http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/07/30/kayak.rescue/index.html<br><br>Kudos to the Coast Guard for a spectacular rescue. Considering how unprepared this guy was he is very lucky to be alive. At least he had his cell phone.<br><br>On a related note, my office recently got me a new phone. It is the new Samsung model (SPH-A460) that Sprint is using. It is very small (which is nice), but what was most interesting to me is that they included a GPS transmitter in the phone. Although not in place yet, they are anticipating GPS using cellphones allowing 911 services to locate mobile users. Knowing the members of this list, I am sure that will be a future "must have" for EDC. I just thought it was interesting that the phones are already available.<br><br>Greg

Well, the Benefon ESC! has a 12 channel GPS built in. It has a nice big screen. It has just hit the market here in SA. It is a beauty and I must have one. Apparently if lost, you get your GPS co-ordinates, etc. and sms them or phone through to an emergency number and they know where you are within 10 metres!!!!! Check it out at http://www.benefon.com/products/esc/index.htm<br><br>I think this is any gear knut's dream come true!!!!!!

I believe that new Kyocera palm based phone is also GPS ready. Plus now you have Magellan attachments to Palm pilots that cost about $200 and can convert any handheld into pinpointing device. Personally I still prefer my Garmin Legend. But please understand the word "prefer" in the above sentence as in I'm too broke to buy new cell/palm pilot/tech gadget. <br><br>Matt<br>

I hear you polak187...Garmin have also released their new Cellphone/GPS unit called the Navtalk...http://www.garmin.com/products/navTalkGSM/#<br><br>Pretty cool huh?

Be careful about these "new" phones. <br><br>I have a GSM, PCS only phone and have found that it doesn't work in a number of places that I thought that I should have service. Places like Cleveland. Well, it works on the west side of the city, but not the east as of January 2002.<br><br>Be sure that you get a multi-mode phone, I didn't.<br><br>Also, that beutiful Garmin does not list that it will be available in the U.S. Darn it.<br><br> Seth

Beware those new mobile phones with built in GPS.<br><br>I believe that these are in response to anticipated/upcoming legislation requiring that GPS technology be built in to phones.<br><br>Yes, the ostensible purpose is to locate people who make 911 calls. The other purpose will be to allow big brother to track where you when making ANY calls. <br><br>I had heard - I don't know whether this is true - that the technology would also allow big brother to track the locations of any gps/cell phones that had battery power - regardless of whether or not you were making a call.

They can do this already, even without GPS.<br><br>The cell company software can measure the signal time delay from your phone to each cell that is 'visible' to it, do a little math, and calculate exactly where you are. With frightening accuracy. It doesn't matter if you are making a call or not; the phone has to intermittently 'chat' with the network to let it know where it is (so that calls can be routed to the right cell).<br><br>Primitive versions of such tracking have already been used as evidence in court cases, demonstrating that the defendant's phone (and hence, maybe, the defendant himself) was at a certain location at a certain time (or, alternatively, *not* at that location at that time).<br><br>The only time they can't pin you down exactly is when you are not visible to more than one cell (e.g. in the sea, or countryside). That's where the GPS is useful.<br><br>If you don't want BigBrother to know where you are, switch your phone off. Better still, remove the battery. Better still, don't take the phone with you.

>>If you don't want BigBrother to know where you are, switch your phone off. Better still, remove the battery. Better still, don't take the phone with you. <<<br><br>Better still, swap phones with your boss by mistake. :-)

I would Never rely on a cellphone in an emergency, especially at sea. In my part of the world, the network coverage is not designed to cover offshore, the phone technology is really fragile in a wet environment [ just when you're probably going to need it ] and even in a dry bag, the phones are susceptible to condensation. Even a hint of moisture and the best phone goes down. <br>And I have recently read of GPS units supposedly waterproof, ie, the latest Garmins, have gone down after condensation and moisture intrusion.<br>I have a Silva Multinavigator GPS, supposedly designed from the get go for a harsh environment, but even so I am careful with it.<br>My cellphone is always in a drybag, with a careful watch maintained for humidity;<br>and my VHF marine radio is also in a drybag. Even marine VHF radios rated to JIS 7 standard should be considered not waterproof outside a drybag. They all tend to leak around the battery compartments.