GPS devices boosting Mitac's bottom line

[Nurhisham Hussein]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20060906PB203.html' target='_blank'>http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20060906PB203.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"The contribution from GPS-enabled devices, including PDA phones, will climb more than five percentage points to 30.6% of Mitac International's full-year revenues in 2006, the Chinese-language Apple Daily cited investment firm Merrill Lynch as reporting. The Taiwan-based maker is estimated to ship 4.1 million GPS devices in 2006, with an on-year increase of 46%, according to the paper."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/hisham-20060908-miologo.gif" /> <br /><br />GPS is gearing up to be the next big leap for mobile devices - it's the main selling point for HP's new rx5000, and the Fujitsu-Siemens Loox N-series and T-series. Not as well known as the more established PDA vendors, Mitac International are of course the guys behind the Mio line of GPS-enabled PDAs and PDA phones, as well as being contract manufacturers for Navman and Magellan (<i>who are</i> big names in the GPS arena). Based on what I've been reading on PDA/GPS forums, pretty soon we'll need to split the <i>Wireless and GPS</i> forum :wink:

[Paladin27]

They should be split regardless. Wireless networking discussions and location based software/hardware solutions are not similiar topics. I never understood why they were combined in the first place.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

A very good point - they are completely different. I'll pass that on.

[Jon Westfall]

The key for GPS isn't all about being included in devices (Although that's a part) - the key is developing more versitile applications than simply mapping. If MySpace or another popular web portal / networking site were to release a Pocket PC app that used GPS to geographically tag blog posts (or picture posts) and let you create a virtual "breadcrumb" trail in your photo journal with one button press, people would be all over it because it was easy and let you take journalling or blogging to a new level. If Google commissioned an app that would track your movements around town and alert you of online coupons, events, construction, and more through a "dashboard" type application (With appropriate privacy and lack of advertisements), it would be another boon to GPS. GPS "pushers" need to look beyond simple navigation to other uses for this wonderful tool.

Quite personally, I want a GPS solution that would allow remote GPS. My vision? A WiFi enabled dongle that connected to my GPS-enabled Pocket PC. The dongle would record directional movement and as it moved away from the Pocket PC would send this information to the Pocket PC. The Pocket PC would then coordinate it with incoming GPS data to tell me where the dongle had gone. Imagine letting your dog out at night and not worrying about it wandering away because the wifi "tag" was secure to it's collar. Or clipping it on your child when they go out to play. Or secretly tagging your enemy in capture-the-flag... ;)