Nokia Announces Wireless GPS Module

It wasn't announced with much fanfare, but Nokia will deliver a pretty slick Bluetooth GPS module early next year.

Its buried in paragraph six of the press release for Nokias latest smartphone (the 6670, if youre curious), but Nokia did announce the LD-1W Wireless GPS Module today. The company expects the Bluetooth device to ship in the first quarter of 2005. The 12 channel receiver will measure 78.4 x 45.4 x 16.5 mm and weigh in at a pocket friendly 62 grams with its rechargable battery. Nokia promises 10 hours of use per charge. According to Nokias FAQ, the module is accurate within plus or minus 25 meters "at 95% open sky." (Good thing it can use an external GPS antenna.) This isnt Nokias first foray into GPS, but it does promise to be their most popular. Previous efforts, such as the GPS module for the 9200 Communicator and the Xpress-on GPS Shell worked only with Nokia products. The LD-1W can be used with any mobile phone, PDA or PC that supports the Bluetooth 1.1 spec, Serial Port Profile and has NMEA 0183 compatible software. The Wireless GPS Module will be bundled with a three month license for the Wayfinder Mobile Navigator (The software will be shipped on an included MMC card.) which offers turn by turn route guidance on compatible mobile phones. The service is currently available in Europe; US pricing for the Wayfinder service has yet to be determined. Click here for the full review on ExtremeTech. Check out eWEEK.coms Mobile & Wireless Center at http://wireless.eweek.com for the latest news, reviews and analysis.

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