This week in GPS — April 13th, 2013

Bridge to Nowhere in the San Gabriel Mountains, five miles from any road (Image credit: Wikipedia)

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. This week’s lead image (above) is of a very cool bridge to nowhere; via @modernhiker.

From GPS Tracklog

Our posts from the past week:

• Garmin GLO review
• Garmin nuvi 2597LMT review
• Video: Garmin’s new Active Lane Guidance feature
• California court: Don’t use maps on your phone while driving

Our GPS deals page has some great buys on the nuvi 2455LMT and Oregon 450, along with several rebates.

Geocaching

• A Geocache in a National Park
• Join a Worldwide Geocaching Movement – Cache In, Trash Out

Magellan

• I’ve been told there is an announcement forthcoming from Magellan about this any day now…
• …which is good because not much can be made of what Mitac told DigiTimes:

Mitac’s existing GPS device business unit currently produces GPS mobile and in-car navigation devices for sale under three own-brands, Mio, Magellan and Navman. The new subsidiary will focus on marketing of own- brand GPS navigation devices with integrated cloud computing-based LBS (location-based services), Mitac indicated.

DeLorme inReach SE

• The official inReach SE announcement
• And the Quick Start Guide (PDF); via Lee

Garmin

• GPS City is now showing Oregon 600 estimated ship date as April 19, just a week away
• Garmin Connect Makes It Easier To Follow A Plan And Track Progress
• HomePort 2.2 Marine Planning Software Now Available
• BlueChart Mobile v 1.2 is also out
• Garmin Pilot App: Game Changer?
• Free map of Greece and Cyprus
• Team Garmin-Sharp: The Deep Clean, The Day After

Lowrance

• Making maps for Lowrance
• Lowrance Insight Genesis- Be Your Own Cartographer
• Navico, Parent to Lowrance, Simrad, and B and G, Repositions Brands

TomTom

• TomTom fleet tracking gets an app store
• Here’s a promo video about it

Updates

• Garmin updates this past week: Edge 810, eTrex 20/30, Montana, nuvi 2xx7, 3xx7, quatix, zumo 665
• Geocaching Buddy v 7.00 for iOS
• Magellan Active API v 1.6 and Magellan Active Website v 1.8
• Munzee v1.2 for iOS

GPS tracking

• TrackLeaders – Cool site and business from the developer of TopoFusion
• What You Can Learn By Putting a GPS on Your Kitty; here’s the book
• After beacon alert, hikers found
• GPS device leads to murder arrest
• Top cops escape Columbus’ new GPS policy
• GPS Bracelet Unveiled By Civil Rights Defenders
• Family App Life360 to Offer Free (Limited) Location of Feature Phones
• GPS-tracked bald eagle dies of lead poisoning

GPS in the news

• Delivery van driver in Vermont: My GPS made me do it
• Smithsonian Time and Navigation Exhibit Opens Friday
• High-Tech Inhaler Uses GPS, WiFi To Keep Allergy Diary

Satellites and such

• Report Says Cost of GPS Ground Segment Has Grown by $1B
• Lockheed Martin Team Completes Delta Preliminary Design for Next GPS III Satellite Capabilities

GPS III satellite

Jamming

• ITT Exelis Offers Signal Sentry to Detect Jamming Sources
• South Korea to beef up GPS jamming surveillance system

Going mobile

• Secret iOS gesture revealed that finally lets you use Google maps with one hand
• How to use Trapster in states that have hands free laws
• Transit App HopStop to Harvest Crowdsourced Data

The business of GPS

• Harman Buys iOnRoad
• Micello Mapped 15,000 Indoor Venue

Just geo

• Geo baby names are hot with celebs
• Cartographical Creativity: 10 unique uses for old maps
• New Maryland rain tax calculated from satellite imagery and GIS
• NatGeo giant traveling map comes to library
• A history of Google Maps’ pegman
• GSA: Mapping is Among the Areas of Duplicative Federal Spending
• Google Map Maker comes to the UK
• Iran plans ‘Islamic Google Earth’; via @ogleearth
• The new age of real-time GIS
• Turning Street View Images Into Time-Lapse Films:

Miscellany

• Interview with Ben Ellison on marine electronics
• Charting the History of In-Car Navigation; via @PocketGPSWorld
• Self-driving cars FTW
• French Police Officers Illegally Disable Speed Cameras
• USDA does about-face, won’t jettison Forest Service’s shield logo
• Extreme Miniaturization — Seven Devices, One Chip to Navigate without GPS:

Updated GPS reviews

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

• Garmin Forerunner 310XT — Military Times tackles this older multisport GPS watch