According to this article, GSM handsets, which are predominantly J2ME or Symbian, don't have what it takes to do full features LBS applications just yet. On the other hand, CDMA handsets, which are typically BREW enabled although many also have J2ME, have had LBS functionality for some time now. However, many CDMA operators still don't have any LBS service turned on (aside from the often required emergency services access). Nextel in the US, though, has full GPS enabled handsets -- including some that will send standard NMEA strings over their serial ports. By 2005 the GSM camp needs to have LBS in their strategic plan or they will find themselves at a disadvantage, according to ABI Research's principal analyst of semiconductor research, Alan Varghese. Meanwhile the CDMA camp, with Qualcomm at its helm, had already integrated GPS functionality into their chipset. Today CDMA operators such as SK Telecom in Korea and KDDI in Japan offer location-based services that provide them increased ARPU and market share. Nextel in the U.S., with its proprietary iDEN handsets, has used the SIRF GPS chipset to offer navigation as well as asset and employee logistics to their enterprise customers, who propel them to the highest ARPUs in the nation. |
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