traffic

Retail sites see 27 percent traffic jump on Christmas Day

Following suit with other major holiday shopping days, Christmas Day also saw a jump in online traffic this year.

According to marketing firm Experian, the top 500 U.S. retail sites had 27 percent more online traffic on this year's Christmas Day compared with last year. A total of 115.5 million people in the U.S. visited sites like Target, BestBuy, Sears, and Apple's online store.

Looking at the past seven-week period, online retail traffic went up 10 percent over 2011, and each major shopping holiday had traffic increases this year, according to Experian. Thanksgiving had a … Read more

Get a Magellan GPS with lifetime maps and traffic for $84.99

When it comes to behind-the-wheel navigation, I still prefer a dedicated GPS to a smartphone app (especially "smart" ones like the new Apple Maps -- just saying).

Of course, I'm a little spoiled now: I want a big screen, real-time traffic data, and all the map updates I can eat.

Ta-daaa: Today only, and while supplies last, Tech Woot has the Magellan 3065T-LM 4.7-inch GPS with lifetime maps and traffic for $84.99, plus $5 for shipping. Elsewhere it sells for $30 to $40 more.

Unlike a lot of the discount navigators I see these days, … Read more

iPhone users driving nearly half of smartphone Web traffic

iPhone owners really are driving a lot of Web traffic.

Online advertising network Chitika determined that nearly half of all Web traffic via smartphones is generated by the various versions of the iPhone. The iPhone 5 alone creates 3 percent of the total smartphone usage, while older versions of the device make about 43 percent.

By comparison, Samsung devices make up 17 percent of traffic, with the Korean handset maker's flagship phone, the Galaxy S3, generating 2 percent of total smartphone Web usage.

Chitika earlier this month determined that the iPhone 5 was already generating more Web traffic volume than the Samsung Galaxy S3. … Read more

'Talking' smart cars embark on pilot test on city streets

The U.S. government is launching a project in Michigan where 3,000 "smart cars" will be able to "talk" to their drivers.

No, it's not some Knight Rider-esque KITT scenario, it's actually specialized technology that's equipping cars with Wi-Fi to see if such communication can make the roads safer.

"Vehicle-to-vehicle communication has the potential to be the ultimate game-changer in roadway safety," administrator David Strickland from the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement, "but we need to understand how to apply the … Read more

Get a Magellan GPS with lifetime maps and traffic for $59.98

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

Waze socializes navigation

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

Setting the mapping bar

As far as mobile mapping goes, Google Maps for Android offers one of the best experiences you can get. More than a simple piece of mapping software, this feature-fest offers turn-by-turn navigation, voice search, indoor mapping (select locations), public transportation information, Street View, and so much more.

When viewing a location, Google Maps lets you activate a variety of add-on layers offering information like traffic, terrain, transit lines, and more. There's even a Wikipedia layer that plots out entries related to your location. And if that's not enough, you can zoom all the way into Street View for … Read more

Is Pinterest more popular than Tumblr in the U.S.?

It's well known that Pinterest is growing in leaps and bounds. But is that success starting to outpace even popular microblogging site Tumblr in the U.S.?

Royal Pingdom today revealed the results of data it compiled comparing traffic for both Pinterest and Tumblr. The blog first turned to Alexa, and found Pinterest to be just inching out Tumblr in traffic. On Google Trends, Pinterest scored more daily unique visitors than Tumblr. However, analytics services Compete and Quantcast gave the nod to Tumblr.

Not satisfied with the results, Royal Pingdom moved on to research firms, and found that Experian … Read more

Traffic Jam Assist for the masses? In about five years

In the next 12-24 months, luxury vehicles will hit the roads with the driver physically at the wheel, but his mind potentially elsewhere. Audi, BMW, and Mercedes have all demonstrated semi-autonomous "traffic jam assistants" that will do the driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic, lessening the stress of the daily commute. But what about for the equally tense driver of your non-luxury vehicle? Luckily, Ford is working to bring that same frill to the mainstream buyer.

Ford announced in a news statement that it, too, is developing a semi-autonomous system for its vehicles. The "Traffic Jam Assistant" is … Read more