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Broadcom dips its chips in Skyhook WiFi positioning tech
Skyhook's WiFi positioning service hasn't really appeared in many devices despite its high-profile usage in the iPhone, but now it looks like it's set to become downright ubiquitous -- Broadcom is planning on building it directly into its extremely popular WiFi chipsets. Just like Skyhook's deal with SiRF, the idea is to use WiFi positioning to supplement GPS in mobile devices, allowing location-based services to function indoors and in densely-built cities where GPS doesn't always work well. No word on when we might see any devices with Skyhook-enabled chips in them, but given Broadcom's reach in the market, we'd guess it won't be too long.
NetworkLocation brings WiFi positioning to the Mac
Since the introduction of the 1st-gen, GPSless iPhone and the iPod touch, the WiFi location awareness of those devices has been a continuous source of delight to me -- with the underlying technology from Skyhook Wireless, that brave band of cross-country wardrivers, these handhelds manage to know where they are remarkably well (at least, most of the time). Having the same capability on your Mac certainly seems like a logical next step... and what would you do with that location data? Maybe you'd like to find your friends or hunt for restaurants with the Loki plugin for Firefox, but the real power of location awareness comes to bear when you can have your Mac automatically act on that information: to optimize your configuration, or change your settings to the appropriate choices for the place you're at.Enter the newest offering from centrix.ca, the Skyhook-enabled version of NetworkLocation 3.0. This $29 settings management utility (we've covered it before) can perform all the necessary changes to your settings: tweaks to network, email, proxy, sound and screen, or even arbitrary modifications via triggered AppleScripts or Automator actions (much like similar apps Location X or WiLMa). With the connection to Skyhook's database, NL3 can now switch profiles when you're in proximity to a known point, along with the previous options to flip over based on network connection or the presence of a specific device. Plugins add support for launching a VPN connection or changing Entourage or Mail's SMTP config. It's a beautiful thing.You can check out the gallery for a peek at some of NL3's options. For anyone who uses a portable machine in a large campus or corporate environment and wants to take the aggravation out of changing settings for each spot you sit in, this tool is definitely worth a look.%Gallery-31712%
Boeing's Skyhook JHL-40 blimp gives us hope for yesterday's future
We love dirigibles and we're not about to apologize for it, so that's why Boeing's new Skyhook JHL-40 airship has us ooh'ing and aah'ing in wonder. The eight-engine blimp is being developed for 40-ton 200-mile hauls in adverse environments such as wildernesses and what Boeing calls places "no other kind of transport can go." It is also slated to have a minimal impact on the environment with a carbon-minimal footprint as it won't require new roadways in remote areas. Of the eight engines, four provide lift while the other four control direction. Two production prototypes are under development at its Rotorcraft Systems facility in Ridley Park, PA. Can we sign up for a test flight? Maybe? Just a little?[Via Coolest Gadgets]
iriver's W7 media player and D27 dictionary loose in the wild
iriver just took the wraps off their D27 QWERTY dictionary and W7 personal media player they teased us with last week. The D27 if a full-size, electronic dictionary with plenty of audio and video support. It features a 480 x 272 display, FM tuner, 2GB of flash, and up to 27 hours of battery life depending upon usage habits. More interesting for westerners however, is the W7 touchscreen (finger or built-in stylus) media player which shares the industrial design of the W10 -- in fact, it may well be the very same WiFi device with Skyhook positioning only now sporting a W7 moniker for domestic S.Korea release. Video of the W7 in action after the break, plenty of pics and more video just beyond the read link. Update: More details in. The W7 goes on sale next week and turns out to be a WiFi-less, Skyhook-less version of the W10. The rest is pretty much the same: up to 8GB of storage with miniSD expansion, 480 x 272 WQVGA display, and 4-hour battery for video.[Via iriverfans]
iriver W10 WiFi media player with Skyhook positioning ready in November?
Man, we've been painstakingly following iriver's development of the W10 media player since it was first rumored back in July of 2006. Well before touchscreen DAPs were all the rage. One hands-on and several postings later, iRiver seems prepped to push their baby out in November to what will assuredly be an adoring public, in S.Korea anyway. What's the fuss? 3-inch, 480 x 272 TFT touchscreen interface; WiFi with Skyhook's GPS-like positioning and NAVTEQ maps; VoIP; FM tuner; AOL XM radio streaming; 2/4/8GB capacities with miniSD expansion; and support for MP3, WMA, OGG audio and MPEG-4, WMV9 video all riding atop an iriver tuned WinCE 5.0 OS. Thing is, those NAVTEQ maps and POIs are "only suitable for US" -- a hopeful sign that we'll see these Stateside in time for the holidays.[Thanks, Al]
Skyhook Wireless teams with SiRF for location-based services
It's quite possible that you're at least somewhat familiar with Skyhook's ability to use WiFi in order to track down various objects, and while you've likely become desensitized to SiRF after seeing it in just about every GPS / NAV device ever produced, the two are teaming up to deliver a GPS / WiFi hybrid module for wireless carriers. Skyhook's WiFi Positioning System (WPS) will be getting a boost after inking a deal to get inside SiRF's Multimode Location Platform, which "promises to boost the availability and adoption of location-based services." The new duo will join ACCESS (among the throngs of others) at 3GSM next week in order to showcase the new technology, which is slated to provide a new level of accuracy by giving handsets the ability to find your way with two tracking protocols. Additionally, the inclusion of WiFi is said to help lock onto an initial signal much quicker than a typical standalone GPS receiver can, and if all goes as planned, we could see the hybrid technology alive and well in SiRF's Star III series of chipsets "later this year."[Via GigaOM]
iriver W10 uses Skyhook for WiFi-based positioning
One critical detail we missed about the positioning stuff in iriver's new 4GB and 8GB W10 media player: they're using Skyhook's WiFi-based system to offer GPS-like positioning info in dense urban areas. Obviously not going to be usable as GPS if you're out on the open road -- any WiFi-based positioning system is only as good as its database of WiFi access points -- but GPS is notoriously ineffective both indoors and in big cities. The W10, which they're aiming at "urban explorers", will come preloaded with Navteq maps and points of interest data (banks, ATMs, mass transit, hotels, restaurants, and shoppings), and they have plans to offer Location Based Services. Should be out in April.
