Back in the old days when GPS was declassified by the military and the public was allowed full use through commercial signals, GPS devices were big clumsy devices that were composed of a P.C, a giant disc where map information is stored, and a new monitor. Then came the single-channel receivers and the first hand-held units with black and white maps that introduced the world to the numerous wonders of Global Positioning Systems. The technology was an exclusive utilisation of the army prior to it being declassified and having this same James Bond-type of capacities appealed to some people who were ready to shell out more than $500 for a device whose only function is to plot their coordinates on a digital map. But such price tags were sufficient in those days, in return for correct positional information for automobiles, boats, planes and other applications that need information about their coordinates. This technology has gone a long way since that point, as GPS navigational devices at last became smaller, more portable, cheaper, and packed with extra features. Other devices are riding on this recognition of GPS, such as incorporating cell-phone functionalities with GPS capabilities. The result’s an ongoing competition between portable navigational devices and GSM telephones with GPS capacities in regards to what technology shall set the future of GPS. China Changing the Name of the Ball Game China’s rise to economic power caused a rush of China-made products and gadgets into the global market, including GPS navigational devices. Online wholesalers are selling a wide selection of products and their inflow into the world market led to important price falls on GPS devices. To keep prices at low levels, wholesalers distribute GPS products without pre-installed exclusive software and applications. They do nonetheless offer unlocked GPS devices that can work with commonly available or perhaps open source GPS software. Cellphones With GPS Functionalities Microchips were developed that can provide GPS functionalities to mobile telephones, and these were first commercially introduced in 2004. Then in 2005, the federal Communications Commission issued a mandate called E911 that needed telephone manufacturers to include GPS receivers into their cell phones. This law was essentially set to help emergency reply units simply find the unit position during emergencies. The booming popularity of smartphones and 3G mobile devices made a rush of developers as well as OEM GPS manufacturers to introduce a wide selection of GPS Apps that may be used with these mobile phones. Such applications provide a wide range of functionalities to these phones, some of which were exclusive features of stand-alone movable navigational devices. These include turn-by-turn navigational information for users and a large number of other features that GPS users may find extremely helpful. However , GPS phones lack the type of screen resolution that installed GPS receivers on automobiles and other automobiles have. This is due largely partly to the screen width limitations that cell telephones have. Some users may find these screen limitations tricky to use especially when working with maps, and is not practical to use as a navigational device while driving. The Future Of Cellular Telephones With GPS Functionalities The appearance of cellular phones with GPS functionalities is a serious blow to the private navigational device market. Many folks are taking advantage of the assorted applications available with smartphones including its incorporated GPS features that many smartphone users find it unrealistic to have another device only for GPS navigation. This prompted GPS devices makers to incorporate a host of other features into these devices that go past their core functionality of getting satellite coordinates and giving directions. These added features include multi media player capacities, Bluetooth, FM transmitters, net scanning and other features and capacities that would offer a boost to the market appeal of these GPS devices. Excepting their core functionalities, a thin line divides the features between a private GPS navigator and GPS telephones. Both are setting trends towards the future of GPS, but only the response of consumers to these trends will eventually determine which may be the dominant GPS technology in the future.