The federal government today announced an upgraded GPS signal that should benefit users of mobile phones and other portable devices. The L2C signal increases power output and accuracy coming from the satellites. This will allow mobile devices to obtain a more accurate location while using less power than before. It should also enable better positioning in urban canyons where GPS is normally weak. L2C was activated today, however chips and devices will need to be updated in order to take advantage of the new signals. There are no reports on whether current systems can take advantage of this with a software update or whether new hardware is required.
Yep, there’s another reason to upgrade your GPS reciever in the near future!
Originally published on Pocketnow on January 26, 2006. More Smartphone News articles from the Pocketnow archive.