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Sprint, Microsoft Using gpsOne Chips for Really Real?


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That seems to be the case, check out the details that crossed the wires yesterday:

Starting on Tuesday, when Sprint Nextel customers use the search bar in their phone browsers, the results will automatically incorporate the users' location. Some customers will also be able to use voice commands to conduct searches.
The capabilities are an extension of a relationship that Microsoft and Sprint formed late last year that initially involved including Microsoft's Live Search in the browser on Sprint phones.

Read: Yahoo! News

I ignored this story initially because the handsets mentioned were bland feature phones. Then DrDoom pointed out that there's no reason LBS can't work on devices like the Mogul very very soon. Seems like a no-brainer that it should be built into Live Search.

I hate gpsOne not because it's inaccurate, but because it's so often locked down just because the carriers haven't figured out a good way to use it to bilk us out of more money. So this news is actually good news. As DrDoom said: "Because even if its only using the towers, SOMETHING is better than NOTHING for LBS." You damn skippy.

Update: Malatesta smacks me down in the comments -- and rightly so. It's not gpsOne/aGPS, it's just tower triangulation. Although that would still be SOMETHING, as stated above, it's not ANYTHING yet for Windows Mobile. In point of fact, Malatesta doubts it ever will be. Grumble grumble.

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Comments (18)

GPS on Mogul, sort of?

Sprint and Microsoft announced this today:


http://news.yahoo.com/s/infoworld/20070918/tc_infoworld/91885


So I go into Microsoft Live, and it will only type like its in "character" mode, even though its not.


Anyone else know about this? Because even if its only using the towers, SOMETHING is better than NOTHING for LBS.

Posted by DrDoom | September 18, 2007 5:09 PM

Gah! I have to start paying closer attention to press releases!

I'll check this out tomorrow. With all the complaining I've been doing about GPSOne chips being nerfed, this will matter to me.

Posted by Dieter Bohn | September 18, 2007 7:36 PM

Hey Doom -

Published the story but I don't seem to get anything notable when I search on our mogul here. Darn.

Like I said in the story, I do think we can/should expect a new version of the live search client.

Posted by Dieter Bohn | September 19, 2007 9:16 AM

Hey Doom -

Published the story but I don't seem to get anything notable when I search on our mogul here. Darn.

Like I said in the story, I do think we can/should expect a new version of the live search client.


Yeah, I should hope so. When you try to search on the Live page, does it put your Mogul in character mode and refuse to type letters? That's what mine does, AND I even deleted Live and reinstalled it.:mad:

Posted by DrDoom | September 19, 2007 9:57 AM

Errr...

Couple of things

(1) This doesn't use aGPS it uses cell tower triangulation. So it's far less accurate.

(2) AFAIK, the APIs for GPSOne and Sprint still have not been written

(3) Even though this only uses triangulation, I still doubt we'll see it for PPC devices

I'd also add you can download any of those "special" versions using Opera Mini and just run it as a java app, but when I tried that last night I saw nothing about LBS/Sprint, etc.

Posted by Malatesta | September 19, 2007 12:19 PM

Yeah, I should hope so. When you try to search on the Live page, does it put your Mogul in character mode and refuse to type letters? That's what mine does, AND I even deleted Live and reinstalled it.:mad:


Hm. This is why I have complained so vocally about the "Live" branding strategy - it so often makes me ask questions that make me feel dumb. Are we talking about:

1. Windows Live search webpage, m.live.com / mobile.live.com or
2. Window Live app (with a search field in it) or
3. Windows Live Search field on the Today Screen or
4: Live Search app (the one with maps and such) ?

...in any case, i can't seem to reproduce the character bug you're mentioning on my Mogul.

Posted by Dieter Bohn | September 19, 2007 12:52 PM

Errr...


/Dieter Slaps Forehead
/Dieter Updates Post

Posted by Dieter Bohn | September 19, 2007 12:53 PM

Hm. This is why I have complained so vocally about the "Live" branding strategy - it so often makes me ask questions that make me feel dumb. Are we talking about:

1. Windows Live search webpage, m.live.com / mobile.live.com or
2. Window Live app (with a search field in it) or
3. Windows Live Search field on the Today Screen or
4: Live Search app (the one with maps and such) ?

...in any case, i can't seem to reproduce the character bug you're mentioning on my Mogul.



THAT one!
Downloaded from http://wls.live.com and it will not recognize anything but characters when I use it.
:cry: :eek: :mad:

Posted by DrDoom | September 19, 2007 2:16 PM

And when I say "character" mode, the phone BEJAVES as though the little orange light next to function should be lit, like I double pressed the "function" button, but the light is NOT lit, and I did not hit that button. Hitting that button has no effect.

Posted by DrDoom | September 19, 2007 2:19 PM

/Dieter Slaps Forehead
/Dieter Updates Post

lol, don't be so hard on yourself! This stuff is confusing as :censored: and that press release purposefully obfuscated the details.

The way I see it is this:

MS Live --> cell tower triangulation --> less accurate --> Free

TeleNav --> aGPS --> very accurate --> $$$

Plus, if MS live used aGPS, then you could it's turn-by-turn directions and skip on TeleNav.

Someday it'll all happen.

Posted by Malatesta | September 19, 2007 4:42 PM

lol, don't be so hard on yourself! This stuff is confusing as :censored: and that press release purposefully obfuscated the details.

The way I see it is this:

MS Live --> cell tower triangulation --> less accurate --> Free

TeleNav --> aGPS --> very accurate --> $$$

Plus, if MS live used aGPS, then you could it's turn-by-turn directions and skip on TeleNav.

Someday it'll all happen.


aGPS == gpsOne?

Posted by Dieter Bohn | September 19, 2007 4:47 PM

DrDoom, I am having the same problem with the characters in Live Search. I just started looking for a fix. Had any luck yet?

Posted by tampahoo | October 9, 2007 4:32 PM

DrDoom, I am having the same problem with the characters in Live Search. I just started looking for a fix. Had any luck yet?


This is a documented bug and will be fixed in the next MR (maintenance rom) to be released by Sprint.

Posted by TC99 | October 9, 2007 5:19 PM

This is a documented bug and will be fixed in the next MR (maintenance rom) to be released by Sprint.


What he said.

Posted by DrDoom | October 10, 2007 11:56 AM

This is a documented bug and will be fixed in the next MR (maintenance rom) to be released by Sprint.


there is a keyboard fix. i did n't see it posted here so i will now. http://discussion.wmexperts.com/showthread.php?p=1360289#post1360289

Posted by codyppc | October 16, 2007 7:38 AM

Now can I use a BT GPS reciever with Live?

Posted by DrDoom | October 16, 2007 3:12 PM

Who says it's only gpsOne? If you go into the debug menu it seems to have a lot more than that.

From the phone screen, ##33284#, then change the debug info to GPS. You can see there is a lot of info available but seems to be locked down. A lot of the radio chips have GPS on the same die these days. My guess is that Sprint and HTC just didn't have it all worked out software-wise and will unlock it in the next update.

At least I hope...

Posted by InfinityFlex | October 22, 2007 10:46 AM

Well, not THIS update, but hopefully a later one? I'm still ordering the freedom keychain BT GPS reciever. Knowing my luck, and the fact I stay with Sprint, the next handset won't have "open" GPS either.

Posted by DrDoom | October 25, 2007 6:27 AM

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