GPS on mobiles

Posted on October 29, 2009 / 6 Comments

You can find directions on mobile phones, but I guess this makes it smoother. For it to work in countries like ours we need more better mapping.

. . . Google announced a free navigation service for mobile phones on Wednesday that will offer turn-by-turn directions, live traffic updates and the ability to recognize voice commands. The service will initially be available on only one phone, the new Motorola Droid, but will be expanded to more phones soon.

In a briefing on Tuesday in advance of its announcement, Google said that the service might be supported by advertisements in the future. That would make driving directions the latest form of information to shift from being a paid service to one that is ad-supported.

“This is consistent with a certain pattern of Google, where they are able to build volume and usage of a product and then subsidize it with advertising,” said Greg Sterling, principal of Sterling Market Intelligent, a research firm. The losers, he said, were companies like TomTom and Garmin, along with the cellphone carriers, which offer navigation services by subscription.

Full story.

6 Comments

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Abu Saeed Khan
October 30, 2009, 9:11 am
Security dealership overpowers national leadership in Asia. Officials sitting at the ivory tower of National Security block the move to create and regularly update the digital maps. The law of many Asian countries forbids sending the cartographic contents to overseas. Even the gathering of such information, without so-called proper authorization, is ultra vires. An updated digital map will soon become a critical component of national development index. Being the victim of “Digital map divide” has nothing to do with having access to technology. It’s a matter of common sense. Either someone has it or lacks it.
waidyanatha
October 30, 2009, 10:01 am
we shouldn’t be saying these things too loud – GoSL may ban Google phones in Sri Lanka, given that the use of GPS is prohibited.

If I recall correctly, correct me if I’m wrong, Dialog introduce a location identification/navigation package and GoSL put a stop to that.
Mundir Razik
October 30, 2009, 10:44 am
This is the sorry state of affairs in our country

Hopefully we’ll get an un-ban and a chance to use this as well as new technology.

How about sending these “intellectuals” for alpha brain development workshops :D
Rohan Samarajiva
October 30, 2009, 11:04 am
I do not think the ban is operative.

Sanjana Hattotuwa is perhaps the person most interested and informed on this subject. His writing may be found at http://ict4peace.wordpress.com/?s=GPS+mobile
Abu Saeed Khan
October 30, 2009, 12:10 pm
It is, certainly, not effectively banned. Yet the mater is a legal time bomb. THEY detonate it whenever deemed appropriate. That’s the beauty of Security Dealership!