TomTom’s new traffic jam ahead warning
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 about how TomTom Traffic now alerts drivers to slow down when approaching a traffic jam. Anyone know if it’s available in the US yet?
From GPS Tracklog
Our posts from the past week:
- Best selling GPS for August 2013
- Chopper-friendly Garmin zumo 390LM monitors tire pressure in real time
I also added a new Forerunner 210/610 rebate to our GPS deals page.
Garmin
- Garmin touts the geocaching capabilities of the Oregon 600
- Fred Zahradnik points out the affordability of the Edge Touring series
- An update on that new zumo:
In a last min addition, the zumo 390LM will receive a FREE SW update within the next month that will give it the ability to act as a remote for the NEW VIRB action camera. Now you can mount the camera anywhere on the bike and control the start/stop and take still 16mp images right from your zumo.
- And…
A new color option for the Approach S2 golf sportswatch
Geocaching
Updates
- Firmware updates this week: Garmin nuvi 2xx7, 27×7, 35×7; check out what it includes:
- Enhanced School Zone Alerts coverage and functionality.
- Enhanced Trip Data map tool to allow further customization and to include routing data fields.
- Added support for the new Wrong-Way Driver / Dangerous Traffic alerts, including a new map tool and a corresponding audible message. This feature may not be available in all markets.
The business of GPS
- Microsoft Buys Nokia Units
- But not HERE/NAVTEQ
- The official news release
- Nothing’s Changed for HERE … For Now
- Interesting figure — $1 billion per year to maintain maps
- Google’s Map Features Find Their Way Into More Cars
- Garmin Aviation Product Support: #1 for Ten Consecutive Years!
- OpenStreetMap Founder Steve Coast Joins Telenav; in the video below he discuses the early days of OSM…
GPS in the news
- Using GPS while driving could warrant punitive damages
- Police: Truck driver blames GPS for taking him down road where he knocked over utility pole
- NPR: In Maine, Even With A GPS, You Can’t Get There From Here
- GPS-Enabled Bike Offers Free Tune-Ups To Cyclists
- GPS street lamps light up Indian road
- You May Think Your TomTom is Out to Get You. But It’s Not!
Drones
- Not sure if this was a GPS drone, but…Teen dies in remote control helicopter accident
- FAA Grounds Journalism School Drones
- But they cut the red tape to let a dronee work the Yoseite wildfire
- Scout, battery-powered, GPS-guided boat, launched in Tiverton, en route to Spain
GPS tracking
- Ars Technica: Thousands of paroled CA sex offenders, felons easily disable GPS monitors
- Few consequences for GPS absconders
- SCOTUS, GPS, and the future of locational privacy claims
- GPS ankle bracelets reduce domestic violence injuries in Connecticut
- Wandering prairie chicken travels 1,182 miles with GPS on her collar
- Eyes on storks? Egyptian fisherman thought bird was foreign spy (map below); via @ogleearth
Journey of the stork/spy
Going mobile
- This Secret Google Maps Gesture Is Totally Brilliant
- Google Earth for Android now remembers long-forgotten geotagged photos
- A marine app with historical cartography
TomTom have stopped supporting iOS 4. No more app updates for iPhone 3G and 2nd Gen iPod Touch.
— PocketGPSWorld (@PocketGPSWorld) September 3, 2013
Just geo
- 5 Reasons the New Google Maps Sucks; Google responds
- Compare Bing/NAVTEQ, OSM, Google Maps and more; via@marybethlowell
- Half Of The United States Lives In These Counties
- Updated Street View imagery of tsunami-affected areas of NE Japan, including exclusion zone
All the news that doesn’t fit
- Leikr doesn’t get IPX-8 waterproofing
- A Black Box for Car Crashes
- Pioneer launches sat-nav with augmented reality
- Jim Cyr working on a forthcoming review for GPS Tracklog:
Out at a trailhead, giving the new @magellangps 350H a workout. Comparing tracks later. @gpstracklog pic.twitter.com/AA3SGkRkik
— Jim Cyr (@thecyr) August 31, 2013
Updated GPS reviews
I’ve updated these review and resource pages with the following links:
- DeLorme inReach SE — Paddlng Headquarters reviews this 2-way satellite communicator
- TomTom VIA 1605 TM — MommyGearest reviews this 6″ auto unit
About Rich Owings