Nokia Kickstarts GPS

In a move that will surely fuel hyper-local service offerings, Nokia have launched a service which it said would cut the time a GPS-enabled cellphone takes to pinpoint its whereabouts. Reuters reports:

While most assisted-GPS technologies use mobile carriers cellsites to find locations faster, Nokia’s new service bypasses operator networks, using data from SIM card and new software which helps the phone to catch satellite signals.

GPS chips use satellites orbiting the earth to determine the exact position of the user. They are found in car navigation systems, which have surged in popularity in recent years, and the technology is now making the jump to mobile phones.

Nokia’s N95, with a 700-euro price tag, is not within reach of the wider market, but the Finnish firm aims to bring GPS chips to a wide array of its phones. All Nokia’s GPS phones will have the new service, Kunz said.

Rumor has it that the next version of Apple’s iPhone will have GPS too.

Reuters