Sunday, March 18, 2012

Android PNDs coming?

androidsDigiTimes has a brief article up today, citing several GPS navigator (PND) trends for 2011. Among them…

While most PNDs are based on Linux or Windows CE, some vendors are developing Android models to minimize R&D costs, and to leverage the availability of Android-based applications and connectivity with tablet PCs, handsets and other hand-held devices, the sources analyzed.

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Google Maps Navigation review

satelliteNot the nav app you’re looking for

Google Maps Navigation (referred to hereafter as GMN) is a free navigation app for Android version 1.6+ phones in the U.S. I bought the Motorola Droid recently (which I absolutely love BTW), so I thought I’d share my experiences with this much discussed free navigation app.

One important thing to be aware of — this is a beta application. Google has been known to keep their products in beta for a long time, but this one is pretty new and the beta label definitely applies.

The first part of my review is basically a tutorial, walking you through the interface, and offering useful tips. For my overall take, head on down to the conclusion.

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Two free apps help name that peak

Peak-AR Hey What’s That goes mobile

It’s been quite a while since I wrote about Hey What’s That?, a website that helps you identify mountains on the horizon. Well, today comes news that they have a mobile app for Android and iPhone (here is their mobile FAQ). So I tweeted about it and @CompeGPS turned me onto…

Peak.AR

Peak.AR icon(iTunes link) is a free augmented reality app that looks much better. There’s a screenshot at the top of this post (note that both English and German languages are supported). It’s limited to the iPhone now, but an Android app is expected by the end of February.

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Waypoints – December 8, 2009

Oregon elevation dashboard It’s a good day to be the owner of a Garmin Oregon and / or Motorola Droid…

Garmin Oregon beta

Garmin has rolled out new beta firmware with some great added features. These include:

  • Customized dashboards can now be added to the map and computer screens. Dashboard options include Compass, Stopwatch, Active Geocache, and Elevation Plot.
  • You can now view the elevation plot of an upcoming active route or currently navigated track in blue (shown at right).
  • Some great new track navigation options, which are detailed at the Garmin Trail Tech blog. I completely agree with their statement that “for many customers, navigating a saved track is the best option for providing guidance along a desired trail.” I encourage you to go and read their post in detail. The new features include automatically adding high and low elevation points for a track, and adding any waypoints along it to the active route. I suspect that mileage calculations will now be based on the track and not “as the crow flies” distances, though I’ve yet to verify this. There are also some tips posted at the Garmin Oregon wiki. UPDATE: I recently put together a post with some tips on using this new track navigation feature.

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Magellan rolls out iPhone app; Droid users left in dust

Magellan-iPhone-app The Magellan RoadMate iPhone appicon (iTunes link) was introduced this weekend. It includes text-to-speech, lane assist and in-app music controls, and runs $79.99. Magellan also says they have a car kit coming (pic below) that has an integrated GPS receiver and will accommodate the iPhone or iPod touch.

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