» LOCATION-BASED SERVICES

Apple’s Newest iPhone Offers Assisted GPS

GPS will be a feature on the much-anticipated next-gen iPhone, according to information the company released during its WorldWide Developers Conference June 9. The iPhone 3G uses assisted GPS as its first choice for determining location. But, according to Apple, “If you’re inside — without a clear line of sight to a GPS satellite — iPhone finds you via Wi-Fi. If you’re not in range of a Wi-Fi hot spot, iPhone finds you using cellular towers.”Lower Prices. The low-end 8 gigabyte model will sell for $200; the high-end 16 gigabyte will be priced at $300, or $200 below the existing non-GPS units and competitive with low-end personal navigation devices (PNDs).

Apple’s current production pace of about 1.8 million phones per quarter could soon double, thanks in part to the lower price. Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who delivered the keynote speech, noted that even now, the price may be too high for true mass-market penetration. iPhone 3G will be available in more than 70 countries later this year, beginning with 22 countries July 11.

Mobile-phone navigation continues to grow, with about 5 million to 6 million people now subscribing to mobile-phone navigation services. The move from PNDs to mobile-phone navigation is under way in earnest. Mio has introduced GPS phones much like the iPhone and Garmin has similar plans.

Who will provide navigation and traffic information to the iPhone was unknown at press time. An independent rumor blog on the web claimed that Broadcom would supply the GPS chip for the new iPhone, but neither company would confirm this.  The new phone will initially have two location-based services (LBS) applications in addition to navigation with weather and traffic. Loopt’s social networking will be available for free from Apple’s AppStore when it begins operation. The Associated Press will offer a location-based news service.

The spread of LBS is expected to be aided by the iPhone and similar hardware offerings likely to follow from competitors such as Nokia, Samsung, and Motorola. Of course, users still need to find the offerings of value, but one developer sees the iPhone as starting a “new era in mobile.” “We’ve developed for nearly every platform,” said Loopt’s Sam Altman, “and this one is the best.”

Wi-Fi Positioning. In his June Military & Government PNT newsletter, editor Don Jewell takes a look at the positioning technology in the first-generation Apple iPhone and iTouch, which is not GPS-based but is a Wi-Fi-based technology provided to Apple users through Skyhook Wireless.

» SURVEY & CONSTRUCTION

JAVAD GNSS Hosts First User Conference in Moscow

JAVAD GNSS’s first user conference and dealer meeting will be held July 21–23 in Moscow. The user conference will be an annual event, with future events to be held in San Francisco as well, according to JAVAD. Technical sessions include:

• fundamentals of precision GNSS
• hardware issues in Precision GNSS
• precision GNSS antennas
• virtual reference stations
• GLONASS particulars
• The TRIUMPH line and RTK

The conference will be useful for dealers, users, and potential customers, as well as people who want to visit Moscow and Russia.

» INDUSTRY WATCH

GPS Chipmakers Headed for More Consolidation?

Chip makers in the GPS market may face an uncertain future, as differentiators have become price and the ease of integration, according to market research firm ABI Research.

“The market for GPS semiconductors has reached a plateau,” said principal analyst Dominique Bonte, ABI’s principal analyst for telematics and navigation. “All GPS chips offer similar performance. That tends to make market success primarily a matter of price, and of ease of integration with the host devices.” Consequently, semiconductor vendors who play in the GPS market might best ensure their continued ability to innovate by being absorbed into much larger IC manufacturers, the firm suggested.

At the same time there is a growing trend towards integrating GPS with other functions in a single chip. Bluetooth is the most popular initial candidate, and holds the key to the global wireless handset market that is critical to expanding navigation and location-based services markets, according to ABI. It cited the recent introduction of CSR’s BlueCore 7 chip.

“[It is] the first solution integrating Bluetooth, GPS, and FM on a single chip,” said Bonte. “BlueCore7 will be in volume production from Q4 2008, and more launches from other vendors are expected in 2009. Bluetooth manufacturers are already buying up smaller, independent GPS chipmakers in order to integrate their expertise into the larger Bluetooth market. And Wi-Fi is next on the list for integration.”

Both these trends mean that the very large semiconductor players will ultimately take the lead in this market. They have the facilities to churn GPS ICs out in great quantities, reducing their cost, ABI said. They also have greater abilities to integrate multiple RF technologies in a single unit. “We expect to see Broadcom, Atheros, NXP, and Texas Instruments becoming more important as GPS chipset providers,” Bonte noted. “The future of GPS-only chipset providers may prove limited, and companies such as SiRF, that pioneered this market, may need to be acquired, for their technologies to continue.”

Other factors that may soon affect markets for positioning-system ICs are the deployment of Block III GPS satellites, which will offer better indoor coverage for location-based services, and the possibility of dual-constellation (GPS/GLONASS/Galileo) ICs that would mean improved visibility and positioning accuracy.

» MASS  MARKET OEM

Patent Ruling for Broadcom, Against SiRF

Broadcom Corp. says the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) rejected claims by GPS chip maker SiRF Technology, which alleged that Global Locate infringed upon two of its patents. Furthermore, the ITC also found that SiRF’s asserted claims on one of the patents at issue were invalid, according to Broadcom.

Broadcom acquired Global Locate in July 2007; the patent dispute stems back to 2006, when SiRF also took Global Locate to task in federal district court; it in turn counter-sued. Those suits were stayed pending the ITC ruling. ITC Administrative Law Judge Paul Luckern issued his initial determination June 13, following a six-day trial in March 2007 in Washington, D.C.

Broadcom also has its own claims against SiRF before the ITC, having filed six claims of patent infringement; that trial took place in April. An initial determination in that case, heard before Administrative Law Judge Carl Charneski, is expected on August 8, according to Broadcom. Broadcom also filed a lawsuit in May 2008 in federal district court, claiming infringement of four patents.

» SURVEY & CONSTRUCTION

NavCom Software Updated for RTK, StarFire Network

John Deere subsidiary NavCom Technology Inc. released June 13 updated software for its real-time kinematic and StarFire products, which provides users with access to the expanded six-satellite StarFire Network and NavCom’s new Ultra RTK capability.

StarFire is a satellite-based augmentation system that provides decimeter positioning accuracy on a worldwide basis. By increasing the StarFire constellation from three to six satellites, users have fully redundant global coverage, as well as increased performance assurance, as the GPS receiver now automatically selects the highest elevation satellite out of the six available, according to the company.

NavCom also added three new uplink sites.

» AVIONICS & TRANSPORTATION

Raveon Combines GPS, UHF Radio

Raveon Technologies has unveiled a real-time GPS tracking system using licensed UHF frequencies, its M7 series GPS transponder, as well as its RavTrack PC AVL software application. The RavTrack automatic vehicle location (AVL) system couples the company’s 12-channel GPS transponder with a UHF data modem for sending and receiving data within a range of 5 to 40 miles. Raveon says this use of onboard UHF technology to transmit and receive data, rather than via a public cellular network or the Internet, differentiates it from other systems on the market, providing its quick update rate and enabling it to operate in rural areas, open-mines, parks, mountains, foreign countries, and deserts. It also requires no monthly fees to operate.

» MASS  MARKET OEM

TomTom-Tele Atlas Merger Completed

TomTom and Tele Atlas jointly announced June 5 that TomTom had completed the merger of with digital map supplier. TomTom has been pursuing a merger with the digital map data supplier for nearly a year, outbidding rival Garmin in the process, in a deal worth approximately €2.9 billion ($4.5 billion). After a lengthy review by European anti-trust officials, TomTom and Tele Atlas received approval for the merger in May.

» MASS  MARKET OEM

Paragon, Magna, u-blox Debut Rear-View Mirror PND

u-blox has partnered with German automotive electronics supplier Paragon and automotive systems company Magna to develop a rear-view mirror personal navigation device, u-blox announced June 10. The MirrorPilot Navigator is a fully functional GPS navigation system, including GPS receiver, antenna, and speaker built into a self-dimming rear-view mirror. It replaces the standard rear-view mirror of a car, does not utilize any cables, and includes a remote control. The MirrorPilot Navigator automatically zooms in at crossroads and other road junctions, and redirects users at traffic jams, according to the chip maker. It uses u-blox’ LEA-4S GPS module, although the companies are working on a new version that incorporates u-blox’ 50-channel LEA-5S module, which it unveiled in November 2007. The MirrorPilot Navigator is available for Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and elsewhere in the European Union.

In Memoriam

Graham Russell, an early GPS receiver designer, died March 30 in Santa Monica at age 77. At Magnavox (1973–1993), he designed the first microprocessor-controlled Transit Navigator. Career highlights include work on System 621B; leading a team that developed the first receivers to decrypt the P-Code channel for the National Security Agency; and, with Jim Litton, developing a patented algorithm that produced improved accuracy from the P channel without knowledge of the encryption. Russell’s final resting location is N 33 d 58’ 42.4”, W 117d 23’14.2”.

» SURVEY & CONSTRUCTION

Topcon’s New Team

Japan’s Topcon has beefed up the management of its U.S-based subsidiary, Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS), appointing three satellite navigation industry veterans to its agriculture, OEM, and asset management groups. Topcon sees all three of these areas as strategic markets for future growth as the company looks beyond its core business of survey and construction.

Long-time GPS executive David Vaughn, now TPS senior vice president, business unit manager of precision agriculture, previously served as president and CEO of NovAtel; COO and senior vice president at Magellan; and executive VP at Trimble.

Topcon also appointed Mark S. Bittner as senior vice president, business unit manager for telematics, and James G. Murphy as director of OEM sales and marketing. Bittner was once director of worldwide sales-construction services and director, North America sales (mobile solutions) for  Trimble Navigation, and Murphy was director of sales for OEM solutions and technologies for the Americas and Asia regions for Magellan Navigation, and held a similar position at Thales Navigation.

» MASS  MARKET OEM

Windows Offers PND OS

As of June 16, Microsoft is making available Windows Embedded NavReady 2009, its first embedded operating system designed specifically for original equipment manufacturers building handheld portable navigation devices (PNDs).

Based on Windows Embedded CE, the software is designed to help developers bring to market PNDs that easily connect to online services, mobile phones using Bluetooth, Windows-based PCs, and the Internet. Features include live search, hands-free operation, MSN Direct, and Windows slideshow functionality.