sat-navs

U.K. government funds elder-friendly navigation research

We're all aware of that corner of the market filled with products targeted at elderly users: mobile phones with limited functionality designed not to confuse, remote controls with huge buttons that are easy to read, and landline phones like the FotoDialer. Could the next product in this niche be a GPS navigation system for your grandma? A £12 million grant from the U.K. government is pushing in that direction.

Newcastle University Prof. Phil Blythe, who is heading up the team researching the project, cites waning eyesight, nervousness, and decreased confidence as issues for older drivers. The navigation … Read more

TomTom sat-navs borked by leap year bug

TomTom sat-navs have been struck down by a "leap year" bug that sees the road-navigating gadgets failing to find their location.

In a statement on its support site, TomTom says the problem is caused by a bug in the GPS receiver's software that has left some devices unable to obtain a GPS position since March 31.

"We are working hard on a permanent solution that we will make available on our website as a downloadable software fix," TomTom assures. The company says a "limited number of models" are suffering from the glitch, so let us know in the comments below if your TomTom is borked.

Symptoms could include a gray screen, or a notice that reads, "Waiting for a valid GPS signal..." or "Poor GPS signal..."

Read more of "TomTom sat-navs broken by 'leap year' bug" at Crave UK. … Read more

Police use sat-nav data to place speed cameras

Those worried about what location information their phones are gathering might want to scrutinize their car navigation systems first.

Police in the Netherlands have used aggregate data from TomTom's satellite navigation systems to install speed cameras where drivers tend to exceed the speed limit, TomTom said yesterday. The practice doesn't involve any individual data, but TomTom is barring it in the future after customers objected.

The company's sat-nav systems can send position data back to TomTom, and the company uses the information for purposes such as routing people around traffic jams and providing accurate estimates of journey … Read more

Ford puts sat-nav in your rear-view mirror

Get lost and take a long, hard look in the mirror. That's the message from Ford as it launches a new Garmin sat-nav integrated directly into your car's rear-view mirror.

The MirrorNavi, an after-market accessory that replaces your existing rear-view mirror, was designed and built by Garmin and Wollnikom. It consists of an ordinary mirror and a 320x240-pixel, 3.5-inch touch-screen display nestling on the far left side, and can be installed in any Ford car (except the Ranger and 2009 Ka) by Ford garages in the U.K. for about $460 plus installation charges.

Garmin Mobile 10: Sat-nav for smartphones

Only yesterday we were complaining that the Palm Centro didn't have enough oomph for our liking when--whaddaya know?--the postman kindly delivered Garmin's Mobile 10, a memory card and sat-nav receiver combo that converts a variety of smartphones, including the Centro, into satellite navigation devices.

You simply stick the card--in microSD, miniSD, and SD formats, all included--into your smartphone, and the sat-nav software automatically starts to install itself. Once installed, you're ready to go and can input full addresses or just a zip code. The receiver automatically pairs with your phone via Bluetooth when you launch the … Read more