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There have been many rumors for getting GPS functionality on the iPhone, some of them are fake, some of them with embedded A-GPS.
But this time we know that it's real because partfoundry designed a real GPS receiver chip that can send the data to Google Maps to get driving and directions and possibly allow for other location based services.
The code for
the application will be open source allowing users and the chip will be shipping on february 2008.
See the video :
Nokia LD-4W has been officially released ! If you haven't met yet, you eventually will see that it's a Bluetooth GPS receiver whiwh allows GPS navigation on Bluetooth-enabled smart phones. It weighs 31 grams and lasts up to 10 hours on a single charge. LD-4W is available all around the world for about 125€. More info, here.
Inrix, the traffic flow information provider has announced the latest release of its Nationwide Average
Speeds (NAS) data. NAS is designed to improve the accuracy of fastest route calculations for navigation application providers and device manufacturers. GPS receivers calculate travel time on the basis of the posted speed limit. This
sort of historical speed data can discern patterns associated with time of day,
day of the week, holidays, etc. The new data set will be available next month.
So if you have a TMC traffic receiver, you could benefit from this very soon. According to GPS Lodge, INRIX is bundling data with TeleAtlas, and NAVTEQ is also acquiring historical average speed data.
Read more from the press release, here.
TeleNav announced today the 5.2 version of their cell-phone based GPS navigation product, TeleNav. We have already known TeleNav version 5, allowing your cell phone to turn into a fully functioning GPS
device with voice guidance. Now the 5.2 version has different updates like traffic, pedestrian mode and a new user interface, designed by the industrial design firm
Frog Design. Interesting GPS-related features are also included : The ability to send your current location to other TeleNav users, to share addresses of favorite businesses (restaurants, hotels or movie
theaters)and to send information on local gas stations with the cheapest prices for that day. Find more info on the company's homepage , and the press release.
The French Mappy is about to launch its second GPS after Mappy Iti ? This new product is called Mappy Mini but it hasn't been officially announced yet. According to Fnac, “Mappy Mini” should be equipped with a 300 MHz processor, 64 Mo memory and a 3,5 inches touch screen. Not a spectacular product but can allow Mappy to be present in GPS market..We don't know yet if Mappy Mini will be released or not. More info here, on Mobinaute.
Flickr has about 20 millions geo-tagged photos in its database, meaning millions of tags attached to millions of GPS coordinates. That's a lot, and there is certainly a way to build useful services on top of that.
For instance, Geocodr is a mash-up using Flickr's API to identify the possible location of anything. Type "Eiffel tower" in the entry box, and you get the exact location of the famous French monument. Type "Celine Dion", and you get Las Vegas.
But Yahoo! is taking it seriously with it's prototype : Zurfer. It's a mobile location-based photo browser. With Zurfer, you will access your Flickr pictures and browse the entire database of pictures taken around your current location. You therefore access user-generated geolocalized content from your phone.
You prefer jogging with a partner than jogging alone -but you can't find someone nearby who runs at the same place ? Jogging Over Distance just might be the answer to your prayers. The system makes it possible to jog with the perfect partner even if the person lives in another city. How ? By using mobile phone and GPS technology to transform a phone conversation into a 3D audio experience : While you run, you can hear your partner's voice coming from the front, to the side, or behind, depending on how fast or slow he or she is running.
Technical details ?
Cool isn't it, the social jogging ? Hearing other people as you're exercising is a very good motivation: Wireless technology means you never have to run alone again :-)
GPS HUD Site Meter is not a product released yesterday but we talk about it for people who haven't heard about this new technology in consumer electronics market : It's actually a GPS based system which projects your speed and direction on your windshield
so you don’t have look down to read your dashboard. This Bluetooth-enabled device which also enables handsfree communications with your BT-equipped cellphone is manufactured by a company called GlobalTop and it costs about 75€).
Click here to see the live pics, here for details.
We have already talked about Garmin Rino 
