to expand our content portfolio to feature Tele Atlas maps and POI content for North America and Europe." Tele Atlas Americas COO Mike Gerling said the decision is a significant one for Tele Atlas given TeleNav's position in the U.S. LBS market. "Accurate map data is the foundation for the most useful, and used, LBS applications. Our superior processes and technologies ensure our maps and points of interest are up-to-date, and are the driving forces behind our continued dominance in the wireless market. We look forward to working with TeleNav to bring the convenience and benefits of location services to the masses." May 30, 2006.-- IPICO Inc.,an emerging company in RFID technology applications, announced an Alliance and Development Agreement with ExploTrack, LLC., a growing global leader in explosives security, to enable the world's first real-time global tracking and monitoring of explosives. Utilizing IPICO's proprietary Dual Frequency IP-XTM RFID technology platform as part of the solution, ExploTrack plans to implement the world's first explosives security system to provide real-time visibility anywhere in the world. This closed-loop, end-to-end application securely tracks and monitors explosives and detonators from manufacture and storage throughout the supply chain, including when transported by land and sea. Primarily for use in mining, quarrying and construction environments, this unique RFID enabled application provides detection, monitoring, tracking and identification of explosive materials for a secure global explosives chain-of-custody solution. According to the US Geological Survey Report, in 2004 (the last reported year), US explosives production was 2.52 million metric tons, a 10% increase from 2003. Governments and security forces, struggling to combat terrorism, face the daunting task of monitoring and tracking these materials and devices, particularly as they are transported around the world. "Real-time globally visible explosives security is one of the best defenses against terrorists who misuse explosives to manufacture bombs," said Bob Morhard, Managing Partner, ExploTrack, LLC. "With this unprecedented end-to-end solution, we are embarking on an age in which Smart Explosives and Smart Detonators and their chain-of-custody are visible in real-time any place on the earth." ExploTrack is the inventor of Smart Explosives and Smart Detonators, which are transported in Smart Cases and secured in a Smart Magazines. ExploTrack breakthrough technologies also include explosives detection and real-time forensic identification of explosives materials at bomb scenes. As a global RFID developer and manufacturer, IPICO's RFID and authentication technologies support a broad range of applications involving Transportation and Logistics, Asset and People Tracking, and Supply Chain Management. Much of IPICO's strength is based on the company's patented RFID technology platform, which operates in a range of hostile, real-world environments where other RFID technologies repeatedly fail. For an explosives RFID application to be effective, it needs to be accurate, safe and secure, as well as cost effective to provide clear chain-of-custody and authentication in extremely fast-paced, dynamic environments, with large volumes of explosives moving throughout the global supply-chain. Notes Dr. Alwyn Hoffman, Executive Vice-President, IPICO, Inc., "We all recognize the vital importance of providing a secure and efficient means of tracking explosives shipments, as they move through normal commerce throughout the world. IPICO's Dual Frequency RFID solution, as well as our patented authentication technologies, meets these stringent requirements. By combining IPICO's strengths and unique RFID solutions with ExploTrack's track record as an explosives technical services provider to the multinational industrial explosives manufacturing industry, we are now in a position to ensure the rapid deployment of explosives security systems throughout the world." The agreement provides that ExploTrack will organize a pilot project that will result in product and services (system integration) order for IPICO. Once the system is proved to work in the real world, IPICO and ExploTrack will establish a joint venture to roll out the solution to global explosives manufacturers. For its part, IPICO will be the exclusive supplier of all RFID based products and all related integration services. May 30, 2006.-- Fastrax Ltd., a leading provider of open and portable OEM GPS Software Development environments and programmable OEM GPS receivers, announced the new iTrax Multiplatform family of OEM GPS receivers. The iTrax Multiplatform approach is the first in the industry to provide a common form factor between multiple OEM GPS receiver models with different chipsets. The iTrax Multiplatform family includes the iTrax300, iTrax130 and iTrax03-S receivers, powered by SiRFstar III, Sony CXD2985 and u-Nav uN2110 chipsets, respectively. The increased range of choices allows consumer electronics manufacturers and OEMs to select the optimum receiver for each application, product and market segment. All iTrax Multiplatform receivers offer high sensitivity and superb navigation performance even in difficult urban canyon environments. User-configurable power management makes iTrax Multiplatform receivers ideally suited to battery-operated systems requiring low power and small sleep state current drain. Optimum time to market is achieved by the use of a common form factor, development environment, testing tools and technical documentation. Additionally, a single hardware design reduces development, manufacturing and logistics costs. "Lite-On provides a variety of GPS-enabled products to several global consumer brand names. They address different market segments and have different requirements. The iTrax Multiplatform product range enables us to choose the right OEM GPS receiver to match each customer requirement perfectly, while meeting challenging time-to-market goals and minimizing engineering, testing and manufacturing costs," said Charley Wang, Vice President, Lite-On Technology Corp., Mobile Media Solutions. "The new iTrax Multiplatform concept is a unique offering in the OEM GPS industry, allowing customers to use the same hardware form factor and design tools in products tailored for widely differing market segments. The Multiplatform concept brings substantial time and cost savings for leading high-volume companies such as Lite-On Technology Corporation whose business depends on the fast time-to-market of cost-effective new products," said Matti Räty, President, Fastrax Ltd. Key features of the iTrax Multiplatform product family:
For further application flexibility, the iTrax130 and iTrax03-S receivers support the Fastrax iSuite Software Development Kit. Fastrax iSuite technology may be used to rapidly modify receiver features and functionality and to add user application code to run onboard iTrax receivers. Adding support for wireless modems, Bluetooth devices, mass storage devices, LCD displays and keyboards is possible with minimum effort and without expensive extra components. May 26, 2006.-- Axcess International Inc. unveiled an enhanced method for providing positioning and directional capabilities for RFID applications. The Dual Activator product is based on the company's ActiveTag platform that enables automatic tracking of personnel, assets and vehicles in multiple industries that use this capability for security, logistics and operations effectiveness. The Dual Activator provides a high precision method for determining the location of people, vehicles and assets. Many other RFID systems don't have the ability to offer dependable positioning and rely on speculation or added switches to determine the location and direction of objects. Axcess' enhanced product is a more affordable option as the cost of installation is minimal. The Dual Activator connects directly to two transmit antennas to offer a radio frequency signal that awakens the tags as they pass through each antenna field. It writes its own ID to the tag, which is then retransmitted, along with the tag's unique ID, to provide the tag's location and direction at time of activation. "We are pleased to offer a product capable of providing critical, real- time data to our customers," commented Allan Griebenow, president and CEO of Axcess. "We recognize the importance of precise positioning in security, logistics and perimeter control. We provide a full solution that addresses the specific requirements of government, enterprise, hospitality, and transportation industries. Axcess' solution makes it easy for organizations to automate the tracking and tracing process." Axcess' patented ActiveTag RFID systems use 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 standard network simultaneously to the enterprise system software, the existing security alarm equipment, and standalone management software. Optionally, the tag system can be used to trigger security video recording and live remote video transmission. The tags are used for a variety of enterprise productivity applications including automatic personnel access control and tracking, automatic vehicle access control and payload management, automatic asset management and protection, as well as special purpose sensing. Automatic email alerting and paging is offered for rapid response to security related incidents. May 25, 2006.-- DM Solutions Group Inc., a leader in open source web mapping technologies and solutions announced the introduction of a new addition to their line of data products, Maps for MapServer - Global Edition. The Maps for MapServer product line services the map data needs of the rapidly growing MapServer user community. Maps for MapServer packages provide a cost effective means of instantly achieving superior cartography in MapServer applications. The launch of Global Edition reflects the global distribution of MapServer users and the associated requirement for high quality maps. It follows the successful launch of U.S. Streets Edition and Canadian Streets CanMap Edition. Strategy Systems, Inc., a Maps for MapServer customer, utilizes DM Solution's Group's mapping products and technical services to provide outstanding geographic capabilities in their Trucking Software products. "With DM Solutions Group's assistance, we can now provide seamlessly integrated mapping and routing capabilities into our products" commented Edward Cooley, President of Strategy Systems, Inc. "This has been done in a cost effective manner and has helped to expand our market." The new GLOBAL edition of Maps for MapServer now enables the same high quality mapping for views around the globe ranging from city, state, country or the entire world. Users may choose from a traditional political and highway map, a global terrain map with bathymetry or a hybrid map combining both. "The Maps for MapServer products have been very popular since their launch because they save MapServer users time and money" said Dave McIlhagga, President of DM Solutions Group. "Global Edition is another example of our commitment to servicing the MapServer community through innovative products and services." May 23, 2006.-- Atmel Corporation, a global leader in the development and fabrication of advanced semiconductor solutions, and u-blox AG, a leading provider of innovative GPS receiver technology, announced the availability of the ATR0625, a baseband IC with SuperSense GPS weak-signal tracking software included in its ROM. ATR0625 is based on the ANTARIS 4 platform which is a low-power, 16-channel GPS technology developed for automotive, handheld and mobile applications such as OEM car navigation, mobile phones, PDAs, smartphones, personal navigation devices, and recreational consumer products. Thanks to the integration of the well-proven SuperSense software on masked ROM, an external Flash memory becomes unnecessary. This significantly increases the benefits of the ANTARIS 4 technology -- low power consumption and small size. SuperSense, awarded with Frost & Sullivan's Award for Technology Innovation in 2005, uses a combination of coherent and incoherent tracking combined with variable integration times for the individual satellites. A leading-edge tracking sensitivity of -158 dBm is achieved with a power consumption that remains low at a low signal level. The ATR0625 is packaged in a low-cost QFN56 package and is pin-compatible with the ATR0622 ANTARIS 4 baseband IC with standard ROM software. This makes it easy for customers to enable their existing products with weak-signal tracking technology. Like all ANTARIS 4 chipsets, the ATR0625 comes with full WAAS/EGNOS support and incorporates state-of-the-art Assisted GPS (A-GPS) with a TTFF as low as four seconds. Further ANTARIS 4 benefits include a significant chipset footprint reduction and unparalleled low power needs. The chip operates at 62 mW, but its power saving modes, together with built-in power management capabilities, can bring power consumption down to as low as 5 microamps, enabling power-critical applications like mobile devices to operate longer without having to compromise on functionality. The on-chip USB connectivity eliminates the need for an expensive serial-to-RS232 or serial-to-USB converter and makes ANTARIS 4 products plug-and-play devices for any PC. The ATR0625 supports serial EEPROM memory, which is a cost- and space-efficient alternative to Flash EPROMs for storage of custom configuration settings. Using a QFN package rather than a BGA results in a cost advantage for the IC itself and the customer's manufacturing process, as additional steps needed in PCB assembly like X-raying become unnecessary. "The ATR0625 perfectly addresses the market demand of portable devices where smaller products lead to smaller antennas which have inherently lower performance," said Frank Gruson, Atmel's GPS Product Line Manager. "End customers will enjoy excellent tracking accuracy even in after market car applications with shielded windows, for example, which has not been possible up to now." "u-blox' award-winning SuperSense weak-signal tracking software on the chip level brings indoor functionality to our low-power, small-sized ANTARIS 4 positioning engine. This makes the ATR0625 ideal for GPS-enabled mass-market applications that perform reliably and accurately, regardless of whether the user is outdoors, indoors or in difficult signal environments such as urban canyons," commented Georg zur Bonsen, Product Manager at u-blox. The ATR0625 works seamlessly together with ATR0601, a highly integrated, low-power GPS radio in a 4 x 4 mm QFN package. As an optional extension to the ANTARIS 4 chipset, the ATR0610, a fully integrated low-noise amplifier manufactured using Atmel's innovative Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) process, is available for use in challenging reception environments, enabling cost-effective antenna designs. May 23, 2006.-- Telmap, a world-leading provider of mobile Mapping and Navigation solutions, and Pelephone, a leading cellular operator in Israel, announced the "Pelephone Navigator" mobile navigation service. The service is being launched for a selected list of AGPS handsets (phones that have an embedded AGPS) and it will soon be extended to additional AGPS phones. The new service leverages the capabilities of Pelephone's CDMA/EV-DO network and the growing availability of AGPS phones, which enables access to feature-rich GPS-based mobile navigation from a cellular phone with no need to add an external GPS device. The service will be launched on BREW and Windows Mobile platforms, with Motorola E815, MiniPoz and SK7400 phones as the first devices being offered. An additional four AGPS devices will follow by the end of June. Pelephone Navigator is based on the "Telmap Navigator" mobile mapping and navigation solution, which supports Java, BREW, BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Mobile phones. As a cross platform solution, Telmap Navigator enables Pelephone to extend its mobile navigation offering to the widest possible array of phones and users. The Pelephone handsets with the integrated Pelephone Navigator service include AGPS phones that run on the BREW platform as well as phones that work on Windows Mobile. May 23, 2006.-- Motorola, Inc. continues to show its WiMAX leadership with the latest addition to its MOTOwi4 portfolio of wireless broadband solutions. At WiMAX World Europe, Motorola's new carrier-class WiMAX network will be used to perform rich media downloads and video streaming through a laptop PC using a third-party PCMCIA card that incorporates an 802.16e chip from Beceem Communications. This is Motorola's first public demonstration of third-party interoperability of its WiMAX products and shows how Motorola's MOTOwi4 wireless broadband solutions can help people stay seamlessly connected wherever they may be. At its booth #202 Motorola also will be featuring live demonstrations of its 802.16e-based Ultra Light Access Point for 3.5 GHz fixed applications, Canopy solutions in 5 GHz spectrum, and IP video telephony all connected through an IMS core. The Motorola carrier-class WiMAX network, supporting both 2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz, is an 802.16e solution that uses advanced antenna techniques to provide greater coverage range and building penetration. Designed to support fixed, nomadic, portable and mobile applications, the carrier-class WiMAX access point will meet the needs of operators offering in-building fixed and portable service, as well those marketing personal broadband, mobile WiMAX applications and services. "The carrier-class WiMAX network shows our further progress in delivering a broad range of end-to-end WiMAX offerings," said Dan Coombes, senior vice president, chief technical officer, Motorola Networks & Enterprise, and general manager, Wireless Broadband. "As we continue development of our WiMAX infrastructure and customer premise equipment, we're working with third-party vendors to test for and promote interoperability, which is critical to widespread industry adoption of the 802.16e standard and this new technology." "Demonstrating interoperability of IEEE 802.16e standards-based equipment between Beceem's terminal chipset and Motorola's network within six months of the standard's approval shows the commitment of key WiMAX Forum members to work together to ensure that operators have a full range of WIMAX equipment available for their network trials and deployments," said Shahin Hedayat, CEO and co-founder of Beceem. "We are focused on the development of mobile WiMAX solutions that support interoperability of chipsets, access networks and subscriber devices, and our 802.16e terminal chipsets are achieving this goal today." "Motorola continues to be a leading promoter of WiMAX, developing a portfolio of end-to-end 802.16e WiMAX solutions for many different market needs -- from compact 'light' base stations through high-capacity carrier- class products integrating multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO)," said Peter Jarich, Current Analysis. "Motorola's demonstration of interoperability with third-party vendors is another significant step in helping to advance the development of and acceptance of WiMAX and getting a jumpstart on 802.16e- based WiMAX certifications." Motorola's carrier-class WiMAX network is based on its Carrier Access Point architecture, an all-IP fully distributed peer-to-peer architecture that reduces the amount of equipment needed thereby helping to reduce capital expenditures. The carrier-class WiMAX access points also feature a combination of MIMO antenna techniques and software defined radios (SDR) that, along with the IP architecture, provides flexibility in network deployment and enables operators to choose among many third-party vendors to add applications and services. Motorola's carrier-class WiMAX networks are expected to ship for customer trials by the end of 2006 while the Ultra Light Access Point is already shipping for customer trials. MOTOwi4 is a portfolio of wireless broadband solutions and services that create, complement and complete IP networks. MOTOwi4 includes Canopy broadband fixed wireless for point-to-multi-point and point-to-point, Mesh, Broadband over Powerline, WiMAX and Point-to-Point solutions for private and public networks. May 22, 2006.-- Webraska, a leading provider of mobile GPS navigation solutions and high-end geospatial software platforms for wireless carriers and major service providers worldwide, is announced that it has been invited to join Sony Ericsson's Business Partner Programme as a Power Partner. This illustrates both partners' commitment to jointly foster the market development of mobile GPS navigation solutions by promoting Webraska Navigation on Sony Ericsson branded devices, thus offering carriers and mobile service operators an attractive bundle. Under the terms of the agreement, partners recognise the great potential of the wireless navigation market and their mutual interest to gather forces; action plan includes Webraska Navigation pre-installation on Sony Ericsson's devices as well as joint marketing and sales activities. Webraska is one of the leading providers of mobile GPS navigation solutions and high-end geospatial software platforms for wireless carriers and major Internet service providers worldwide. Webraska's customers include Orange, Vodafone, Sensis/Telstra, Toyota, Nextel, Intelematics, Raywood, Punch Telematix and Groeneveld. May 22, 2006.-- AeroComm Inc., the most established global supplier of complete RF solutions for OEMs, presents a breakthrough for industrial wireless performance: the ZB2430 "ZigBee Your Way" Transceiver. Based on the Texas Instruments leading-edge 802.15.4 System-on-Chip and Z-Stack technology, ZB2430 provides OEMs with industry-defining wireless performance in the areas of power consumption, integration, range, features, and functionality. ZB2430 is ideal for power-restricted industrial and commercial applications. The module's receive and power-down mode performance are unrivalled by any comparable ZigBee module available today. Two output-power versions suit varying needs: ZB2430 for battery-powered communication, and ZB2430-100 (100mW) for extended communication range. With Texas Instruments' embedded Z-Stack firmware, ZB2430 is aimed squarely at secure, low-power, mesh network applications. Modules are offered as either Coordinators & Routers (Full Function Devices) or End-Devices (Reduced Function Devices). Network scan, auto-configuration, dynamic routing, discovery, and security enable the mesh network, delivering reliable redundancy, secure multi-communication nodes and long range performance. Additionally, the standard 128 KB of embedded flash memory provides room for larger, more complex application profiles. ZB2430 communicates in the 2.4GHz ISM band, making it ideal for OEMs preferring to standardize on one global platform for their end product needs. AeroComm also introduces ZigBee Your Way for OEMs wishing to customize and optimize a hardware solution that meets the specific demands of their application. Options will include antenna, sensitivity, interface, output power, and remote radio configuration, to name a few. May 22, 2006.-- Tempe, Arizona-based aerial imagery and GIS mapping applications provider Aerials Express announces the introduction of ViewGL Beta at the International Council of Shopping Centers convention in Las Vegas, Nevada held May 21 - 24. Aerials Express maintains the industry's most aggressive flying schedule, photographing every US metropolitan area on an annual basis. Aerials Express is the recognized leader in providing current aerial imagery to real estate, retail, engineering and governmental clientele. ViewGL feeds Aerials Express' premium aerial content directly into the Google Earth platform giving professionals access to the latest high resolution imagery available. "Google Earth has had a very positive impact on our business," states Bill Landis, CEO of Aerials Express. "More people than ever before have access to aerial imagery because of Google Earth. Subsequently demand for current imagery has grown dramatically since its release. Initially, this lead us to launch our 'Every City, Every Year' campaign, purchasing a Leica ADS40 digital aerial camera and Cessna 421 in order to accelerate our collection schedule to include all US metros annually." "We see the power of Google Earth being its ability to easily deliver content to the user, and we wanted to develop solutions that empowered our clients that use our imagery. ViewGL does that by feeding our premium content to our users within Google Earth as a layer. While ViewGL works with all versions of Google Earth, we strongly recommend that our users acquire Google Earth Pro in order to take full advantage of our imagery." May 22, 2006.-- Blue Marble Geographics announced the release of GeoObjects 4.1, a leading map display tool kit for GIS developers. Blue Marble, known for their coordinate conversion technology, is also the creator of industry leading map display, image reprojection, referencing, and map file translation technology. Their libraries are used worldwide by thousands of GIS developers at software companies, universities, oil and gas companies, civil engineering, surveying, technology, enterprise GIS groups, and military organizations. "This latest version of GeoObjects comes with many improvements," stated Blue Marble Director of Sales, Kris Berglund. "We've expanded our file format support on many levels, including the addition of S-57 nautical chart support, raster display, and expansion of vector file format translation. We've also expanded our sample code to be more complete and helpful for developers." GeoObjects 4.1 is a high-performance, 32-bit COM control for spatial data access, display, and analysis. The design of the control allows a developer to quickly create high-end GIS applications on any Windows platform. Its ability to display and interact with most industry standard vector and raster file formats makes GeoObjects a must have for any GIS or software developer. GeoObjects is also the core engine display tool behind Blue Marble Geographics desktop applications. GeoObjects 4.1 introduces display support for .e00 export format, TIGER/Line files, internally referenced images, and binary DXF files. We've enhanced our read of BML and DGN files. Users can now manually specify datum shifts and use the Hotine Two Point Projection. We've also added methods to control the zoom mode of the map window to make it easier to implement zoom in, out, and pan features. This release also includes new sample projects for VB.NET development. May 22, 2006.-- Fastrax Ltd., a leading provider of open and portable OEM GPS Software Development Kit environments and programmable OEM GPS receivers, announced the latest additions to its uPatch family of ultra-compact receiver modules with an integrated high-performance patch antenna. Based on the Sony CXD2951 chipset, all uPatch receiver modules offer very high navigation performance in a compact, cost-effective design. The receivers are ideally suited for navigation and recreational devices as well as GPS Mouse type applications in which high performance and low cost are key issues. uPatch 100-S: High performance with an ultra-small footprint The RoHS-compliant uPatch100-S expands the Fastrax line of GPS receivers based on Sony GPS chipsets. The uPatch100-S is an ultra-small OEM GPS receiver with a built-in antenna. With a form factor of only 22 x 22 x 8 mm, it is a compact and versatile receiver for NMEA-only applications. Typical Hot Start Time to First Fix (TTFF) is 3 seconds, while state-of-the-art signal acquisition and tracking circuitry enables reliable navigation with weak signals and in difficult environments. uPatch 101: Design flexibility through advanced power management The RoHS-compliant uPatch 101 is a new addition to the uPatch product family. The compact receiver offers all the flexibility and high performance of other Fastrax OEM GPS modules, while providing additional options for product design through an integrated battery backup capacitor for low power modes. uPatch 102: The ideal upgrade path for uPatch 100 customers The new uPatch102 is a RoHS-compliant upgrade to the previous-generation uPatch100 receiver module. The receiver features two additional I/O pins for baud rate selection, providing an interface that is otherwise identical to the uPatch100. This offers manufacturers the ideal way of upgrading their uPatch100-based designs for state-of-the art navigation performance while keeping hardware redesign time and costs to a minimum. All Fastrax uPatch receiver modules are very easy to use. The interface pins carry all necessary signals for typical NMEA-only applications. The user needs only to connect the main and backup power supplies to make the receiver operational. For the uPatch 102 and uPatch100-S receivers, low-power backup battery 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. The uPatch 101 operates with power from the internal battery backup capacitor for up to six hours while main power is removed. May 19, 2006.-- The world's top maritime body said on Friday that major shipping nations had agreed new rules to track ships by satellite to fight terrorism and prevent the transport of materials used in weapons of mass destruction. The U.N. International Maritime Organisation (IMO) said governments party to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention had given initial acceptance to the new measures at a 10-day meeting at its headquarters in London. A spokeswoman, Natasha Brown, said all the world's merchant fleet trading in international waters would have to comply with the new regulations that come into force under the SOLAS convention on January 1, 2008. "It will mean that ships will have to fit systems and contracting governments to SOLAS will need to do the same shore side if they want to receive information," she said. Under the new proposals, merchant ships would be required to transmit through satellite-based technology their identity, location, date and time of their position. The Long-Range Identification and Tracking of ships is the latest in a series of security measures adopted by the trillion-dollar industry since the September 11 attacks on the United States. May 18, 2006.-- MapInfo Corporation, the leading global provider of location intelligence solutions, announced that The Krystal Company uses MapInfo's services and technology solutions to enhance the restaurant chain's site selection and brand awareness efforts. Using MapInfo location intelligence solutions, The Krystal Company better understands its customers, identifies new potential markets, projects the potential impact of competition on new sites and rolls out new locations with a more scientific and accurate approach. Serving customers for more than 74 years, The Krystal Company has grown from a single restaurant into a multi-million dollar restaurant chain, occupying the Southeast with more than 418 restaurants in 12 states. In an effort to succeed in a recent multi-store roll out, The Krystal Company turned to MapInfo to help determine the best site selection strategy for its new restaurant locations. Among the solutions it delivered, MapInfo devised a Sales Forecasting System for Krystal in order to quantify the key demographic, competitive and site factors impacting restaurant performance to assess the potential revenue and profitability of future stores. May 15, 2006.-- 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 London-based subsidiary, Signature Industries, has received approval from Cospas-Sarsat for a new emergency location transmitter (ELT) that is designed to be lighter and more secure than its competition. The new SARBE G2R-ELT will be used for military aircraft to broadcast the identity and GPS (Global Positioning System) location of an aircraft after an emergency landing.For combat operations, the G2R-ELT can be programmed using sophisticated encryption and signaling techniques that operate automatically in an emergency landing. "We developed the lightweight G2R-ELT after listening closely to the needs of our customers," said David Cairnie, CEO of Signature Industries. "The typical ELTs on the market today are heavy, not covert, and susceptible to damage through complex installation requirements. Our new product has eliminated those issues and we believe it fits the demands of the international market." The new ELT will also be available in a commercial version for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.Cospas-Sarsat, an agency overseen by the U.S., France, Russia and Canada, is an international satellite system that uses spacecraft and ground facilities to provide distress alert and location data to search and rescue operations around the world. The system is responsible for saving more than 17,000 lives since its inception in 1988. May 15, 2006.-- OMRON Corporation, a global leader in electronic components, sensing and control technologies, announced that it will launch a new SMD Polymeric Antenna (type: WXA-N1SL) for short-range, wireless Ultra-Wideband (UWB) applications. Product launch is scheduled for June 1, 2006. Driven by consumer demand for simple wireless functionality, "point-and-shoot" usability and increasingly mobile lifestyles, the wireless communications market, led by Bluetooth and wireless LAN, has shown phenomenal growth over the past few years. UWB is now attracting particular attention as a solution for high-speed, high-volume reliable data transmission over short distances. UWB is a recently commercialized short-range wireless technology, expected to be widely adopted in consumer goods. Applied in dongles, personal computers, printers, mobile telephones, digital televisions and DVD players, UWB functions as a low-power-consuming wireless USB (universal serial bus), allowing users to transfer large amounts of data rapidly between various devices in close range. For example, UWB makes it possible to transmit high-definition video data wirelessly between a high definition digital TV and DVD player, thereby eliminating the need for expensive and unsightly wires. Due to the wide frequency range on which UWB operates, electronic devices need to be equipped with a special ultra-wideband antenna for UWB-compatibility. While various antennae are currently in the market, OMRON's new SMD Polymeric Antenna (type: WXA-N1SL) combines both compact size with high-performance, utilizing the company's proprietary molding technology and dielectric polymer material. As a result, with OMRON's antenna, ODMs and OEMS deploying UWB can benefit from flexibility of antenna shape design without compromising on size or performance. Capitalizing on its expertise in precision manufacturing, OMRON has now succeeded in mass production of the antenna at its factory in Shiga prefecture, Japan. SMD Polymeric Antenna: type WXA-N1SL is optimized for WiMedia Alliance's UWB common radio platform as well as for the Certified Wireless USB specifications from the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF). OMRON will also work to optimize all future versions of the antennae for the recently announced next-generation Bluetooth-Over-UWB platform. May 15, 2006.-- Telcordia Technologies, Inc. announced a strategic alliance with NorBelle, LLC, an international wireless location technology provider, to commercialize and deliver mobile-to-mobile tracking solutions that provide real-time location reporting and significantly improved accuracy in tracking to end users. These applications will be part of the Telcordia Maestro IMS portfolio delivering product- and hosted-based solutions to wireless carriers globally. This new and innovative product offering is based on the Telcordia Maestro IMS portfolio and NorBelle's flagship product, Cearch, which increases the accuracy and extends the application of location based solutions. Based on sophisticated algorithms developed and patented by NorBelle, it is maximized for handset-to-handset and handset-to-tag transactions. This state-of-the-art GPS and location accuracy enhancement system dynamically allows one wireless device in motion to track and locate any other wireless device in motion with precision. Telcordia is bringing this advanced technology to market to enhance its leadership role in delivering applications that allow carriers to deliver leading-edge solutions that set them apart from the competition. This brings significant benefits, for example, better parental guidance as to the exact whereabouts of their children, or greater productivity/responsiveness in managing small business field forces or delivering more accurate asset tracking for enterprise customers. In addition, it also gives carriers a more innovative way to deliver mobile marketing messages, creating additional revenue streams. In each case, the unique ability to track from a mobile device to another mobile device with real-time updates frees end users from being tied to a fixed location or device to track another person or physical asset. Now, with the Telcordia Maestro IMS portfolio and Cearch- enabled devices, the solution will consistently bring the user within "line of sight" of the person or object they are seeking on the most prevalent receivers in the most challenging of GPS reception environments . Where devices employ coherent tracking GPS receivers, Cearch technology can improve relative positioning performance to within 1-meter. The highly accurate relative measurements are accompanied by NorBelle's unique and patented mobile application, which intuitively guides a user with a compass-like arrow that points to a target in any terrain without necessitating the use of miniature maps or short form text messages. While this capability is quite helpful in busy and densely populated locals, it is indispensable in unmapped areas. Improved accuracy is the lynchpin in the value proposition for certain high demand commercial, consumer and emergency location services. Whether it is an enterprise tracking precious cargo, a small business efficiently managing a limited field force or more importantly, a parent searching for a lost child or a Police Department trying to locate a wireless user in an emergency...how close a searcher can be brought to the true position of their target, matters. In a city like New York, reliably being able to locate a car within a half block or less is highly efficient whereas narrowing its location to a six or eight square block vicinity, is effectively useless. The LBS conundrum has been: how can the consumer research consistently identify such enormous demand for tracking products, while no carrier offering has approached that level of success in the market? Telcordia and NorBelle expect to help carriers bridge that gap with Cearch technology. "If you can't be brought close enough to see what you are looking for, you can't find it. If you can't find it, why would you pay for something that purports to be a "tracking service?" asks Patrick Mulhearn, "It is just as true that if you can depend on a service to consistently, accurately, reliably allow you to monitor and/or rendezvous with your child, that capability becomes, as they say, "priceless" in times of need. Truly effective location products will sell themselves". Telcordia is embarking on multiple tier-one trials with carriers across the globe, having completed lab trials with a major carrier in North America supporting both GSM and CDMA technologies. NorBelle has already secured relationships with wireless tag manufacturers to support this new technology. May 11, 2006.-- NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, has reached another milestone in Eastern Europe by providing a full coverage map of Poland. Included in the data set is over 600,000 km of roads. "Achieving this goal affirms NAVTEQ's commitment to our customers to provide robust map coverage of Eastern Europe," stated George Filley, Vice President of Product Management, for NAVTEQ. "Our commitment to this region is further reinforced by the presence of two local offices in Poland that will continue to maintain and update the map." Customers and business partners integrating the map into consumer and business applications will have access to data representing over 2,400 cities and will be able to use NAVTEQ map data not only in the urban cities of Warszawa and Lodz, but also in the resort areas of the Beskidy foothills and the Tatra National Forest. In addition to the road network, the full coverage map of Poland includes more than 63,000 points of interest including approximately 2,000 petrol stations, 500 restaurants, and 350 hotels. May 9, 2006.-- Viyya Technologies, Inc., announced that it has entered into a strategic agreement with Homeland Security Network, Inc., whereby Viyya will serve as a reseller of Homeland Security Network's iTrax global asset tracking and remote theft prevention solution and bundle the iTrax Technology with its Security Operations Portal. iTrax combines GPS tracking capability with a web interface in one simple device, working in tandem with a user's mobile phone, PDA, or computer. A proprietary one-click/one-call technology, iTrax provides single-point access to safety and convenience features that eliminate the need for third-party involvement and represent considerable advantages over current GPS products and location-based services. iTrax responds to the complex security concerns of government entities and corporate users by providing a network of security devices that identify, locate and monitor the location of any mobile asset. For individual consumers, iTrax places control completely in the user's hands, providing peace of mind without substantial upfront investments. "iTrax technology delivers performance and functionality that current, antiquated radio frequency trackers and GPS devices cannot match at any price," said Charles Norman, CEO of Homeland Se |