Japanese company Yamaha, well known for its 3-axis geomagnetic sensor IC chips, as well as the odd motorbike, has announced the YAS529, a new, tiny 3-axis chip that acts as a compass for devices such as mobile phones.

The YAS529 is, naturally, the world's smallest such chip, measuring just 2mm x 2mm x 1mm, and will be used in mobile phones with GPS functions to orient streetmaps according to which direction the user is facing.


According to Yamaha:

"Recently, the number of mobile phones with GPS functions has surged, and navigation services have become increasingly popular. Most mobile phones with GPS functions show the user's current location on a map, but the services are difficult to use because the maps provided do not rotate in response to the user's movements nor do they indicate the direction in which the users is moving. End users have thus been expressing a growing desire for a geomagnetic sensor with an electronic compass function, or "heading up function," that keeps the map oriented in the direction of the user's movement."

Hmmmm, 'end users' wanting maps to turn according to the direction they're facing - that'll be the wimmin then, won't it ;)

[Source: Yamaha.com, via Wireless Watch Japan]

Original Source: Mobile Mentalism