BlueGPS Going Open Source

About a year and a half ago I released BlueGPS, a Symbian UIQ application. BlueGPS runs on devices such as Sony Ericsson’s P800 and P900 phones. BlueGPS can establish a wireless connection between the phone and Bluetooth GPS receiver. This acts as a virtual serial port and data is streamed to the phone. The data is then displayed on the screen and can be uploaded to a remote server using HTTP.

The ability to upload GPS data to a remote server allows developers to create truly innovative applications. At one point I was using SensorLogic’s Platform to handle the GPS data uploads, which were then displayed on a Google map. There are unlimited possibilities when dealing with location data.

Over the past year and a half I received a tremendous amount of feedback about BlueGPS. Several user emailed me asking about new functionality and even wanted access to the source code. While I was hesitant at first I’ve come to the conclusion that the only way to see this project progress is to release it into the open source community.

I create BlueGPS because I was passionate about the technology as well as the Symbian operating system. While I’ve seen little progress in regards to Symbian devices here in the US I know they’re thriving overseas. With that being said I recently switched to a Windows Mobile powered 8125. I hate to admit that I’ve jumped ship, but when exciting new hardware becomes available I tend to jump on it.

I’m not completely abandoning Symbian, but it will probably be a while until we see a device as powerful as the 8125 here in the states. There’s the P990, which is truly killer, but it appears to be aimed at the European market. Even if it does make it to the US it will probably cost double what I paid for the 8125 ($299). I’ll definitely keep my eye on Symbian, but we’re seeing the coolest devices running Windows Mobile. The Treo 700W is a perfect example. I simply wanted to state my loyalty to Symbian because the first mobile application I ever wrote for Symbian was Dashfly Minutes.

So over the next couple of weeks I will be getting the SourceForge BlueGPS page in order. I’m planning on contacting the necessary people in the Symbian community announcing the availability of the code. In the meantime, if you’re interested in downloading the app for your phone you can do so by clicking here. If you’re interested in contributing to the project then please feel free to comment below and I’ll be sure to get back to you. I’m excited to see where this project will go!

5 Responses to “BlueGPS Going Open Source”

1. tom selencky says:

   April 5, 2006 at 10:37 am

   sorry just reading you informaition. i have spoken to sony erricsson today (05/04/06) and there not releseing the p990 untill june or mid june
   thought i’d let you know

   cheers

   tom
2. dennis says:

   April 5, 2006 at 10:43 am

   Tom, thanks for the info and if you do get your hands on the P990 I’d love to hear about it! I’d also be interested in hearing if BlueGPS is still compatible.
3. Waldorf says:

   July 22, 2006 at 8:59 am

   Until recently I was still using Dashfly Minutes on my Nokia N70, a great application which served its purpose better than any other application of its type.
   I now have a nokia N80 which is SO6 3rd edition, have you any plans on making a version of Dashfly Minutes for SO6 3rd?
   I truly hope so, there is no other application that comes close to the function of Dashfly Minutes for older Symbian and as yet no call/SMS tracker for SO6 3rd edition!
4. dennis says:

   July 22, 2006 at 11:00 pm

   Thanks so much for the message and positive feedback on Dashfly Minutes. Unfortunately I’m no longer doing Symbian development and have been focused on Windows Mobile lately. I’ve received tremendous feedback with BlueGPS so I’m going to focus on this project for a while. If I do decide to pickup Symbian again I’ll be sure to consider another minute tracking application. I apologize for any inconvenience and best of luck in your search.
5. Sundeep Maini says:

   August 8, 2007 at 9:14 am

   Yeah the new Sony Ericsson will be amazing