issues of access to communication for poor village communities together with Qualcomm Inc., is looking to providing real time information to the fishermen on mobile phones.

Information regarding fi sh concentration is gathered through satellite pictures, which MSSRF analyses, converts into digital form, and feeds onto a computer server, which, in turn, can be accessed from a CDMA handset. The information comes to the fisherman in the form of latitude and longitude. The pilot project involving 10 fi shermen is running on the Tata Teleservices Ltd , whose coverage extends to a range of 15-20 km off the coast, covers about 80% of the fi shermen’s requirement. It is currently in Phase 0— which shall move through four phases over a period of one and a half years. Qualcomm is working on incorporating GPS capability in the phones, so the exact location of the phones can be tracked. This would make rescue operations much easier.

Vodafone and Research In Motion (RIM) introduced the new BlackBerry Curve 8310 smartphone in Germany, with built-in GPS navigation and advanced multimedia functionality. The integrated GPS functionality works with pre-installed Vodafone Navigator software enabling users know exactly where they're going. www.rim.net

SingTel launched MAPS, a service in Singapore that allows customers, having GPRS-enabled phones and WiFienabled devices to search for services, events and promotions from around their current location. It allows them to view their current location on a map from their device.
http://home.singtel.com

Mio Technology has released A501 GPS PDA phone. Its an all-in-one device solution that offers users the fullfunctionality of a PDA, phone and GPS navigation system.
www.mio-tech.com

Alltel Wireless customers will have access to WHERE, a LBS application. It provides customized informations including maps and directions for thousands of locations, directly to Alltel phones which could be downloaded in Alltel’s Axcess Shop. It is available on five phones: The Wafer, The Alltel Hue and u520 by Samsung as well as The Wave and AX8600 by LG.
www.alltel.com

QUALCOMM has marked a milestone in the adoption of the Company's gpsOne position-location technology. More than 300 million mobile handsets worldwide have now been shipped with the gpsOne solution, helping the wireless industry meet worldwide user demand for accurate, easy-to-use location services on mobile devices.
www.qualcomm.com

Fujitsu Siemens announced its pull out of the PDA and GPS business by the end of the year. FS currently offers a range of handhelds under its Pocket Loox brand, the line-up divided into traditional PDAs with integrated GPS and Wi-Fi, and Blackberrystyle devices with integrated phones and email-friendly micro-keyboards. However, the range hasn't been updated since the July 2006.
www.channelregister.co.uk

Berg Insight forecasts that more than 60 percent of all WCDMA devices sold in 2010 will have integrated GPS/ Galileo receivers. The EU is most likely to follow the US and Japan in requiring high accuracy of mobile emergency calls from 2010 when the Galileo system will be operational. Demand is also driven by consumer applications such as navigation. Gain detailed insights about the complete GNSS value chain spanning from GPS/ Galileo receiver developers and handset chipset vendors to handset manufacturers in its 100+ pages report.
www.lbszone.com

Sprint, USA announced FamilyWatchdog Mobile, a service that enables Sprint customers to view maps of where registered sex offenders live and work from Sprint or Nextel capable phones. Users can search the areas surrounding specific addresses such as their homes or children’s schools and view offender photographs, descriptions and conviction details.

Microsoft has launched Streets & Trips 2008. It combines the mapping software for the USA and Canada, a USB GPS and MSN Direct receiver, providing drivers with current traffi c updates and competitive gas prices without needing an Internet connection. GPS version of this software is available at a premium.