GeoSentric (formerly Benefon) is a mobile telecommunications company founded in 1988 and headquartered in Salo, Finland. Benefon specialises in the manufacture of mobile phones with inbuilt GPS navigation.
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In 1928, the Nordell & Koskinen radio factory was founded in the Finnish town of Salo. The factory later changed its name to Salora and specialised in shortwave radios, televisions and radio-phones. In 1979, when Salora and Nokia founded a joint company named Mobira, the manufacturing of mobile phones started in Salo.
After some time working with in conjunction with Nokia, Jorma Nieminen (who was at the time heading Nokia's mobile phone section) and two colleagues parted ways with Nokia, and decided to start their own company, called Benefon.
Its first product, the Benefon Forte, operated on the NMT-450 standard and remained on the market for eleven years. Engineered for tough operating conditions and equipped with a powerful antenna and transmitter, the phone found a niche operating on the edges of networks and remains used in shipping to this day, since higher-frequency GSM coverage does not extend out to the sea. The phone was manufactured for no less than eleven years until 2000.
In 1996 Benefon introduced the Alfa, Beta and Delta NMT-900 phones to the consumer market. However, by this stage, its former partner Nokia was already bringing to market GSM handsets such as the Nokia 1610. Benefon's first GSM phone was the 1997 Benefon Gamma, and the company continued to release new GSM handsets.
In 2000 Benefon released on the market a Dual SIM phone Benefon Twin and Benefon Twin+. As Benefon has reached on agreement with Microsoft in 1999, it became possible to use Microsoft Mobile Explorer 2.0, which supported both HTML and Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). [1]
Benefon then changed its focus to GSM+GPS mobile telematics equipment, in response to the European Union's MORE-project (Mobile Rescue Phone). The result of this project was an idea that was somewhat radical for the time: a mobile phone and a GPS navigator integrated in one product. Along these lines, the Benefon Esc! was launched in late 1999 and Benefon Track in 2000.
The Esc! was splashproof and featured a large, greyscale LCD. It allowed for users to load maps onto the phone, to trace their position and movement, and even to call or send their coordinates via SMS to a list of set numbers by setting an "Emergency Key". Interestingly, it also featured a "Friend Find" service, whereby users with Esc! handsets could track each other's locations directly on their handset display. In some markets this feature was implemented online.
Benefon has been responsible for several "firsts" in the mobile telecommunications market. Significantly, the Benefon iO was the first GSM phone with T9 predictive text input .
The Benefon Forte was the first mobile phone with an answering machine . The Benefon Beta was the first mobile to feature a clock . The Benefon Class was the first mobile phone with a cordless handset . The Benefon Esc!, as mentioned, was the first GSM/GPS navigating phone . The Benefon Smart was the first phone that came with different colour options . And the Benefon Twin, which was the first dual-band GSM phone with two SIM-card slots , allowed for easier use of two network operators.
Some Benefon models are exhibited in museums such as Communication History Museum in Kaunas.
In 2004, facing financial difficulties, Benefon entered bankruptcy protection and launched a re-organisation program. Benefon's efforts to create a niche market in GPS telematics had met with some success (especially in commercial security markets) but had not been enough for the company to remain viable.
Benefon entered a financial partnership with Octagon Holdings LLC and other investors, involving tens of millions of euros of new investment. On June 21, 2005, Benefon CEO Tomi Raita announced that Benefon was out of bankruptcy protection, and that its re-organisation had successfully concluded.
Benefon started work on a new product line, and has since launched several new products under the "Twig" brand. The Twig Discovery features turn-by-turn navigation combined with a GSM phone. It retains many features of the Benefon Esc!, including the "Friend Find" service and the Emergency Key.
The Twig Discovery Pro is similar to the Discovery but is aimed at commercial markets where workers may be at risk, and in addition to an Emergency Key, it allows workers and vehicles to be tracked online.
The Twig Locator is a small, shock-proof personal/commercial security device. It is capable of sending its location, bearing and speed and of sending back one-way audio. It can be hidden in a vehicle, and using its “geofencing” function, an automatic alarm transmission is activated if the vehicle moves beyond predetermined boundaries set by the user.
These products are already on the market, or making their way to market across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.