Using the GPS Features on Cell Phones?

Rylor asks: "A couple of years ago I bought the Samsung 300NP cell phone, which has a GPS feature that I can turn on or off. The primary purpose is to meet the Emergency 911 calling requirements laid out by the FCC. I've checked the manual several times and it only says that I can use the GPS feature for anything service I want, but that's it. Sprint doesn't offer anything else about it. So my question to Slashdot: if you have a cellphone with this feature, what cool ways are you using it?"

GPS applications are coming soon

[mockojumbie]

Our company (Blue Cove) is currently testing GPS apps with with major carriers, one of which will be enabling commercial Brew applications to use the Snaptrack (Qualcomm) servers that provide the MS-based and MS-assisted capabilities in the next few quarters across the US. For obvious reasons they don't want apps and the public to use the same physical servers as E-911.
All Qualcomm CDMA chipsets now have GPS functionality. You should be seeing traffic, POI, mapping and all sorts of geo-games this year.

Sprint would rather you didn't

[raindog2]

I contacted Sprint last winter to ask how I could use the GPS functionality in Java applications to run on the phone, or on a web site, with an eye to making something like a little map of the area with little dots telling me the relative positions of myself and my business partner, for example. They told me to sign up for their developer mailing list and website. I did that, and upon diving into their development forums, found that their party line is that such programming information is proprietary, and that they have some kind of exclusive contracts in place with other parties who are supposed to be rolling out services Real Soon Now.

A year later and still nothing. I've stopped bothering with it myself, and keep the locator feature turned off.... it will still tell 911 where you are regardless. Maybe someday one of the other carriers will open up this feature and someone will develop a killer app so that Sprint has no choice but to follow, but their handling of independent developers leaves a lot to be desired thus far.

Re:There are none.

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, on my phone I can ask for directions 'From my location' to somewhere else. If I choose 'From my location' it locates approximately where I am and uses that information for a starting point. I'm not sure if it's using GPS or not, but the feature is still pretty neat and could certainly be used with GPS. Also, my phone lets me choose 'Sites and Attractions' which uses some type of positioning system to determine where I am located and tells me what dining, resteraunts, etc. are near me.