A key use of a
cell phone is to contact
emergency services while on the road.
However, many people in the act of
travelling are not able to
coherently relay their
location to 911
dispatchers. A cell phone with a built in
GPS reciever, however, could send the phone and caller's location to a dispatcher
automatically. The
Garmin Navtalk already does this.
According to the
news blurb I saw this on, this technology will become a
requirement in a few years.
I saw this coming when
Bill Clinton ordered
Selective Availability removed.
Humorously enough the idea was also portrayed in the
Charlies Angels movie (although to the fakest degree). Some guy in
Citrix class even
mentioned it a year ago.
There is some
opposition.... Certain
safegaurds will have to be taken to make sure the GPS information can't be
exploited.
For example: An
unchecked wireless provider could monitor everywhere you shop the day after
Thanksgiving and sell the information to
JC Penney.
The combination of hundreds of cell phone makers, thousands of wireless providers, and the fact that pretty much everyone and they're
kids have a cell phone will make this a fairly
hefty job.