GPS Cell Phones – Sacrificing Privacy for Safety and Convenience

From kids to grandparents, almost everyone has a cell phone these days. Phones have become so small that they are easily carried in pockets. The affordability of cell phones has enabled millions of people to experience the convenience of making calls on the go.

Cell phones also provide a degree of anonymity. When you call in sick to work on your cell phone, your boss doesn’t know if you’re at home in bed or in Hawaii. Moms of teenagers don’t know where they are when they check in on a cell phone. This is all changing.

Added Convenience and Safety

GPS cell phones are definitely making life easier. If you’re lost, you can get convenient directions. Knowing exactly where the nearest movie theatre or gas station is saves you time and money. Especially if you have an emergency, cell phones with GPS are a lifesaver – literally.

The FCC is well aware of the safety advantages of GPS tracking cell phones. In fact, they have made it a requirement that all handheld phones be equipped with a GPS tracking device by December 2005. This decision was based on too many 911 calls from cell phones where the caller could not be located. When you call 911 from your home phone, your address comes up on a dispatcher’s screen so emergency help knows where to find you. When you call 911 on a cell phone, your location is obviously not available to them.

This is where the new phones help. Most GPS cellular phones are actually A-GPS. This means Assisted Global Positioning System. The phones use both cell phone towers and satellites to pinpoint location. It’s more accurate than GPS only.

What This Will Cost Us - Money

It isn’t an inexpensive or simple undertaking for phone companies to make this change. Communication companies have been working on this problem for years. Both Verizon and Sprint have already had problems with the new technology during their review periods. Either the phones they offered had bugs, which garbled words and created static during 911 phone calls, or the satellite connection took too long to process. Both companies are working hard to fix these problems.

Putting this new technology in every single phone and perfecting their systems is going to cost cellular companies. That cost is definitely going to be passed on to the consumer. Phones are probably going to cost more, which is bad. They will also offer new features for us to buy, which might be good. The camera phones that have become so popular now offer video messaging and pictures of who you’re calling for saved numbers. They will likely begin to offer video outgoing messages for your voicemail and advanced picture-taking capabilities.

What This Will Cost Us - Privacy

So far, that sounds great, but with GPS cellular phones, the top six companies have already announced that features will include a commercial locating service. Much like online services that tell you where your Internet friends are chatting or playing, you will be able to see where your real life friends are. Parents can keep track of their kids and meeting up with friends will be easier. It’s a technological marvel, but it’s a bit creepy! Let’s assume they have an “invisible” phone service for when you don’t want others to know where you are or that you can turn off the GPS tracking feature. Will 911 still be able to find you? Will marriages end in divorce if the husband “goes invisible” on a Friday night out with his buddies?

Another fear of reviewers is who else can get your location. Will nearby businesses be able to spam you? Just recently all major phone carriers except Verizon have come up with a cell phone directory. There’s no doubt businesses would use a directory for mobile telemarketing. If businesses can get the technology to broadcast spam to all GPS phones within a certain radius, road rage is bound to increase.

Will you know who has access to your location? Can someone locate you without your permission? Assuming all of these questions are answered and people feel safe when big brother is possibly watching, the convenience of GPS cell phone is nice.

With all of the family and friends calling plans now available, it would be helpful to make sure the person you are calling is within the call area before out-of-area charges apply. It would also make vacations easier for people in unfamiliar areas.

But what about prepaid cellular phones? The phones that you can buy with prepaid minutes are more anonymous. When they become GPS phones, you will still be able to call 911 on your phone and be tracked, but no one will be able to put a location to your name. You might, however, still have to deal with potential GPS spam. Will people who are worried about privacy drop their current providers and go for the anonymity that prepaid phones allow? What will that do to the industry?

It’s Only Going to Get Better

Currently, you can buy GPS cellular phones under many carrier plans including AT&T, Sprint, Nextel, and Verizon. Prices range from inexpensive (just having the required tracking feature in case of emergency) to outrageous (the very best full screen cell phone/PDA combos with map displays and other cellular phone accessories). Not all of the clever new GPS tech phones are available in the United States yet. So far in America, Nextel offers some of the most advanced mapping features including voice directions so you can keep your eyes on the road.

Right now these phones get mixed reviews and usually lower ratings. It seems that using the tracking technology drains most of the power, but more powerful batteries usually make phones larger. Competing with the top new wallet size phones now only offered in Japan will be difficult.

All of the communications companies are confident that in the next few years, cell phone technology will continue to amaze us. Some phones already include cameras and PDAs. In the future, we will no doubt be able to print out the pictures we take. Cell phones might even double as tiny HDTVs complete with satellite programming. After all, remember the giant briefcase phones of the 70s and 80s?

About the Author

Gareth Marples is a successful freelance writer providing valuable tips and advice for consumers about where to find a collection of the best free cell phone offers, GPS cellular phones and the latest in cell phone comparisons. His numerous articles offer moneysaving tips and valuable insight on typically confusing topics.