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To: Keith Feral who wrote (95825)3/16/2001 10:52:19 AM
From: T L Comiskey  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 152472
 
Friday March 16, 10:01 am Eastern Time

Forbes.com
Ten O'Clock Tech: Location, Communication In One
By Arik Hesseldahl

Most mobile-phone calls fall into two categories.

There's the ``I'm running late, but I'll be there as soon as I can'' call, and the ``I'm lost, can you help me find you?'' call.

The second type of call might be helped through a combination mobile phone and global positioning system (GPS) device called the
NavTalk II, from Garmin (Nasdaq: GRMN - news).

The device combines a global system for mobile communications (GSM) phone with a GPS reader that can help you find your way to your
destination. And while it will only be available in Europe initially, a similar device may be coming to the U.S. soon. Garmin has licensed
code division multiple access technology from Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM - news), with an eye toward bringing a NavTalk phone to the
U.S. market as early as next year.

While it's always helpful to see your precise location on the GPS display, a more interesting feature is the ability to transmit your location
information from one phone to another. For that to work, both parties have to be using a NavTalk. That way, if you're really lost, you can
tell someone else exactly where you are.

The GPS part of the phone comes pre-installed with built-in international maps that include major roads, bodies of water, airports and
coastlines. You can also load it with more detailed maps from Garmin's MapSource CD-ROMs, which include information like points of
interest, hotels and restaurants. And like most GPS devices, it will store up to 500 places you want to remember, such as a favorite
camping spot, which are called waypoints in GPS lingo.

The only downside with GPS technology is that it's useless indoors. And since the satellite signals that make it work are not all that strong,
coverage can be spotty in big cities with tall buildings.

The phone includes a built-in modem and the ability to access Internet data using the wireless application protocol (WAP) standard. It also
supports the short messaging service popular among European mobile-phone users, which is slowly gaining popularity in the U.S.

The NavTalk II won't be commercially available in Europe until probably the fourth quarter of this year, or even the first quarter of next
year. Price information has not yet been released.

Financially, Olathe, Kans.-based Garmin is an interesting company. Having shown considerable courage to go public only last December,
its stock price has hovered in the $15 to $25 range. Since 1998 it has more than doubled its revenue and tripled profits.

If there's one company who can take GPS technology from its current niche market of outdoor enthusiasts and hobbyists to the wider
mass market, Garmin is it. GPS technology, which relies on a network of 24 satellites that circle the Earth, was once reserved for the
military. Built into some cars and inexpensive consumer devices, it's now helping everyday people find their way.

And Garmin has some interesting product plans for the future. In January, it joined Handspring (Nasdaq: HAND - news) and Sony (NYSE:
SNE - news) among the ranks of companies who have licensed Palm Computing's (Nasdaq: PALM - news) operating system software. In
2002 it will release a PalmPilot device of its own, with built-in GPS capabilities. Meanwhile it continues to make GPS devices for use on
boats, in the air, and on mountaintops. Soon there will be little excuse for getting lost.



To: Keith Feral who wrote (95825)3/16/2001 10:57:26 AM
From: JohnG  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 152472
 
New Gary Jacobs home

Ocean View - Del Mar may get huge house
Peter Kaye
North County Times

What may be the largest and most expensive house ever built in San Diego County is planned for the northwest
corner of Del Mar.

The owner is Gary Jacobs, son of Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs. The 5.3-acre parcel extends west from Camino
del Mar to the ocean bluff and south of Border Avenue at the Solana Beach city line. The project is so massive that
its designer calls it "an event."

How big is it?

The main house would be 25,500 square feet on two levels. A guest house of 3,437 square feet also is planned. The
estate would include an orchid house, basketball court and 70-foot pool. A 6-foot masonry wall would surround
most of the site. My research found only one home of similar size locally ---- a 26,000 square foot house on La
Jolla Farms Road.

How expensive will the new house be?

The site costs $20 million. Based on current estimates, construction and landscaping would exceed $8 million.
Compare this total with the original cost of Qualcomm Stadium ---- $27 million.

"The trouble with a house that big," said one local builder, "is that you run out of names for all the rooms."

Designer Ken Ronchetti tried not to, during his testimony last week before Del Mar's Design Review Board. He
said there would be a train room, exercise room, entertainment room and performance center in the lower level of
the house, where the four Jacobs children would live. Each child would have an individual garden.

Ronchetti said he gained inspiration for this design from the Four Seasons Hotel in Maui.

"It's a small hotel," he explained.

When I asked Ronchetti to describe the house, he likened it to an open air village. Pressed for details, he gave me a
prospectus of truly impressive homes he has designed in San Diego County, Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada and Baja
California.

The house would be built as a series of pavilions cut into the earth but rising 25 feet above grade in the northwest
corner. The lead exterior coat, said Ronchetti, would reflect the environment ---- sky and clouds.

Del Mar's permitting process will resume March 28 at a second DRB hearing. The project also needs California
Coastal Commission approval. Already there is opposition.

Owners of condominiums in Solana Beach say the house will cut off views and cooling ocean breezes. Another
impediment is Del Mar Man, who lived on the site 6,000 years ago. Discovery of his remains insures the presence
of archeologists during excavation.

The applicants want to down-zone the site from seven to four building lots. That concerns Arthur Olson, DRB
chairman:

"Down-zoning would permit a huge, huge house. Del Mar is not a place where 'mine is bigger than yours' is a
value. This project will affect the entire community ---- psychologically if not visually. This does not look like a
Del Mar home to me; it looks like a Rancho Santa Fe home."

Columnist Peter Kaye has lived in Del Mar since 1957. Contact him at peterfkaye@aol.com.