SrawDrTrovVvIrag Li GPS: Pin-Pointing The Solution (NAPSA)—Signals from space are doing more to improve your life than you mayrealize. It’s got nothing to do with little green men, but everything to do with what many consider the next big thing: Global Positioning Systems, or GPS. How?Picturethis: A cable technician was scheduled to arrive at a customer’s house for new installation between the hours of 12 noon and 6 p.m. It’s now 6:30. The customercalls the cable company to find out where the technician is and howlong before hearrives. In seconds, the dispatcher can tell the customer exactly where the technician is—less than three miles from the house—by pinpointing the driver’s location in real-time andinstantly on a single mapdisplay, all with GPS technology available on mobile phones. Just a few years ago, GPStechnology was not widely used for business or individuals. When GPS-enabled mobile phones first hit the market, there were limita- tions to their capabilities. Now, however, the technology has improved and most systemsoffer robust data. The technology is one of the fastest growing services in the wireless industry. Here’s how it works. Handsets automatically tune in to a satellitebased radio navigation system run by the U.S. Department of Defense. Using 24 satellites orbiting the Earth, GPS provides an accurate location nearly anywhere, anytime. With built-in GPSreceivers, mobile RS It took 38 years for radio to reach 300 million listeners, 15 years for television to reach 300 million viewers and five years for 300 million people to sign on to the Internet from their PC. It will take much less time for millions to realize the benefits of the latest location-based technologies. phones such as those from Nextel Communications, can pinpoint locations in seconds. A Smarter Way for Business to Manage Mobile Resources Location-based technology on GPS-enabled mobile phones is expected to become a standard part of wireless business applications just as data and voice services are already. Innovative GPSsolutions provide the meansto deliver services faster, smarter and at less expense than do manualtraditional processes. Businesses can: * Get real-time turn-by-turn driving directions * Do mapping and route planning e Assign and manage employee’s jobs, hours and locations GPSfor the Individual IDC Research recently noted, “GPS ties directly to the innate human need to be aware of one’s surroundings and location.” Meeting that need is a partnership between Trimble and Nextel, offering Trimble Outdoorsservice. It lets customers plan an outdoor adventure, share the trip with friends and family and research trips taken by others. They can even view routes and points of interest on street, aerial or topo- graphic maps of the continental U.S. and parts of Alaska and Hawaii. The application lets outdoor enthusiasts download, from the Internet, trip planning information and maps to several Nextel phones. Another service, TeleNav™ from Televigation provides phone-based visual and audible turn-by-turn driving directions at a fraction of the cost of comparable vehicle-mounted GPS devices. Technology Advances Today’s mobile phones are powerful, portable computing devices. Wireless technology has moved far beyond the days of two-way radios and text messaging to providing an entirely new and smarter way to manage mobile resources and eliminate repetitive labor, downtime and guessworkwithfast, precise, location-based information. For more information, visit www.nextel.com.
