The GTX Corp GPS Shoe and Other Innovative Technologies Help Adult Children Monitor Aging Parents Remotely

It appears to be a life or death struggle between the two smartphone makers. No one knows who will win, but many hope that the two rivals will survive the ever-escalating competition in a way that benefits consumers.

There is little dispute that Apple is the pioneer in the smartphone market. In fact, the war began last November, when the company launched its 3G iPhone. On Monday, Apple's CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the latest iPhone 4 model in San Francisco, triggering a second round of the battle over the rapidly changing IT gadget.

It is no coincidence that Samsung Electronics of Korea made public its new smartphone called Galaxy S in Seoul only hours after Jobs' presentation of the new iPhone. Samsung, the world's second-largest mobile phone producer, plans to sell the Galaxy S via 100 carriers across the globe. It has the ambition to beat out Apple to dominate the lucrative world market.

Apple is also aggressive in marketing its product. Its Internet homepage starts with an ad featuring the new handset and carrying the message: "iPhone 4. This changes everything. Again." Jobs said, "I think Apple knows how to teach people about things they don't yet know they want."

It is interesting to compare iPhone 4 with Galaxy S. In appearance, the two products resemble each other. The new iPhone is 9.33 millimeters thick, becoming the thinnest phone in the world. Galaxy is 9.9 millimeters thick. But the two handsets differ in many ways as they adopt different software and application.

Apple, which is second to none in software, boasts of the improved hardware of the iPhone 4. The new handset uses Apple's own operating system, while Samgsung's Galaxy S adopts the Google-powered Android operating platform. Apple is stronger in content than Samsung.

And Apple's AppStore is much more competitive than the Android Market employed by Samsung. AppStore offers more than 200,000 applications, while Android has only 40,000. The market consensus is that Apple's iPhone still has a competitive edge over Samsung's Galaxy S.

But success or failure depends on each firm's ability to produce a synergy effect by systematically putting together software, hardware and content in cooperation with mobile service providers. In the Korean market, KT provides services for the iPhone products, while SK Telecom works for the Galaxy smartphones.

In this regard, Korea is now providing a battleground for the new products of the two handset producers. In order to get more ammunition in the fight against Apple, Samsung has teamed up with Google and SK Telecom.

It remains to be seen whether Samsung, the world's No. 5 smartphone maker with about 3 percent of the global market share, will wage a successful campaign against top manufacture Apple. Samsung must strengthen its competitiveness by developing better software programs and content. Most of all, the company should make every effort to better meet the needs of its customers.

What the analysts are saying about location aware personal GPS technology.

ABI Research said GPS-enabled phones are expected to hit 240 million units in 2009 – evidence of an explosion of consumer GPS product and service offerings; LBS applications on cell phones, GPS-enabled PDAs, and more novel GPS products such as iPhone and Android people finder apps have permeated the global marketplace.

"We're just getting started with this era," said William Clark, an analyst for research firm Gartner. New products and applications are being announced almost daily. Likewise, public awareness of the potential utility of GPS has increased.

"When people carry around a device wherever they go, it's not just a phone but a set of connections to their online identity, friends and networks — and the content they care about and where they are as well," said Mark Donovan, a mobile-industry analyst for market tracker comScore.

Location aware companies could find themselves where they will become attractive acquisition targets by handset makers, carriers or larger Web companies said Dominique Bonte, analyst and practice director in the telematics and navigation division of ABI Research.

A leader in Personal Location Services, GTX Corp has recently closed three major licensing deals with others expected to follow. Downloads of their smartphone people finder apps are approaching half a million  in more than 80 countries and being on the iTunes top grossing list, attests to the fact that there are no boundaries for innovation either in language, longitude or latitude.

The best Android GPS people finder apps.

LOCiMOBILE has 2 apps in the Android Market. Both answer the “where is question.”  The first, GPS Tracking –  This app allows users to share their location via SMS notification. The app offers privacy through an opt-in Yes or No whether to share your location or not with each location request.

The second, live Tracking –  This app only requires a one-time grant of permission then the app will run in the background reporting its location on user-set intervals (every 1 minute, 5 minutes, 60 minutes, etc). Tracking will let you know the whereabouts of family members, friends and co-workers that you want to know where they are at all times without asking permission each time. Tracking is only possible when added app users provide their consent to protect user privacy). Currently live Tracking is possible for android/blackberry as they support background processes.

The world’s most advanced people finding application answers the “where is ______” question when the incredible IBM’s Watson is left stupefied

The novel idea of putting GPS tracking devices inside shoes to monitor kids or elderly with dementia has now expanded into a whole lot more.

Keeping track of seniors with Alzheimer's

Recently GTX Corp signed a deal with Aetrex Shoes to bring GPS tracking to the millions of wandering seniors afflicted with Alzheimer’s. The company has also been in the iTunes chart for the past several months with a block buster GPS app; GPS Tracking,  that has been downloaded in over 80 countries by close to a half a million people. Clearly GPS tracking is becoming ubiquitous and pretty soon we’ll all be asking how did we ever live without it.

The e-mail alert shouted its message: "Missing Person with Alzheimer's. PLEASE HELP." It was sent to Alzheimer's Assn. chapters and to law enforcement officials within hours after an Orange County woman disappeared while on a short trip to visit a friend.

 The woman had set out in her car, made a wrong turn and became confused, says her family, who asked that her name not be used to protect her privacy.

During the next two days, she zigzagged her way across two states, making one wrong turn after another, putting ever more miles between herself and her home as she headed east.

"She had a cellphone, but it wasn't turned on," says her daughter, Susan. "It was a nightmare."

The 86-year-old woman had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, but her wrong-way journey shocked her family because until then, she had been able to function normally.

As soon as Susan called the Alzheimer's Assn. to report that her mother was missing, the organization began sending out alerts asking Good Samaritans who saw the woman to contact MedicAlert + Safe Return, a 24-hour nationwide emergency response service for individuals who wander.

The woman, meanwhile, was still at the wheel, driving south to San Diego, then east to Tucson. Finally, she pulled over to the side of the road and asked an Arizona state trooper how to get to California. He directed her to west Interstate 10. Several hours later she was stopped near Indio by a California Highway Patrol officer, who contacted her family.

"She's doing fine now," says Susan. "We took away her car and license, of course."

That story has a happy ending, but many confused seniors who become lost are never found again. The Alzheimer's Assn. estimates that 60% of individuals with Alzheimer's will wander at least once during the progression of the disease. Up to 70% of these individuals wander more than once, and up to several times. One study reported that nearly half of those not found within 24 hours die — usually from dehydration, exposure or injury.

"It's a scary situation for families who have a relative who wanders," says Dr. Lisa Gibbs, a UC Irvine geriatrician who directs the school's Health Assessment Program for Seniors. "It's easy for the person to get lost and hurt. They're also very vulnerable to people who might want to take advantage of them."

Products such as MedicAlert + Safe Return offer families a way to track lost loved ones: It's one in a burgeoning field, with dozens of devices on the market and new devices and products popping up all the time. Most tracking systems are GPS-based, using the same technology that's found in car navigation units.

Television commercials for the devices, called family trackers, have become commonplace; they are aimed primarily at parents who worry about their children wandering away during an outing. A small device can be stowed in a child or adult's pocket, purse or backpack; some are incorporated into wrist bands. They range in price from $100 to about $400, with monitoring costs of up to $80 per month. Most can be purchased online.

At the low end of the technology spectrum is MedicAlert + Safe Return, http://www.medicalert.org/safereturn, an inexpensive program endorsed by the Alzheimer's Assn.

The product consists of an engraved wristband or dog tag that contains information about the wearer. One call to the number written on the band activates a community support network to help reunite the lost person with their family. When a person is found, a citizen or law enforcement official can call a toll-free 24-hour emergency response number, and the individual's family or caregivers are contacted, as in the Orange County woman's case. Costs are $24.95 to set up a plan and an additional $25-a-year fee.

The downside? A Good Samaritan has to see the tag and be able to get close enough to read it. The upside: In the Southland, 160 people have been found because of the Medic Alert + Safe Return tag, according to Jane Dickinson, Alzheimer's Assn. representative. The product also includes the Alzheimer's Assn. e-mail alert system, which was triggered when Susan's mother was reported missing.

Comfort Zone, another product endorsed by the association, is similar to other GPS devices on the market, except that it was designed primarily for people who have dementia. Family members can program it to operate in several ways: In early stages of the disease, it can be used to track a person in a car. In later stages, it can be converted to a bracelet. Alerts are sent to caregivers via computer or text messages. Costs are $199 to $299 to purchase the device, $45 for activation and $45 to $79.99 in monthly monitoring fees.

"What complicates search and rescue for individuals with Alzheimer's disease is that, unlike a lost child, many will not respond to calls to them, nor will they call out for help," says educator Andrew Carle. "They often also become quickly frightened and attempt to hide — making locating them more difficult." Carle, an assistant professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., specializes in aging and senior housing issues.

A problem inherent with many of the devices is that they can be removed: A patient with dementia might take off a bracelet or remove a device from his or her pocket, Carle says.

"Paranoia is a manifestation of the disease, so people with AD will often remove anything placed on them with which they are unfamiliar — for example, a 'clip on' or other distinct device. For the same reason, they are also adept at getting around locks, alarms or other devices intended to stop them — and, once having done so, are difficult to find."

Carle's personal favorite among the monitoring systems on the market is scheduled to be released for retail sale this summer: GPS Shoes www.gpsshoe.com . The shoes, which will be sold at http://www.foot.com, (800) 526-2739, will contain a tiny embedded tracking device. Whenever the wearer wanders off more than a pre-set distance, the caregiver will receive an alert by telephone and computer.

The Aetrex Ambulator GPS Shoe www.gpsshoe.com will retail for $200 to $300, with monthly tracking available for $22.95 to $39.95, says Patrick Bertagna, chairman of GTX Corp., which builds the tracking device that will be embedded in the shoes.

The device will work anywhere there is cell coverage. If Susan's mother had been wearing the shoes when she departed on her 500-mile journey, her family might have found her more quickly.

This column on caring for, and staying connected with, aging family members appears monthly. Comments:
Copyrighthome@latimes.com © 2010, The Los Angeles Times

GPS people tracking app guarantees privacy

Parents that want to know where their children are can do so without calling and asking them when they use the GPS Tracking App from LOCiMOBILE. The app not only assures that the locate information is accurate, but it asks the child for permission to share their location data.

Unlike other GPS location aware apps, GPS Tracking doesn’t scrape the location data from a people search to share it with any third party…especially advertisers. The peer to peer two-way exchange is guaranteed secure.

The same app can locate friends and business associates with the same assurance of real time accuracy, point to point directions, TXT messages and photos. In fact the paid version can locate an entire soccer team at the same time and send a group TXT message.

In a few days, LOCiMOBILE will release its newest GPA people finding app; “TRACKING.” This version only asks for permission once instead of each location request. TRACKING provides the same guarantee of personal privacy with third parties. Unlike the one-time price for its other apps, TRACKING will be offered as a monthly subscription with unlimited search requests.

The better people finder might just be the best people finder.
 

GEO Social Proximity Marketing

Apple introduced the Top Grossing Downloads list to highlight differences between Top Downloaded and Top Revenue generating apps. GPS Tracking from LOCiMOBILE® makes both lists.

Top 10 Highest Grossing and number 6 on the top 25 List!

Yankee Group:  “Nearly one-third of apps downloaded are purchased, up from 18% a year ago. Further, individual app prices have risen. The average paid app costs $2.85, compared with $1.99 last year.”'

The Congressional E-911 Caucus has introduced legislation to upgrade the country’s 911 technology, by passing “The Next Generation 911 Preservation Act of 2010.” Passage will provide grant funding for the nation’s 6,000 911 facilities. 

State taxes on phone bills currently fund the 911 call centers which receive more than 650,000 emergency calls daily. The Next Generation 911Preservation Act provides a five year federal grant program to support state 911 services and upgrade the technology.

Nearly a third of all apps downloaded today are purchased, compared with just 18 percent a year ago.

Dial for H  E  L  P
 

Oh where, oh where are my brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, in laws, neighbors, school buds, BFF’s and the guys at the office?

While we all want to know where we are, many – 250,000 in 78 countries – want to know where their friends, family and business associate are at this very moment. And with the click of a single button can do so with simple mobile app called GPS Tracking from LOCiMOBILE®. Locations are laser accurate, speed is too fast to clock and privacy is tighter than a bank vault. The lite version is free and the gorilla download will set you back 4 bananas. GTX Corp says when you gotta know –you gotta get it.

GTX Corp will assure thousands of caregivers of Alzheimer's victims that may wander and become lost of their safe recovery with its patented GPS Tracking Shoe.

The company expects to generate significant revenues for its investors from its licensing agreement with Aetrex, the shoe manufacturer and save the nation’s municipal emergency services and taxpayers many millions of dollars in search and rescue expenses.
GTXCorp will be responsible for the cellular/GPS activation, for arranging and providing cellular connection services and for collecting the monthly fees from the monthly cellular connection plans of each subscriber.

GPS-powered trail running shoes may be on the horizon

GTX Corporation may be one step closer to trail running shoes that have integrated GPS directly into the shoes. GPS use has increased in the cycling and running worlds, as it is used to  accurately track time, distance, and speed.  There has been discussion of GPS-enabled running shoes in the past, but nothing significant ever materialized.
The GTX "Ambulator" originally was designed to be used in hospitals and nursing homes, but the technology could be ported into shoes and other products.  The Ambulator shoe is designed to help caretakers better monitor dementia patients who sometimes wander off without anyone knowing.
Pricing for the Ambulator varies between $200 and $300, with customers able to customize some of the features.

GPS technology has evolved from in-car products only to GPS in mobile phones, GPS heart rate monitors, and additional products.  I like the idea of having GPS built directly into the shoes, but hope that the technology isn't overly expensive.  I also wonder how much the monthly monitoring fees will cost, as the Ambulator costs $18 per month to operate.
Many higher-end heart rate monitors designed for athletes include GPS features, but runners occasionally may want to head out without the watch.  However, it's free to use GPS software from Garmin, Polar, and other companies, which could force GTX to lower the price of a monthly GPS subscription.

While GPS technology is a one size fits all solution, each marketed application offers a unique bundle of services. The choice of application comes down to one’s personality; are you a social or a private person – the difference defines the degree of privacy needed to share personal information with others or not.