Sunday, March 18, 2012

Runkeeper Adds GPS Support to Apple Watch Series 2

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When the Apple Watch was introduced in 2015, many people wondered if it was the beginning of the end for running watches. We predicted that it wouldn’t push out Garmin at all, mostly because it didn’t even come with GPS capabilities, meaning that anyone looking to use it for workouts would also have to bring along a phone for any kind of tracking. Well, it looks like more than a year later, Apple will finally be getting the GPS capabilities.

Earlier this month, Runkeeper announced  new update for the Apple Watch Series 2 devices that will finally take advantage of the GPS chips inside the Apple Watches. With this new functionality, the app will not only track things like distance and heart rate, but also mark your tracks via GPS. I personally haven’t had much experience with it, but the reviews have been a little sketchy. Some users reported that the GPS signal was a little variable, but the app does feature GPS bars to help show where the signals are low. read more

iOS 8.4 Released, Some GPS Issues Continue

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A surprising amount of people use iPhones, iPads or other Apple devices for some form of navigation. Pilots in particular have been known to use iPads to help decode complex aeronautical navigation charts so when the iOS 8.3 update caused a problem with GPS, it was a huge problem. Apple insisted that the next update, iOS 8.4, would fix the problem and it seems like the issue has indeed been lessened. However, it looks like some problems are still occurring with GPS signals on select Apple products.

According to user complaints on Apple forums, many iOS devices are having trouble locking on to GPS and holding on to the signal. The issue mostly seems to be effecting iPhones, but a few users have reported issues with iPads as well. However, it’s not widespread or immediately apparent why some have issues while others don’t. GPS company Bad Elf gave its customers the all-clear a few days ago to upgrade, claiming that compatibility tests went just fine, but a lot of users have been reporting that GPS apps no longer function properly. read more

Apple Buys Navigation Company, Signs with TomTom Anyway

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Apple is one of those huge corporations that, whenever it does anything, it’s all over the news. Recently, the technology behemoth purchased a small navigation startup by the name of Coherent Navigation, and the internet exploded with theories as to why. With the dismal state of Apple Maps, I can’t say that I found the move particularly surprising or even all that noteworthy. I hadn’t even heard of Coherent Navigation until Apple purchased them.

After doing a bit of research (mostly out of curiosity because it kept popping up in my news feed) this little GPS company apparently was pretty small, based on the coast and mostly handled navigation and location research projects funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. Pretty cool, but again, nothing super noteworthy. The company’s primary claim to fame was its work on High-Integrity GPS or “iGPS” which is meant to help improve GPS reliability. Which, if you’ve ever looked at Apple Maps, then you know Apple certainly is interested in. read more

Hiking App Helps Locate Most Beautiful Spots

Stand Here

Stand Here photo

As you reach the top of the hill, you see the sun turn the leaves of the trees to tiny emeralds. The filtered light illuminates the cool waterfall ahead with the magnificent warm-colored stones worn smooth from the water and for a moment, your breath catches as you gaze at this perfect spot. There is nothing quite like the natural beauty of the wilderness, and such sights are the reason and reward for many hikers who explore the wild areas of the world. While sometimes the best views are found by accident, others are not.

Introducing the Stand Here app, a hiking companion app designed to help hikers find and protect the most fantastic spots in the world. Available only on iTunes, the app is free and includes a number of functions to help hikers find their ways to the most wondrous spots in the U.S. and track their way safely back. Created by acclaimed photographer Rodney Lough Jr., the app has been about six years in the making  and was released on August 8, 2014.

“The goal is to identify beautiful places, help educate people on why they are special and get people to stop and stand there. To have that moment of awe that takes your breath away,” Lough said. “Then we can understand why we need to protect these places.”

read more

Endomondo App Syncs with Pebble Watches

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Endomondo, the popular social fitness network, has introduced a new smartphone app that syncs with Pebble and helps users meet their fitness goals. This free app from Endomondo allows users to start, pause or stop a workout while exercising and can display up to three configurable data metrics, such as distance traveled, heart rate and workout duration – making it one of the most advanced fitness tracking apps for Pebble.  Additionally, the app vibrates Pebble smartwatches for each mile or kilometer completed, and will briefly display a performance summary. read more

Group GPS Helps You Locate Friends During Outings

 

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Location sharing using GPS is quickly becoming popular, but most apps only allow you to share and track your own location. With the new Group GPS app, available for iPhone, users can create activity groups and track everyone who joins, no matter how far away they are. Have a friend who is constantly late or someone who always has errands to run elsewhere? Now it will be easy for you to catch up with everyone at concerts, trail rides, pub crawls or family get-togethers. The app was initially designed to help keep track of cycling groups, but the possibilities are nearly endless! read more

Garmin Navigates GPS App Territory for iPhone and Android

hand-holding-samsungThe release of Garmin’s new smartphone app, Viago, gives fans a chance to utilize Garmin’s powerful GPS software on their smartphone. Available on both Android and iPhone, the basic Viago app costs only $2 and offers a range of features such as Worldwide maps, address search, turn-by-turn navigation in your region, realistic junction views, lane assistance, current speed limits and posted speed limits. The interface is clean and simple and looks sharp. But what makes this app both powerful and pricey is the ability to customize with premium add-ons which can cost anywhere from $5 to $20 depending on the add-on. read more

Magellan Echo sports watch review

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Hands on with the Magellan Echo

I was really curious to try out the Magellan Echo sports watch since it relies on a smartphone (in my case an iPhone 5s) and app to capture running workouts. After two months of usage during December and January, it’s time to look at how it performed. read more

iOS 7 to feature in-car integration

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Apple Maps navigation on your car’s built-in screen

At Apple’s WWDC yesterday, the company unveiled iOS 7, which includes vehicular integration due to roll out to a dozen car manufacturers next year. Basically, this will connect your iPhone to your car’s built-in screen, transforming it into an infotainment center, complete with turn-by-turn (albeit Apple Maps-based) navigation. read more

Google Maps comes to iPhone; Apple to acquire TomTom?

Google Maps for iPhone

The Google Maps app is now available for the iPhone and other iOS devices

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably know that Apple ditching Google Maps in the iPhone 5 in favor of their own app was widely panned this year, with GPS World dubbing it the location story of the year. And the news continues to be bad for Apple. Earlier this week Australian police warned people about using Apple maps, although that debacle may not have been entirely their fault. So with that background, here are today’s related stories: read more