Gee, it doesn’t look like a bomb to me! Photo: Jami Kinton/Mansfield News Journal
This week in GPS is a weekly link roundup of (mostly) GPS related odds and ends, from GPS Tracklog and other places around the Web. To get a few of the biggest stories as they break, follow me on Twitter. The lead image above is from a story about overzealous police who want to press felony charges against some Ohio geocachers.
From GPS Tracklog
Our posts from the past week:
- Best selling GPS for February 2013
- Garmin to release innovative nuvi vent mount
- TomTom to undercut Garmin in motorcycle market
- On our GPS deals page we’ve added the Garmin Dakota 20 for $169.95
Geocaching
- The two millionth geocache was placed this week, in Australia
- Why to Log a DNF
- 5 years, 176 DNFs, 1 Find — A Real Challenge (GC1764C) Lives Up to Its Name
- Quick trackable logging by QR code
Garmin
- Full Junction View file for 2013.40 maps
- Garmin BaseCamp Mobile gets Oregon 600 series support for field upload of data via Bluetooth; no Android version in sight
- Garmin Fenix Water Resistant Models Due Soon; sounds right – GPS City is saying March 5
- Garmin plans biggest R&D budget yet
- Southern Alberta trails map
- From the Garmin forums (via GPS Review):
I hear that not being able to install the maps on the computer is something that will be fixed in a future version of Garmin Express.
Giveaways
GPS in the news
Updates
- Garmin updates this past week: Approach S2, BaseCamp Mobile, Edge 800, eTrex 20/30, Oregon 6xx, quatix
- ExpertGPS 4.74
GPS tracking
- Lowell Police Union Blocks City From Using GPS Tracking On Squad Cars
- California trying to count parolees who have ditched GPS trackers
- Parolee without GPS tracker charged with killing his grandmother
Satellites and such
- Two Active GLONASS Satellites Potentially Experience Difficulties
- Lockheed Martin powers on first GPS III satellite in prep for 2014 launch
- Galileo Lives to Fly Another Day; Budget Passed
- Lockheed Martin awarded $120 million for GPS III
Geotagging
- GeoSetter is a free EXIF editor (among other things); via GPS File Depot
Nokia Here
Going Mobile
- Nokia rebrands Drive, Maps and Transit for Windows Phones (see above)
- Announcing CoPilot for Windows Phone 8
- Waze’s Maps Now Change as Roads Close
- Even so, John C. Dvorak doesn’t like Waze
- DIY Map GPS is an iOS nav app that lets you create your map experience
The i’msport watch
The business of GPS
- New fitness player: i’msport (see above)
- PND decline to accelerate to 20% this year
- TomTom extends strategic partnership with MiTAC (Magellan parent company)
- New ANT+ wireless protocol promises longer battery life for fitness gear
- Benefits of a Google/Garmin merger
- This guy thinks Google Glass will disrupt PNDs; I think they’re already disrupted!
- Apple Seeks Ground Truther in Australia
- Apple Granted Patent to Share Location Data Between Mobile Device and an Accessory
- I have to agree:
Little mention of IQRoutes from @TomTomUSA lately. Poor TT PND sales seems to weaken it. Need to be more clear whether partner use bouys it.
— Jeff Carpenter (@jeffcarp) February 26, 2013
Just geo
- Animating GPS tracks in Google Earth
- Wife wins divorce after map-reading row; via All Points Blog
- 38 Maps You Never Knew You Needed; via @GPSGIS_Eric
- Harvard’s TweetMap Lets You Explore 125 Million Tweets
- All online maps suck
All the news that doesn’t fit
- Fujitsu prototype GPS cane hands-on: the future of monitoring and protecting the elderly
- Looks like a Satmap 12 is coming; via Groundspeak
- Great letter from a Junior Ranger, who sent back sticks taken from Yosemite:
Leave no trace!
Updated GPS reviews
I’ve updated these review and resource pages with the following links:
- Garmin Edge 200 – Spoke.ie reviews this entry-level GPS cyclometer
- Garmin nuvi 50LM – Sweet Makes Three reviews this popular auto model
- Magellan Switch Up – priyo1973 reviews this hybrid sportswatch
About Rich Owings