Map of Costa Rica Now On Your Cellular Phone
A map of the Costa Rica by VITO Technology is good for visitors and residents for intercity travels with SmartMap.

SmartMap is a mobile device application which uses vector and raster maps. It is compatible with any NMEA protocol GPS receiver (Compact Flash socket, serial port, BlueTooth or sleeve) and runs on smartphones.

A smartphone is any electronic handheld device that integrates the functionality of a mobile phone, personal digital assistant or other information appliance.

This is often achieved by adding telephone functions to an existing PDA or putting "smart" capabilities, such as PDA functions, into a mobile phone.

A key feature of a smartphone is that additional applications can be installed on the device. The applications can be developed by the manufacturer of the handheld device, by the operator or by any other third-party software developer.

The SmartMap program enables you to view maps, determine your position on the map, view the current track (trail of moves), save the current track, and export tracks as ESRI Shape files.

The first smartphone was called Simon designed by IBM in 1992 and shown as a concept product at COMDEX. It was released to the public in 1993 and sold by BellSouth. Besides a mobile phone, it also contained a calendar, address book, world clock, calculator, note pad, e-mail, and games. Customers could also use a stylus to write directly on its screen to create facsimiles and memos.

As of 2004 smartphones are an increasingly large part of the mobile phone market. According to analyst house Canalys smart phone shipments increased over 100% from the second quarter of 2004 to second quarter in 2005, with over twelve million devices shipped in the latter period. In a couple years, it is likely that most phones sold will be considered smart, except for disposable phones.

Example of a smartphone is the Nokia 6260 GSM: 850 / 1800 / 1900 or 900 / 1800 / 1900 Click here for a list of smartphone devices

Cellular Telephone Rentals, based in San José, will soon be offering smartphones with SmartMap to it's customers.

Travellers to other countries in South and Central America , Europe, Asia, and many U.S. states can also buy the individual maps, downloaded to their smartphone and never be lost!