Dell Mini 10 Netbook With GPS Functionality
July 16, 2009
When the Dell Mini 10 Netbook was initially announced, Dell had plans of fitting it with GPS capability. Putting this plan into action, the company has fitted the Dell Mini 10 with a provision for integrating with a GPS module. This GPS option is called Dell Wireless 700 and is optional. It is available along with software for a price of $69. Currently, this new Dell Mini 10 netbook with optional GPS is released into the US market only. However, Dell has targeted the UK, France, Canada, Spain, Germany, Italy and other markets as well.
The Dell 700 GPS solution is a combination of hardware and software. While the hardware includes a card with a GPS chip and WiFi location technology, the software includes the CoPilot and Loki software. CoPilot gives turn by turn navigation instructions. Loki is a browser plug-in which helps locate the physical location of the laptop or computer. The surrounding WiFi network will be used to determine the geographical location. Dell is also incorporating a high definition screen in the Dell Mini 10. This screen will sport a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels.
Currently the utility is compatible with Windows XP OS that runs on the Dell Mini 10. The laptop making giant has plans of extending the solution into Vista and Windows 7 too. They also will make the Dell Wireless 700 available for other range of netbooks and laptops in the future.
The question that arises now is whether people really need a GPS capable netbook. Nobody will want to walk with a netbook open, giving them directions. Nor is it practical to fit the netbook in the car. Dell however, does not want to replace conventional satellite navigators, either in-car or handheld. They are considering the location based services which some people might want to access via their netbooks. There are certain websites, mostly the social networking ones, that require location based data. The Dell Wireless 700 can cater to the needs of such sites, making it easier for the netbook owners.
