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GPS

GPS - Global Positioning Satellites

NAVTEQ's Traffic.com Selects Acuity Mobile to Drive Mobile Advertising

March 26, 2007

Acuity Mobile, a provider of mobile marketing content delivery technology, announced today its EMAP technology has been selected for the embedded mobile advertising for Traffic.com, a NAVTEQ company. Traffic.com, a leading provider of real-time personalized traffic information for drivers coast-to-coast, was recently acquired by NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions. Just what we need right, advertisements on our GPS units! I'm still waiting for my p2p GPS traffic idea to take shape, since I hate traffic with a passion.
 
Acuity Mobile’s EMAP technology delivers Spot Relevance -- content based on time, context, location and user preference. 

P2P GPS Traffic Reports

March 18, 2007

Using P2P technology along with GPS coordinates sent to fellow drivers to calculate the most optimal navigation route is something I wrote about and predicted would one day happen in my "I hate traffic - GPS to the rescue" blog post. Well, according to a BBC article, vehicles may soon be swapping information about road conditions to warn drivers about jams and dangers. A German research project on show at hi-tech trade fair Cebit envisions a peer-to-peer network for vehicles on a road passing data back and forth. Cars or bikes experiencing problems would pass data that would ripple down the chain of vehicles behind them.

Jack Bauer now must contend with GPS and GSM jammers

January 30, 2007

Agent Jack Bauer CTU (Counter Terrorist Unit) of FOX's 24 fame relies on his trusty GPS-enabled mobile phone to get him where he needs to go, as well as call in Curis Manning from tactical for backup or even airstrikes to specific GPS coordinates. Jack also relies heavily on GPS tracking devices to monitor the location of the bad guys.

But things just got a bit harrier for Jack.  DetectNu, a Holland-based company has come up with a GPS and GSM jammer that you simply plug into your car's cigarette lighter. It will block any planted GPS tracker in your vehicle from transmitting location data back to CTU (or Jack's phone).

It also shuts down GSM mobile phone devices. Hopefully, Jack has a triband mobile phone so he switch to CDMA or perish the thought - analog.



TomTom Go 910 GPS units infected with viruses

January 30, 2007

News reports from TomTom's own website reveal that some TomTom GO 910 GPS units were infected with a virus. The models affected were produced in one week in the last quarter of 2006 with software version 6.51. They claim the virus is qualified as low risk and does not affect the navigation performance of the TomTom GO 910 in any way. However, reports have surfaced of drivers being re-routed from Lowes to Home Depot, Burger King to McDonalds, and from Target to Walmart.

MapQuest Navigator for Sprint and Nextel BlackBerry devices

January 5, 2007

MapQuest Navigator is now Available on Sprint and Nextel BlackBerry devices. In addition, MapQuest Mobile v2.5 now enables Finding Places, Customized and Multi-Point Routing Options, Canadian Coverage and more.

MapQuest yesterday announced MapQuest Mobile v2.5, offering a range of new features, including access to MapQuest's 15 million points of interest, multipoint routing, walking directions, customized routing options, and coverage in Canada. MapQuest Mobile, the #1 revenue generating downloadable application in the US1, is available in the US through 12 wireless carriers, and on 250 mobile phones.

In addition, MapQuest Navigator -- the GPS-enabled application featuring text and audio turn-by-turn directions -- is now available from Sprint (NYSE:S) on Sprint and Nextel BlackBerry devices. The downloadable application features an in-car navigation-like system with a moving, full color map display while letting consumers receive phone calls.



GPS for truckers

November 22, 2006

I've received multiple requests from my loyal blog readers for help in finding a GPS solution that works well for truckers. The problem with standard GPS solutions is that they were designed with regular vehicles in mind and not 18-wheelers or other large vehicles, including my beloved Garmin StreetPilot 2720. 18-wheelers often cannot go down certain roads or on certain highways due to restrictions, such as low underpasses. Using a standard GPS solution the mapping software typically doesn't allow you specify that you are driving a large truck.

Garmin Wins Dutch Lawsuit Brought by TomTom

November 2, 2006

Garmin has today received a decision of the District Court in The Hague, Netherlands denying the preliminary injunction sought by TomTom International B.V. in preliminary relief proceedings alleging infringement by Garmin of a European registered design owned by TomTom. The court also ordered TomTom to pay Garmin's 37,000 euros to cover attorney fees for defending the preliminary relief proceedings. I own a Garmin 2720 myself, but have used TomTom in the past and like both products.

Uniden MapTrax GPS

September 6, 2006

Uniden, a manufacturer of wireless consumer electronics, today announced its entrance into the Global Positioning System (GPS) market. I'm a huge fan of Uniden's line of phone products, as evidenced by my Uniden 'Vonage' phone review and my Uniden TRU-8885-2 review. Now Uniden will debut a new line of portable GPS navigation products, Uniden MapTrax, beginning in Fall 2006. One "claim to fame" is that the Uniden MapTrax Product Line will offer the largest GPS LCD screen in the industry - a whopping 7 inches.


Uniden GPS352



“With more than 40 years of experience in the consumer electronics industry and a solid understanding of consumers’ needs, Uniden’s debut into the GPS arena is a natural next step for our growing company and its brand,” said Larry Johannes, senior director of marketing for Uniden.


New TomTom One GPS

August 17, 2006

TomTom One is a new portable GPS navigation unit launched for the North American market, that fits in your shirt pocket, making it easily transportable from car-to-car and to take on business and vacation trips. I got my hands on a TomTon One unit to review, but haven't fully tested all the features yet. Here's my analysis so far... The TomTom ONE utilizes the Version 5 Navigator software, not TomTom Navigator 6, which apparently is exclusive to the Treo smartphones at the moment.  The one also features Bluetooth support for TomTom's PLUS Services.


I'm a huge fan of TomTom products and have always been impressed when I review their latest stuff.


Palm GPS Navigator Smartphone Edition for Treo phones

August 15, 2006

Palm Treo smartphone users and GPS enthusiasts rejoice! Palm today announced the Palm GPS Navigator Smartphone Edition, featuring the new TomTom NAVIGATOR 6 software, which is one of the most popular GPS navigation software packages. With the new GPS Navigator installed on your Treo smartphone, you can get voice-guided, turn-by-turn directions to find your destination, including millions of points of interest, including gas stations, restaurants, parks, airports and more. TomTom NAVIGATOR 6 is available today exclusively for Palm's GPS Navigator Smartphone Edition.
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