GPS phones hit Australian market - News - Communications

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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GPS phones hit Australian market

By James Pearce, ZDNet Australia
August 19, 2002
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/GPS-phones-hit-Australian-market/0,130061791,120267508,00.htm

A new player has entered the mobile handset market with a strategy of standing out from the crowd.

Benefon has eschewed the MMS battle currently being fought by other companies and has instead released a range of mobiles with GPS capabilities.

-The product is a totally differentiated product," ZDNet Australia was told by Ned Tesic, account executive with Australian Business Telephone Company (ABTC)--the only nationwide distributors of the phones. -We'll be focusing on the GPS capabilities during marketing."

-We see a huge scope for them," said Tesic, adding ABTC is in negotiations to supply the units to the Australian Government.

According to Tesic, the combination of GSM and GPS technologies will find a lot of applications in business, especially for workers who are in a potentially dangerous situation.

-There's always been a need for a GPS device with polling capabilities so you can instruct the base station that you're in need of assistance," said Tesic. -It's that holistic kind of solution." One of the phones, the Track Pro, can be set up to be polled every five minutes, causing the phone to discretely vibrate. If the emergency button on the top of the phone isn't pressed, assistance can be sent using the GPS to pinpoint the location.

This is what originally attracted ABTC to the range of phones. -It's not a mobile phone, it's a GPS mobile phone," said Tesic. -There's no point bringing into the market a phone that has no differentiation." Tesic pointed out that if the phone is stolen, the GPS functionality allows its location to be pinpointed.

Benefon has also released a dual-SIM card mobile, allowing workers to have a corporate SIM card for business, and a separate SIM card for personal use.