gps

Mobile Justice: SMS your phone for its GPS Location

Windows Phone News

By chris#wp, Saturday, Jan 3, 2009 at 3:22 am

Here's a neat little app: MobileJustice. If your WM Phone has GPS on it, this little app can run in the background and listen for a certain SMS message - the one you send it asking where the heck it is - to which it auto replies with GPS coordinates. They recommend using it for lost or stolen phones, but I have a much better idea: Strap your phone on the back of a stray dog, wait two days, then go looking: extreme geocaching!

MobileJustice is a freeware anti theft application for Windows Mobile 5.0 based devices that allows you to monitor and search your mobile phone via GPS coordinates.

The application consists of four modules:

1. SimMon (sim card monitor, started at windows startup)
2. RemoteMonitor(parses incoming SMS messages and sending replies)
3. GpsReport (get GPS position and send it to phones listed in command line)
4. MJConfig (configuration utility)

Read: Tech[dot]Blog » MobileJustice anti theft for Windows Mobile PPC- Track and Monitor SIM card changes via GPS coordinates

How-To Video: Setting up Bluetooth GPS on WM5

By chris#wp, Saturday, Jan 3, 2009 at 3:22 am

As promised, here's a quick video walkthough showing you how to set up a Bluetooth GPS "puck" on Windows Mobile. Credit goes to Microsoft, specifically the Windows Mobile Team Blog.

The benefit of this is you can use free mapping and directions software like (in order of my preference)...

....to find your way around. None of these free apps are particularly well-suited to being used while driving (even the new smart2go, which so far I'm not impressed with), but they're great for lighter usage.

If you don't already have a GPS puck, our store sells a few standalones.

If you're looking for just straightforward GPS-in-your Car for in-driving Navigation, though, I still think a bundle is a good way to go.

How-To Video is after the jump.

(Directly download the video here)

Nokia to offer free GPS nav app for WM5(!)

Windows Phone News

By chris#wp, Saturday, Jan 3, 2009 at 3:22 am

Can I get a yowza? Available for download tomorrow, Feb 10th, Nokia is offering a free GPS navigation application called smart2go for Series 60 Nokia phones and, here's the shocker, Windows Mobile 5. The software will apparently work even if you don't have GPS available via a bluetooth puck or built-in. Looks like it's free because Nokia will also be offering optional, premium-brand travel guides, packed with valuable information and important tips."

If you are wondering how to set up GPS on your WM5 device, you'll find a nice set of instructions here.

Nokia today announced that it is making its smart2go mapping and navigation platform, available for free download (www.smart2go.com), enabling millions of people to use the most comprehensive map coverage offered on a mobile device. The platform allows for mapping and routing in over 150 countries and has support for full turn-by-turn satellite navigation in over 30 countries. The application allows people to view where they are on a map, search for points-of-interests (POI) around them and create routes to get them there free of charge. Nokia plans to start offering the smart2go application for free, on Saturday, February 10th, for selected Nokia S60 and Windows Mobile 5.0 devices initially and has plans to roll out support for most of the major mobile OS platforms including Nokia S60, Series 40, PocketPC, Linux and other Windows Mobile devices.

Update 3: it's up now, thanks for the tip, Paul! Now should I be concerned that the are listing the "Treo 650w", which doesn't exist in any world I live in? Nah.. Installing now.

(Thanks to MSMobiles for the tip. As they say, "Next logical step: Nokia mobile phones powered by Windows Mobile!")

Read: Nokia - ShowPressRelease

2007: Year of the GPS Handheld?

Windows Phone News

By chris#wp, Saturday, Jan 3, 2009 at 3:22 am

The BBc reports (with requisite Nokia quote, hey, it's Europe!) that sales of GPS devices will more than double to more than 28 million devices this year. That's a lot of people who aren't lost anymore. I just hope that all these promised "location-based services" that everybody's been talking about aren't what I fear they'll be: the mobile equivalent of pop-up ads. Isn't it enough that I have to ignore they guy yelling at me to buy his "real Rolexes?" Now I'll have my smartphone telling me the same?

sigh. I may be a gadget nerd, but sometimes my inner-luddite pops out and grumbles.

According to the mobile industry, 2007 is the year when GPS will finally lock on to phones across Europe.

"GPS has been in the domain of the early adopters to date, but in 2007 it will come to the masses," said Marcus Dacombe, head of product marketing at handset manufacturer Nokia.

Read: BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Mobiles navigate the future

Virtual Earth Mobile Updated

Software

By chris#wp, Saturday, Jan 3, 2009 at 3:22 am

Virtual Earth Mobile has been bumped up to 1.69, adding a feature or two and a bugfix or two.

Virtual Earth is a really impressive app, though I have to say that so far it doesn't quite live up to Google Maps on the PalmOS. It does help fill the gap, though. As long as I'm being honest, I'll say that the Windows Live Search Beta for WM is also very nice and has pretty much replaced Virtual Earth as my mapper of choice.

For those of you who asked to be able to drag the map with the stylus, I've finally gotten around to implementing it.

I also added the option of getting directions in text form, for those of you who prefer written directions.

And I fixed a bug in "Add to Contacts" that appeared because the server is no longer returning zip cod

Read: Windows Mobile Team Blog : Virtual Earth Mobile 1.69