Gps For Handsets, Who Knew?

摘要

A tall thin man wearing a gray suit and red tie entered an enormous field in the heart of Chicago. Crowds, festivities, and hoopla greeted him, along with shouts of "Yes, we can!" A momentous event was about to occur, one that was certain to be remembered for generations to come. It was the president of Ameritech Mobile Communications on Soldier's Field that day, 25 years ago, ready to place the first commercial cellular call to the grandson of Alexander Graham Bell. Though no one seems to remember what they said, we do know that the first phone was the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, with just 30 minutes of talk time, weighing more than two pounds, and costing nearly $4,000. You likely read articles about this anniversary, but, like me, you may have been struck by the omission of any mention of the role that GPS played in creating cellular infrastructure. Nor was GPS acknowledged for its contri- bution toward propelling mobile phones' popularity by enabling navigation and other location-based offerings.