Waypoints is a weekly link roundup of (mostly) GPS related odds and ends. To get the best of these stories as they break, follow me on Twitter.
Pre-Black Friday GPS deals
Ah yes, it’s that time of year. The bargains are starting to roll, so I’m leading with the ones we’re currently tracking on our GPS deals site:
- 5″ Garmin nuvi 50 for $113.49
- Garmin nuvi 2300LM with lifetime map updates for $129.99
- $50 rebate on SPOT Connect Satellite Communicator
- REI handheld GPS deals (includes Garmin Oregon 550t and Magellan eXplorist 310 & 710)
- REI winter GPS sale (includes Forerunner 310XT, Foretrex 410, nuvi 40LM, SPOT II and Contour GPS)
- 5-Inch Garmin nüvi 1450LMT with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates for $139.99
- 5″ Garmin nuvi 2450 for $159.93
- TomTom VIA 1505TM 5″ GPS with Lifetime Traffic & Maps for $129.95
- Touchscreen Garmin Dakota 20 handheld for $219.95
- 5" Garmin nuvi 2460LT with lifetime traffic for $199.95
- Garmin eTrex Legend H for $89
- Magellan ToughCase for iPhone for $79.99
- Garmin Forerunner 310XT $50 rebate
DeLorme inReach
- Device to Device Messages with DeLorme inReach
- A first looks Delorme InReach video
- And its got a 63 hour battery life?!
- This post shows a chart of inReach subscription plans
- The inReach app in the Android Market
GPS in the news
- Pakistan Drone Strikes Aided by Covertly Placed GPS Trackers?
- Wrong: "If it’s a navigation app that requires GPS then you’ll need to have good cellular coverage;" via @Panbo_BE
- Remember the faster-than-light experiment that didn’t take account of GPS time delays? That may not have been an issue
- GPS faces more threats than just LightSquared
- Texas Man Convicted of Trying to Help Al-Qaida
- Taking GPS where no man has gone before; via @PocketGPSWorld
- Armed with GPS device, railways ready to meet fog
Garmin
- Want to check out Garmin’s 2011 holiday commercials? Here they are: Elf, Fish and Troupe
- Garmin gets Bert and Ernie too
- Garmin updates their Rails-to-Trails maps but it’s not clear if prior buyers get the update
- GizzMoVest cases for the eTrex x0 series
released; via @RMHoward43
- Garmin Subsidiary NAVIGON Launches Next Generation iPhone Navigation App
- But no more free updates?
- Garmin-Cervelo adds once-banned rider to top team
- They’ve got Jack Bauer too (not that Jack Bauer!)
- A demo of Garmin’s semi-integrated navigation solution for BMW Bikes
TomTom
- TomTom Brings Fleet Management to the Smartphone
- Mazda to debut TomTom in-dash navigation system in the US at LA Auto Show
- TomTom says these auto deals have a higher profit margin; they also note that PND decline has stopped accelerating
- TomTom delivers map content to the US Geological Survey (USGS)
- TomTom moving away from devices, except in New Zealand
Updates
- New firmware updates this week: DeLorme PN-60, Garmin Dakota, Montana (beta), nuvi 12xx, 13xx and 37xx; Allory has the links
- Garmin Montana firmware 3.63 Beta discussion
- South Dakota has updated their Game, Fish and Park maps
Mobile
- RIM Adds Voice Guidance to Traffic 3.0; via @davezatz who mentions the Dash Navigation connection
- EC Releases SDK to Enable EGNOS in Smartphones; more here on EGNOS, which is similar to WAAS
Location-based services
- Apple Patent Reissue May Mean it “Owns” LBS
- 25% of American Adults Use Location-Based Services; via @abeiagi
GPS tracking
- Harvard Political Review: The Court, Privacy, and GPS Tracking
- New judge ruling declares law enforcement must have a warrant in order to access mobile location data
- GPS Tracking Device Leads Police to Field Filled With $25,000 of Stolen Equipment
- Pima County, Ariz., Adding GPS to 1,400 Vehicles
- Schools using GPS devices to track students
Geo-privacy
- Google Offers Clunky Opt-Out from Wi-Fi Database
- How Google–and everyone else–gets Wi-Fi location data
- Does panoramic photography compromise geo-location privacy rights?
LightSquared
Just geo
- The web comic xkcd takes on Map Projections; via @maproomblog
- Trimble Offers Custom Topographic, Aerial and Hybrid Map Prints (up to 60” x 84”!)
- Deception Island
- Crazy structures in the Chinese desert
- Nokia Announces Map Creator; Its Version of Google’s Map Maker
- Tracking Invasive Species with Google Maps
- Federal Geographic Data Committee Launches New Geospatial Website
All the news that doesn’t fit
- Scans reveal how the brain’s GPS helps us navigate from A to B
- Backpacker Map Maker iPad Review
- Hertz NeverLost gets connected
- Groundspeak shuts down Uservoice
- World’s Most Rugged Handheld Computer; via @GPSGIS_Eric
- Do we really want GPS data changing the position of your car seat?
Updated GPS reviews
I’ve updated these review and resource pages with the following links:
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