TopoPhone Provides Advanced GPS Mapping for Windows Mobile 5.0 Users

[Mike Temporale]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.topophone.com/' target='_blank'>http://www.topophone.com/</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Sylvan Ascent Inc. is introducing TopoPhone, a new kind of GPS topographic mapping software for mobile phones. It has become commonplace for people to bring along a cell phone, topographic maps and GPS receiver when going hiking, skiing, hunting, or snowmobiling. TopoPhone combines all of these into your cell phone, and adds something new; the ability to see where the other people in your party are located. TopoPhone makes it harder to get lost yourself, and easier to find or rescue others who are lost or injured. TopoPhone provides detailed USGS Topographic maps, and all the usual GPS capabilities such as waypoints, trips and routes. The maps are downloaded automatically into your phone as needed - there is never any reason to hook up to a desktop computer. Maps are stored for later use, so TopoPhone can be used even when out of cellular range. If other people in your group also have a TopoPhone equipped cell phone, everyone can see where everyone else is on their phone if they so choose."</i><br /><br />TopoPhone sounds like it could be a very cool application. However, you need Windows Mobile 5.0 and the .NET Compact Framework Version 2 to try it out. :(

[Sven Johannsen]

TopoPhone uses SMS text messaging to send GPS coordinates between phones, and displays the locations on the map. This scheme is simple, private and secure.

That could get expensive. So how many GPS capable WM2005/w .net cell phones are out there today?

[chucky.egg]

I think SMS for transferring co-ords is a good idea. It might get expensive if used a lot, but for occassional use it shouldn't be too bad

There's an app called GPS PI (http://www.jgui.net/gps/gpspi/) which does a similar thing. After a distinct lack of interest from the developer I finally got sent a trial that worked on my phone (C500) - the Handango et al downloads were for PocketPC - but I never managed to create a map of my area (couldn't get the calibration to work).

I think this has all sorts of potential uses, everything from finding the wife at the out of town shopping centre (Mall?) to keeping track of Granny when she goes for a wander at 2am, to finding work colleagues quickly if they get into bother. There's also a Symbian S60 app that does GPS- or GSM-based location reporting via SMS at preset intervals.

The first supplier to create an easy to use solution, and that probably includes some sort of Wizard for map calibration and options for sending to a phone or a URL, will find a big market IMO