Waypoints — April 9th, 2011

Waypoints is a weekly link roundup of (mostly) GPS related odds and ends. To get many of these stories as they break, follow me on Twitter.

GPS for runners

• New Forerunner coming by mid-April? 
• DC Rainmaker’s first look at the Nike+ Sportwatch GPS

GPS tracking

• Virginia Court of Appeals okays warrantless GPS tracking; burns 4th amendment in after-party (okay, I just made up that last part)
• Protect your bike from theft with GPS SpyLamp  
• This article on GPS tracking of whooping cranes gives some good insights into the technology
• Santa Clara county (California) gives away GPS tracking bracelets for elderly and mentally ill
• GPS tracking could be required as a condition of bail in some Tennessee cases

LightSquared

• A LightSquared update
• Nice chart showing LightSquared frequency proximity to GPS L1 band
• Military testing being done separately
• A balanced article on the controversy 
• Accel Networks says this is not the wireless industry’s fault; lays blame on GPS manufacturers
• New statement issued by Coalition to Save our GPS 
• GPS World offers up a LightSqaured Webinar

Geocaching

• New at OpenCaching.com: Email alerts and Virtual Cache discussion
• Magellan sponsors Cache in, Trash out
• Familiar with Cacheopedia? Via @cachemania
• Road Trip Cache Planning
• Groundspeak HQ opens its doors

GPS in the news

• Misleading headline and quote?: “Remember – sat nav systems need replacing every three years. Failure to do this might mean your sat nav system becomes faulty and won’t work effectively”
• Army general verifies North Korea GPS jamming; says they have a plan for response 
• An inside look at GPS for construction and farming
• GPS Traders launches to help professionals sell high-end GPS systems
• Projects Trains Next Generation of Scientists and Engineers to Counter Solar Threats to Satellite Navigation

Updates

• Garmin Astro 220 v 3.60
• Garmin Dakota v 4.02 Beta
• Garmin GPSMAP 62/78 v 2.94 Beta
• Garmin nuvi 2×5 v 7.20
• Garmin nuvi 2x5W v 7.20
• Garmin Oregon x00 v 4.17 Beta
• Garmin Oregon x50 v 4.47 Beta
• Garmin zumo 2×0 v 2.70

Mobile

• At least I’m not the only one who thinks this phone mount is a bad idea
• Got an idea for a location-based app? Enter the European Satellite Navigation Competition

Cars

• Telenav gives away a year of free gas
• OEM navigation picks up steam, costs drop, thanks to GPS manufacturers
• ABI Forecasts 210 million connected cars by 2016 
• Microsoft & Toyota seek to counter Ford Sync?

The business of GPS

• Connected PNDs now 10% of German market 
• Garmin intros nuvi 2000 series in Europe

Just geo

• 25 Mind-Blowing Aerial Photographs Around the World; via Slashgeo.org
• Create a Google Map in seconds
• The Big Map Blog focuses on big map images (and historical maps, it seems); via The Map Room

All the news that doesn’t fit

• $100-200 receivers with four-inch accuracy by 2020? 
• DIY visor-mounted GPS; via @PocketGPSWorld
• Location-based music
• Galileo launch site ready

GPS deals

These are some bargains we’re currently tracking at our GPS deals site:

• Garmin nuvi 2350LMT for $198.88
• Garmin nuvi 2350 for $139.89
• Garmin nuvi 2450LM for $198
• TomTom XL 340M for $94.99
• Garmin 4000/5000 series $200 chartplotter rebate
• Garmin US Inland Lakes $40 rebate

Updated GPS reviews

I’ve updated these review and resource pages with the following links:

• Garmin Forerunner 405CX – Tales of an Endless Runner
• Garmin GPSMAP 62s – Free Geography Tools tackles this popular new model: Parts I, II and III, with conclusions