Qualcomm has announced that more than 10 million gpsOne-enabled devices are now in commercial use in Japan, South Korea and the United States. Sales of phones and devices with the gpsOne Assisted Global Positioning System (A-GPS) location feature now outstrip global sales of consumer GPS terminals from all manufacturers, making Qualcomm’s gpsOne technology the world’s most widely deployed personal location system.
“This milestone represents a turning point in the wireless industry, and gpsOne is now delivering the benefits of precision GPS location to the mass market. From this point forward it is more likely than not that a CDMA phone will come equipped with gpsOne position location as a standard feature, ushering in a new wave of value-added services and safety applications,” said Dr. Irwin Mark Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm.
“Phones equipped with gpsOne capabilities are bringing new revenue opportunities to CDMA carriers and helping save lives. And while CDMA carriers are enjoying the benefits of gpsOne today, we see increased demand and interest in other wireless segments as well.”
While limited sales of gpsOne terminals began in 2001, wireless consumers purchased more than eight million gpsOne-equipped phones and devices in 2002 alone.
Major manufacturers serving carriers in the United States, Japan and South Korea are currently offering more than 50 different gpsOne-enabled handsets and devices.
A broad range of location-based services is being offered by carriers, including child-safety and personal navigation applications, friend- finder services, sales force management, and asset tracking services.
Several carriers in the United States are selling gpsOne-enabled phones to meet the Federal Communications Commission E911 wireless safety obligations and may also choose to offer additional location-enabled services.
The gpsOne A-GPS location capabilities are implemented in handsets through Qualcomm’s Mobile Station Modem (MSM) chipsets and system software, and in networks through SnapTrack’s SnapSmart location server software.
Qualcomm’s gpsOne solution, featuring SnapTrack technology, offers robust data availability under the most challenging conditions, whether in concrete- and-steel high-rises, convention centers, shopping malls or urban canyons.
Using a hybrid A-GPS approach that utilizes signals from both the GPS satellite constellation and CDMA cell sites, the gpsOne solution enhances location services availability, expands terrain coverage, accelerates the location-determination process and provides better accuracy for callers, whether during emergency situations or while using GPS-enabled commercial applications.
With its built-in Location at Hand feature, gpsOne technology protects privacy, allowing users to control their location information in most commercial implementations. Qualcomm’s gpsOne technology is supported for IS-95/CDMA2000 and GSM/GPRS/UMTS.
