Phones equipped with GPS receivers are revolutionizing the cell phone industry. As we`ve all seen on our favorite crime dramas, if your cell phone is on, the police can locate you, sort of anyway! For those phones without a GPS receiver, the technology is not as accurate, in police drama terms you`re probably a goner if you`re locked in someone`s trunk. A cell is basically a two-way radio that pings signals off of land-based towers which are arranged into a network of cells to send and receive signals. Many things can get in the way of the police finding you, like your signal being lost in a copse of pine trees or by pinging into a mountainside.

On the other hand, if your new cell is equipped with a GPS receiver, odds of surviving are infinitely better. GPS technology does not rely on land based signal transfer. GPS relies on satellite signals which translates into much less that can get in the way of your cell signal, which means you get found faster! GPS means more accurate location tracking and the ability to give turn-by-turn directions upon request to the cell user.

Now, all of this technology is a wonderful thing if it is working for you, but let`s look at three scenarios where you might not be as happy about being found:

Evaluation of Traffic Data Obtained via GPS enabled Mobile Phones - A study was done using 100 vehicles on a 10 mile stretch of road that did the loop-de-loop continuously for 10 hours in the name of traffic studies. Each of the drivers was equipped with a GPS enabled Nokia N98. (They were definitely not talking on the cells however, that would be bad!) Anyway, these phones were left on and data was gathered by picking up geographical markers along the way. This allowed researchers to study the viability of gathering the location of cars in real time and simultaneously broadcasting traffic flows, other more costly and inefficient means of tracking traffic snafus.

The practical applications are wonderful. No more dangerous chopper-in-the sky reports on the morning news ... newscasters would just follow our cell pings and report back exactly where the traffic jams lie in real time. The down side? Officials were quick to point out that everyone`s privacy was guarded while doing these studies, but they felt it necessary to point this out.

GPS Phones Help Monitor Staff - Part of the American dream is that each one of us has the ability to start and grow our businesses, even if we are in head-to-head competition with businesses in our niche and 30 million times our size, right? Do you know how we can compete with GPS technology and not pay a mint? If you are a small package delivery company competing with the big boys, instead of installing GPS tracking devices on every package, you (generously) give each of your 30 drivers a GPS enabled cell. You then ask your in-house tech to build a custom application that uses the phones GPS technology to locate your drivers and therefore, your packages thus increasing your efficiency by cutting down on stops for fast food and fast women between package deliveries.

GPS People Tracking - At the end of 2005, it was mandated that each and every cell be configured to track the user within 100 meters when a 911 call was initiated. We are now, back to being locked in a trunk, clock ticking and our favorite police detectives hot on our trail. This time you pray that your cell is new enough to transmit what the police need to find you! What? You`re not sure if it is so equipped?

One final observation: If you do not mind everyone knowing where you are, keep your phone on. Locked in a trunk scenario, definitely turn your cell ON. Making inadvisable stops during work hours? Just turn off your phone, dude!