Apple keeps locking down their iPhone platform
Feb 6, 2010 gps navigation, misc news
According to macnn Apple now is prohibiting the use of GPS for serving location aware ads. They want to limit the use GPS feature of your iPhone to only get beneficial information. This immediately makes everyone think that Apple is probably reserving the right for location based advertising for themselves and might make a move in this direction soon.
Apple initially was in touch with AdMob which later was acquired by Google; so they recently purchased Quattro Wireless; another ad company. Analysts in the field claim that Apple will launch a mobile advertising network to serve ads on free apps.
Keep in mind all these are speculations.
how does GPS work?
Feb 4, 2010 gps navigation, misc news
How does GPS work? Col David Buckman of the US Air Force explains… He really emphasizes the fact that it is offered by the military for the entire world for free.
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS7 digital camera does GPS
Jan 26, 2010 gps navigation, misc news
Panasonic just introduced the new LUMIX DMC-ZS7 which has a 25mm ultra-wide-angle Leica lens and a powerful 12x optical zoom which can even be used while recording movies. It can capture 12.1MP images but more importantly it has a built-in GPS receiver that can embed exact location of stills and movies which they claim is great when sharing your media online – making things a lot easier for your favorite stalker.
Like we said Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 utilizes GPS which stores latitude and longitude in the EXIF data. Not only that but thanks to location information stored internally this camera knows about the name of the city, country and state, and information for more than 500,000 popular landmarks, while covering 73 countries. Another plus of having a GPS receiver on board is that the LUMIX ZS7 can automatically adjust its internal clock to the local time.
We’re not really digital camera people here at Navigadget but some of the features of DMC-ZS7 include Sonic Speed AF (Auto Focus), a short startup time of approximately 1.1 seconds, manual control features, face recognition, intelligent resolution and intelligent zoom, AF Tracking, and finally Intelligent ISO Control and Intelligent Exposure.
It doesn’t end there – LUMIX ZS7 can record AVCHD Lite HD video, and also features Dolby Digital Stereo Creator to record high quality audio. It has a 3.0″, high resolution wide-viewing angle screen.
Panasonic LUMIX ZS7 will be available in silver, black, red and blue models. How much will it cost? We don’t but it better be sub $400.
Samsung HZ35W digital camera with GPS
Jan 19, 2010 gps navigation, misc news
Samsung just unveiled a new GPS packing digital camera called HZ35W. You can actually tell where the GPS receiver is. That little bump at the top right of the HZ35W is where they embedded the GPS receiver to make it easier for the camera to get a satellite fix. Actually there seems to be another model with GPS receiver called WB650 which is the European version of the same camera.
This Samsung digital camera has a powerful 15X zoom, a large 3″ AMOLED display, dual stabilization, 12MP shooting, and the ability to shoot high definition video; 720p at 30fps.
What can you do with the embedded GPS receiver? Well it is good for automatic geotagging of your images – and that’s about it probably. It will store the latitude and longitude and on the display it will tell you the city, country, etc. With its visual map it can tell you on a map where the picture was taken without having to connect to the internet.
GPS technology on Rugby field
Jan 14, 2010 fitness, gps navigation, misc news
English Super League team Bradford is going to utilize GPS technology to keep tabs on their players performance on the field. Whether during a game or at practice the technology will offer detailed information such as their heart rate and their movement around the field.
It is a live system, meaning the coach can actually monitor players’ endurance and how much distance they’ve covered while the game is on. The device sits in a harness integrated on a vest and linked to a transmitter on player’s back…
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Europe’s Galileo to launch in 2014
Jan 13, 2010 gps navigation, misc news
As you may already know European Union has been relying on USA’s GPS satellites for positioning for many many years. They want to break this dependency with their own set of positioning satellites, called Galileo.
European Comission just awarded contracts to build the first 14 satellites to a German company, which will send them to space using Russian Soyuz rockets. If everything goes to plan Galileo could be operational as soon as 2014.
Galileo project started back in 1999.
Last year, the European Court of Auditors criticised the Galileo project as ill-prepared and badly managed.
The commission said some services would be available by early 2014, including the “open service,” which will be freely available to the public in Europe, just as the US GPS system is.
Also available early will be the search and rescue service.
Read more about other nations’ navigation satellite wars.
GPS coverage in Afghanistan to improve
Jan 10, 2010 gps navigation, misc news
The U.S., which has more than 30 NAVSTAR GPS navigation satellites up in the sky will reposition some of them to improve accuracy all around the globe, but specially to provide their troops on the ground in Afghanistan with better GPS signals.
Military apparently asked the Air Force if there was any room for improvement in Afghanistan where the mountainous terrain can block signals from GPS satellites. At least four satellites must be in view of a GPS receiver to obtain a position fix, with the accuracy depending on a good distribution of those satellites.
The policy says the new satellites must be next to the satellites their replacing but since some of the older ones are lasting longer than expected they can be slowly moved apart for better coverage…
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Navteq scans streets with in 3D with lasers
Jan 9, 2010 CES 2010, gps navigation, misc news
Navteq showcased their latest technology at CES 2010 and wowed everyone with their super fancy VW Jetta fitted with expensive toys. For what you may ask? Well, think Google Street View but much better. In 3D. The vehicle is equipped with 7 digital cameras and 64 lasers. We’re guessing the 7 digital cameras are for the panoramic view in 12 megapixels. The 64 lasers are shot out of a spinning barrel positioned at about 45 degree angle and make up the LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) which is an optical remote sensing technology. This way people at Navteq are able to collect about 1.5 million data points about their environment every freaking second for objects that are up to 120 meters away…
Sprint Mobile Hotspot does 4G and GPS
Jan 7, 2010 gps navigation, misc news
Sprint just introduced this sexy looking mobile hotspot called Overdrive. It can bring 3G and 4G goodness to your surrounding as WiFi signal so you can connect many devices including multiple laptops, smartphones, even WiFi enabled cameras. What’s good about this device is that takes a very recent technology such as 4G broadband speeds and makes it available for your ancient WiFi only devices.
The device is actually made by Sierra Wireless and called W801. It has a little LCD screen that makes it is very easy to see what’s going on with the signal, battery level, people connected, etc. It also does GPS data available when on 3G networks but we’re not sure how the connected devices would reach this data (COM4?). It also can take microSD cards where the contents can be seen with any device on your private WiFi hotspot which can range up to 150ft.
How much? $150 ($100 after rebate). How much does monthly mobile broadband cost at Sprint? It starts at $60. But that has a lame 5G cap.
Sprint is the first in the nation to offer 4G in the U.S. covering only select cities (Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Portland, Ore., San Antonio, Seattle, Abilene, Austin, Bellingham, Boise, Charlotte, Corpus Christi, Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem, Honolulu, Killeen/Temple Lubbock, Maui, Midland/Odessa, Milledgeville, Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill, Durham, Salem, Waco, Wichita Falls)
Ford and TeleNav to Launch Connected In-Vehicle GPS nav system
Jan 7, 2010 CES 2010, gps navigation, misc news, software
TeleNav today announced that Ford will use TeleNav’s GPS navigation software in its next generation of Ford SYNC capable vehicles. SYNC first came about in 2007 as an hands-free system that connects cell phones and other devices to the vehicle. Recently SYNC was updated with vehicle diagnostics, emergency services assist, voice-activated access to turn-by-turn directions, real-time traffic, and on-demand news, weather and sports updates.
Called MyFord Touch, this technology provides voice commands accompanied with an 8-inch touch screen that in turn activates TeleNav’s GPS navigation. SYNC uses SD card slots so driveres can easily upgrade to TeleNav’s full map-based in-vehicle navigation system which leverages this touch screen. That also means no cell phone coverage is necessary. However you’ll still get connected services for weather, traffic updates, and other POIs.
The new embedded navigation system will be available in some Ford cars beginning in 2010. Website is called syncmyride.
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