Samsung Releases GPS Phone

Fletch writes: "I received an email from Samsung today announcing the release of 'America's First GPS Phone.' The phone does appear to have some neat GPS-based services, such as restaurant and traffic info. Those of you with privacy concerns need not worry. According to the manual (p122, large pdf file) the user does have the ability to turn the 'Position Location' off. (it will be automatically turned back on when/if an emergency call is made)." The manual doesn't say whether the phone initially defaults to "Tracking On" or "Off".

To save everyone from downloading that PDF file, here's the relevant section (innovative capitalization and punctuation in the original):

"America's First GPS Enabled Wireless Phone Designed to Support Location Based Services of the Future Imagine having a phone that can use GPS technology to provide you with....

• Driving directions
• Traffic service
• Entertainment/services location
• 911 emergency location services
• Location of family/friends

Location services for 911 calls are not currently available. While these services are not available today (or) (are still under development), this leading edge phone has the technology required to support such network based services upon their launch.

Settings

The settings allow you to turn the Position Location ON or OFF. If the option is turned OFF, the Sprint PCS Network cannot locate your position using the Position Location feature. This option is automatically turned ON when an emergency call is placed, then turned back OFF when the call is completed.

To turn Position Location ON or OFF:
1. Press for Main Menu.
2. Press for Locator.
3. Press for Settings.
4. Read the Position Location disclaimer by using the Up & Down arrows.
5. Press to display the Setting screen.
6. Press the Up or Down arrows to cycle between the available choices.
7. Press to Save and exit.

Comments

A New Era of Phreaking

[Renraku]

I'll bet you could hack the phones to relay a different GPS coordinate than they're located at. Imagine prank calling someone and they do a trace, only to see that you're somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean...

One useful application

[VultureMN]

They could combine a GPS-enabled phone with a scent-detecting device. At some point in time, it'll detect the presence of burning bud and have a pizza delivered to wherever you happen to be.
Ooohyeah.

In this week's simpsons episode.

[tcc]

Moe finally tracks Bart prank calls cuz he used Homer's Samsung phone with GPS enabled on by default. :)

Can't Laden use one?!

[garoush]

How about offering one of those to Osama bin Laden and his followers? Don't they need one to keep in touch with each other?

Super-tightly targetted advertising...

[Consul]

Okay, you have a Samsung phone that can pinpoint your location (should you choose to let it)...

In Portland, OR (I used to live there), they have some of these electronic billboards that can cycle through a set of animated advertisements. Imagine having a number of these everywhere, that could automatically change their ads based upon who happens to be standing around or driving by...

Scary or kinda cool (from a tech standpoint anyway)?

but _that_ is not my privacy concern...

[swinge]

Those of you with
privacy concerns need not worry. According to the manual (p122, large pdf file)
the user does have the ability to turn the 'Position Location' off.

I'm one of those with privacy concerns, but this phone does nothing to allay my concerns.

I want to use the nifty features but still have my privacy. Why does the deal have to be "use the feature and be abused by having the information used without your knowledge?" Why can't seemingly smart people figure stuff like this out?

The Nobel Prize (that's like a +1 Informative) in economics was awarded today in part for the research that showed how one side of a transaction having information that the other side doesn't have can tilt the balance so far that the market fails. I'd like to be able to walk into a shop and negotiate a price that is not based on full knowledge of my movements (perhaps at a competitor) being revealed.

yes, I could turn off the service, but that is a Luddite response which has nothing whatever to do with protecting privacy. Please God, make people smarter: privacy entails a lot more than checking "Jedi Knight" on the census form, or being able to unplug a solid state disk drive when the black helicopter people come through the front door. It's about being able to enjoy the fruits of the modern economy without being abused.

Re:but _that_ is not my privacy concern...

[michael]

Why does the deal have to be "use the feature and be abused by having the information used without your knowledge?" Why can't seemingly smart people figure stuff like this out?

Because the people making the deal are the phone companies, and they know it's a "take it or leave it" deal. They *are* smart people - they just aren't on your side. :( Their smartness is working to figure out how to make more money off of you, not how to give you the best phone experience (those are not equivalent!). And there is no one at any level of government - because the FCC is also crewed by people who think exactly like the phone companies - who is on your side.

You know this, of course. You seem like a bright person. But the average schmoe has no idea how or why his phone works, and most importantly, has no idea that it could work differently.

Re:but _that_ is not my privacy concern...

[iabervon]

You want it to get for you information that depends on your location without disclosing your location? That's going to be somewhat difficult, because the service can't help but know what information they're providing to you. What logs they keep and what they do with them is a privacy policy question. There's no way they're going to send all of the data there is to your little phone, and have the phone figure out what you want from a GPS reading that it doesn't send out.

Bill collecting

[decipher_saint]

"Hi we're just calling to let you know, Vinny and 'Low Blow' McGurk are on they're way to break your legs at the corner of 99th St. and 101st Ave, please stand by"

Re:Opened the flood gate

[Telek]

It can turn itself on? That can't be good.


Woah... You mean that something that is software configurable... So the software itself can activate the feature!

Who'da thunkit?

Next thing you'll be telling me that my cellphone can change it's own time too...

(BTW, I think that's basically (if not a necessity) a great idea, so you can normally have it turned off if you want, and then it will automatically turn itself on when you make that 911 call)

Location release questions

[Stuart Ward]

Firstly in the GSM world the [PDF] Benefon has been out for a couple of years now, not a big seller and has some limitations. GPS only works with line of sight to the satellites so the GPS will not work indoors and where you have limited view of the sky, i.e. in cities with tall buildings.

More interesting are the issues around release of location information, how would /. Readers respond to these questions?

Would you be prepared to release your location when making calls, in much the same way that your phone number is currently released. Your location could only be read by those with appropriate equipment. We will probably be required by law to release this information on all emergency services calls (999, 112 911)?

1. No, I would not want my location released at all. (except emergency calls)
2. No, Normally not released, but I would be able to release it by selecting an option when making a call.
3. Yes, but only to services approved by (My network operator).
4. Yes, released on all calls, except when I specifically specify not to release the location.
5. Yes, released on all calls.

Would you want the location of callers calling you (who have released their location) displayed on your phone display?

1. Yes, display the grid reference of the caller.
2. Yes, display the direction and distance of the caller from my current location.
3. Yes, display the nearest town name to the location of the caller.
4. Yes, but only if the information was provided free of charge to me.
5. No, I would not be interested in this.

. Would you allow the release of you current location to a caller who is calling you?

1. No, I would not want my location released at all.
2. No, Normally not released, but I would be able to release it by selecting an option.
3. Yes, but only to services approved by (My network operator).
4. Yes, released on all calls, except when I specifically specify not to release when answering the call.
5. Yes, released on all calls. .

Would you allow the tracking of your phone to enable (My network operator) and other companies to extract statistical information on your movements for providing information on traffic congestion and other services. All identification information would me masked so it would not be possible to identify you from this data?

1. Yes. I would trust (My network operator) to manage this information securely.
2. Yes, Only if I then had access to the traffic information.
3. Yes, but I would want to select who received the information about me.
4. No, I would want to opt out of this sort of service.
5. No, I don't think (My network operator) should collect or release this information..

Would you want (My network operator) and other companies to send you information messages about events happening near to you?

1. Yes, only when I requested them.
2. Yes, as soon as they happen and I am in the area.
3. Yes, but I would want to select which companies information I receive.
4. No, I would want to opt out of this sort of service.
5. No, I don't think (My network operator) should collect or release this information..

Would you be interested in a find a friend service. The network would look thorough a list of your friends numbers to see if any of them were near you. Only friends on your list would be able to find you?

1. Yes, I would not mind my friends knowing I was nearby.
2. Yes, but I would want to be able to disable the service, so I could not be found.
3. Yes, but I would want to know who was looking for me before releasing anything to my friend.
4. Yes, but I would only expect to pay if the system found a friend for me.
5. No, I would not want this sort of service.
6. No, I don't think (My network operator) should offer this sort of service.