RE: GPS+sms apps
I guess SMS is generally more accessable and tends to be a lot cheaper, often free, in Toronto and most of Canada. Phones could transmit position continuously to a central server, or some centralized mechanisim, and I'm thinking it would be much easier for a centralized server program to notify phones reliably with SMS, rather then depend on a data connection. Basically by using SMS it would be a more accesable and reliable application that could be run continously by the participants. Tie it into a social networking site maybe too. Matt -Original Message- From: Dean Collins [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, May 28, 2007 5:16 PM To: Crane, Matthew; OpenMoko Subject: RE: GPS+sms apps Why would you need SMS - if you are running a data plan already to track cell tower and relative position to other Neo users then you may as well make it a self contained application. Regards, Dean Collins Cognation Pty Ltd [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:community- [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Crane, Matthew Sent: Monday, 28 May 2007 4:57 PM To: OpenMoko Subject: GPS+sms apps Is there any existing application which combine sms messaging and GPS? It would be pretty cool to get automated alerts whenever a particular person is nearby, through a central machine (phone, desktop). Or to use some sort of automated homing application, where two people are able to lock to each other and the phone guides them, notifying the other device when the route or position has changed. Matt ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
Re: GPS+sms apps
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 Well, it's a general problem. Depending upon your phone plan, using SMS might make sense or not. If SMS are free, that's nice, although I doubt you'll manage to run a ppp session with mtu 150 over it :-P Generically speaking, SMS are certainly more complicated to deal with: GPRS is simple TCP/IP. SMS are special modem commands to the GSM module. GPRS means that basically any server connected to the Internet can probably communicate with the phone. SMS means the server needs either some special Internet service to send and receive!!! SMS, or a not exactly free-of-costs GSM module. In practice you would need completly free and unlimited SMS so that it makes somehow sense. Even 1ct per SMS ruins the economy, = US$/CDN$/EUR 70 per MB (depending if the cent was US/CDN/EUR *g*), combined with an extremly low bandwidth (there is a limit how many SMS you can send/receive per minute with a GSM module). I guess SMS is generally more accessable and tends to be a lot cheaper, It depends. E.g. my German calling plan includes an UMTS flatrate, but SMS are 30ct per piece. At least with UMTS + Opera on the phone the sms.at website (that allows me to send cheap/free SMS) is usuable well enough :) My Austrian calling plan has 250MB UMTS, GPRS flatrate (basically UMTS with a speed limit after the included MB), and 1000 SMS included. That makes sending data via GPRS the safer option, cost wise. often free, in Toronto and most of Canada. Phones could transmit position continuously to a central server, or some centralized mechanisim, and I'm thinking it would be much easier for a centralized server program to notify phones reliably with SMS, rather then depend on a data connection. SMS are not reliable. OTOH, you can get a send report, although these often cost extra :( Andreas Basically by using SMS it would be a more accesable and reliable application that could be run continously by the participants. Tie it into a social networking site maybe too. Matt -Original Message- From: Dean Collins [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, May 28, 2007 5:16 PM To: Crane, Matthew; OpenMoko Subject: RE: GPS+sms apps Why would you need SMS - if you are running a data plan already to track cell tower and relative position to other Neo users then you may as well make it a self contained application. Regards, Dean Collins Cognation Pty Ltd [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:community- [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Crane, Matthew Sent: Monday, 28 May 2007 4:57 PM To: OpenMoko Subject: GPS+sms apps Is there any existing application which combine sms messaging and GPS? It would be pretty cool to get automated alerts whenever a particular person is nearby, through a central machine (phone, desktop). Or to use some sort of automated homing application, where two people are able to lock to each other and the phone guides them, notifying the other device when the route or position has changed. Matt ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFGXDBqHJdudm4KnO0RAuBaAJ9RbeGxNpLgqVBz+YtZ9TM3hmL0mACeOTV7 YaYmRlHlU/iqDp0Oz2Hx4W4= =/JXJ -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
RE: GPS+sms apps
On ti, 2007-05-29 at 09:15 -0400, Crane, Matthew wrote: I guess SMS is generally more accessable and tends to be a lot cheaper, often free, in Toronto and most of Canada. I didn't know SMS are often free; here they cost a bundle, though a bit less if you take a bulk deal in your monthly fees. OTOH, here we have quite affordable no-limit GPRS(/EDGE/UMTS). Clearly it would be good for a locator service to be able to communicate via both methods, depending on what kind of a mobile plan the user has. As for availability, for a GPRS-preferred user of such a service you could pretty much assume that they are connected whenever the phone is on and has coverage, so not that different from SMS... -- Mikko J Rauhala [EMAIL PROTECTED] University of Helsinki ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
RE: GPS+sms apps
Ok, yea, they aren't often free, but they are often free to send even with the basic plans. In the case of an application where it's sending to a central server and notifications go out much more rarely, then free to send is preferable. I think the basic plans often charge 10-15c. For reference, Canadian $ getting closet to parity with USD lately. Matt -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mikko J Rauhala Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2007 9:56 AM To: community@lists.openmoko.org Subject: RE: GPS+sms apps On ti, 2007-05-29 at 09:15 -0400, Crane, Matthew wrote: I guess SMS is generally more accessable and tends to be a lot cheaper, often free, in Toronto and most of Canada. I didn't know SMS are often free; here they cost a bundle, though a bit less if you take a bulk deal in your monthly fees. OTOH, here we have quite affordable no-limit GPRS(/EDGE/UMTS). Clearly it would be good for a locator service to be able to communicate via both methods, depending on what kind of a mobile plan the user has. As for availability, for a GPRS-preferred user of such a service you could pretty much assume that they are connected whenever the phone is on and has coverage, so not that different from SMS... -- Mikko J Rauhala [EMAIL PROTECTED] University of Helsinki ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
Re: GPS+sms apps
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 10-15c/SMS = that's about 60-90c per KB. Or 600-900$ per MB. Don't think that GPRS is THAT expensive even in Canada. Andreas Crane, Matthew wrote: Ok, yea, they aren't often free, but they are often free to send even with the basic plans. In the case of an application where it's sending to a central server and notifications go out much more rarely, then free to send is preferable. I think the basic plans often charge 10-15c. For reference, Canadian $ getting closet to parity with USD lately. Matt -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mikko J Rauhala Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2007 9:56 AM To: community@lists.openmoko.org Subject: RE: GPS+sms apps On ti, 2007-05-29 at 09:15 -0400, Crane, Matthew wrote: I guess SMS is generally more accessable and tends to be a lot cheaper, often free, in Toronto and most of Canada. I didn't know SMS are often free; here they cost a bundle, though a bit less if you take a bulk deal in your monthly fees. OTOH, here we have quite affordable no-limit GPRS(/EDGE/UMTS). Clearly it would be good for a locator service to be able to communicate via both methods, depending on what kind of a mobile plan the user has. As for availability, for a GPRS-preferred user of such a service you could pretty much assume that they are connected whenever the phone is on and has coverage, so not that different from SMS... -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFGXD1jHJdudm4KnO0RApWlAKDofqLqU+WFF9Tk3YWJxrlQBtMMJQCgz05Y HoAmLspdqCph53ysk+UV6g8= =PN0Q -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
GPS+sms apps
Is there any existing application which combine sms messaging and GPS? It would be pretty cool to get automated alerts whenever a particular person is nearby, through a central machine (phone, desktop). Or to use some sort of automated homing application, where two people are able to lock to each other and the phone guides them, notifying the other device when the route or position has changed. Matt ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
RE: GPS+sms apps
Why would you need SMS - if you are running a data plan already to track cell tower and relative position to other Neo users then you may as well make it a self contained application. Regards, Dean Collins Cognation Pty Ltd [EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:community- [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Crane, Matthew Sent: Monday, 28 May 2007 4:57 PM To: OpenMoko Subject: GPS+sms apps Is there any existing application which combine sms messaging and GPS? It would be pretty cool to get automated alerts whenever a particular person is nearby, through a central machine (phone, desktop). Or to use some sort of automated homing application, where two people are able to lock to each other and the phone guides them, notifying the other device when the route or position has changed. Matt ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
Re: GPS+sms apps
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 You don't need GPS for that. It's a quite simple Python script (without GUI certainly less than 10 lines) for PyS60 (Symbian S60), that checks the GSM/UMTS cell info, and sends a SMS to your wife if you enter a specific cell (I'll be home in 15 minutes or I'm near to the supermarket, should I pick up anything? come to mind). *g* Andreas Crane, Matthew wrote: Is there any existing application which combine sms messaging and GPS? It would be pretty cool to get automated alerts whenever a particular person is nearby, through a central machine (phone, desktop). Or to use some sort of automated homing application, where two people are able to lock to each other and the phone guides them, notifying the other device when the route or position has changed. Matt ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.2 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFGW0zEHJdudm4KnO0RAnWuAKDXyuuacSu4+wzeF0h7TujEtusHlACeIh44 D3BuI4uQN6beJtBvK/1r9aE= =C/y3 -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
Re: GPS+sms apps
fwiw, I tried this on a symbian60 phone... have it ring an alarm wake up and get off the bus when I approached a certain tower. The problem is that alarm went off at the most unexpected times. I think cell tower reception isn't just nice little circles like you'd expect. You don't need GPS for that. It's a quite simple Python script (without GUI certainly less than 10 lines) for PyS60 (Symbian S60), that checks the GSM/UMTS cell info, and sends a SMS to your wife if you enter a specific cell (I'll be home in 15 minutes or I'm near to the supermarket, should I pick up anything? come to mind). ___ OpenMoko community mailing list community@lists.openmoko.org http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
