How good have the last few years been for the GPS business? In the second quarter of 2005, over 1,200,000 GPS devices were sold to consumers around the country. In the same quarter of 2006 that number had jumped to an astonishing 2,400,000 – a leap of 100%! But what is fueling this growth? And what does the future hold for advancement in consumer Global Positioning System devices?
Read out to discover the places GPS is making the most impact today – and the areas that may hold the key to the future of GPS devices for consumers and businesses.
GPS Devices in Cell Phones
Once, the concept of a handheld GPS device would have been a tough sell. But over the next few years, we can expect to see more and more personal GPS devices – small, inexpensive and ultra-lightweight – reaching the market. Also, look for all the latest models of cell phones and advanced smart phones to start coming equipped with real time GPS capability.
And don’t think that cell phone makers are pushing GPS technology on an unwilling public. Surveys held by three major cell phone makers found that GPS was the feature “most want to see” in their next cell phone (24% said GPS, 19% said Internet capability)
GPS Devices in Cars
Once the property of only long-distance truckers and military vehicles, GPS tracking and navigation devices have made their way into millions of American and imported automobiles over the past several years. In fact, the devices now come standard in several manufacturers’ luxury cars.
Among the benefits these in-auto GPS devices …

The Global Positioning System has been active for sometime, with a number of upgrades. The origins were military, aviation, and seafaring consumers. In the old days, navigators would use the positions of stars to figure out where they were, and where they were headed. Some of them were quite effective at this. GPS navigation isn’t that much different!
GPS navigation involves multiple satellites in the earths atmosphere transmitting signals to devices that can then determine there current location on the ground. With advances in computerizations these devices have been extended to do about the same that old world navigators would do, and much more.
The satellites began being launched in 1978 and since they have accumulated a network of 24 of them globally. These satellites give full coverage for GPS navigation everywhere with reasonable accuracy. To the consumer that part is free. There is no service charge to pay for that; though additional maps and other features that don’t originate from these satellites may have fees.
The Many Uses For GPS Navigation
One of the earliest places that enjoyed widespread GPS navigation would have to be aviation of all sizes. Pilots found it easy to chart their systems to keep them on track for various airports using either ground signals or those from the satellites. Today GPS is a major use in this area.
Later it entered the consumer market in expensive luxury vehicles. GPS navigation features showed up in a number of foreign vehicles and in the well known on-star system in the states. Cab drivers have had similar add-on features as have other …

 

Revolutionizing Business with GPS and Mapping Software

In the modern business world, operating internationally on a heretofore inconceivable level, finding geographical information that is easy to access, precise, and up to date has become an absolute necessity. In the past, many companies were managed from the world’s superpower economies, like the US, the UK, and Japan, while operating in distant countries, sometimes on the opposite side of the globe. There was less global competition for international companies and there were a lot of sure bets. Recently, however, the number of globally operated companies has expanded exponentially, with companies from China, India, Saudi Arabia, and other emerging nations buying business assets even in the US itself. This new competition has made the globe a volatile marketplace.

Managing companies on the other side of the planet, understanding conditions being experienced by your branches around the world, and getting a solid reading of potential future business opportunities has only gotten easier, however. With the development of three converging technological concepts, it has become possible to tailor interactive maps to the specific needs of these organizations. Three key technologies have made this possible: Global Positioning Systems (enabling the use of GPS Navigation Software), Geographic Information Systems (creating the mapping software used as the basis of so many navigational tools now), and Web Mapping (using GPS mapping software to create up to date maps for a variety of specific purposes).

Geographic information systems have actually been around for …