PalPosition

If you haven't done so already, please read "What's PalPosition?", so you get an understanding for what this service provides.

Equipment

PalPosition can be accessed from a PC or a mobile phone.

Registration

First sign up to a PalPosition account. Please also update your profile so that you enable (or not) the information that you want other users to see.

Phone Access

After completed registration you will get an SMS with information about downloading the PalPosition mobile application. This application enables you to post your current position, submit blog entries, landmarks as well as send and receive messages.

If you only want to follow friends and their whereabouts and communicate with them you don't need GPS in your phone, but if you want to provide your position to others, as well as enter landmarks with the correct position etc, you need GPS. For that you either need a phone with integrated GPS (e.g. Nokia N95 or N6110), or a separate Bluetooth GPS module (e.g. Nokia LD-3W or GlobalSat BT-338).

Installation

Follow the installation instructions on the web page provided via the SMS.

Choose the application version that best fits your phone.

During installation, answer yes to all questions about whether you allow access to the Internet, location, Bluetooth etc.

Initial configuration

When starting the application for the first time the Setup screen will show up.

Enter the type of GPS device you have, if any.
Enter your PalPosition user name and password.

Leave the other settings for now.

If you chose GPS device Internal you should be all set now.
If you chose GPS device Bluetooth the application will now look for nearby Bluetooth devices. Wait for the discovery to complete (can take half a minute) and then select your device from the list.

Provided you have selected a GPS device and there's GPS coverage, the information under 'GPS info' should now update the current position etc each second.

In Menu you will find all the functions provided by the application.

Further configuration can be made via Setup and Bluetooth in the Menu, e.g. if you change to another Bluetooth GPS device.

Main Screen

This screen shows nearby friends and landmarks and your own geographical information. It's updated continuously based on information from GPS and PalPosition.

The icons at bottom left indicate status:

GPS: Green if a valid position can be determined
Compass: On if at least one position has been sent
Mailbox: On if there's at least one message in your Inbox
Globe: On while information is being transferred to/from PalPosition

Menu / Commands

Via the Menu you can access the following functionality:

Friends: Lists all your friends (configuration of those are made at the PalPosition web site). You can deselect some of them if you don't want to see their information on the main screen.
Nearby friends: Shows information about what friends are nearby. This list is updated and resorted as friends' positions change relative to you. Select a friend to see more information.
Nearby landmarks: Shows information about what private and public landmarks are nearby. This list is updated and resorted as landmarks' positions change relative to you. Select a landmark to see more information.
Set position: If you don't have GPS, or you want a fallback position when GPS fails, you can here select one of your private landmarks as a reference point.
Submit blog: Enables you to send a blog entry to PalPosition including your current position.
Submit landmark: Creates a new landmark that includes your current position.
Messages: Lists received and sent messages, and allows you to send new messages to PalPosition friends.
User status: Displays and sets your presence status.
Recommend: Enables you to send a recommendation for PalPosition to anyone via SMS.
Setup: Configures the application. Most settings here should be left as is. Note that everything set here is stored between sessions.
Bluetooth: Selects what Bluetooth device to use for GPS. The selected device is stored between sessions.
Monitor: Can be used to determine the cause of possible problems with e.g. the GPS communication. Useful when contacting technical support.
Submit support info: Sends a package of information about the status of the application to aid in solving possible support issues.
Help: Information to guide you in using this application.
About: Provides information about the PalPosition application and the phone it runs on.