Handsets with GPS in search of market
By Bill Roberts -- EDN, February 21, 2007
Semiconductor companies and handset makers are integrating various technologies into the cell phone at a frenzied pace, but at least one feature appears to be getting short shrift.
“While location technology in cell phones has been talked about for more than 10 years, even pressure from the FCC failed to speed up the adoption rate much,” said Allen Nogee, an analyst with In-Stat.
Any cell phone sold in the United States after 2005 must contain location technology under a Federal Communications Commission regulation referred to as E911 – for “enhanced 911.” The idea is that anyone placing a 911 call should not have to tell the emergency operator where he’s located. When the cell phone has location technology, an operator typically can locate the phone within 60 yards.
CDMA chipsets, used by carriers Sprint and Verizon, use global positioning satellite (GPS) technology to do this. GMS carriers, including T Mobile and Cingular, offer a network-based location technology.
Now that cell phones are required to have location technology, other applications using the technology – especially GPS – are possible. In fact, Sprint and Verizon offer, for a monthly fee, applications for getting directions, keeping track of your children and such.
But here’s the rub: There’s been little adoption of these applications.
“Carriers have failed to promote the services,” Nogee said. “They’re so obsessed with convincing subscribers how few dropped calls they have or how big their network is that they fail to bring attention to new technology such as location technology and few subscribers are even aware of what services are available.”
Short of mounting their own advertising campaign, is there anything chip companies can do?
Nogee said just because the location technology is becoming widely available doesn’t mean it is easy to use in applications. Further integration and more advanced firmware from chipmakers could assist in making it easier – and cheaper – to develop GPS-based applications, Nogee believes.
However, he added, carriers would still have to promote them.
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GPS is slow to locate the position and power hungry. Why should the consumer be forced to own a phone that takes more power?
Judson Reid Shipp - 2007-21-2 12:30:00 PST
