GPS Cell Phone | Making Tracks GPS

GPS Cell Phone

By John B. Whitsell

Making Tracks GPS

www.makingtracksgps.com

The GPS cell phone has been a technology that has been “just over the horizon” for a number of years. Memory limitations, software product availability and power requirements have kept this technology close to main-stream but not quite there.

The GPS cell phone with down loadable position data has been available in the most recent crop of cell phones. Law enforcement can use the GPS cell phone data and cell tower locations to determine an individual's coordinates. This is probably the most basic application of the technology.

Using the GPS cell phone to locate you and provide routing instructions has been the beast to slay. Current software technology and battery availability have been the limiting factors. Miniature data mass storage devices have helped significantly in this area. Vendors are also providing subscription web page solutions. In both cases, the GPS cell phone is still limited in battery life. This is being addressed with software that turns the GPS application on and off for general location data. The requirement for a continuously on unit for routing instructions is being addressed by new battery devices. The problem is not licked yet, but we see new technologies on the horizon.

GPS cell phone technology continues to develop. Privacy laws will need to scramble to keep up with customer’s worries about surreptitious tracking of their movements. Congress will need to address the limitations of data available as this technology comes of age.