u-blox Announces Free AssistNow(R) A-GPS Services

u-blox Announces Free AssistNow(R) A-GPS Services

June 08, 2007

    THALWIL, Switzerland, June 8 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
u-blox AG, the leading Swiss provider of GPS receiver
technology, today announced the free provision of
AssistNow(R) A-GPS services.

    AssistNow is an off-the-shelf A-GPS service that boosts
a GPS receiver's performance, allowing it to compute a
position almost instantly, even in difficult signal
environments. A-GPS benefits all GPS-enabled applications,
especially those that require "always-on"
operability such as fleet management applications or
GPS-enabled handheld devices, whose users wish to access
location-based services instantly, regardless of signal
conditions.

    Without A-GPS, a GPS receiver needs to locate at least
four satellites in direct line-of-sight and then download
their location data. This process takes 30 seconds under
optimal signal conditions and can take much longer in
adverse conditions such as those found in urban
environments or indoor locations where GPS signals are
weaker. AssistNow provides the GPS receiver with the data
immediately, enabling it to quickly calculate a position.

    u-blox offers two easy to install and operate A-GPS
services: AssistNow Offline and AssistNow Online. The
Offline service provides assistance data that is valid for
up to 14 days. Users can therefore enjoy boosted satellite
acquisition performance for extended time periods and only
need to connect to the Internet occasionally to update the
assistance data. In contrast, AssistNow Online downloads
new assistance data packets at every device start-up. These
much smaller data packets are downloaded straight to the GPS
receiver, making AssistNow Online ideal for applications
without Flash memories such as mobile phones.

    "We are delighted to offer our customers AssistNow
Offline and AssistNow Online services free of charge,"
said Karsten Tietz, VP Sales EMEA. "AssistNow, in
combination with our unrivalled GPS receivers, brings users
instant GPS acquisition and unmatched GPS performance in
even the harshest signal environments. u-blox' latest
location solutions set new performance standards for the
GPS industry at large."

    (Download picture from:
http://www.u-blox.com/news/assistnow.jpg )

    About u-blox

    u-blox is an international company headquartered in
Switzerland, with sales organizations in the Americas,
Europe and Asia. Founded in 1997, u-blox develops leading
positioning technology, products and services based on
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), including GPS
and Galileo, for the automotive and mobile communications
markets. For more information, please visit
http://www.u-blox.com 



    For more information, please contact:

    u-blox Contacts:

     Karsten Tietz
     VP Sales EMEA
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Alicia Montoya
     Marketing Communications Manager
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]