Category Archives: GPRS

How does GPS Tracker Work

GPS Tracker is an electronic device which works with together with a GPS Receiver and appropriate software. GPS Satellites provide the location to the GPS Tracker in terms of Latitude and Longitude values. Accuracy of the location identified by the GPS Tracker depends on the hardware and software used. Tracking Vehicles, Kids, Pets & People are few of the common uses of GPS Trackers.

Now a days lots of Mobile Phones and Tablets do have GPS embedded in them which can be controlled by the Mobile Software or even by 3rd party Software Utilities. As the electronic chips and other devices of the GPS tracker uses electricity, mobile and tablet owners prefer to switch off the GPS functionality when not in use.

GPS Software

As said in the paragraph above, fully functional GPS tracking is accomplished by combination of Software and Hardware Devices. A Simple Vehicle GPS Tracker like TK 103 with battery backup is a good example of GPS Tracker for vehicles. The GPS Tracker TK 103 receives GPS Location from GPS Satellites and sends out the Latitude and Longitude information to either the configurable website specified by IP Address and port or send out the GPS Location to a configured Mobile Number as an SMS.

The GPS Tracker Software for Android is a good example of an Android App which receives and presents the GPS Location received on Google Maps and also allows to control vehicle electronics by sending out SMS Commands. There is another mode in which the GPS Tracker works and that is by using GPRS communication to a Configurable Server providing the user to track the GPS Locator online using Internet. Many GPS Trackers store the GPS Locations in their memory and later allows users to download the GPS Location map to computer and view the location and other information on the computer.

Custom GPS Tracker Software

There are various types of costs involved in running a GPS Tracker depending on what you wish to accomplish with the GPS Tracker. In case you want realtime location tracking from the GPS Tracker, you need to pay for the communication between the GPS Tracker and yourself. Real Time GPS Trackers are mostly made to communicate using in either Telephone Mode or in Web Mode. In Telephone Mode, you would need to pay for the communication initiated by the GPS Tracker in the form of SMS or voice calling.

In case a GPS Tracker allows you to hear voice near the Microphone embedded in the GPS Tracker, you would be able to dial to the GPS Tracker and hear voice and of-course your standard mobile call charges will apply. On the other hand when using a GPS Tracker in Web mode, you would need to pay for the GPRS communication between the GPS Tracker and Internet. Depending on your Online GPS Tracker Website, you may be required to pay for using the Online Tracking of Single or Multiple GPS Trackers as well.

You can even get a custom made GPS Tracker Software to match your requirements and of-course there will be applicable charges for that as well. Given below is the list of tasks included in a complete GPS Tracking Solution. Depending on your usage of the GPS functionality, one or multiple given below GPS related tasks are performed.

Electricity Consumption – GPS Trackers need electricity to run and are powered by inbuilt rechargeable battery, battery of vehicle or even using a AC to DC Adapter.
Location from GPS Satellites : This is Free Service and end user is not supposed to pay money for this. United States Government upgraded their GPS Satellites for military use and released the service of old GPS Satellites to public for free use as per the knowledge of the author of this post.
Tracking Information from the GPS Tracker to Website for Online Tracking needs GPRS Settings and additional IP Address and Port Settings to be done for the GPS Tracker. The GPRS charges are applied to the SIM Card Owner by the Mobile Operator.
SMS Message from GPS Tracker to End User’s Mobile is supported by many Real Time GPS Trackers. Lots of Mobile Operators do sell bulk SMS packages specifically to be used in GPS Trackers.
Website providing online tracking information may charge it’s customers on an annual or one time fees. Many Companies Selling GPS Trackers provide Free Online Tracking and identify the GPS Tracker using IMEI Number of the GPS Tracker.

Tracking of GPS Tracker Online is easy and provided platform independence. Effectively whether you do have an Android Tablet, Windows / Linux Computer or even a Macintosh, you can access the information provided by the GPS Tracker. Websites offering real time tracking many times provide SMS or Telephone Alerts in case the GPS Tracker moves out of it’s configured boundary.

Controlling the GPS Tracker(s) with Android, Windows or Linux Mobile or Tablet can be more accurate and reliable and has less dependencies as compared to online tracking of the GPS tracking. Hope you have a better understanding of how GPS Tracker works providing you real time or stored route and location information. Yes there is lots more in this GPS technology but this brief post should give you an idea of what technologies work together in a simple real time GPS tracking solution, what charges are applicable for using a GPS Tracker, etc. Feel free to browse through other pages of this website which will give you more GPS related information.

GPS Tracker Software for Android

In order to Track vehicles with GPS Tracker installed, Android Software Applications are the best. Lots of Android Tablets and Phones do have Telephony and SMS Capabilities, they do even have the GPS functionality which make them perfect devices to track any vehicles with GPS turned ON. This post presents a GPS Tracking Software for Android which controls GPS Tracker device by sending SMS commands and presents an easy to use graphical user interface. Many GPS Tracking devices come with manual and with online tracking software in a bundled CD. Reading and understanding GPS Tracker manual can be really difficult to understand and remember.

TK 103 GPS-Tracker

The GPS Tracker Software presented here is a GPS Tracker Software for TK 103 – A and works with TK 103 – B Models of GPS Tracker. The TK 103 GPS Tracker allows you to control your vehicle by sending SMS commands. The TK 103 do ships with a manual which has all the commands listed. In case you do have an Android Phone or Tablet with SIM card functionality, you can use this GPS Tracker Software to control your vehicle with easy to use graphical user interface. The given below screenshot of the GPS Tracker Software displays the Tracker Software Enabling Oil and Electric supply to the vehicle. Similar interface is presented for carrying out other commands and you do not need to worry about the SMS format in which the command is sent. Click on the image below to view the full screenshot of the Android GPS Tracker Software. Yes there is a SMS Counter built in to track how many requests were sent to the GPS tracker and how many time the GPS Tracker has responded to your phone. Whether you are using a Pre paid or Post – Paid SIM Card with the GPS Tracker or with your Android Tablet, this GPS Tracker Software will keep track of all the SMS Messages sent by the software and also count of all the SMS Messages received by the Software from the SIM Card Number of the GPS Tracker.

TK 103 GPS Tracker Software for Android Tablets and Phones

The TK 103 GPS Software allows you to send various commands to the GPS Tracker. Given below is the list of all the commands supported by this TK 103 Android Software and more commands will be added in the future.

Query Status of the TK 103 GPS Tracker to know current power status, battery level, whether GPRS is turned ON or Off and whether GPS Signal is available or not. When querying for the GPS Status, you need to remember that in order to save bettery power, the TK 103 turns off the GPS Receiver and when it receives a command related to GPS , it turns on the GPS and carries out the GPS command. Effectively if you have not sent a GPS command to the TK 103 GPS Tracker for lon, it would be a good idea to query the status of the GPS Tracker using this Android Software, two times to gte exact status of GPS.
Query Street Address of the Location where the TK 103 is located. Querying Address takes a little more time as compared to other commands, as the TK 103 has to check for GPS Location and then query GPRS for getting the Location. Yes you would need to configure the GPRS Settings like APN, Usre Name and Password in order for GPRS to get address of the TK 103 GPS Tracker.
Switch between Track Mode and Monitor Mode. When you switch the TK 103 to Monitor Mode, you can call the SIM Number of the GPS Tracker to listen to the voice from the Microphone of the TK 103. On the other hand when you switch TK 103 to Tracker Mode, you would be able to call the SIM Number of the GPS Tracker and get the GPS co-ordinates by SMS.
Turn On or Off Oil and Electric Power Supply with TK 103 supplied electronic components. The Android Software presented here simply sends SMS command to switch Oil and Electric Supply ON / Off, it is your responsibility to properly connect TK 103 with your vehicle.
Configure APN for the TK 103 GPS Tracker for communicating with Internet to get Address of the GPS Co-Ordinates pointed by the TK 103 GPS. This Android Software allows you to configure APN, APN User Name and APN Password using an easy to use Graphical User Interface.
Reset GPS and GSM Modules of the TK 103 GPS Tracker. This can be really useful if you are not sure of what settings are present in the TK 103. Remember that this Reset Command Sent to the TK 103 GPS Tracker does not resets the password.
Change Password of the TK 103 GPS Tracker by specifying a new password. This is an important functionality and hence this Android Software, launches Messaging feature of Android with prefilled SMS Message and Number and all you need to do is simply press the Send button to change the password of the TK 103 GPS Tracker.
Call SIM of TK 103 with a simple button press. TK 103 requires you to call it 10 times to make your SIM Number as authorized number for TK 103 commands.
Locate your Position with GPS Module in your GPS Enabled Tablet or Mobile on Google Maps. This can be helpful when you are in an unknown location and you want to find your way to your TK 103 GPS Tracker or to any other location using Google Maps.
Enable or Disable SMS Delievery Report for SMS Requests Sent to the TK 103 GPS Tracker. When you have enabled the delivery report option, this Android Software will inform you whether the TK 103 has received your request or Not. Some Mobile Opearirs charge money for sending you Delievery Report and some do not and hence this GPS Tracker software allows you to switch on / off the delievery report for the SMS requests sent to the TK 103 GPS Tracker

Yes there are many other commands supported by TK 103 GPS Tracker and new commands are being added to this Android Software. This Android Software communicates with TK 103 as specified by the manual of the GPS Tracker and presents an easy to follow user interface. It is always best idea to test the functionality multiple times to understand the software and hardware implications. Depending on your Mobile Operator you may be charged for Sending SMS Requests. Many Mobile Operators sell GPS Pack offering free SMS Messages when you topup your mobile for some specific amount. This GPS Tracker Software works on Android Honeycomb onward and requires your Tablet / Mobile to have the SMS Sending and Phone Dialing Capabilities. You can get a Custom GPS Software for Android in case you are using some other GPS Tracker Model. Please do mention your Android Operating System Name and GPS Tracker Model Number / Company Name when querying for custom made GPS Software.

Nokia N8 Review

This review of Nokia N8 is unbiased review of the brilliant mobile phone from Nokia. This smartphone is a brilliant mobile handset from Nokia featuring various useful functionalities available now a days. There are good chances that you will find almost everything you are looking in a mobile phone. The Nokia N8 features FM Transmitter, FM Receiver, GPS Receiver, GPRS for internet connectivity, 12 Mega Pixel primary camera and another VGA camera that is termed as secondary camera in Nokia N8. There are many other features present in this unique mobile phone. This Review will try to talk about few of the features and provide a unbiased opinion.

On this website you will find lots of information about Nokia N8, have a look at technical specifications of Nokia N8 to know about various features of N8 in technical details. Nokia N8 features 2 cameras. One is High definition camera and other is low resolution camera for video calling, etc. The 12 Mega Pixel Camera of Nokia N8 performs it’s job brilliantly and so is the other camera. Have a sneak peek at video capabilities of Nokia N8 to know more about the video capabilities of the phone.

Nokia allows to run Native Symbian applications to be run, Java & Flash lite applications to run and of course you can use inbuilt browser to navigate to OVI Store and download free and trial applications on your mobile handset. OVI Store requires a simple registration. As Nokia N8 has inbuilt GPS Receiver, you can download various free GPS Applications such as Mg-maps, Speedometer, OVI Maps is already installed on Nokia N8. Browsing Internet, connecting with Social Networks, checking email, connecting pc to internet and much more is built into Nokia N8. In All this Nokia N8 is a brilliant mobile handset / smartphone with multi touch colorful screen and is packed with tons of functionalities & my review of Nokia N8 does say in a loud voice that this Nokia Mobile Phone is worth taking into consideration when buying a new mobile phone.

Nokia N8 GPS in Offline Mode

GPS is a free available technology to all users. Now GPS is just a signal from revolving satellites which give your electronic device such as Nokia N8 information about Latitude , Longitude, time, speed information etc. Practical usage of GPS to navigate anywhere on earth requires maps of the specified country. The whole maps of a specific country can be of really big size lets say starting from 100 MB for a small country to 500 MB for a big country. As the size of GPS maps can be quite huge, they can be used on offline or online mode. The Offline mode of GPS maps will use internet connected to the mobile and download the maps as and when required. However offline mode of GPS maps will store all the maps in your mobile’s memory (such as Nokia N8 mobile) and will use as and when required. The Offline mode may not require an active internet connection.

Yes GPS usage is free for everybody, however whether you are required to pay for GPS maps or not depends on whether you are using GPS maps in online or offline mode. Nokia N8 has an inbuilt 16 GB memory so you can easily download the OVI maps to your Nokia N8 mobile from OVI store updates, from a wifi connection or you can even download the free maps for your country from computer connected to internet.

In order to use the GPS functionality of Nokia N8 in online mode, you do not need to download anything and use the Nokia N8 to navigate anywhere in your country as long as your Nokia N8 is connected to internet. In case your Nokia N8 has the OVI maps loaded onto your mobile already, you can easily use the N8′s GPS in offline mode. The Settings of Nokia N8 also allows to switch on or off the Assisted GPS functionality. The Assisted GPS requires internet connection for a short duration of time to lock your position on GPS at startup. In case you do not have internet connection available or you do not want to spend internet usage for GPS functionality, you can switch off the Assisted GPS (or A – GPS) from the settings section.

Nokia’s OVI store provides a map loader application which can be used to download maps for offline usage. The map loader application provided by Nokia can be installed onto Nokia N8 mobile and can be used to download maps for offline usage from your computer connected to internet.

In summary, yes GPS is a freely available facility on your Nokia N8 mobile provided you do not use the Assisted GPS functionality and use the GPS maps (using OVI Maps or any other freely downloadable maps) in offline mode. Just remember that GPS receiver in your Nokia N8 mobile receives Latitude and Longitude from GPS Satellites which is free and then displaying the received Latitude and Longitude onto your Nokia N8 mobile has to be done by an application which can be pre-installed OVI maps, Mobile Google Maps, MGMaps or any other GPS Software and finally using maps in online mode will cost you internet charges (according to your GPRS connectivity and plan), using GPS maps in offline mode will not cost you internet charges and Assisted GPS (can be turned ON or Off from the settings of Nokia N8) will cost you internet charges (much lower as compared to that of online GPS navigation).

Nokia N8 Specifications in detail

Nokia N8 is one of the latest Nokia Smartphone with multi touch screen, 2 Mobile Cameras , GPS, GPRS, FM Receiver and transmitter and various other useful gadgets in this useful and comprehensive Nokia Mobile Phone. Given below are specification details of Nokia N8 with brief description of every technical gadget in the Mobile.

Nokia N8 has a multi touch touch screen of around 3.5″ with a resolution of 640 x 36 pixels. The screen color of every pixel can be anything from 16.7 million colours. The Multi touch feature of Nokia N8 mobile can be really useful when you want to zoom in into an image. In order to explore this multi touch feature, open up an image on Nokia N8 and use two fingers and expand it. The Nokia N8 mobile has an orientation sensor so you can view the image / video or anything else on the mobile in landscape or portrait mode by rotating N8 mobile sidewise or holding it in vertical position. Proximity Sensor, Ambient Light detector and Magnetometer are other sensors in Nokia N8 mobile.

Nokia N8 can be connected to various network for data and voice communication. Nokia N8 can communicate with 2G and 3G networks with GPRS / EDGE class B, multislot class 33. Nokia N8 has a inbuilt GPS receiver with configurable other GPS connectivity options such as Assisted GPS, Bluetooth GPS, etc. Nokia N8 can be used as a modem as well to connect your computer with 2G or 3G network. TCP / IP Support, WLAN, HSUPA Cat5 with max speed of 2.0 Mbps, HSDPA Cat9 with maximum speed up to 10.2 Mbps make Nokia N8 a really sophisticated mobile phone.

Connectivity options of Nokia N8 to other mobiles / devices are also really vast. You can use Nokia N8 to transfer images, videos and other files to other mobile phone or any other device supporting Blutooth. Just power on your Nokia N8′s bluetooth and transfer files to and from other bluetooth supported devices such as Laptops, other Mobiles Phones, Desktop Computers with active external Bluetooth dongle, etc. You can also connect a USB cable to computer to connect your Nokia N8 to your laptop or desktop computer to transfer data to and from computer or install new applications onto your Nokia N8 mobile using Nokia OVI suite. Symbian, Java and other applications can be downloaded from internet and installed onto your Nokia N8 mobile phone. Inbuilt FM transmitter can be used to listen to songs played on your Nokia N8 mobile on another FM Radio receiver at a frequency configurable in the settings of Nokia N8 mobile. The HDMI connector can be used to watch videos from the Nokia N8 mobile onto your High Definition Television.

The Nokia N8 mobile has a single button at the front of the mobile screen which can be used to display the available icons of application in list format. By default Nokia N8 opens up with a configurable home screen. There are 3 configurable home screens available in Nokia N8. The customization of home screens of Nokia N8 can be done using widgets, shortcuts, icons, etc. Various ringtone formats are supported so there are good chances that most of the ringtone types will work fine on Nokia N8. The Mobile Phone’s theme can be selected from various pre-installed themes. There are buttons at the side of Nokia N8 to change volume of the speakers, lock the mobile, click photographs using either of the 12 Mega Pixel or 2 Mega Pixel camera.

Update OVI Maps of Nokia N8

In case you are thinking of updating the Nokia N8 maps or downloading the maps on your Nokia N8 mobile phone, there are few things that you might need to consider. The Nokia N8 Map application can be updated from the System Update option of Nokia N8. The updated maps application of Nokia N8 will give you few extra options.

Before updating the map application you need to consider that existing / downloaded maps will be deleted (yes the updater will ask whether you wish to continue) and the Nokia N8 will give you one option of downloading the maps. Yes there will be only one way to download the maps onto your Nokia N8 mobile and that would be by WiFi. In case you do not have access to a WiFi connection for downloading huge maps onto your Nokia N8 mobile, you have another option as outlined below.

You can download the OVI maps onto your Nokia N8 mobile by connecting your Nokia N8 mobile with your computer. Nokia provides a map downloader which you can install on your Nokia N8 mobile and then it will allow you to download the OVI maps for offline usage. The Offline usage is a term used here to indicate map navigation using GPS even when your mobile phone is not connected to internet using GPRS ( such as 2G, 3G, etc) or other connection methods provided by Nokia N8 mobile.

Nokia N8 as Modem

Nokia N8 can be used as a Modem for connecting your computer to internet as well. With low priced 2G and 3G networks readily available you can utilize the power of internet, download application and do anything on internet on your computer once your Nokia is connected as a Modem to your computer.

In order to connect Nokia N8 as modem to your computer and browse internet you will need internet activated onto your cell number, a computer and few other things as outlined below. With Nokia N8 there comes a CD with Nokia OVI suite, run that CD and install the Nokia OVI suite onto your computer. Once you do have the OVI suite installed onto your computer, now you would need to setup a modem onto your computer with Nokia N8 modem driver. The Modem driver will be installed with Nokia OVI suite and you would need one last thing to get going and connect your PC to internet.

Configure Nokia N8 as Modem using Control Panel

You can configure the Modem of Nokia N8 using control panel. You would also need ISP number to be dialed by the Modem and optionally user id and password. Call your network provider call center and tell them that you need to connect Nokia N8 to internet for a computer and you need the ISP number, User ID and Password to connect. They should be able to guide you appropriately. Once you have connected your Nokia N8 to your computer and configured it, you can connect to internet from your computer.

Nokia N8 Price in India

Nokia N8 is one of the best mobiles available to buy in India. Yes it does costs around Rs 23,000/- but can be really worth the money. You can get Nokia N8 mobile from online shops and your local mobile shops as well. Many mobile vendors provide on the spot replacement for any fault found in the mobile within 48 hours of the mobile purchase.

Nokia N8 comes with tons of useful features such as 12 Mega Pixel Camera, 2G & 3G network connectivity. The 12 Mega Pixel camera is the main camera at the back of the mobile with really popwerful flash. Yes there is another secondary camera of 2 Mega Pixel in the front which can be utilised for video conferencing and taking smaller snapshots. The 12 Mega Pixel camera can be used for High Definition video recording as well.

FM Receiver and FM Transmitter built into the Nokia N8 Mobile provides easy and quick ways to listen to FM Radio stations and transmit the audio played in the mobile to a FM Radio at configurable frequency. Bluetooth is also present in the Nokia N8 mobile with which you can transfer audio, video and other files to / from other mobile phones / computers with BlueTooth hardware present.

Integrated GPS functionality in Nokia N8 mobile comes with free ovi maps so that you can find and navigate to your desired route. In case you would like to use google maps with GPS functionality, you can download Google Maps application from inbuilt OVI store. The OVI maps can be used in offline mode as well which means that you can use GPS functionality even when mobile network is not reachable. Assisted GPS (A-GPS) feature is also built into the Nokia N8 mobile which can really speed up GPS locking so that you can start GPS navigation really easily and speedily.

Checking EMail, Browsing web, creating and editing Word and Excel documents can also be done in Nokia N8 mobile. In case you are planning to buy a new mobile, do consider the brilliant Nokia N8 mobile. The Touch screen of Nokia N8 mobile is the main interface of the mobile for interacting with various java and symbian based applications.