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Once they were only for the rich and were only fitted in the very high end cars but today SatNav systems are available to all. You can either opt for the in-car fitted systems that are still quite expensive or you can go for the handheld or protable units. This article is about the latter.

What is SatNav?

SatNav is a system that comprises of 2 elements, a GPS data receiver and a CPU/display unit. The receiver gets information from orbiting GPS navigational satellites and communicates it to the CPU/display unit. This unit is then able to find its exact location on the planet by comparing signals from various satellites.

The unit incorporates road maps of the area and places an indicator on the map showing where the car is on the maps.

Features

The units allow you to plan a journey ahead of time and then the unit will guide you to you destination by displaying a map showing you where you are and the direction you should be heading. Most now have voice instructions so the unit will tell you, when you are approaching a junction, which turning you should take. The units are also capable of making real time adjustments to the route, this means that if you go the wrong way the until will recalculate the route to your destination taking into account the wrong turning you have just made.

Maps

The maps for the unit can be loaded for the different regions you visit, so they may have a map of the UK and another for France and so on. Most modern unit have the maps stored on a removable memory cards like SD cards or similar memory card but some units read directly from a CD or DVD. The display can be set to show the conventional flat map view or the new 3D view that shows a view as if it was above you and looking forward. This view is very good and clear.

Traffic

Some units offer systems that will warn you of road works/traffic jams etc as they happen, and offer suggestion as to how to avoid them.

POI

Most units have POI’s (Points of Interest) incorporated into them that will show things like garages, restaurants, historic sites, airport and ferries etc. You can also add your own POI’s of your favourite places. One POI that is very popular is the location of all the speed camera and accident black spot locations.

Weather

Another feature that is becoming increasingly available is the weather for a location. The system will tell you the weather at a certain location on the map i.e. at that beach location you are planning to visit.

When you want to plan a journey you will need to enter the start and end destination, this can be done in a number of ways, the city, street and house number. The street intersections, the post codes and a location chosen on the on screen map. The start can be done in the same way with the addition of the present location as the starting point (remember the unit knows where you are). There are then itinerary or way points, these allow you to program destinations along the way. Finally you are usually presented with choices of routes with choices like, Fastest Route, Shortest Route, Scenic Route, Avoid Motorways etc some have the choice to avoid toll charges.

Fitting

The units can be fitted into the car in a number of ways but the 2 most popular ways are with a mounting bracket that has a strong suction cup that sticks to the windscreen. The second way is a bracket that fixed to the cars air vents, this method can be very good but required a fixing for each type of car. The unit is then fitted to the brackets and adjusted to the best viewing angle.

There are dozens of systems available now with a variety of choices of the options available. You need to choose which of the above options are important to you and then choose the until that best suits you or suits you price range.

You can see a large variety of different units at different costs at my favourite comparason site www.wangled.co.uk just type in “Mobile GPS”

The preceding article may be freely reprinted provided:

1. The article is not edited or modified in any way

2. The source is credited: reprinted by permission of Wangled.co.uk

Paul Davies is a professional engineer and product reviewer, he submits articles on product guides and reviews. All his articles can be seen on the premium shopping comparison site http://www.wangled.co.uk on the following page http://www.wangled.co.uk/buyersGuides.asp

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I am sure you have heard the adage, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch”. Well, obviously the person famous for that saying hadn’t yet heard of VoIP. Voice over Internet Protocol better know as VoIP - or in simple terms, the ability to transmit voice over the Internet. VoIP has been gaining in strength and popularity as a the preferred telecommunications method Small businesses are opting to go free VoIP because of the numerous benefits. It is a viable source for businesses to make long distance calls virtually free, or at a significantly lower cost when compared to other telephone service providers.

You too can experience the power of Free VoIP with a High Speed Internet connection. In fact, you may have already tried this technology without even realizing it. There are many services and programs that have been available for free, on the Internet, for the past ten years that have embraced VoIP.

Dial-pad was known for allowing people to connect a microphone and speakers to their computers and then make long distance calls virtually world wide for free. Well, Dial-pad isn’t free any more, but if you do purchase their monthly service, they do provide an option for unlimited long distance calling. This service is still comparable to other telephone providers.

Currently most of the free VoIP have begun to charge a monthly fee for their services. There is still one program left that is absolutely free. That is Ad Calls. This program displays various advertisements on their display while you can use the service to make free calls. There are limitations to this program however. You can only use the service for ten minutes at a time, and you are unable to call toll free numbers.

The major VoIP programs that embrace free VoIP calling left on the Internet are bundled with your Instant Messaging programs. Programs such as Yahoo Messenger have recently been redesigned with the ability to make free VoIP voice phone calls. You won’t be able to call a landline telephone however. You will need to use the program to call another member who is using the same program. For example, if you have the newly VoIP enabled Yahoo Messenger downloaded to your computer, yet your buddy (who lives across the world) is using the old Yahoo Messenger, you can send them a link to download and upgrade their current version. Once they have installed the new Yahoo Messenger, you will see a “call” button with a phone icon at the top of your Yahoo Messenger chat box. By clicking call, you will be using free VoIP technology to send a phone call to your buddy’s computer. The receiving computer will actually ring, like a standard telephone, and your buddy will have the option of accepting or declining the phone call. All that is needed is a high speed Internet connection, this provides the best audio quality and speed), a microphone, and speakers. You and your buddy are free to talk as long as you like. The other advantage to Instant Messengers that allow free VoIP calls is the ability to call more than one person. You can call people on your buddy list, and invite them for a conference call. This has unlimited potential and can be used by small businesses for free training calls, and by people everywhere who just want to stay in touch with friends and family.

Other Internet Messaging services that have embraced VoIP calling include MSN and AOL Instant Messenger, and Google has begun their new service, Google Talk.

VoIP is a preferred method of telecommunications due to the fact that you can integrate audio, video, and web based applications with one program. The Instant Messaging programs are perfect examples of how audio and web based communications are working together to increase communication. Also included with many Instant Messaging programs is the ability to hook up a digital camera or web cam and incorporate video with your audio and web based application.

VoIP telephones are also beginning to incorporate video with their free VoIP services. This will be a very popular trend in the future. As there are over 900 million Instant Messaging subscribers, people are already experiencing the power and freedom of converged communications.

Cellular phones are realizing that people want to combine video with their audio, and many videophones are being released. Some phones have gone the next level and have combined audio, video, and graphics by allowing you to store pictures in your telephone, and use it as a camera.

As the technology of VoIP continues to advance, we can rest assured that more “Beta” programs will be released and as that occurs, keep your eye out for more free VoIP programs. Talk no longer cheap, its free!

James Rogers makes it easy to understand and take full advantage of VoIP. Free VoIP calls is the future of cheap global communications. To learn more visit: http://www.voip-org.com

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The Voip telephony and the international telecommunications market is not only healthy, it is robust! The market is expected to continue its double-digit growth and reach over $2 trillion by 2008.

Spending on telecommunications equipment and services in Canada, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia/Pacific will grow at a rate of 10.6% say the experts. What’s behind this growth in telecommunications? Prosperity! With improving economic conditions throughout the world there is increasing demand for Voip, mobile devices and wireless telecommunication services.

The number of subscribers to wireless telephone services is growing faster than the number of landlines in all regions. 1.9 billion wireless subscribers are expected by 2008 and they will outnumber landline subscribers by 69.1%.

The accessibility of high-speed broadband will drive equipment revenue over the next few years. This will give a boost to Internet telephony service and that growth will continue as broadband access revenue triples in future years.

As the move to wireless, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and cable telephony continues, the landline market will increase from $391 billion in 2004 to $422 billion in 2008.

Internationally Europe is expected to be the largest region in support services spending, reaching $354 billion by 2008 as the demand for equipment increases there will be increased demand for services to support that equipment.

In the United States the broadband market is expected to reach an estimated 56.9 million subscribers by 2008. That up from 32.5 million subscribers in 2004. The broadband market has had a huge move since 2001, when there were only 5.1 million subscribers.

Broadband’s faster speeds are behind the increasing demand for cable modem and DSL providers. Telephone companies are offering more bundled DSL services and cable operators are losing subscribers to direct broadcast satellite. The gap between the number cable and DSL subscribers is narrowing and will continue to decrease.

In addition, there is plenty going on with wireless communications. The U.S. wireless market includes transport services, handsets, capital expenditures and infrastructure equipment including Wi-Fi equipment plus the emerging market for wireless broadband access. The future of VoIP technology and wireless VoIP promises to be one of the most exciting developments in telecommunications.

Not counting PC-to-PC services, the number of residential VoIP customers more than tripled to 4.2 million in 2005. That number is expected to grow by a compound annual rate of over 43% in the next few years. That will result in about 18 million VoIP users.

Growth in the residential VoIP market is being driven by a number of factors. First and foremost is that VoIP telephony provides consumers with inexpensive voice communications. VoIP escapes the burden of the many regulations and taxes governments have imposed on traditional telephone services. So far that has allowed the VoIP service providers to beat the prices charged for wired telephone services. The burst of growth in broadband subscribership is a good sign for VoIP, because it works best over a broadband connection,

In the United States and around the world, people are talking and they want to do that with speed and economy. VoIP phone services are prepared to meet that need.

If you have not yet made the switch to VoIP telephone service author Mark Walters offers a free introduction called Five Reasons for VoIP

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VOIP is an acronym for Voice Over Internet Protocol, and it works by using your broadband internet connection to route your call more efficiently and cost effectively than conventional calling. The most common VOIP method works like this. Your standard telephone is connected to VOIP gateway, usually located somewhere in your house like a basement or utility closet. This gateway takes your voice and converts it from an analog signal to a digital signal. Once it exists in digital format it is broken down into smaller more manageable units known as “packets” and is transmitted over the internet the same way data is transmitted to and from your computer. These “packets” contain information about their final destination and have instructions to enable them to be put back together in the proper order. Once the packets reach the closest location to their desired destination they go back through another VOIP gateway which translates the signal back into an analog format. The gateway then passes the signal over to a PTSN (Public Telephone Switch Network) and your call is routed to the number that you dialed.

As people become more familiar and comfortable with VOIP calling newer and more advanced methods of communication will occur. In the very early stages of adoption are IP Based telephones. Instead of using standard telephone equipment with an RJ45 telephone connection to a VOIP Gateway these phone interfaces directly with the internet through a standard network connection. This enable you to use your phone at home unplug it when you leave and then plug it in at your office and your calls are automatically routed to the phone wherever it’s plugged in. As WIFI networking becomes more prevalent expect to see wifi compatible cellular phones emerge to make calling even more portable.

While VOIP is still in the early stages of adoption there are still some hurdles that need to be overcome. The most important ones include emergency calling, and the need for uninterruptible power sources. However as VOIP and other IP based telephony continues to grow and advance, VOIP service providers will find ways to solve these problems.

© Copyright VOIPTelephoneSystem.org, All Rights Reserved.

Jessica Liu is a staff writer at http://www.voiptelephonesystem.org a news and information website about VOIP and VOIP related technologies.

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Orange, the mobile broadband operator, has come out with a new short-term offer for small businesses, aimed at encouraging them to subscribe to their mobile broadband services.

Under the offer, which runs from May 1 to July 31, these businesses can subscribe to the service for a low cost of £7.50 per month if they are already Orange customers and £10 per month if they are new customers. Small businesses have so far been less than enthusiastic about picking up mobile broadband, and Orange hopes to remedy this by the introduction of these offers, which place it at the top of the market in terms of cost-effectiveness of its service packages. Offers such as mobile broadband with free laptop have been around for a while now and been popular with the majority, but have yet to encourage the business user to consider it as a viable option.

Analysing the move, Pauline Trotter from Ovum told ZDNet UK that the slashed rates should help small business owners place more confidence in mobile broadband, as the costs will be well defined, and that the rest of the market is likely to mimic Orange’s bold step. Orange has cut its prices by around half in order to lure small businesses into buying mobile broadband packages. Both rate plans under the offer are obviously subject to fair use terms.

Once the offer expires on July 31, it will be back to old rates for businesses wishing to buy mobile broadband. Orange offers a Business Everywhere Unlimited plan for £15/month, and for customers who travel often, a Business Everywhere Traveller plan for £35/month.

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BT has announced some changes in its Total Broadband Fair Usage Policy, which will be effective from April this year. While there are no changes in Total Broadband Option 1 and Option 3, customers of Option 2 can look forward to their monthly download limit being increased from 15GB to 20GB.

However, not all that glitters is gold. Along with these benefits comes the shock of a rise in over-usage charges. The charge has been increased from 58p to £1 per GB of excess usage, and will be applicable even to the packages not seeing an increase in their download quota.

To ensure customers are aware of the excess usage, BT also promises to send precaution emails to the users when they have exceeded 80 percent of their quota. This will help the user in making an informed decision about his or her usage. In cases where the customers are regularly using more than their limit, BT advises the most obvious step - upgrade the package to increase the quota.

A free Internet Usage Meter by the name of BitMeter2 is available on the internet, which helps you keep track of the quantity of data that is being downloaded or uploaded by you. The tool may come in handy if you are unsure about your broadband usage. Otherwise, you can check out Broadband Genie for the recent unlimited broadband deals in the market and get rid of the problem once and for all.

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Having been an avid VoIP user for for a good few years I was baffled as to why all of a sudden I had been having so many problems. Sound quality has reduced and latency issues have increased significantly. Users on VoIP online forums in the US and other countries, including France and Mexico, have been noting similar problems since last year. For a while Voice over IP might seem like a great deal for the average person, entrenched interests in the telecoms industry view it differently - and are taking action against it.

Consultation

Well aware of what has happened elsewhere the United Kingdom telecoms regulator Ofcom took the unusual action in February of announcing that it will look at the burgeoning VoIP industry and report next month on whether new laws are needed to shield it. The consultation document says: “VoIP service providers have expressed concern that their ability to provide a reliable service may be impacted by internet access providers (ISPs) selectively degrading or blocking their VoIP traffic.”

Ofcom says it has no evidence this is occurring in the UK; only about 000 customers use VoIP. But the forecast is for that to rise by 4m in the next six months.

And VoIP barring takes place in other countries, more often than not those where there is still only a single telecoms company. In Saudi Arabia, for example national carrier Saudi Telecom is using software from US supplier Narus to bar all Voice over IP phone calls.

Telecommunication companies in the US and other countries are reluctant to have their bandwidth encroached on by traffic from which they earn no revenue and have been challenged over similar alleged incidents of internet telephony barring. Hindering internet telephony traffic is complicated but does not break the law and blocking specific types of internet traffic is going up.

Luxembourg-based VoIP provider Skype now owned by the pre-eminent auction site eBay has been particularly controversial. Skype is used by over 75m people. But increasingly a lot of people do not want Skype on their network.

Skype is seen by a lot of people to pose a potential security threat because it creates an encrypted tunnel out of the network and forms supernodes that sit on it and connect VoIP calls. There is considerable debate about how much bandwidth such supernodes eat up. There have been claims that in supernode mode, Skype could possibly saturate a 100 Mbps line.

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The 1112 has proven really popular with buyers and has been a real triumph for Nokia. Considering it is an entry level mobile phone the 1112 is basic but functional compared alongside some of the other mobile phones. Nokia have done a excellent job on the overall design of this phone.

Moving on to the all important battery cell life the Nokia 1112 has 380 hours reserve charge and 5:00 talk time. A Standard battery, Li-Ion 700 mAh (BL-5CA) battery is that comes with the Nokia 1112. The ring-tones enabled on the 1112 are Polyphonic (20 channels), with MP3 grade tones along with a vibration alert . The mobile handset is pretty light weighing in at 80 g. We found the 1112 compact and lightweight. If colour is important you may like to know that this mobile handset is available in, Red, Blue and Black. The display type is Monochrome graphic. The 1112 has support for 2G GSM 850 / 1900 - US version . The 1112 has a number of other useful features such as , Built-in handsfree, Speaking alarm and clock, Demo mode for phone, Exchangeable covers, Reminders and Picture messaging.

This is now quite an old mobile phone, but still does a great job. If you are offered one, going cheap in an end of line deal you will be able to steal a fabulous buy.

Mobile phones are so readily available that large numbers of people cannot be bothered to take the time even though it costs them more. They can simply identify a handset in a high street store, or even a mail order catalogue at relatively cheap prices then there may not be any obvious reason for taking the extra time and trying to find the best offers. The point these customers are overlooking is that the really cheap deals are mostly avalable from specialist websites, where great large savings are achievable without getting out of your chair. By looking at a mobile phone comparison site is not only the simplest but is also one of the chepest method of buying a mobile phone.

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O2, a mobile broad service which promises a quality provision of services, is located in regions across the continent of Europe. Though its primary consumer sets are situated largely within the UK and Italy, the provider offers it service in a few other locations. The company also consists of centres in Singapore, Germany, and France.

Previously known as Telefonica Europe, O2 has announced the recent ambiguity in their service, making mobile broadband available to non-O2 consumers, starting tomorrow. As one of the latest operators to commence service in UK’s mobile broadband market, this situation proposes quite an interesting entitlement to consumers, an action unprecedented for new operators as well as old.

Non-O2 consumers are now entitled the ability to subscribe to the same deal as those previously enlisted in O2’s service. Those customers who sign up for an 18-month contract are provided with a dongle, and the additional supplement of 3GB of data usage. The 30 day rolling contract is another added provision, allowing consumers to choose if they appreciate the service.

O2’s recent plan for availability of 3G IPhones has also sparked interest throughout potential subscribers. Apple and O2 are currently devising a provision to allow the sale of their phones, at a subsidized rate, inside of O2 structures. Though this price cut was not available at Apple’s primary release at O2 stores, the authorization of the issue is forthcoming, deploying supplementary IPhones, this time with added cost-efficiency.

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