Rugged, Compact AW100 Camera by Nikon, Maps by NAVTEQ

Building on my post the other day that applauded Nikon for integrating GPS into their new S series of devices, now NAVTEQ is touting that they are the map provider for the very sweet Nikon COOLPIX AW Series of Digital Cameras. The AW100 is rugged, waterproof, shock resistant, GPS enabled and get this,  allows geo-tagged images to be pinpointed via Point of Interest (POI) data supplied with the NAVTEQ map – nice!

About the device… Unique to the AW100 is the ability for users to view their exact location on the map display that comes pre-loaded within the devices. Both devices are equipped with built-in GPS (Global Positioning System) functionality that allows geo-tagged images to be pinpointed via Point of Interest (POI) data supplied with the NAVTEQ map.
See more details and specs Nikon Selects NAVTEQ Map for Their New COOLPIX AW Series of Digital Cameras

The Nikon AW100

Latest Report on LightSquared GPS Plan Shows Major Threat to U.S. Economy

Oh my, even more on the LightSquared GPS issue… get used to it! This time we have some fresh research findings and numbers to share courtesy of reports via the SaveOurGPS coalition. The latest findings from the anti-LightSquared coalitions reveals that proposed Interference with GPS Poses Major Threat to U.S. Economy and get this, 3.3 Million U.S. Jobs and $96 Billion in Annual Direct Economic Benefits Are at Risk! The $96 billion figure is the total of up to $87.2 billion in costs to commercial GPS users and up to $8.8 billion in costs to commercial GPS manufacturers. The commercial benefits of GPS are largely enabled by high precision GPS technologies.

From the report… “The commercial stakes are high. The downstream industries that rely on professional and high precision GPS technology for their own business operations would face serious disruption to their operations should interference occur”

See details HERE

Note, this topic (billed as DarkSquared) was also featured in अ recent Amerisurv newsletter in the intro editorial by Managing Editor Marc Cheves – See HERE

Report on LightSquared GPS Plan Shows Major Threat to U.S. Economy

The latest findings from the anti-LightSquared coalitions reveals that proposed Interference with GPS Poses Major Threat to U.S. Economy and get this, 3.3 Million U.S. Jobs and $96 Billion in Annual Direct Economic Benefits Are at Risk! The $96 billion figure is the total of up to $87.2 billion in costs to commercial GPS users and up to $8.8 billion in costs to commercial GPS manufacturers. The commercial benefits of GPS are largely enabled by high precision GPS technologies.
From the report… “The commercial stakes are high. The downstream industries that rely on professional and high precision GPS technology for their own business operations would face serious disruption to their operations should interference occur”
See details HERE

Team Garmin Edition of Edge 705 GPS-Enabled Cycling Computer

Now here's a nifty device for you cyclists... a Team Garmin model! Some specs and details: The Edge 705 represents several breakthroughs in cycling technology, including power compatibility, wireless unit-to-unit connectivity and the ability to monitor GPS position, heart rate, speed, cadence, altitude and gradient on the same display. The orange and blue Team Garmin edition of the Edge 705, which was first seen on Team Garmin’s handlebars at the 2008 Tour de France, comes bundled with a heart-rate monitor, speed and cadence sensor and City Navigator mapping, which provides turn-by-turn directions and millions of preloaded points of interest. And Team Garmin athletes and recreational cyclists alike can share data – including official race courses, saved rides, waypoints and workouts –through ANT+™ wireless technology. NICE! See more

Blackberry Bold + GPS & maps = sweet!

Just noticed that sightings of the new Blackberry Bold are surfacing... saw my first sighting John Mayer's Blog! Simply put, the device is very sweet. It has a akin to the old Nokia E series devices and will likely take up all the room you have in your shirt pocket. The "bold" sports WiFi, GPS (+ Blackberry maps), amazingly sharp screen and apparently some sweet font rendering. See more at http://www.blackberry.com/blackberrybold

GeoTagging with Shozu explained

Are you a mobile camera power user? If so then you know about Shozu (I hope) if not then you should, particularly if you like to blog your photos, flickr them or share them with others. Shozu recently updated to R4 and the geotagging support has been enhanced - to date I was never really happy with the results. Over on the Shozu Blog the team has provided a nice primer on how the shozu GeoTagging works and provides a cool tour of San Fran - see also shozu.com

Helio launched Mysto with WHERE and TellMe

The cool guys from Helio have launched a new GPS-aware device today - the Mysto. With Helio you don't have a contract with the likes of AT&T, T-mobile etc... rather, you go through them. They also are promoting heavily teh fact that the device comes with 2 GPS services provided by WHERE and TellME... "With the introduction of WHERE and Tellme, Mysto expands on Helio’s line-up of GPS-enabled services that already include geo-tagged images and videos uploaded to Flickr and YouTube™, Buddy Beacon™, Google Maps™ for mobile and Garmin Mobile" - see more here or check out helio.com

Garmin opens wallet to promote GPS to all

I noticed that one blog is commenting on the "buzz" starting about Garmin getting in on Super Bowl ads... no surprise that they will spend 7 figures once again (recall last year's ad with the Dinosaur aka. Mapasaurus)... however, I hardly think that the industry is buzzing about the fact that GPS devices or PNDs will be promoted on the February "Hollywood Bowl" once again (are you sitting around the office talking about this ??? likely not). Indeed Garmin has a Massive budget it would appear, obviously business has been good, REAL good... recall just a couple of weeks ago a full page ad in USA Today.
Of interest though is the fact that Garmin is essentially promoting the technology (GPS) and PNDs to Joe average and others like Trimble etc... are also reaping the benefits of Garmin's generous spending on consumer focused ads. Garmin foots the bill, informs people about cool GPS gadgets, and the consumer heads off to Best Buy, Amazon.com etc.. and then starts shopping for a good deal... all the players are winners... thanks Garmin!

Garmin's new Colorado series first to run Whereigo

Garmin targets Colorado with new device and loads of data... The Colorado 400t gives hikers state-of-the-art 3D elevation perspective and preloaded U.S. topographic maps. The Colorado 400i offers anglers shoreline details, depth contours and boat ramps for U.S. inland lakes and navigable rivers. The Colorado 400c is your coastal companion, providing chart coverage for the coastal U.S. and Bahamas. The Colorado 300 features a worldwide basemap with shaded relief. The Colorado 300 has a suggested retail price of $499. The Colorado 400t, Colorado 400i and Colorado 400c have a suggested retail price of $599. For more about the Colorado see www.garmin.com and www.garmin.blogs.com. And there's more... Colorado users will be the first to experience Wherigo™, the newest GPS-based activity from Groundspeak, the people who made geocaching a worldwide phenomenon. Wherigo (pronounced "where I go") is a toolset for creating and playing location-based multimedia experiences in the real world. Garmin's new outdoor GPS unit is the first commercially available GPS unit with the Wherigo Player built in to the device. http://www.wherigo.com/

Portable Navigation Device Prediction - 500 million units by 2015

Some new research out today from TRG reveals a not-so-surprising trend in the swelling PND market. This from the report... Mobile phone-based navigation is remaking the GPS market. While Garmin and TomTom remain the worldwide market leaders for portable navigation devices today, mobile phone makers Nokia, Motorola, LG and Samsung are expected to lead the way in the near future. This will happen as the worldwide portable navigation market grows from 50 million units in 2007 to more than 500 million units in 2015, according to Telematics Research Group. The change in market leadership derives from the increasing importance of connectivity. Wireless connectivity, either to the Internet or the cellular network, is opening up new applications and services by bringing together accurate location-based data with advanced POI data including pricing, inventory and user-generated content such as ratings of local businesses. TRG estimates 30M dedicated PNDs were sold last year and about 20M navigation-enabled mobile phones for a total of 50M units. Both segments will grow rapidly over the next few years but navigation-enabled mobile phones will start outselling dedicated PNDs next year.
I couldn't agree more... think convergence... the consumer doesn't want more devices so why scoop up that expensive PND when you already have a connected navigation device in your smartphone!

iPhone + GPS = locoGPS

Perhaps the biggest rant about the way cool iPhone is the lack of integrated GPS. A solution... One developer seems to be almost ready to roll out GPS for iPhone users - enter locoGPS for iPhone and iPod touch. Developed using open source software, the application is reported to be set for rol-out in Feb. LocoGPS reports to provide 5-10m GPS positional accuracy and will be connected for charging via USB and it appears the keychain size device will connect directly with the iPhone for GPS use. More details over at partfoundry.
The device will sell for about $89. See also monsterandfriends for more on iPhone app development - they are also looking for developers for iPhone GPS projects.

Take your Nokia GPS Tracker and N95 on the slopes for some GPS sledding fun!

I have some holiday fun with the kids today as we used Nokia Sports Tracker and my Nokia N95 to track and save our sled rides down the slopes. Before we started down the slope I simply fired up sports tracker, got a GPS signal, slipped it into Megan's pocket and away she went. Her average speed up and down the slope was 4.8 kmph (slowed somewhat by the walk back up the hill1) and her maximum speed down the slope was a whopping 26.1 kmph (about 16 mph)... loads of fun!
See http://sportstracker.nokia.com - you can find my tracks on user "gisuser" - Happy Holiday all... go have some fun!

Nokia Research - Sports Tracker gets a major update

hey Sports Tracker fans and mobile sports enthusiasts, we have news of a great gift for you in the latest upgrade to the Awesome, Sports Tracker Application now at R. 1.66. Now the mobile app is tightly integrated with the Online Beta Service. Just today I updated to version 1.66 and to my surprise the service is now compatible with the newly launched Nokia Sports Tracker Online Beta web service. FYI, sports tracker is a location-aware app from Nokia Research labs enabling users to track their routes when running, walking, riding or ??? Ideally suited for GPS enabled smartphones like the Nokia N95, the app tracks the user's location, direction, speed, and other variables. Now it enables the user to grab photos and associate them with the track, and even more, the user can now upload the saved workout to an online service... hands-down, this is my favorite location-aware mobile app of 2007 - see details here

when you think of the staggering number of people aaround the World that could potentially be using the mobile Sports Tracker, this crew could join the likes of the Open Street Map project and share their data... hmmm. See more on Open StreetMap from Montreal.

Feel free to friend me in Sports Tracker - search user gisuser

See sample trek - http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/workoutdetail/index.do?id=19183

read more | digg story

Dash Express orders now available

For a mere $599 you can now pre-order your Dash Navigation express device... from Dash Navigation... As manufacturing ramps up, initial quantities of the Dash Express will be limited and we will be reserving devices on a first-come, first served basis. Therefore, as someone who has expressed interest in the past, we wanted you to be the first to know about - and take advantage of - this opportunity.
Apparently the rush is on!! For now, I'll stick to my google maps mobile and save the $600! See www.dash.net

Vegas the dog tracked with Nokia Sports Tracker and N95

A video captured at Nokia World 2007 (by yours truly) showing an innovative app and user of Nokia Beta Labs popular Sports tracker application. Vegas the do wears a Nokia N95 GPS enabled device on his collar and him and his owner track his following using sports tracker.. clever and funny! Well done Vegas... I actually track my walks with Zoe my lab and we map our treks in Google Earth out of Sports Tracker... maybe Zoe can be the Sports Tracker user of the month in the near future!

Affordable fleet management + Google maps - uBlip

I followed one of those pesky google ads and found a very cool app that enables anyone with $25 a month to spend to have their own fleet management and tracking system. Users need to buy the hardware, plug it in to their vehicle's lighter, then the app tracks and logs your location. Users have acces via a web UI powered via Google maps and location information is constantly updated. Users can enabled geofencing and receive detailed reporting as well. Quite clever and affordable! Reminds of the similar app GPStracking.net which users can actually try for free (3dtracking.net) and run via their symbian handset. See http://www.ublip.com

Coming Soon, the Dash Express

Looks like Dash is preparing to roll out early next year. I received this in my email tonight... "The product will be available for sale on www.dash.net in first quarter 2008. Quantities will initially be limited as we ramp up manufacturing so we wanted you to be among the first to know that we're planning to offer an early reservation of the Dash Express prior to commercial launch. We'll be back in touch as soon as this program becomes available.

So, please hang tight for just a little longer. We promise the Dash Express will be worth waiting for. It will completely change the GPS category, not to mention your daily life on the road. Nothing on the market today can compare to the accuracy of our traffic information or offers the relevance of local, dynamic search. " See www.dash.net

Below is a video I grabbed at Where2.0






and a great video clip from the Web 2.0 Summit

RouteBuddy 1.5 for Mac OS X released

RouteBuddy has announced the release of RouteBuddy 1.5, a free update to their powerful GPS mapping program for Mac OS X. Enhanced features include:
Search for addresses
Find Points of Interest
Create turn-by-turn Routes
Drag and drop .GPX .LOC .CSV and .KML data
Geocaching Support
View and Print full screen Maps
Import Geotagged URLs
Add useful Metadata to your Maps
RouteBuddy can be used as a Mapping tool with or without GPS

Connect your USB Garmin to your Mac and synchronize Waypoints, Routes and Tracks with ease. RouteBuddy also works with NMEA GPS receivers to show position and additional data on a RouteBuddy Map. There's also a MacSpeech voice control available too! See http://www.routebuddy.com/

GPShopper (Slifter) Wins Tele Atlas Maps in Apps Contest

Become a GPS Shopper! Kudos to Slifter and their GPS shopper on this win... the app is indeed cool, to say the least! I recall I first featured Slifter last Christmas (prior to their fame) as an application to watch. GPShopper (www.gpshopper.com) is the first ever local mobile phone product search. With big name retailers and over 50 million products, GPShopper and its revolutionary Slifter (www.slifter.com) technology allows consumers to receive up-to-the-minute product availability, location and pricing right on their cell phones. See more on the Contest in this PR from Tele Atlas

A new Satellite-Based Emergency Messenger and Personal Tracker - SPOT

A new satellite messenger service (not to be confused with the satellite imagery provider with the same name)... it's Small, rugged and simple to use, the SPOT satellite messenger is a lifesaving device designed to improve personal safety for the millions of people who spend time in the outdoors – whether for recreation, work or daily life. With the push of a button, SPOT can transmit a user’s exact location and message to a 9-1-1 emergency call center in times of need, or to friends, family or co-workers to request help, track their location, or just keep in touch. Because SPOT sends a user’s exact GPS satellite location over a commercial satellite network, SPOT works in much of the world regardless of cellular coverage. Viewing messages and locations is easy using the SPOT Web service with included Google Maps™ technology.
Functionality:
# Alert 9-1-1 signals
# Ask for Help sends a request for help to friends and family
# Check In lets contacts know where you are and that you are OK
# Track Progress
See www.findmespot.com.