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                                              Communications - Phones - Gps-Latest News

All of us here at Fast Cool rides like too discuss all things about the mobile lifestyle. So lets talk Cell phones ( mobile phones ) With so many different choices out there from Verizon, t mobile, Sprint, Nextel and cingular just to name a couple, its hard to make a choice but pimp my ride can help!

First you have to decide if you want to get contract phone or a pre paid phone, once you decide that you need to choose a good brand, Here's a couple of phones ive had success with , Motorola, Samsung, Sony and Blackberry. All of these brands have tons of options of Cell phone accessories like cell phone cases to Bluetooth headsets and car chargers. I would suggest getting an extra battery or batteries for your mobile phone. Even if you don't get a Motorola, like a Samsung for instance you can still get a Motorola Bluetooth headset for it. I like GSM phones. The companies that sell GSM phones are Cingular and t-mobile, the reason I like them better is because of the technology inside, its just newer and faster, along with a removable sim chip that you can place into your next phone and it will automatically bring your phonebook or contact lists with you.

European carrier Orange will soon begin deploying 512 MB SIM cards to subscribers who purchase a compatible 3G phone. The cards will act as regular SIMs, authenticating the phone on the network and storing contacts and text messages. However since the card has significantly more storage than the typical 32-64 KB SIMs, they will also act as storage cards, allowing users to store personal as well as downloaded content on the card. Storing protected on the card would allow users to take DRMed content with them from phone to phone without having to repurchase songs, ringtones, etc. M-Systems, manufacturer of the 512 MB SIM card says it will have 1 GB models available by year's end. Very few phones are compatible with this technology as of yet; Orange will only be launching with one phone - the LG U8210. Axalto, another SIM company, launched a competing technology called SIM on the Go that stores the DRM rights but not the files themselves on traditional SIM cards. DRM rights are currently stored on the handsets themselves.

The New technology is great, just today Helio Announced Launch Phones, MySpace Mobile The first two phones are dubbed the Hero and the Kickflip. The Hero (previously known as the Pantech 8300) is a jet-black slide-style phone with stereo speakers. The Kickflip, made by VK Mobile, is a "pearlescent" phone with a spring-assisted swivel mechanism that opens in either direction. Both phones are CDMA EV-DO with QVGA displays, 2 megapixel cameras, 70 MB of memory, microSD memory card slots, and speakerphone. All Helio phones will come with an MP3 music player, MPEG-4 streaming video, and Mobile Flash for interactive content. Helio also announced that MySpace Mobile will debut on Helio at launch, offering rich mobile access to theMySpace community from Helio phones, including moblogging.

Motorola yesterday announced a licensing agreement with Microsoft in order to bring Windows Media to its phones. Motorola will continue to offer iTunes phones, and is showing off the v3i M with iTunes at 3GSM. However, when previewing the ROKR 2, the company announced it could hold up to 1000 songs, obviously beyond iTunes 100 song limit. Motorola has said in the past that carriers will be able to choose which music software the new ROKR will come with depending on their music partner. Microsoft enabled handsets will be able to download songs over the air in Windows Media Pro format as well as transfer music from Windows Media Player on their PCs.

Nokia and Sanyo today announced an agreement to form a new, separate company comprised of their respective CDMA mobile phone divisions. The company will combine Nokia's strengths in branding, demand supply expertise, and entry-level phones with Sanyo's strengths high-end phones and carrier relationships in Japan and North America. The deal is expected to finalized next quarter, with the new company expected to commence operations in the third quarter of this year.

Almost all phones made now you can get cell phone ring tones and cell phone wallpapers downloaded on them. The Motorola Razr is very popular right now some people don't like that you can't get a cell phone faceplates for it, but it's a cool cell phone so it doesn't need it.

If you loose or break your phone there are a couple of options, you can get a used cell phone but I wouldn't suggest it. Just look online to find one. I am currently using a Blackberry with T-mobile, but they sell the blackberry at Cingular, verizon and Nextel as Well. It has been a very good phone for emailing and has a good mobile web browser. The battery life isn't the greatest. My wife has always used Nokia cell phones but I recently switched her to a Samsung and she loves it, so try out a couple different phones brands before you settle, you will also need good cell phone coverage where you live, most if not all companies have a trial period, so use it!

Then there's prepaid, you have a lot of options here as well, you have Boost, which is Sprint Nextel prepaid service as well as Ampd Mobile and go phones from Cingular, Now if you have to get prepaid my only suggestion is to try a friends first because they don't usually have a trial period, and you don't want to get stuck.

I hope this help's you make a choice on your new phone, check back regularly to see what's new in the world of Mobile communications!

There are no subscription fees or setup charges to use GPS.

How it works
GPS satellites circle the earth twice a day in a very precise orbit and transmit signal information to earth. GPS receivers take this information and use triangulation to calculate the user's exact location. Essentially, the GPS receiver compares the time a signal was transmitted by a satellite with the time it was received. The time difference tells the GPS receiver how far away the satellite is. Now, with distance measurements from a few more satellites, the receiver can determine the user's position and display it on the unit's electronic map.

A GPS receiver must be locked on to the signal of at least three satellites to calculate a 2D position (latitude and longitude) and track movement. With four or more satellites in view, the receiver can determine the user's 3D position (latitude, longitude and altitude). Once the user's position has been determined, the GPS unit can calculate other information, such as speed, bearing, track, trip distance, distance to destination, sunrise and sunset time and more.

How accurate is GPS?
Today's GPS receivers are extremely accurate, thanks to their parallel multi-channel design. Garmin's 12 parallel channel receivers are quick to lock onto satellites when first turned on and they maintain strong locks, even in dense foliage or urban settings with tall buildings. Certain atmospheric factors and other sources of error can affect the accuracy of GPS receivers. Garmin?GPS receivers are accurate to within 15 meters on average.

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Newer Garmin GPS receivers with WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) capability can improve accuracy to less than three meters on average. No additional equipment or fees are required to take advantage of WAAS. Users can also get better accuracy with Differential GPS (DGPS), which corrects GPS signals to within an average of three to five meters. The U.S. Coast Guard operates the most common DGPS correction service. This system consists of a network of towers that receive GPS signals and transmit a corrected signal by beacon transmitters. In order to get the corrected signal, users must have a differential beacon receiver and beacon antenna in addition to their GPS

The GPS satellite system
The 24 satellites that make up the GPS space segment are orbiting the earth about 12,000 miles above us. They are constantly moving, making two complete orbits in less than 24 hours. These satellites are travelling at speeds of roughly 7,000 miles an hour.

GPS satellites are powered by solar energy. They have backup batteries onboard to keep them running in the event of a solar eclipse, when there's no solar power. Small rocket boosters on each satellite keep them flying in the correct path.

Here are some other interesting facts about the GPS satellites (also called NAVSTAR, the official U.S. Department of Defense name for GPS):

?The first GPS satellite was launched in 1978.
?A full constellation of 24 satellites was achieved in 1994.
?Each satellite is built to last about 10 years. Replacements are constantly being built and launched into orbit.
?A GPS satellite weighs approximately 2,000 pounds and is about 17 feet across with the solar panels extended.
?Transmitter power is only 50 watts or less.

What's the signal?
GPS satellites transmit two low power radio signals, designated L1 and L2. Civilian GPS uses the L1 frequency of 1575.42 MHz in the UHF band. The signals travel by line of sight, meaning they will pass through clouds, glass and plastic but will not go through most solid objects such as buildings and mountains.

A GPS signal contains three different bits of information ?a pseudorandom code, ephemeris data and almanac data. The pseudorandom code is simply an I.D. code that identifies which satellite is transmitting information. You can view this number on your Garmin GPS unit's satellite page, as it identifies which satellites it's receiving.

Ephemeris data tells the GPS receiver where each GPS satellite should be at any time throughout the day. Each satellite transmits ephemeris data showing the orbital information for that satellite and for every other satellite in the system.

Almanac data, which is constantly transmitted by each satellite, contains important information about the status of the satellite (healthy or unhealthy), current date and time. This part of the signal is essential for determining a position.

Sources of GPS signal errors
Factors that can degrade the GPS signal and thus affect accuracy include the following:

?Ionosphere and troposphere delays ?The satellite signal slows as it passes through the atmosphere. The GPS system uses a built-in model that calculates an average amount of delay to partially correct for this type of error.
?Signal multipath ?This occurs when the GPS signal is reflected off objects such as tall buildings or large rock surfaces before it reaches the receiver. This increases the travel time of the signal, thereby causing errors.
?Receiver clock errors ?A receiver's built-in clock is not as accurate as the atomic clocks onboard the GPS satellites. Therefore, it may have very slight timing errors.
?Orbital errors ?Also known as ephemeris errors, these are inaccuracies of the satellite's reported location. ?Number of satellites visible ?The more satellites a GPS receiver can "see," the better the accuracy. Buildings, terrain, electronic interference, or sometimes even dense foliage can block signal reception, causing position errors or possibly no position reading at all. GPS units typically will not work indoors, underwater or underground.
?Satellite geometry/shading ?This refers to the relative position of the satellites at any given time. Ideal satellite geometry exists when the satellites are located at wide angles relative to each other. Poor geometry results when the satellites are located in a line or in a tight grouping.
?Intentional degradation of the satellite signal ?Selective Availability (SA) is an intentional degradation of the signal once imposed by the U.S. Department of Defense. SA was intended to prevent military adversaries from using the highly accurate GPS signals. The government turned off SA in May 2000, which significantly improved the accuracy of civilian GPS receivers.

[Source: Garmin .com]