GPS or Global Positioning System has progressed by leap and bounds, enabling even civillian to utilize the technology that was once only available to the military. Nowadays, GPS has becoming more common and available at electronics store or even hypermarket.
Generally, GPS serves two purposes – for navigation and security purposes. By having a GPS Navigation System, we can drive to a unfamiliar destination by getting the guides from the screen mounted on the dashboard. The system will guide us through our chosen destination with the help of the map displayed and voice aided.
Today, beside providing navigation to drivers but we can also check the whereabout of our cars with the use of GPS enabled security system. With this, we can monitor the whereabout of our cars through our mobile phone or Internet enabled devices. We can check if our car is still parked safely in the parking bay while watching movie or when we are abroad – giving a peace of mind without having to physically check on it.
Despite its availability, the masses are still not embracing the technology because there is hidden cost that is chargeable to the consumer. When you’re buying a navigation GPS unit, you will need to pay not only the license but also the annual renewal fee for the updates. Security GPS also doing the same thing by charging a monthly (or annually) fee for their monitoring services.
If you’re thinking of getting any of these but felt it is a burden, there’s an alternative for this. You may download free maps for navigation from Malsingmaps.com. This voluntary basis project is contributed by many GPS users from Malaysia and Singapore. You can also contribute to Malsingmaps by providing localized info such as landmarks and waypoints.
As for the security GPS, you can substitute the use of GPS by using mobile phone. I’m using an old Nokia phone to check my car location. You’ll just need an old phone with a modified car adapter (directly charged from your car’s battery concealed at the back of your glove box) and a prepaid SIM pack that supports FriendFinder. In Malaysia, there are 2 telcos that support this; DiGi and Maxis.
FriendFinder is a service that allows you to check your friend’s location via SMS. To initialize this service, your friend will need to authorize your request beforehand. You social engineer this way of authorizing your own mobile number request on the phone hidden in your car to allow you (or anyone that you authorized) to locate your vehicle’s positiom.
Once authorized, you can send an SMS request for the location and your car’s mobile phone will triangulate it’s location by checking on the Local Based Stations or LBS. Though you can’t pinpoint the location as accurate as GPS, it still helps especially when your car is missing and you totally have no idea where to start.