Helio.com Local ad sales reps, take note: Helio's new Drift cell phone features built-in GPS.

Some random news from the mobile Internet. First up, hipster cell-phone provider Helio recently announced that it will debut a cell phone called Drift featuring embedded Global Positioning System (GPS) technology.

So what? ZDnet reports: "GPS... allows Helio to offer new services such as Google Maps and a new location service called the Buddy Beacon. Instead of calling or text messaging, the Buddy Beacon allows Helio subscribers to switch on the GPS satellite technology to broadcast their location so friends can find them. ...[Also, the Google Maps] application allows users to pull up locations on a Google map. They can also check real-time traffic, get directions, and use an integrated search engine that provides contact details and directions for local listings."

The Drift is rather pricey ($225), but I expect we'll see more GPS-enabled phones in the future. It just makes too much sense from a revenue perspective, given the vast untapped potential for local pay-per-call advertising. If GPS-enabled phones become popular, news organizations definitely should get a piece of this action by offering more real-time local mobile content.

Of course, some folks (like me) will never be willing to pay much for a cell phone, regardless of how many cool features it has. What's there for us? Free cell phones! Well, maybe, according to Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

Reuters reports: "Eric Schmidt sees a future where mobile phones are free to consumers who accept watching targeted forms of advertising. Schmidt said Saturday that as mobile phones become more like handheld computers and consumers spend as much as eight to 10 hours a day talking, texting and using the Web on these devices, advertising becomes a viable form of subsidy. 'Your mobile phone should be free,' Schmidt told Reuters. 'It just makes sense that subsidies should increase' as advertising rises on mobile phones."

(Thanks to Google Maps Mania for the first tip, and Justin Crawford for second.)