Paraphrasing Michael > In what ways can you extend the FreeRunner... I was looking at WiFi IP phones yesterday at Voipsupply.org and they have some in the $300-$600 range. They are targeted at "hospitality and healthcare" industry. They are just WiFi phones, no GSM no Linux. Both of these apps have staff that are constantly moving around and don't have a desk phone.
Build an app that caters to these folks and adds together WiFi + GPS + GSM For a hotel -- from the phone, check status of any room. Use the phone as a master key for cleaning staff. For medical staff that are on call, track their locations via GPS and prioritize contacting staff that are closest to the hospital. Allow staff to locate a patient from the phone -- eg not in room? might be getting therapy. When a phone leaves the building (loses WiFi VOIP registration) switch to GSM and note it in the server. This means you can run across the street to the bagel shop on a break without being out of reach and you don't have to think about it. Just go. You might not be able to locate a smartphone accurately inside a building with GPS but at a large facility you'd know which wifi access point they were connected to so you'd know what building and possibly what floor they were on. There is lots of stuff that goes way beyond what a simple WiFi phone could do and the hardware is in the same price range. All value added most of it server based and relatively easy to protect private information... so while I might not want someone I don't know tracking my location via GPS if it's part of my job it could be very helpful to me. Brian _______________________________________________ Openmoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
