Maxims: High Tech Break through    
 High Tech Break through2 comments
picture 10 Jan 2006 @ 00:51, by Max Tobin

A local 'Kiwi' company are at the leading edge of technical development of the crystal oscilators which are at the heart of most all of the technical digital tools we use. Particularly important are the products for the GPS industry here they are

They have just announced a product that will change the next generation of cell phones. (I believe this may have been driven by US requirements for cell phones to be trackable)

High hopes for tiny invention

10.01.06
By Georgina Bond

An Auckland electronics company has developed the world's smallest global positioning system (GPS) receiver.

The company, Rakon, has made a new module - as tiny as a baby's fingernail - which can decode GPS signals in devices such as cellphones. Previously, this was done with a set of components the size of a 50c piece.

"It means manufacturers can meet market demand to miniaturise devices which may contain GPS function such as mobile phones, PDAs (personal digital assistants) or even watches, yet offer improved GPS capability," said Rakon managing director Brent Robinson.

Graham Cottew, chief executive of Melbourne-based software development company Zendata, said the device could be revolutionary.

"It is very small, and if it does what they claim it does, it's quite a breakthrough.

"In a couple of years' time all cellphones could have GPS chips embedded in them. The smaller and more sensitive and stable the device is, the more attractive for the market."

Phones with GPS can locate the user to within metres - useful for emergency services finding an injured person or for information such as directions to a nearby restaurant.

Rakon - considering listing on the stock exchange this year - is already fielding calls from GPS manufacturers keen to embed the miniature module in their own new developments.

Mr Robinson said manufacturing would start this year.

British consulting company Esys estimates the number of GPS-enabled cellphones will grow from about 300 million worldwide this year to 2 billion by 2020.

Rakon makes high-performance quartz crystals and oscillators that drive more than half of all GPS products made today.

Rakon, which has a factory in Mt Wellington, employs about 500 people, exports 95 per cent of its production, worth about $70 million a year, and plans a major expansion this year.


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2 comments

14 Feb 2006 @ 01:02 by bushman : Ah look,
they are at an implantable size. Just tap the back of your hand and say dial so and so. Say is that yellow part a micro credit card?  

1 Mar 2006 @ 11:16 by maxtobin : Dahh I Dunno!
You can store any data anywhere and retrieve it from anywhere. And know where every thing is!!! Don't need a credit card any more just have to keep doin' what yah do to keep them sheckles rollin in (the dollar is dieing so get with the euro or the yen or yuan plan) or maybe some little gold bricks would be kinda handy. OOOps almost forgot to plant some edibbles and tend the compost heap to ensure the vegetation is abundant and healthy.

I believe that voice recognition is built into these little babbies so you wont even need to tap the hand just say what you need and (forget the greed) the system (oh so caring) will provide!!!

Hey Bushman keep on truckin' the best is yet to come!!  

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20 Dec 2005 @ 07:24: Web books and publishing
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