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Preethi J

NEW DEVICES

Bangalore , Dec. 5

Location-based gaming is set to hit the Indian market next year.

If you believe you are a faster rider than your friend in the next city, you can now set the record straight with a location-based game.

Start racing with people anywhere in the world - with the start time, current position and opponent's moves all logged using GPS.

With a GPS-enabled gadget, you can receive your exact location in terms of longitude and latitude from satellites.

Combined with a digital map of your city (such as Wikimap or Google Map), the user can navigate around the city - with important locations, landmarks and restaurants logged on the mobile.

This navigator will open up a whole new window into the gaming universe. Games such as Treasure Hunt, where the user has to find an imaginary treasure hidden in the game zone (city limits) by unravelling clues given on the mobile, are popular in bigger game markets such as the US.

As GPS starts to get popular in the country, device makers such as Nokia and Hewlett-Packard are planning to release gadgets for gamers in India.

N95, the first GPS-enabled mobile by Nokia, is expected to be launched in the first quarter of 2007 and will be priced at Rs 30,000.

HP has also entered the GPS market with a gaming device.

Speaking on the sidelines of TechCon Asia held in the city, Mr Philip McKinney, General Manager, HP Gaming, said that the company had recently begun a division focused on gaming.

HP's iPAQ Travel Companion, a GPS-based device that sells for $600, can be used for location-based gaming.

Much like a mobile or a PSP, this handheld is expected to catch on in the gaming world with its feature of being interrelated with real-world location.

This device and others like it are expected to hit Indian stores late next year.

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