SiRF learned this lesson almost two years ago, and now Qualcomm's picking up on the same thing: WiFi-based positioning seems to work pretty damned well, all things considered. The company, which offers its gpsOne platform to handset manufacturers for integrating AGPS -- a now-standard feature on virtually every new phone -- has tied up with Skyhook Wireless to license its WiFi Positioning System, capable of approximating location by getting a read on nearby WiFi access points. This'll only serve to make gpsOne even more accurate than it already is, integrating traditional GPS signals, cell tower triangulation, and Skyhook tech into a single package for future devices. Notably, gpsOne powers a whole boatload of Sprint and Verizon phones, so if you're cursing VZ Navigator every time you slip into an urban canyon, this might just help (when we eventually see Skyhook-enabled guts in retail devices, anyway).

Have a newer Sprint EV-DO datacard for that spiffy lappy and portable, anywhere-you-go semi-broadband connectivity? If so, Sprint may be doing you a solid soon, as the mobile carrier has now said it will be sending an OTA update to some of its datacards to enable gpsOne location technology. Cards affected -- so far -- include the Novatel S720 and the U720 EV-DO USB modem -- along with possible others later this year. The coolness starts with gpsOne enabling Windows to use the intercepted GPS signal for everything from on-road navigation to remote logistics control and more.