GPS Technology Reviews for news, guides and reviews of GPS hardware, software and services including Handheld GPS, Outdoor GPS, GPS PDA, GPS Phones and Auto GPS Navigators

Garmin’s Forerunner 305 and 205 are wristwatch GPS personal trainers having almost identical specifications. Both units are attractive yet with a “sports like” look.

Both Forerunners have a SiRF III GPS receiver which has high sensitivity for locking and holding onto GPS satellite signals in weak reception areas under foliage and in built-up areas. To maximize signal reception Garmin have wrapped the antenna around part of the wrist band.
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EarthSearch Communications AutoSearchGPS 1.4 is a automotive GPS device with both tracking and remote vehicle management features available from a cell phone or computer.

AutoSearchGPS 1.4L provides numerous features including:

• Movement Sensor – provides capability to detect vehicle movement;
• Locate/Track — ability to locate and track your vehicle in real time or with the assistance of EarthSearch Communications customer support;
• Disable/Enable – for disabling the engine remotely (only when engine is disengaged unless carried out by EarthSearch Communications); and
• Alerts — receive various alerts: silent alarm, movement, speed, battery disconnect, geo-fence.

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Technorati Tags: EarthSearch Communications, AutoSearchGPS

Mio seem to bring out new navigation devices at a prolific rate. This new model, the Mio C728, distinguishes itself with its huge 7 inch QVGA (800 x 480 pixels) TFT LCD touchscreen. Along with the large screen and twin stereo speakers comes a suite of multimedia features for watching movies, view digital photos and listen to MP3s.

The navigation engine is based on the reliable and accurate SiRF Star III receiver which will perform well even in weak GPS signal areas such as built-up city areas.
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Technorati Tags: Mio C728

At the recent Symbian Smartphone Show, London, UK, Samsung Electronics announced two new GPSenabled smart phones – the SGH-i550 and SGH-i560. The GPS navigation functionality will include turn-by-turn voice guidance and will have a pedestrian mode. A navigation trackball located above the keypad should prove useful with GPS applications.

The i550 has a Symbian v9.2 operating system and is based on S60 (edition 3, feature pack 1) providing a platform to integrate applications from the vast Symbian S60 applications library.
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Technorati Tags: Symbian Smartphone, Samsung Electronics, GPS, navigation trackball

Sony Ericsson’s K530 3G smartphone is another example of technology convergence in the mobile phone market. It can rapidly become a personal navigator with the addition of the previously reviewed plug-in Sony Ericsson HE-100 GPS Enabler. In what one might call a double up of convergence, the HGE-100 is actually a stereo headset with a GPS receiver built-in.

The K530 is intended provide personal GPS navigation capabilities however, for in car use the voice navigation may be more useful as the 2 inch screen is much smaller than specialist GPS car navigation devices. Sony Ericsson highlight its application to fitness training through recording speed and distance and provision of a visual analysis on screen afterwards. Further details of GPS capabilities are provided in our previous review of the HGE-100 GPS Enabler. (read more..)

Technorati Tags: K530 3G smartphone, Sony Ericsson, personal GPS navigation, fitness training

Custom Idea’s new GeoPic II will geotag images taken with Nikon digital SLR cameras including the Nikon D200/D300/D2HS/D2X/D2XS/D3 and also the Fuji S5 Pro. The GeoPic II clips to the camera hotshoe and connects through the accessory socket. The unit is based upon a high performance SiRF III GPS chipset which has fast acquisition times and high sensitivity for operation in weak GPS signal areas such as built up city centers. Custom Idea have a patent pending on the low-power technology driving the GeoPic II which they claim allows you to take around three times as many photos than similar products before the battery is exhausted.

As part of its low power management capabilities the GeoPic II has three intelligent modes of operation:

• Continuous - GPS data is continually sent to the camera;
• Low Power - GPS data is only sent to the camera when you are about to take a picture;
• Freeze - the GPS location is frozen in a buffer so the GeoPic II has almost no impact on the camera’s battery life.

Technorati Tags: GeoPic II, Nikon digital SLR cameras, Fuji S5 Pro, Custom Idea

Going with the premise that constant travelers are always keen to reduce what they have to pack by “one less thing”, Deluo have developed the crossover USB powered optical mouse with an in-built GPS receiver. The Deluo GPSMouse will provide location awareness for any software running on the laptop or any Internet location based services. For convenience it comes with a rectractable USB for easy stowing in a laptop carry bag.

The Atmel ATR0635 (ANTARIS 4) compares well with other GPS receivers even matching the well regarded and widely used SiRF StarIII for tracking and acquisition sensitivity. The unit should operate quite well even in weak GPS signal areas such as city centers.

The Deluo DPSMouse is very reasonably priced laptop GPS enabler and is available on Amazon with the option to bundle it with Microsoft Streets and Trips mapping and navigation software.
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Technorati Tags: Deluo, GPS, Deluo GPSMouse, Atmel ATR0635

Mio have intended their DigiWalker C230 to be a compact and easy-to-use GPS navigator and importantly be an affordable purchase for consumers. It’s actually one step up from the entry level Mio DigiWalker C220 having text-to-speech functionality and 1GB of onboard flash memory compared with 256MB. Reduced accuracy because of a lower price is not a concern as the C230 has the same SiRF Star III GPS receiver as more expensive models which is also WAAS enabled. The SirRF Star III GPS receiver is widely recognized for its faster fix times, higher signal locking and tracking sensitivity and low power requirements.

Mio have not been tempted to save costs with a smaller screen, providing a similar 3.5” size, color, TFT touch screen which has and anti-glare treatment.

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Technorati Tags: DigiWalker C230, GPS navigator

From the partial quote in this post’s title by tiKiyoshi Hamai, North American sales director in Mio’s 710t press release you can tell that the company believes it is something unique in the consumer GPS market. While it is an impressive piece of technology convergence it has at least one other rival in the recently reviewed Navman S90i S Series car GPS navigator.

The Mio 710t has a very similar specification to the recently reviewed Mio 710 car and portable GPS device. Extra or superior features include:
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Technorati Tags: GPS market, Mio 710t

The US Army has selected Airbourne Systems 10 k (10,000 lb) DragonFly Joint Precision Aerial Delivery System (JPADS) following on from its recent selection of the FireFly 2K (2,000 lb) JPADS platform. Utilizing a precision guided parachute delivery system based on a GPS receiver The DragonFly system allows the Army to stand off dangerous areas and still deliver their cargo right on target.

Airbourne Systems has a number of precision cargo delivery systems of differing weights and sizes all utilizing the same guidance platform. The new parachute system will replace the US Army’s aging, non-steerable parachutes in use since the 1950’s. GPS Technology Review’s has a more detailed article on precision GPS guided parachute delivery systems.

Airbourne Systems had other recent success being selected to provide Recovery Systems for Space Exploration Technologies Corp’s (SpaceX) Falcon 9/Dragon launch systems.

Technorati Tags: Airbourne Systems, DragonFly Joint Precision Aerial Delivery System, JPADS