Waypoints – March 24, 2007

Odds and ends from the past week. Let’s start with the odd…

• If your GPS tells you to drive into a river, don’t do it! Via Digg.
• File this one under the bizarre promotions category…Get a free nuvi 350. All you have to do is get married at Wal-Mart!
• Have you named your GPS?
• Never trust a bus driver with a GPS.
• You may be able to use your GPS to prove you weren’t speeding, but it could be much more expensive than just paying the ticket. Via Digg.
• These folks needed a GPS that would warn them about border crossings.

Maps and imagery

• Free GeoTools covers printing large maps
  on a small printer. BTW, OziExplorer has a nice built in feature for
  this. Or, you can always save a big image file and take it to Kinkos.
• Near real-time satellite imagery.
• The Map Room has a brief discussion about the differences between satellite imagery and aerial photos.
• How’s your Spanish? Free GeoTools links to the Mexican National Atlas.

GPS in the news

• China and GPS wars.
• Real-time parking info is coming to your GPS.
• OnStar will provide emergency services with real-time crash data.
• Here’s a story on the military’s use of GPS guided air drops.

Garmin

• Upload your Edge’s heart-rate data to MotionBased; you’ll get much more info as a result.
• Garmin has posted new firmware for the Rino 520 and Rino 530.
• They’ve also posted updated USB drivers.
• Garmin announced a partnership with New Leaf Fitness. Peg covers a few more details on the Garmin blog.

Cell phones and GPS

• Veripath tries giving away GPS navigation services for cell phones (up to five trips a month). Via Digg.
• Sprint provides free navigation and live traffic info, for anyone with data plans of $20+.
• Meanwhile, GpsPasSion says that Navigon is launching the first free cell phone GPS navigation system.
• Check real estate values on your GPS cell phone with Zillow Mobile. Via Digg.
• TeleNav on a BlackBerry 8800 — a review.
• Cell phone GPS foils kidnapping.
• Rumors of a Google phone with LBS features.

Updated GPS reviews

• Garmin Forerunner 205 review – Diaries of a Trail Jogger has posted a review.
• Garmin Edge 305 review – Sprenzy looks at the Edge and MotionBased.

Google

• Free GeoTools links to a tool to overlay a USGS quad index in Google Earth and download the quads.
• There’s a new version of Google Earth for Windows Vista.
• Stopping Appalachian mountain top removal via Google Earth.
• Real-time tracking with Google Earth using GooPs.

All the rest

• A review of Streets & Trips 2007. Via Digg.
• Mark’s Blog compares the zumo 550 with the TomTom GO 910.
• The nuvi and Mio forums on GpsPasSion are now available via RSS feeds. And check out the following link if you don’t know what an RSS feed is.
• Win a TomTom ONE.
• I got severely burned in the last big stock market meltdown, but I am
  occasionally tempted to jump on GPS stocks, especially when I see posts like this
  about NAVTEQ.