Taiwan’s GPS makers to tap
European market with new devices
According to industry sources, Taiwanese
GPS devices makers like Mio Technology
Ltd. and Asustek Computer Inc are
actively tapping the European market this
year, with new products. Global sales of
GPS devices are estimated to top US$30
billion this year. Europe absorbs nearly
60% of world`s total annual shipment. Last
year, sales in the European market sharply
shot up 82%. http://cens.com//cens/
GPS chipset price to fall to $3.5
or below by the end of 2008
According to ABI Research, one billion
GPS chipsets will be shipped annually
in 2013. It thinks Average Selling Prices
(ASPs) of GPS chipsets will continue to
fall, but the effect on vendors' revenue
streams will be more than offset by this
strong growth in volume. Industry analyst
Jamie Moss comments, the average price
of the chipset will fall to $3.50 or below
by the end of 2008, permitting a true
mass market adoption. There is a growing
numbers of acquisitions: large chip
manufacturers buying up specialist fabless
GPS IC vendors in order to include their
technologies in solutions that combine
GPS with varied wireless RF product
offerings, especially Bluetooth. Examples
of such acquisitions in 2007 include Global
Locate, acquired by Broadcom (June);
GloNav by NXP (December); and u-Nav
by Atheros (December). Additionally SiRF
acquired Centrality to integrate System on
Chip (SoC) solutions in its product range
and u-blox went public on the Swiss stock
exchange. www.gpsbusinessnews.com
Dell laptop to ship with GPS
Dell has come up with a new feature to tempt business buyers into paying top
whack – integrated GPS. The top-of-therange
E6500 model will also include UWB
(ultra-wideband) wireless thanks to the
inclusion of Intel’s ‘Montevina’ chip, LED
backlighting on a 15.4 inch screen and host
of other features. www.techworld.com
TomTom Intros GPS units
with IQ Routes
GPS manufacturer TomTom has unveiled
two new in-vehicle GPS systems, the Go
930 and Go 730, which will feature IQ
Routes, a new route calculation system
that uses data from actual speeds driven
on roads rather than posted speed limits.
The result might be a route that's a little
unexpected or a little longer, but which
can more reliably get users to their
destinations faster. www.tomtom.com
University researchers track
elephants using GPS
Using satellite technology, a team of
researchers from the University of Massachusetts track African elephants
across regions of Africa. By attaching GPS
units, they have followed the animals as
they move across national borders on the
path of their seasonal migrations, from
Botswana to Zimbabwe and into Angola.
http://media.www.dailycollegian.com
Madurai Police in India
launches GIS and GPS
Madurai Range police recently launched
GIS, GPS and Short Message Serve
Crime Criminal information system in
Madurai and Virudhunagar districts,
which would be connected to Transport
Department's main server to enable police
to get information about any vehicle in
the state. The facility would help officers
determine whether vehicle papers were
genuine. http://www.chennaionline.com
Satellite built by Lockheed
Martin successfully launched
A US Air Force modernized GPS Block
IIR (GPS IIR-M) satellite was successfully
launched from Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station aboard a United Launch
Alliance (ULA) Delta II launch vehicle.
The satellite, designated GPS IIR-
19M, is the sixth in a line of eight GPS
IIR satellites that Lockheed Martin
Navigation Systems, Valley Forge, Pa. has
modernized for its customer, the Global
Positioning Systems Wing, Space and
Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air
Force Base, Calif. www.aero-news.net
Middle East collaborates
on Seismic Mapping
Earth scientists from Israel, Jordan
and Palestine have formed a research
partnership to map regional seismic
activity. The researchers, from Tel Aviv
University, Al-Balqa Applied University in
Jordan, and An-Najah National University
in Palestine will work together to map
a 100 sqkm area around Jericho — one
of the world’s most vulnerable areas
for earthquakes. The four-year project
will assess potential seismic hazards as
well as monitoring seismic activity.
According to ABI Research, one billion
GPS chipsets will be shipped annually
in 2013. It thinks Average Selling Prices
(ASPs) of GPS chipsets will continue to
fall, but the effect on vendors' revenue
streams will be more than offset by this
strong growth in volume. Industry analyst
Jamie Moss comments, the average price
of the chipset will fall to $3.50 or below
by the end of 2008, permitting a true
mass market adoption. There is a growing
numbers of acquisitions: large chip
manufacturers buying up specialist fabless
GPS IC vendors in order to include their
technologies in solutions that combine
GPS with varied wireless RF product
offerings, especially Bluetooth. Examples
of such acquisitions in 2007 include Global
Locate, acquired by Broadcom (June);
GloNav by NXP (December); and u-Nav
by Atheros (December). Additionally SiRF
acquired Centrality to integrate System on
Chip (SoC) solutions in its product range
and u-blox went public on the Swiss stock
exchange. 