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Electronics vendor ASUS has announced a pair of new Pocket PCs, the MyPal A636 and MyPal A632. These handhelds are the company's first PDAs with integrated global positioning system (GPS) receivers for navigation and location-based applications and services.

A GPS receiver gathers pulsed signals from as many of the two dozen or so GPS satellites orbiting the earth as it can lock in. Using triangulation—by measuring and comparing the travel time of individual signals—the antenna calculates its position, and it's accurate to within twenty yards or so.

ASUS says the MyPal A600 series is incorporated with the latest SiRF Star III GPS chipset and 25mm x 25 mm GPS Patch Antenna to enhance digital signal reception, improving sensitivity by 115 percent. It also has a unique swivel antenna for easier angle adjustment, so connection to a GPS signal is more speedy and stable.

Additional features shared between the two models include Windows Mobile 5.0, (Microsoft's newest handheld operating system), a 416 MHz XScale PXA272 processor, 64 MB of RAM, and 128 MB of ROM (85 MB user available). Both models feature 3.5-inch 240 x 320 pixel (QVGA) resolution displays, Bluetooth for personal area networking, and the ability to serve as a USB host.

The device's measure 4.8 x 2.8 x 0.73 inches (122 x 73 18 millimeters) and weigh 6.2 ounces (175 grams). ASUS says their 1300 mAH removable/rechargeable Li-ion batteries should last for around 7.5 hours when the GPS receiver is in use and 44 hours normally.

Differences between the two Pocket PCs lay in the A636 featuring Wi-Fi and only a Secure Digital (SD) slot, and the A632 not integrating Wi-Fi but still having a SD slot and adding another slot for miniSD cards.

Pricing and a possible U.S. release date for the Pocket PCs have not been set forth by ASUS. We expect the A636 to - at the least - hit the North American market online however. We’ll keep you informed.