GPS
Suunto X10 GPS wristop computer
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Suunto has unveiled an upgrade to its X9i flagship outdoor GPS wristop computer. The more powerful X10 model features improved tracking, longer battery life and faster performance, including the ability to track better in difficult conditions such as heavy foliage.
New functionality for Zoombak A-GPS locators
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Following the release of the basic GPS Locator product earlier this year, Zoombak has begun its roll-out of additional functionality with the release of "Mobile Location Requests", a feature that lets users find their Zoombak in real-time from any cell phone.
The Garmin eTrex that survived a bomb blast
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July 30, 2008 Ever wondered just how rugged Garmin's eTrex GPS actually is? Take a look at these photos of fully functioning eTrex that's been through a bomb blast of sufficient magnitude to completely write off a Humvee.
Azentec SmartMirror with inbuilt GPS
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Another clever product that caught our eye at the British Motor Show is the Azentec SmartMirror - a Bluetooth enabled GPS unit complete with touch screen functionality that's been rolled into a the rear-view mirror.
Racing against real F1 drivers in real time – the future of gaming?
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July 23, 2008 Video games have evolved to the point where they fairly accurately depict what a real racing car driver experiences as they hurtle around the track. Gamers can compete against friends and strangers across the globe thanks to the Internet, but now BBC News is reporting on a new technology that will allow gamers to take on real opponents in real races in real time, using GPS data from the cars.
Garmin's waterproof nuvi 500 / 550 GPS for the explorer
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July 23, 2008 If you're the kind of explorer who tackles driving, cycling, boating and hiking in the space of a day or weekend, Garmin's new nuvi 500 series is the GPS you shouldn't leave home without.
Knight Rider GPS by Mio lets you K.I.T.T. out your car
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Always wanted to live out a “Hoff” fantasy - no, not drunkenly try to eat a hamburger, but rather driving around with the dulcet tones of K.I.T.T. riding shotgun? Well now thanks to the portable GPS navigation device maker Mio you can become a lone crusader and take a shadowy flight into the world of a man who does not exist. The Knight Rider GPS by Mio includes exclusive voice guidance and turn-by-turn directions featuring the original voice of K.I.T.T., William Daniels as well as a Knight Industries-approved LED display.
iPhone app helps you find your parked car
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Here's a handy iPhone application that's set to launch tomorrow when the iPhone 3G drops around the world: G-park is a very simple program. When you park your car, you hit "park me" and it drops a GPS flag on your current location. When you can't remember where you parked, you just hit "where did I park?" and Google maps gives you turn-by-turn directions back to your car.
The Neo FreeRunner open source mobile phone
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While Android, the open mobile platform developed by an alliance of some of the mobile phone and computing world’s biggest names, has attracted a lot of interest and support since it was announced late last year, it wasn’t actually the first open mobile computing platform. That title goes to Openmoko – a project founded by Taiwanese computer and components manufacturer First International Computer, Inc. (FIC), with the combined aims of developing an open source Linux based operating system designed for mobile phones and hardware devices on which the operating system, called Openmoko Linux, runs. The first smartphone released that supported the Openmoko Linux platform was the Neo 1973, which was released in July, 2007 but suffered from supplier shortages. Now Openmoko has announced their follow up – the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner – a mobile device that the company says will help to enable ubiquitous computing in the 21st century.
Motorola Blaze to enter the touchscreen phone arena
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June 6, 2008 Motorola’s yet-to-be-released iPhone competitor is the Motorola Blaze, which boasts a haptic-feedback touchscreen with a protective flip top transparent plastic cover which also allows for the unit to be used with the cover closed. The phone also sports a 2 megapixel camera, EV-DO, GPS, Bluetooth and MobileTV.
AwareSpot location based alert system for mobile phones
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Developed by the makers of the Trapster, AwareSpot is a new location based service for mobile phone users with a variety of applications. The free service is designed so that police, public safety and community service organizations, media, clubs, businesses, and more can quickly and easily set up community alert broadcast channels that deliver location based, relevant, timely information to their audiences.
How green are you? PEIR system measures personal environmental impact
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A key starting point to helping the environment is determining what impact we personally have on the planet. To assist in this challenge researchers at UCLA have developed a way to generate online Personal Environmental Impact Reports (PEIR) using location data from cell phones.
ProNav GPS software for heavy goods vehicles
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Navevo has developed GPS software for heavy vehicles that keeps drivers informed about the unique obstacles they face on the road. The £199.99 ProNav system offers dynamic routing and navigation optimization based on vehicle dimensions, legal restrictions, and weather and road conditions.
Flaik snowsports tracking device
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Flaik is a personal tracking device for skiers and snowboarders that fuses GPS & GSM/GPRS technologies to monitor personal performance criteria including speed, distance, altitude and airtime.
TRAX Series portable car navigation systems offer 360 degree, 3D view
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May 27, 2008 Uniden's new TRAX Series GPS units feature 360 Degree 3D "Landmark Technology" which shows key landmarks in 3D from any angle including a ‘fly around’ 360 degree mode. In major metropolitan areas elevated city maps, contours and rises on the road are also represented in 3D from any angle. The TRAX Series also include Text to Speech with Spoken Street Names and, as with Uniden’s previous releases, some models also include integrated Bluetooth capabilities to deliver hands-free mobile phone communication via the unit. The high definition, LCD touch screens are non-reflective for easier viewing and there is also an automatic day/night mode.
BlackBerry's Bold smartphone
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Research In Motion (RIM) has introduced the first BlackBerry smartphone to support tri-band HSDPA high-speed networks around the world and comes with integrated GPS and Wi-Fi, plus a next-generation 624 MHz mobile processor for downloading email attachments, streaming video or rendering web pages. The BlackBerry Bold also gets a newly designed full-QWERTY keyboard, with AZERTY and QWERTZ configurations to support different language groups also available, and a half-VGA (480x320 resolution) color LCD, which is fused to the undersurface of the lens, improving definition and clarity.
HTC launches Touch Diamond mobile phone
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May 9, 2008 Drawing immediate comparisons with Apple's iPhone, Taiwanese handset manufacturer HTC has unveiled its new flagship product, the HTC Touch Diamond. The new handset is the latest addition to the company's product platform which began with the launch of the HTC Touch in June 2007 and boasts an array of innovative features led by a 3D touch interface called TouchFLO 3D and enhanced web-browsing capabilities that enable one-handed zoom and panning navigation plus automatic rotation from a portrait to landscape view when the device is turned on its side. Housed in an eye-catching brushed steel casing with faceted edges, the handset also sports a 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera, 4 GB internal memory, Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi 802.11b/g and integrated GPS.
TomTom unveils new car navigation products
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May 5, 2008 Portable navigation solutions provider TomTom has announced their latest car navigation products – the TomTom ONE and TomTom XL which supersede the current TomTom ONE 3RD EDITION and TomTom ONE XL ranges. The new TomTom ONE comes with a 3.5 inch touch screen LCD, while the TomTom XL boasts a 4.3 inch widescreen LCD, for those who prefer a larger display. The new devices also come with a revised audio system and a completely redesigned body, including a folding mount. This new windshield mount, known as the EasyPort mount, can be left on the device and folded flat after use. The complete unit, including the mount, is then small enough to fit into a shirt pocket, bag or pocket when the driver leaves the vehicle.
envisionCAM video camera, GPS and G-force Event Data Recorder
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April 29, 2008 Big brother has found his way into the company car, so leadfoot drivers beware; he sees, and remembers, and tells all. We wrote recently about the CarCam Voyager, basically a small dash videocam that acts as an infallible witness in accident situations - but the envisionCAM from Advanced EDR systems takes the concept to another level entirely.
Duo-Touch II rugged PC
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February 25, 2008 General Dynamics Itronix has announced the availability of the Duo-Touch II, the second generation of the company’s lightweight rugged tablet PCs. Combining processing power with an ergonomic tablet design for one-handed operation, the Duo-Touch II enables rugged, high-performance computing for mobile professionals in industries such as public safety, telecommunications, utilities, government, and insurance. The unit also features Dynavue display technology that meets military standard for cockpit displays for direct sunlight viewability.
BT-Q1000 Platinum GPS Travel Recorder
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Febraury 22, 2008 QSTARZ, the company behind the solar-powered BT-Q1200 GPS Travel Recorder, has released the BT-Q1000 Platinum - a Bluetooth GPS Travel Recorder that pairs with your PDA or Smartphone to provide satellite navigation and allows users to record up to 200,000 waypoints.
RoboTrac: pre-programmable, semi-autonomous tractor concept
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February 14, 2008 Designed to perform a range of pre-programmed agricultural tasks in vineyards, coffee farms, orchards and nurseries, this futuristic driver-less tractor concept aims to boost efficiency, minimize crop damage and remove humans for hazardous environments using GPS and Internet to track its location. The Valtra RoboTrac from 25 year old Estonian industrial designer Hannes Seeberg - whose portfolio also includes an intriguing Skylift self-propelled boarding aircraft boarding system - combines an 85 hp engine diesel engine and rear-wheel steering in either a two or four wheel drive configuration with the remotely programmable computerized navigation system to enable anything from tilling and plowing to planting and spraying.
Ionhub's six port multi charger
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February 12, 2008 One of the biggest problems for travelers who love their gadgets is carrying around all the chargers to keep their mobile devices powered up. Even many a home desktop is covered with a tangle of cords leading back to an overtaxed power point or power board. Recognizing this IonHub has released the Ionhub multi charger, a charger that can simultaneously charge multiple devices including mobile phones, iPods, iPhones, Sony PSPs, Nintendo DS Lite, Canon and Sony camcorders, PDAs, GPS, digital cameras, Zunes, Sansas, Zens and Blackberries, to name a few. The patent pending Ionhub is a palm sized, multiple output port, multiple output voltage, universal multi charger hub that is capable of simultaneously charging up to six portable electronic devices from a single wall outlet, car or airplane outlet. Similar to the recently reviewed IDAPT, the Ionhub connects to the charging devices using interchangeable and self-locking charger tips called IonTips, which are sold separately.
Magellan and Primordial announce practical off-road GPS system
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February 6, 2008 Magellan has partnered with Primordial to integrate the Ground Guidance system into its Triton line, providing a combination of elevation data, land cover and aerial imagery to generate more practical data for those who venture off-road. Currently, GPS can only provide off-road users with simplistic maps that often fail to include obstacles such as dense forest, lakes and rivers, steep inclines and natural hazards. The Ground Guidance system is designed to generate practical and efficient off-road routes through inhospitable terrain. Ground Guidance color codes the map into fast, slow and impassable areas, giving users the opportunity to plot their trip accurately and safely.
New embedded GPS modules for mobile devices to slash costs
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January 22, 2008 Wireless technology provider CSR, in collaboration with Samsung, has announced the development of a new module that it says will halve the cost of embedding GPS solutions in mobile phones, media players and personal navigation devices.
Car crash warning system could prevent the accident waiting to happen
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January 17 , 2008, According to the World Health Organization an estimated 1.2 million people lose their lives every year due to car accidents. With the hope of reducing that number, European researchers are developing a Collision Warning System (CWS) for cars, an early warning device which will warn drivers of dangers ahead and may give them enough time to avoid a crash.
Zoombak Assisted GPS Locators hit the market
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December 23, 2007 Anyone who has used a GPS system in a foreign country will know how much this relatively low-cost device can make to one’s state-of-mind. Now a new Assisted GPS (A-GPS) device has hit the market which could make a huge difference in other ways. Zoombak’s advanced A-GPS system uses both GPS and mobile phone networks to track your pets, cars and other assets. You can locate your belongings in real time, set ‘safety zones’ around any location and be alerted of their whereabouts by email, SMS/text message or track them via the web. So now you can know where your cat, dog, child car are, for USD$10 a month.
Pinpoint travel photos: Sony's GPS-CS1KA image tracker
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December 17, 2007 If you're the type of intrepid traveler that returns from a journey with a gigabytes of digital photographs but no idea where they were taken, this might prove a valuable addition to your kit. The Sony GPS-CS1KA image tracker records the time, date and - using satellite navigation - the location of every photo, and collates the information so that you can view your photographic history on an online map.
A satellite-navigated history lesson
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December 7, 2007 Sick of leafing through travel guides planning your next tour? Now you can be informed about hundreds of historical sites without leaving the comfort of your car. Inspired by hand-held audio guides, the RoadTour SatNav application marries GPS functionality with a lesson in history, alerting drivers to places of historical interest as they motor through the countryside.
World’s first fingerprint protected personal navigation device
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December 4, 2007 Theft of personal navigation devices (PNDs) is on the rise with several European and US cities reporting that GPS devices are the most commonly stolen items in cars today. To combat this, MEDION AG and AuthenTec have announced the launch of the world’s first personal navigation device to use a fingerprint sensor to enhance user security and deter device theft.
Galileo signal reflections to monitor waves and weather at sea
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November 29, 2007 For the first time a signal from a Galileo satellite - the European alternative to GPS - has been captured after reflection off the ocean surface. The successful experiment carried out by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) and the University of Surrey demonstrates the potential for determining the weather at sea with remote sensing satellites. The development offers the possibility of deploying a constellation of small satellites to take measurements over the oceans where there are large gaps in forecast knowledge at present. Such a system could be used to provide severe weather warnings to mariners, data for global climate change models and even the potential to detect tsunamis.
Volvo cleans-up in car portable satellite navigation
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November 22, 2007 In an effort to introduce portable satellite navigation without the clutter of wires or the use of unsightly suction cups, Volvo has developed a new mounting bracket for Garmin’s latest satellite navigation unit that can be fitted to all new Volvo cars.
New GPS satellite operational
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November 6, 2007 The fourth in a series of eight modernized Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites that will deliver new capabilities to military and civilian users has been declared fully operational. Launched from Cape Canaveral October 17 as part of the Global Positioning System Block IIR (GPS IIR-M), the new GPS IIR-17M satellite features increased signal power to receivers on the ground, two new military signals for improved accuracy, enhanced encryption and anti-jamming capabilities for the military, and a second signal that will provide civilian GPS users with an open access signal on a different frequency.
Sanyo's Gorilla: combined portable car navigation system and digital television
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October 26, 2007 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. is set to roll-out a new widescreen digital car navigation device that doubles as a portable digital television for use almost anywhere.
petFINDER ID system improves on traditional tags
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October 19, 2007 Pet owners would appreciate the trauma associated with losing a four-legged member of your family. Standard ID tags can be unreliable and often contain outdated contact information, so petFINDER has developed a new ID system linked to a message service aimed at helping reunite U.S. pet owners with their lost animals much sooner.
