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Sony unwraps GPS add-on for digital cameras
August 2nd, 2006

060802_Sony_GPS.jpg

Sony will soon start selling a small GPS unit that can be used to add location information to digital pictures, the company said Wednesday.

The 9cm long GPS-CS1 unit is intended to be attached to a belt and worn throughout the day as pictures are being taken. Every 15 seconds it records the current location and the time, thus building up a record of exactly where the user has been during the day. Later, that data can be matched with the time stamp on the digital images to work out where the picture was taken.

Sony supplies an application called GPS Image Tracker to handle this data matching and it’s recorded in the meta data stored in the JPEG file. A new version of Sony’s Motion Picture Browser software now allows users to browse pictures by location and not just by date. Existing users will be able to upgrade their software.

While Sony will only guarantee the GPS system works with its digital still cameras it should be compatible with any digital camera that produces JPEG images compatible with the EXIF2.1 standard, said Masayo Endo, a spokeswoman for the company in Tokyo.

The GPS unit will run for about 10 hours on a AA cell and the unit’s internal 31MB memory can store about 15 days’ worth of GPS data. The triangular unit measures 9cm long by 4 cm wide and weighs 55g.

The GPS-CS1 will be launched in September in the U.S. and Japan and will cost around US$150. Details on a European launch have not yet been announced.

— Martyn Williams

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03:41 PM Mark Hiratsuka • Permalink
Digital cameras
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