Report: Combo GPS Chipsets Soon a Standard Feature in GSM Devices

By Divya Narain TMCnet Contributing Editor According to a new study titled “GPS Semiconductors” by ABI Research, GPS semiconductor vendors are shifting their focus from CDMA handsets and navigation devices to GSM handsets as target applications for their GPS chipsets. The increasing popularity of location-based services such as local search and social networking is driving the demand for GSM handsets equipped with GPS-chipsets. Smartphones from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Palm, Samsung and Apple already come equipped with GPS. “Despite its appeal, the handset form factor poses a series of new challenges to GPS chipset vendors,” says ABI Research Director Dominique Bonte. “While minimal power consumption, price, and small footprint are even more important in handsets than in PNDs, the bigger issue is related to indoor coverage, as... [read full story]