Location Sensitivity - Cell Phone and Mobile Phone GPS

In the mid to late 1990's, many people got cell phones just for the emergency use of being able to call for help almost anywhere. The problem came up when statistics showed that almost 92% of all serious 911 calls, (where the person was just barely able to make the call), they either didn't know where they were or was unable to tell the 911 operator where they were, or they might not have been able to talk at all. This caused a big concern, 911 operators couldn't do anything but listen to the person on their cell phone as they pass away. The Location Sensitivity system still doesn't work if you are in an area that only has an analog signal. (Which is the older cellular system of the mid 1990's and earlier). Most metropolitan areas and all interstate freeways are covered by the newer digital service. It's just when you get out in the middle of no-where, you might end up with an analog signal. Most phones will display the letter "A" in the top right or left corner when using this system. Check your phone documentation, some phones don't even have this capability. Which means if you get into one of these areas, you can't make any type of call what-so-ever.
Soon, the Location Sensitivity feature will probably be offered by the cellular companies as part of their pricing plan. Some carriers like Nextel are already taking advantage of this new technology by giving customers a GPS location service along with their calling plan. If you don't have this option with your carrier, and you have a Smartphone you can always purchase one of the SD slot GPS units that works with mapping software. The program I've really enjoyed is Mapopolis, which works great with most of the popular GPS hardware available. And most even have a voice activation that will tell you where to turn, which is directed through the speaker phone portion of the Smartphones. The ability to have GPS information and mapping on your handheld will be a great plus while traveling.
Back to the Location Sensitivity. I'm just wondering how much the cellular companies are going to charge for such a GPS type service!? I'm sure they're all working hard right now on the new pricing plans that we'll have to pay if you don't have the GPS hardware to install on your Smartphone.
When these services become available, they will only be location based. Another words, most GPS's these days will actually give you your current altitude and most have a pretty fast refresh rate. The refresh rate is the time between position updates. An example; If you have a GPS in your hand that refreshed three times per second, this would be a very acturate reading. Even if you are driving at 70 miles per hour, the moving map on the GPS will be able to keep up with your actual location. That's an issue the engineers are dealing with on the Location Sensitivity system. It wasn't designed to have any type of refresh rate at all. Once a position has been found, it never was designed to refresh that position. (I guess if you are hurt, and you called 911, you aren't supposed to be moving. Hmmm, So if you fell off a bridge, and landed in the back of a truck driving down the interestate, I'm not sure if they would be able to locate you. They would know where you were when you first dialed 911, but as your location changes, they might not be able to find you). Supposedly, the 911 operator can pull a refresh, this would at least tell them the direction the vehicle is moving. But to locate you while you're moving, might be more difficult than anyone had expected.
Another problem with many of the handheld units, the actual speed of the processors within them. Most cell phones operate on around 1 to 2 MHz processor speed. Most Smartphones operate anywhere between 30 to 500 MHz. (Most new home computers are operating between 2 to 4 GHz processor speed, just to give you an idea). This is where the engineers are running into the biggest problem with creating a GPS refresh rate. The processors in all handhelds will just have to be faster than they are today. And like all of our other technolgies, I'm sure this won't be a problem very much longer for the designers.

Cellular Phone Carriers

How many times have you heard of people spending hundreds of dollars on the latest and greatest cell phone only to be disappointed by the bad signal? Dropping calls is another very annoying occurrence with cell phones. You need to look very carefully into the cell phone carrier that you wish to sign up with. You will be signing a contract usually for one year so make sure it's money well spent.

Who are the main cell phone carrier?

·AT&T

·T-Mobile

·Verizon Wireless

·Cingular

·Nextel

·ALLTEL

·Sprint PCS

The above carriers are only a hand full in and every expanding mobile world. All will approach with special offers and incentives with camera cell phones etc to sign you up. The positives are obvious. You get a free cell phone and maybe some extra minutes talk time but they get a customer for a year. Most carriers have good coverage but it is worth your while looking at your options.

If you rely on your cell phone for work such as sales reps or drivers etc you need to look into the roaming charges. Some people think the charges may only vary slightly from one carrier to another so why bother. This is a lazy approach and untrue. You could save yourself hundreds of dollars per year simply by looking around. You can check the rates out online on most of the carrier's websites. Roaming rates can be expensive so look long and hard before you decide.

I don't need to travel so roaming charges are not a worry to me: If you are happy enough using your phone mainly from the house or just plodding around you are not going to have any concern of high charges for roaming, but there are other ways to save money and lots of it. Many people never think too much about the SMS Text messages they send. Yes it saves money rather than calling and it is fast and generally reliable, however, different carriers have different text rates. You might not think that one-cent saving in not much and rightly so but if you are a regular Text user you need look at the overall yearly saving. Most cell phone carrier companies will offer special saving incentives on SMS Text so look into it.

Where else can I save money?

The latest and the greatest, the camera phone is as popular as a DVD. Everywhere you look people seem to have them. Great fun and very handy for that special moment for when you only wished you had a camera but very I repeat very expensive you decide to send many pictures to friends and family. Here by looking at your different options you can save plenty of you hard earned dollars. All it takes is a quick look around the web or a phone call; most of the carriers have free toll numbers. Monthly service rental will also vary from one company to another.

Another Tip

With so many cellular phone stores around you will be spoiled for choice. Remember stores make commission so if you are in a large shopping mall the chances are that there are a number of different cell stores. Check out the different rates and you will see a difference. Money is not everything, going back to the start of this article you need to make sure that you have an exceptional signal. If you are going to be a loyal customer for a year or so you should expect nothing but the best back in service.

What if I already have my own cell phone?

This is not a problem. If you are out of contract with one of the cell phone carriers you are free to look around just like from the beginning. You can either use your own cell or take them up on their offers, as most will offer you a free cell phone as a new user to the network.

What if I want to terminate my contract before it has officially ended?

Look long and hard at your contract before you sign, especially the smaller print. All carriers have different clauses in their contract but if you want to terminate early there usually is a penalty charge of some sort. One way out of this is to get a prepaid cell phone where you have no contract. You are free to swap from one carrier to another as you please. Be aware prepaid cell phones are more expensive pre minute talk time and Text than if you where on a monthly fee.