GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It is a technology that is used to track down people and things. When they are used in mobile phones it provides a service that can be highly effective in the event of an emergency. Some brands of mobile phones have integrated this technology in their products. Phones like the Nokia 6110 Navigator, several models of Blackberry and the Nokia N95 all have this technology on board their phones.
Currently, GPS functionality is only available in sophisticated and highly priced mobile handsets. But, because the demand for GP-integrated mobile phones keep increasing, more affordable, smarter and appealing GPS mobiles will be in the market soon. The majority of mobile phone manufacturers are investing heavy amounts to improve on GPS technology.
At present, GPS is mainly used for navigation, but the investors are more concerned about how it can be used differently. While most people find the navigation feature very convenient, the complete end solution from GPS technology will be the ability to provide location-specific services to people. The software used in combination with GPS satellites will provide exact coordinates to find someone and this will permit emergency services, businesses and others easily find the person, whenever necessary.
While the ultimate GPS usage may seem to be a privacy violation, the idea is to safeguard the public and enhance business services through the technology. Government regulations in each country specifies the limitations of GPS utilisation and they restrict anyone from using the technology to gather intelligence on anyone without their explicit permission.
GPS tracking systems are still rather primitive, because towering buildings and constructional areas can be obstacles to the tracking. This is something the evolved version will take care of. The existing technology is capable of locating landmarks, important places and major roads, depending on the user’s location at the time. GPS-enabled mobile phones also provide relevant information according to the specific location.
Another use for GPS technology is network integration. People with mobile phones and networking sites will be able to give information back and forth in real time.
MySpace and Facebook have already taken measures to integrate the technology, by introducing the mobile version of their sites. The primary aim in this integration is to allow user generated content to be uploaded efficiently and conveniently from where the user is.
GPS is a great and modern way to keep track of elderly relatives, children, important shipping activity etc, but the technology has the potential to become an annoyance to everyday life. This is mainly due to one factor - unethical marketing practices, such as targeted location-specific advertisements, can be used on GPS mobile phone users.