lol.

Almost ALL new cell phones have a GPS in it, even if you dont know it. It was mandated in many states after 9/11 When traped people were calling for help and couldn't be located.

I want to get a gps for my car. What are the good brands?

TOM TOM is a good brand.

Garmin all the way, cheaper than TomTom, more accurate and easier to use.

FWIW - Garmin helped the US of A setup GPS in the first place.

TomTom have recently filed for some interesting patents. They will probably at some point put a little camera in the front of the GPS unit, and overlay direction onto a real time image of the road.

More modern TomTom units will remember you route, and when connected to your computer, upload details of them, they will then compare routes and learn quickest routes etc. This is only on the more expensive models, and carries some privacy concerns.

(This is relevant to the UK though - no idea about foreign models.)

tom tom

i thought that was a communication device

silly me

Not quite, they have never mandated such a thing.

I'm sure your government (and mine) would love it if we were tracked 24/7, but having a device with a battery that runs out and software issues, that could narrow your location to a few feet (which in rubble could translate to several tonnes) is much less useful than thermal cameras of dogs, or anything else service use to find people.

I'm sure you can appreciate that if they stopped looking for people once they got no more GPS signals (which require almost line of sight to the sky to work anyway), then there would be many poor souls left trapped due to a dud battery!

Also when the Twin Towers were coming down, I wonder how many people would have thought to grab their cell phone if it was on their desk. I know my cell phone would be the last thing on my mind.

There are however, stories about security services being able to record conversations from cell phones, even while the phone is off. Evidence gathered this way has recently been used in a case. For these devices to operate with out the phone switched on, they are most certainly bugs in the traditional sense of the work, with their own power-supplies etc.

The GPS listed on most phones isn't true GPS - it doesn't talk to a satellite, it uses a system called LBS (location based services) to roughly get your position from the nearest few cells, which all beacon out their area code. It will the triangulate your position from the cells you are in range off. It is not very accurate.

Their are cell phones with 'proper' GPS, such as the Nokia N95, turn on the GPS and see how long the batter lasts!

Ta,

~C/

haha -- my mommy was buying gps
thingys this morning.

so, i finally learned what they are.
haha.