NaviGadget

top ten GPS gadgets by Forbes

May 16, 2006 garmin, gps navigation, misc news, navman, tomtom

Forbes magazine did a run down of some GPS gadgets/services and came up with their top ten.

• ACR TerraFix GPS 406 PLB
• Garmin Edge 305
• Garmin Nuvi 360
• Navman iCN750
• Nextel Trimble Outdoors Service
• Samsung Q1
• Satellite Tracking of People BluTag
• Sprint Family Locator Service
• Superfourin off-road wheelchair
• TomTom Go 910

In the past few years, electronics manufacturers have noticed that GPS technology is useful for purposes beyond basic navigation, and they have been creating new gadgets accordingly.

When integrated into cellular handsets, GPS receivers can alert users when they are near a location of interest, help 911 operators locate callers in distress, or allow worried parents to track their children’s movements.

Advanced automotive GPS navigation systems now incorporate real-time traffic data from satellite radio services such as XM (nasdaq: XMSR – news – people ) or from terrestrial radio broadcasters. These devices can automatically reroute you when accidents or congestion block the road ahead.

And some cameras use GPS to add “geotags” to digital photos that identify them by the location where they were shot.

As the uses for GPS have evolved, so has the satellite technology that enables it. The U.S. Air Force, which runs GPS, is busy developing a new generation of Navstar satellites called GPS Block III. The new constellation will be jam-proof for military users and more accurate and powerful for civilians. Meanwhile, Europe, eager for its own system, is busy building a constellation of satellites called Galileo.

As the price of GPS receivers comes down, the number of uses for the technology will only go up. In many industries, GPS chips are already used to track trucks and cargo shipments, but when the technology approaches the disposable level, don’t be surprised to find GPS in everything from dog collars to luggage to FedEx packages.

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