18/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - GSA welcomes first “Galileo” compatible smartphones. On Thursday 14 July in a press release, the European agency in charge of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) welcomed the arrival this month of the first "Galileo" compatible smart phones. Galileo is the European navigation programme and its first services in this connection are expected to be available towards the end of the year (EUROPE 11557). This will involve the Aquaris X5 model developed by the Spanish BQ company, which uses a Galileo compatible chipset. The compatibility of future smart phones is turning out to be one of the crucial challenges facing the future space strategy (EUROPE 11540). The European Commission has made progress over recent months with regard to the European space programme's recognition (EUROPE 11567). (PH)