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New Phone Uses GPS To Locate Your Contacts
posted by Satri
on Friday November 17, @10:00AM
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from the seems-like-the-world-is-catching-up dept.
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Slashdot discuss a new phone which uses GPS to locate contacts. Their summary: "Palo Alto-based Loopt Inc. has announced an agreement with Sprint Nextel to immediately begin offering their cell phone mapping service to all 3.8 Million Sprint Boost subscribers (Sprint Boost is a service specifically targeting the under-25 market). This service will notify users when another subscriber in their contact list is within 25 miles, providing a real-time map displaying their contacts' locations. According to the article, the only apparent privacy safeguard is to provide users the option to 'temporarily cut out from being spotted by their friends.' Given a retailer's propensity to package together extra services, and the average user's lack of knowledge regarding their phone's capabilities, this new service seems ripe for abuse." This technology isn't new to Slashgeo readers, see related stories below.
Related Stories
Industry: Legal Battles Over Cellphone Tracking
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Slashdot has a story about legal battles over cellphone tracking. Copied from slashdot: "stupefaction writes "The New York Times reports on recent successful court challenges to police use of cellphone tracking information in the course of an investigation. From the article: 'In the last four months, three federal judges have denied prosecutors the right to get cellphone tracking information from wireless companies without first showing "probable cause" to believe that a crime has been or is being committed. That is the same standard applied to requests for search warrants. [...] Cellular operators like Verizon Wireless and Cingular Wireless know, within about 300 yards, the location of their subscribers whenever a phone is turned on.'""
Cellphone Surveillance 2 comments
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The Think blog points to an audio NPR radio program about cellphone surveillance. From the Think discussion: "I heard most of a good program on the radio yesterday about the issues surrounding the fact that any cell phone, while it is on, can be tracked, at least within a few hundred meters. [...] Then there's the "good" side of tracking. What if you need help? Would you be happy that your phone is telling others where you are? Even if it's only a rough guess?
Anyway, it's thought-provoking material and I'm glad I bumped into it on the radio."
GPS Tracking For Your Palm Treo 650 Phone
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mdflynn writes "After a vacation or even a short trip, it's gratifying to be able to look back on a map and follow where you've been and the places you've visited. It would be even better if your travels could be tracked automatically, and even let your family and friends see where you are as you travel from place to place. Here's an open source solution that can turn your Palm Treo 650 Smartphone into a GPS tracking device and have the data sent back to your computer over the phone's wireless data service, where you'll even be able to view the data on a map."
GPS Phone Tells Others Where You Are
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Salshdot links and discuss a GPS-enabled phone which let's your friend know where you are. This isn't new technology. Their summary: ""According to CNet, a company called Benefon has launched a cell phone with a built in GPS receiver — nothing new there. However, this particular GPS cell phone, called the Twig, does something extra. It can send your GPS coordinates to another Twig owner and then that person can navigate directly to you using the preloaded navigation software. Sounds like this could save a lot of time and effort when trying to explain to the in-laws where your new apartment is." The article says that the phone will cost £330 in the UK, or about $625."
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