Gumball Rally plots mobile course

Drivers kitted out with navigation devices to avoid getting lost

Gumball Rally drivers have been equipped with GPS smartphones

Drivers in this year’s Gumball Rally that started on Sunday have been equipped with mobile phone-based satellite navigation and tracking systems.

The technology will ensure that celebrities such as model Caprice and Jamiroquai’s Jay Kay do not get lost as they race 3,000 miles across 17 countries in seven days.

Drivers are using HTC-designed T-Mobile MDA Compact III smartphones equipped with ALK Technologies’ CoPilot Live voice-guided mobile navigation system.

Detailed maps for the entire route, including western Europe, Turkey, Greece, Slovakia and Albania, have been preloaded on to each driver’s device.

The smartphone, which has a built-in GPS receiver, is based on the Windows Mobile operating system and has a full range of PDA features, allowing users to keep up-to-date with emails, and read and edit attachments as well as being able to view 3D maps on the 2.8-inch sharp colour screen.

Maximillion Cooper, founder and chief executive of Gumball 3000, says the technology has improved hugely over the years.

‘The mobile phones have the navigation system built in – before there was a separate GPS receiver on the dashboard so there were a lot more wires. Now everything is on one device,’ he said.

A key challenge was the breadth of countries the rally encompasses. ‘There were no devices on the market that have all the road maps of the countries that the drivers go through,’ said Cooper. ‘Without CoPilot, drivers would have to buy road maps in different languages.’

Fans can check rally progress in real time throughout at: www.trackthegumball.com.