Liz E., Author at GPS Tracklog

TomTom Aims at Self-Driving Cars

May 6, 2015 By Liz E. Leave a Comment

Ever since the Jetsons first rode around in their very own self-driving car in the 60s, we have been working towards making transportation safer and easier. In the last couple of years in particular, great leaps have been made in the realm of self-driving cars with several companies already testing vehicles on closed tracks. But, are self-driving cars really going to happen? Dutch navigation company TomTom certainly thinks so, and it wants in.

Earlier this week TomTom CEO Harold Goddijn told Reuters that TomTom’s goal is to become the main provider of technology for self-driving cars in the future. That’s a pretty lofty goal for a company which, for the last seven years, has posted very little profit for an international corporation. But, as one of the three largest digital mapping companies in the world—the others being Google and Nokia’s HERE Maps—TomTom certainly has my vote.

Filed Under: TomTom

GPS eReader Book Alters Story to Your Location

May 5, 2015 By Liz E. Leave a Comment

Reading is a wonderful pastime that can transport any book lover to any number of exciting, distant or exotic locations. But, what if you had a story that was tailored to your backyard? The characters could meet at a local restaurant or have the exciting chase down main street. Well, a Brazilian travel company has done just that with a new eBook called Trip Book. It’s taking GPS to a whole new level, and I, for one, think it looks pretty cool. read more

Filed Under: Mobile

The Geotagger’s World Atlas

May 4, 2015 By Liz E. Leave a Comment

Every city has something unique about it, whether it’s a memorial statue, a cool coffee shop, a world-renowned museum or a local pizza parlor. These places are visited by hundreds or maybe even thousands of people a year, which translates to dozens of photos, many of which are geotagged to show the location of these popular and special places.

So, what would happen if you took all of those photos and created a map, linking the photos to show individual journeys and locations? Well, you would end up a neat sketch-like image of the location, filled with individual travels and popular locations. You’d get the Geotagger’s World Atlas. read more

Filed Under: GPS News

Garmin Auto GPS Sales Continue Decline

May 3, 2015 By Liz E. 3 Comments

I don’t think that anyone would deny that the world of GPS is changing, and the companies that rely on GPS are changing with it. Garmin recently released the first quarter results for 2015 and for fans of automotive GPS, it’s a grim assessment.

For the last few years, GPS companies have seen a continual and gradual decline in their sales and Garmin has been allowing for 10% – 15% quarterly decline of its automotive unit. In the most recent quarter, the automotive segment fell right in line with that at a loss of 11% from the first quarter of last year. It might not sound like all that much, but this continual decline has really begun to show. To put that in perspective, The Motley Fool reported that in 2011 automotive units made up roughly 60% of Garmin’s overall revenue. However, in 2015, that number has dropped to just over half—a whopping 37% of sales overall. read more

Filed Under: Garmin

New TomTom GO Devices Offer Lifetime World Maps

May 2, 2015 By Liz E. Leave a Comment

While having all of the extra bells and whistles on your GPS device is important, I have always said that if you have to pick just one thing, pick lifetime maps. A lot of people don’t’ realize that your GPS is really only as good as your maps, and the ability to update maps without an additional fee is really worth the extra money and will greatly improve the life, value and usability of your device.

Generally, devices come with lifetime maps for only the specific continent or region in which you live. Well, now TomTom has gone a step further. The newest TomTom GO devices will all include lifetime world maps, meaning that users will not have to pay an additional fee to access TomTom’s excellent maps of other countries and continents. I am fairly sure that this is an industry first, as I’ve not seen any such capabilities from the other main GPS companies, although no doubt they will soon follow. read more

Filed Under: Auto, TomTom auto GPS

This Week in GPS — May 1, 2015

May 1, 2015 By Liz E. 2 Comments

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 the new Garmin Nuvicam, which was introduced this week. This device features, as the name implies, an integrated dash cam. Check out our article below for more information!

Here are some other things that happened in the world of GPS this week: read more

Filed Under: Featured, More GPS News, This week in GPS

TomTom Introduces New MyDrive

April 30, 2015 By Liz E. 3 Comments

While GPS devices are incredibly useful for finding your way around while behind the wheel, programming them can sometimes be a chore. There’s nothing worse than having to finger-peck out a long address, hunched awkwardly over the wheel as you jab a finger at the touchscreen. But, we all do it—it’s one of those necessary evils of using a GPS device, it seems. Well, TomTom begs to differ.

This week, the Dutch navigation and telematics company has introduced a new website and app duo that will allow users to prepare routes, search locations and view realtime traffic information from a computer or smartphone. Then, when you’re ready to go, you can simply send the information to your TomTom, get in the car and drive. It’s absolutely genius, and the best part is that it’s free. read more

Filed Under: Mobile, TomTom

Celebrate Geocaching’s 15th Anniversary This Weekend

April 29, 2015 By Liz E. Leave a Comment

When GPS was first implemented, the signals were intended initially for military use only. Civilians and international users were able to access a scrambled navigational signal, but the signal was far from accurate and usage was highly limited. This was referred to as Selective Availability.

However, a few minutes after midnight on May 1, 2000, the United States government decided to end Selective Availability. Overnight civilian GPS signal accuracy increased exponentially, from an accuracy of 300 feet to 20 feet or better.

Then, on May 2, 2000, GPS enthusiast Dave Ulmer decided to test out the newly un-scrambled GPS signals by hiding a container filled with random trinkets and posting the coordinates online. He challenged users to find the bucket, and Geocaching was officially born. read more

Filed Under: Geocaching

Use GPS to Discover Local Art

April 28, 2015 By Liz E. Leave a Comment

GPS has been used for a lot of really cool things over the years, but this idea has to be, by far, one of my favorites. Imagine this: you’re walking along through the park, when you see a beautiful memorial statue sitting under some shady trees. In your pocket, your phone buzzes and you pull it out to discover a poem written about that very statue by one of the many local poets in the area.

While you read the poem, you are surrounded by the exact same scenery and imagery that inspired the rhyme on your device. It’s almost like the poet is standing right next to you. Now imagine that you can do the same with messages, music, photography—-the sky is the limit. You can connect almost anything to a GPS coordinate to create your own puzzles, messages and secrets right in the open. It’s genius, and you can do it right now. read more

Filed Under: Mobile apps

Garmin Introduces Dashcam GPS Device

April 27, 2015 By Liz E. 3 Comments

Garmin announced a new GPS device late last week which combines a dedicated navigation system with a dash cam and advanced alerts to make the first unit designed to protect users in the case of an accident. Dash cams have become more and more popular in recent years, providing an unbiased eyewitness of events along with date and time.

The nuviCam LMTHD boasts a continuously recording dash cam device on the back and a driver-facing display with Garmin navigation favorites including Active Lane Guidance, Up Head to provide upcoming services and POIs, Garmin Real directions, photoReal Junction View, Bird’s Eye Junction View, preloaded Foursquare data and various speed limit and school zone warnings. read more

Filed Under: Auto, Garmin auto GPS