Monday August 24, 2009
Travelling companion
Stories by MICHAEL CHEANG
Getting lost may well be a thing of the past as GPS devices become increasingly popular among travellers.
We were hopelessly lost. With nothing but a badly drawn map in our hands, and a cranky, stubborn driver who insisted he knew the way, our efforts to find that elusive paintball ground in the middle of rural Selangor was proving to be in vain.
After driving around aimlessly for an hour following our hopeless instructions, our driver finally accepted defeat.
So I whipped out my PDA phone and turned on its GPS application. After keying in the address of the paintball centre, we waited for the device to calculate our route. And then we heard it – a sound so beautiful, so sweet and so welcome that we couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief ... It was the sultry voice of a female telling us: “Keep left and turn left after 100m.”
DAVID Lian used to get lost all the time. In fact, the public relations executive lost his way so often that he would have to leave one hour early for an appointment just so he had ample time to find his way.
Then one day, after once again getting himself lost on the way to a friend’s wedding in Putrajaya, he decided enough was enough. Pulling over by the side of the road, he activated the Global Positioning System (GPS) application in his Nokia phone out of desperation.
“That was the first time I used the GPS in my phone. I couldn’t think of anything else to do! I was so desperate that I even paid for Nokia’s voice navigation service on the spot,” he recalled, adding that from there, all he had to do was key in the hotel’s GPS coordinates, and he was there in no time.
In ancient times, sailors and travellers would look to the skies and the stars to navigate their vessels. Today, we look to our own man-made stars instead – a constellation of up to 32 GPS satellites orbiting the Earth.
It’s almost inconceivable today that we could get by without GPS. How did we ever find our way around the chaotic roads of Kuala Lumpur without the help of that sultry voice from the GPS receiver telling us to “turn left after 400m”?
And most importantly (for Malaysians, that is), how on earth did we manage to find that amazing char koay teow stall in Penang that people rave about, without all those GPS coordinates to pinpoint its exact location for us?
Mini wonder: The latest Garmin units, such as the Garmin nuvi 765, feature little 3D miniatures of famous landmarks, such as the Petronas Twin Towers. I first encountered the wonders of GPS back in 2003 when I interviewed enthusiast Adil Othman on his project to create a comprehensive map of Malaysia and Singapore together with his Singaporean counterpart Allen Teoh.
Back then, GPS was relatively unknown in Malaysia, with only a handful of hobbyists like Adil running around the country tracking and drawing their own maps. The receivers were bulky objects, much like the mobile phones of old; they only emitted beeps and had boring, monochrome graphics.
Six years later, Adil and Teoh’s “little” project is now called Malsing maps, and is currently the de facto standard for GPS maps of Malaysia and Singapore. (See story on P4)
The usage of GPS units in Malaysia has also increased exponentially, with an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 users owning dedicated GPS devices, and an undetermined number using GPS function from their mobile phones.
Cheaper and easier
10 minutes later, thanks to the tireless efforts of the lovely Miss GPS (as she will hereby be known), we were happily back on track. Unfortunately, while her directions were impeccable, our inability to keep up with her was proving to be a problem. At one point, we even took a wrong turn, and headed towards Ipoh instead of our destination.
Thankfully, Miss GPS came to our rescue. With a couple of beeps and whistles, she had recalibrated our location and route, instructed us to make a U-turn, and with a couple more brief instructions, we were back on track.
Among the new converts to the GPS cause is Dr Shamsul Iskandar Hussein, who has been commuting to army hospitals in remote areas in Perak on a weekly basis, and uses GPS to help him get around in those unfamiliar territories.
“I wasn’t familiar with the roads and was not confident driving there. I’m not good with directions and I get lost even in KL!” he said, adding that a friend later recommended a Garmin nüvi 200 device to him, which changed the way he travelled.
“It’s so easy for me now with the GPS. Before, I would have to look through big paper maps, or drive with a map book on my lap. Nowadays, I just have to listen to the voice telling me where to go, and I’m there!” he said happily.
One of the reasons there are more newbies like Dr Shamsul using GPS units these days is the accessibility and advancement of the technology. The receivers these days not only have the most up-to-date maps installed in them, they also have auto-routing functions that help calculate the fastest or shortest way to get to your destination, and also the ability to recalibrate your route should you take a wrong turn.
Adil reckons that the GPS devices today are also a lot more accurate and reliable.
“It used to take 5-10 minutes just to get a reading, but now it’s almost instantaneous. The devices can pinpoint a location accurately up to 5m, whereas in the past it was almost 15-17m. They can also hold a reading better, even when you’re in the deep jungle. In the past, just having two coconut trees above you would disrupt the reception!” he said with a laugh.
According to Kelvin Chua, chief operating officer of GPS Foundry, interest in the GPS has increased drastically over the years mainly because the units have become cheaper and easier to use.
“From 2003 to 2005, those who had GPS units were mainly serious hobbyists – fishing, biking, 4WD enthusiasts, and so on,” he said. “But as the market grew in Malaysia and around the world, manufacturers like Garmin began to come up with units that were more affordable and user-friendly.”
Based in Digital Mall at Section 14 in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, GPS Foundry is an authorised Garmin retailer, and was first set up with the intention of spreading awareness and educating the public about GPS.
“To the majority of Malaysians, this is a very niche product. People are still sceptical about it, and it has not become a necessity yet,” he said, adding that previously, it was almost impossible to find a GPS device for less than RM1,000.
However, Chua reckons that will change this year when one can get a basic Garmin unit for around RM700 that can be used in the car. He also predicts that in the near future, the trend might soon change to favour GPS devices in mobile phones instead.
Mobile phone GPS
With mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Blackberry producing phones with GPS functions, the day when GPS becomes a standard feature in mobile phones, just like cameras, may not be far off.
At the forefront of this new technological advancement is Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia, which has gone to the extent of acquiring digital mapping company Navteq for US$8.1bil (RM28.7bil) to develop maps for its devices.
According to Nokia country general manager Vlasta Berka, Nokia has already installed GPS modules in many of its latest models, including the popular E71 and the recently launched N97 – all complete with free maps of over 150 countries.
With Nokia Maps, users don’t even have to pay for the maps, though you do have to subscribe to the voice guidance system if you want “Miss GPS” to guide you along the way.
“Just think about the three things you always bring along with you when you leave home – your car and house keys, your wallet, and your mobile phone. These are things that are always with you,” said Berka in Kuala Lumpur.
“By installing GPS modules in our phones, we are bringing GPS navigation to the masses, and want to make sure that everybody has access to the technology.”
So, it seems that although they may not be as powerful or accurate as a dedicated GPS receiving unit, there are certain advantages to having a GPS-enabled phone.
Just ask David Lian, who now uses his Nokia phone’s GPS function all the time to avoid getting lost.
“These days, I don’t know how I survived without GPS! It’s certainly a lot easier than following directions given by others, which tend to be difficult to understand and remember sometimes. I am also more confident of taking unknown roads now, and certainly don’t get lost so often anymore,” he said.
“Hopefully in the future everyone will have a phone with a GPS, so we can start giving out GPS coordinates instead of addresses!”
30 minutes after I activated the GPS function, we finally arrived at our destination with much time to spare, thanks to a combination of the up-to-date Malsing map and the clear, concise directions of the lovely Miss GPS. Now, if only we could get her to stop nagging us to “Please slow down” every time we went over 80kmph ...
Related Stories:
Ways with GPS
Marvellous maps
Selecting a unit
Brief history
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