gps

HipGeo Travel Blog and Trip Journal (free) lets you tell the story of your vacation with images, videos, text, tags, and more all tied to your geolocation. You start by signing up through Facebook or Twitter, then you can choose people to share your travels with. If you just want to see the app in action before you take your trip (and see best practices from other users) you can use an explore button to check out blogs of popular or featured users, or look at posts from near your location.… Read more

So, you've got your shiny new Google Nexus 7 in the mail and, after watching the lackluster "Transformers" movie that was included with the purchase, you're looking for something interesting to do with the 7-inch tablet. Why not transform your Nexus 7 into an automotive toolkit that helps you get from point A to B safely and can entertain you along the way?

OK, I'm sure that a number of you are already rolling your eyes and shouting something about distracted driving, which is a genuine concern. I don't see how the 7-inch Nexus … Read more

I've thought about it a lot, and much as I'm enamored with smartphones' navigation capabilities, I still think it makes sense to own a dedicated GPS.

But only a dedicated GPS that comes with lifetime map updates -- and, ideally, lifetime traffic reporting as well. The last thing I need is another gizmo that I have to keep paying for.

So here's a gem: Wal-Mart has the refurbished Magellan RoadMate 2036T-LM GPS for $59.98, plus sales tax in most states. You can pick it up for free from a Wal-Mart store or, interestingly, a Fedex Office … Read more

Dear people of London,

We need to talk. And you need to talk less.

You're going to have to change your ways, because you're really messing up the Olympics TV coverage.

Yes, even more than NBC is.

Because all of your stupid, pointless, self-serving, self-aggrandizing texts and tweets are clogging data systems. Which means that TV coverage is being disrupted. And we can't have TV coverage being disrupted.

Well, except in the U.S.

We, at the International Olympic Committee have been forced to inform you, kind, polite people of London, that, as we have just told Reuters, … Read more

Any developer making navigation apps for the iPhone has to be looking at the impending arrival of Apple Maps with fear, as it will come pre-installed on iOS 6 and offer turn-by-turn voice prompts for free. But Waze can make a few arguments why its navigation app trumps the upcoming Apple Maps.

The Waze app's initial focus was crowd-sourced traffic, and it has evolved to offer full-blown, free navigation. Its social focus is something that Apple Maps will have a difficult time duplicating, but also limits Waze's usefulness in some areas. Waze's traffic features make it useful … Read more

The European Commission has taken the wraps off a project aimed at improving the reliability of GPS data, with a new internet-based GPS augmentation service.

The European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, responsible for industry and entrepreneurship, launched the new European Data Access Service (EDAS) in Brussels on Thursday.

EDAS uses information from Europe's European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS). EGNOS gives precise GPS data for "safety-critical applications", and can improve the accuracy of GPS position measurements from five down to two meters, inform a user of errors in their position and warn of satellite signal disruptions within … Read more

Apple's Reminders app, introduced in iOS 5, works perfectly well at notifying you according to your time- or location-based criteria. But a new app called Checkmark (99 cents for a limited time) gives you location-based reminders using your GPS and important locations you enter, and with a great-looking interface that's easy to navigate.

You start by adding locations important to you such as Home, Work, the Gym, and a friend's house you often visit. You can locate yourself via GPS, but you also can search for an address on a map and add a location pin that way. The next step is creating reminders based on your locations.… Read more

Perfect for outdoors enthusiasts, Google's My Tracks app records your path, speed, distance, and even elevation while you walk, run, bike, or do anything else that a GPS signal can follow. And for those who are a bit more serious about their training, the app even lets you hook up with a few third-party Bluetooth biometric sensors, including Zephyr HxM, Polar WearLink, and ANT+ monitors.

To get started, just open up My Tracks and hit the record button at the top of the screen. From there, so long as you have a strong GPS signal, My Tracks will plot … Read more

In the online maps space, Google may draw more attention, but MapQuest, online years earlier, has continued to improve its service. And among iPhone apps, MapQuest can boast a crucial feature over Google Maps, free turn-by-turn navigation with voice prompts.

MapQuest's history as a mapping company shows up in the app's interface. Unlike navigation-focused apps, the MapQuest app does little to help users look up destinations. At the top of the map the main screen shows a free form search box where users can enter an address or business name. There are no buttons for previous or favorite … Read more