GPS reviews, news, tips, tricks and deals
As the first of two additional Galileo satellites designated for launch next week prep for their lift off, testing has concluded on the Galileo satellites already in orbit. The first encrypted signals were received and tracked successfully during a 10-day testing period. The goal of the tests, Spatial Source reported, was to verify the functionality of the Galileo Commercial Service (CS) signal’s encryption functionalities. read more
Magellan has announced the increased availability of their SmartGPS 5390 unit, designed to create a connected car experience with enhanced navigation. It is available now at BestBuy.com, Costco.com, Amazon.com, and magellangps.com for $229.99.
Featuring a sleek and stylish appearance, the Magellan SmartGPS 5390 is designed to let users have the connected car experience without the price tag. The device displays locations of lowest gas prices, Foursquare/Yelp user reviews of POIs, red-light camera alerts, weather and traffic reports, and automatic cloud syncing to add contacts and destinations to your device. And, of course, GPS directions and routing. read more
Deep breath. Take the shot. You see a flash of fur and excitedly rush away from your stand to see if you got a hit. You find it (or don’t) and then you turn back and… wait… which way was the stand again? The use of a Hunting GPS unit isn’t necessary but it definitely adds a sense of security and safety to any wilderness activity.
Amazon doesn’t have a list specifically for hunting GPS units, so I did a search on my own to find the ones that seemed most suited. They aren’t listed in any particular order, so read through and see which one would work for you!
Magellan eXplorist 350H
Magellan eXplorist 350H Handheld GPS – This GPS unit is designed specifically for hunters. Retailing at $249.99 on Amazon, the device has 3.4 stars, but only a handful of reviews.
Features:
This miniature atomic clock is one of many improvements the military is making to protect GPS signals as they research new options for PNT devices.
The US Army is working on finding ways around the military’s increased reliance on GPS technology, specifically for warfighters. According to this article, the US Army Engineers are developing prototypes such as the Warfighter Integrated Navigation System (WINS) to serve as a backup for GPS. They are also looking into miniaturized atomic clocks to help GPS devices provide more accurate location and protect GPS units from spoofing. Of course, they haven’t released any specifics on what devices they have developed to replace GPS yet—if any—but it’s definitely something the government is looking into. read more
Timex has become the first traditional watchmaking company to enter the smartwatch market with a new GPS watch available this fall. The new Timex Ironman One GPS+ (what a mouthful!) is seeking to simplify wearable technology by offering stand-alone wireless connectivity that doesn’t require a phone of any sort. The device is a little clunky, with the watch face measuring at 2 inches and the screen at a 1.5 inch rectangle. It is being marketed as a smartwatch that doesn’t require a smartphone and sport watch for when you don’t want to take your phone with you. It has some pretty standard features, only made more interesting because of the stand-alone wireless connectivity. read more
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. This week’s featured image is a teaser for tomorrow’s article on a new GPS watch that was just released this week from Timex. Check back tomorrow for the full story! read more
If you are an avid geocacher, it can sometimes be hard to explain to others exactly what it is about the activity that is so appealing. It’s easy to lose a muggle’s interest in the hobby somewhere between trinkets and Tupperware. So if you have someone that you’re trying to convert to geocaching, then I have a few tips for you! read more
If you’re looking for a tracker for a small child, you don’t have any shortage of options to choose from. However, if you want something to track a wayward teen or middle-schooler, your options are slim indeed. Introducing the Caref GPS Phone Watch by Precise Innovation, a GPS enabled watch (that doesn’t look like a conspicuous tracker) which allows parents to track location and speed of their free-roaming teens. The device also features two-way voice and text calling that automatically answers, so they won’t have the option of ignoring your call, plus other features. read more
GPS apps use location data in a wide variety of ways—from helping you connect with friends to remembering where you parked your car. As these sorts of apps have become more and more common, the general public has started to be a little more wary of who is able to keep track of their exact GPS coordinates. Foursquare, the popular app that allows users to find new places in their cities by leaving and reading reviews. This, of course, means that foursquare has to keep track of where you are so it can leave a note on the map for other users. Now, with a new update, Foursquare not only keeps track of where you are while in the app—it tracks your location even when the app is closed.
For example, if you frequent a sushi place in your hometown, Foursquare will store that information and when you travel, it will send push notifications letting you know about good sushi places in new towns when you travel. That doesn’t sound too bad, right? I mean, who doesn’t love finding new places? Until you start thinking about it. I mean, we take our phones with us everywhere. That’s a whole lot of potential information that Foursquare has decided to cash in on. read more
Magellan has finally announced details of their new Echo Fit, a multi-purpose sport watch that syncs with apps and has a pretty impressive range of features—not to mention the cool design. This newest addition to the Echo line has step and sleep tracking in addition to traditional running watch functions (tracking distance, track, calories burned, heart rate, etc) in an attempt to make an ‘everyday’ watch that will capture a picture of exactly what you do and how to meet your fitness goals. read more
