Top GPS Info

Tim Hibbard wants you to see where he is. On his website, Hibbard uses GPS technology to plot his location on a map of Lawrence, Kansas, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A GPS phone in his car feeds information into a Google map, and a small icon represents Tim Hibbard, website architect and self-confessed geek. If you zoom in on the location, you can see the roof of the building he's in. If you were familiar with Lawrence, you could suggest things for Hibbard to do. "One guy sent me a text message that said: 'Hey dude! Get some coffee!' I was actually already on my way to get coffee,'' he recalls.It won't be long before Hibbard's isn't the only pin on such maps. GPS business is booming in the United States and Europe. But it's only just begun in terms of phones that know your location on the planet -- and which are prepared to tell the world about it.Though the United States has, since the end of last year, had the E911 ("enhanced 911'') system, that lets emergency operators work out the location of someone calling from a new cellphone -- because the phone incorporates a means of working out the location, either using GPS or by triangulation from the strength of the signal at the nearest mobile phone masts -- that hasn't been available to the user directly, nor to outsiders.Now GPS is being incorporated into new mobiles so that owners can access it.

A piste map didnt mean much to six year old Simon Ellwood but when he used the latest ski tracking system on his winter holiday he was transformed into a world of space, satellites and computers. He became the youngest person to use a cutting edge tracker for skiers that uses Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to record almost every element of a days ski-ing including height, speed, time spent on lifts, in queues and even having lunch. I had a race with my dad and I went the farthest I have ever been, said Simon who learned to ski aged four. It was great seeing where I had been all day. The best thing was being tracked in space, he added. His father found it was also educational. A map doesnt mean much to a young child. But when you start talking about computers and space their face just lights up and you immediately have their attention, said Mark Ellwood from York who hired the Sumit Tracker in Tignes last January.

(CBS) Kid-friendly cell phones help you know your child's whereabouts when she's away from home. Some manufacturers have introduced models with GPS locator chips, which let you pinpoint the exact location of your child's phone. Wherify's Wherifone ($99.95 plus $19.95 monthly service fee; 877-943-7439; wherify.com), for example, lets you track the location of your child's cell through a secure Website or by phone. Plus, there are five programmable buttons, so you can control which numbers your kid calls.Don't need tracking capabilities? Check out these other child-friendly cell phone models: The Firefly ($100 with a prepaid calling plan or $50 with a two-year Cingular contract; 866-246-48527; cingular.com) is best for kids age eight to 10. The phone lets users dial and receive calls from up to 22 preprogrammed numbers.